Conceptual and ethical issues at the intersection of genomics, developmental biology, ecology, and health - III

There is little doubt that the mapping and sequencing of the human genome is a monumental achievement of basic biological science, with broad implications at both individual and social levels. As we enter the ¿post-genomic¿ era, researchers are revising the drafts and beginning to interpret genomics data on a large scale. A central goal of such research efforts is to improve health and cure disease. But there is no simple relationship between a genome sequence and a developed organism. Development results from a wide range of contingent interactions between genes and cells and tissues and environmental factors, and understanding these interactions will require considerable efforts and innovate research design. And even when we do understand them, important ethical questions will remain about how best to use this information to improve human health. I propose to analyze how genomics research may improve the health of Canadians, and to assess the most morally defensible and scientifically responsible ways to fulfil the promises of human genomics. My vantage point is bioethics grounded in the philosophy of biology, which permits both conceptual and ethical attention to emerging issues in post-genomic science and policy.