Ethics News

October 7, 2016

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Harmed Bluefin Tuna

Food Additive Key to New, Efficient Solar Cells

Social Exclusion Judged by the Look On Your Face

Crude Oil Causes Deformities in Fish

Latest Headlines

updated 2:04am EDT

When Is Maternal Immunization Ethically Justified?

Oct. 5, 2016 — Vaccination during pregnancy can protect women, fetuses and newborn children against infectious diseases – especially in developing countries. Maternal immunization however also raises ethical ... read more

Bragging as a Strategy: What Boasting Buys, and Costs, a Candidate

Oct. 5, 2016 — Whether it’s better to brag or to be humble can depend on what perception one seeks to change, whether hard evidence will come to light and what that evidence says, according to a new ... read more

New Advances in Solar Cell Technology

Oct. 5, 2016 — With the high environmental cost of conventional energy sources and the finite supply of fossil fuels, the importance of renewable energy sources has become much more ... read more

Poverty and Perceived Hardship Affect Cognitive Function and May Contribute to Premature Aging, Say Investigators

Sep. 27, 2016 — A new study finds strong associations between sustained exposure to economic hardship and worse cognitive function in relatively young ... read more

Let's Talk About More Than Sex: Parents in Favor of Expanding Health Education

Sep. 19, 2016 — Teaching kids about drugs, alcohol and sex appears to be less controversial than ever before but parents want to see health ... read more

Neglected Tropical Diseases: Progress Towards Addressing the Chronic Pandemic

Sep. 15, 2016 — A review of the progress made in addressing the chronic pandemic of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) has now been released. The authors looked at ... read more

Antibody Discovery Could Help Create Improved Flu Vaccines

Sep. 13, 2016 — Investigators report that they have discovered a type of immune antibody that can rapidly evolve to neutralize a wide array of influenza virus strains – including those the body hasn’t yet ... read more

Strong Alcohol Policies Can Help Prevent Suicide

Sep. 12, 2016 — Suicide was the tenth leading cause of death in the United States in 2013. There is clear evidence that intoxication and chronic, heavy drinking are often associated with suicide. While alcohol ... read more

European Region Most Skeptical in the World on Vaccine Safety

Sep. 8, 2016 — Public confidence in vaccines varies widely between countries and regions around the world, and the European region is the most skeptical about vaccine safety, according to the largest ever global ... read more

Marijuana Use Remains on the Rise Among US College Students, but Narcotic Drug Use Declines

Sep. 8, 2016 — College student marijuana use continues its nearly decade-long increase, according to the most recent national Monitoring the Future ... read more

ACLU Blasts Alleged Yahoo Mail Scans

In Kenya, Lion Hunters Become Defenders

Clinton, Trump Debate Energy and Trade

Africa's Elephant Population Suffers Worst Drop in 25 Years

Conservation Decisions Rely on Balancing Incentives With Unpredictable Variables

Oct. 5, 2016 — If you own land, as long as it’s not bound up in a legal restriction, you’ve got options. You might decide to convert it into farm land. You might develop it. You could decide to wait and see if ... read more

Family-Centered Pre-Kindergarten Provides a Strong Foundation for Children's Mental Health and School Success

Oct. 3, 2016 — A family-centered pre-k intervention has a positive, lasting impact on child mental health and academic performance, report ... read more

Acts of Altruism? New Study to Explore Actions of Solidarity With Asylum Seekers and Refugees

Sep. 16, 2016 — A new study into collective actions in support of vulnerable groups – including asylum seekers and refugees - is being led by English ... read more

For-Profit Trade Schools Prove Costly for Disadvantaged Black Youth

Sep. 15, 2016 — Young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods are drawn to for-profit trade schools as the quickest route to jobs. But the very thing that makes for-profit schools seem so appealing — a streamlined ... read more

Staying the Course on a Massive Open Online Course

Sep. 15, 2016 — Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are popular with educational establishments as an efficient way to deliver their materials. Unfortunately, student engagement does not match the enthusiasm of the ... read more

Study Finds STEM Workers More Likely to Find Jobs in Denser STEM Labor Markets

Sep. 12, 2016 — In one of the first attempts to understand the geography of STEM degree-job matching, a new study finds that matching is much more likely in dense rather than in large STEM labor ... read more

More Underrepresented Students Obtain Science Degrees and Pursue STEM, Due to Research Mentoring

Sep. 8, 2016 — A new study indicates that undergraduates who participate in mentored research not only graduate more often with science degrees, but also attend graduate school and pursue STEM careers at higher ... read more

Do Teachers' Climate Change Beliefs Influence Students?

Sep. 7, 2016 — The strongest predictors of North Carolina middle school students' beliefs in human-caused climate change: a science teacher's belief that global warming is happening and the students' ... read more

Feeling They Are Part of a Group Increased Preschoolers' Interest, Success in STEM

Sep. 7, 2016 — Preschoolers were more engaged and did better on STEM-related tasks when they felt they were part of a group, versus doing the tasks on their own, new research ... read more

More Evidence That TV Ads May Influence Kids' Drinking

Sep. 7, 2016 — The more advertising kids see for particular brands of alcohol, the more they consume of those brands, according to a new study. The work adds to evidence linking alcohol advertising to underage ... read more

White Racism Tied to Fatal Heart Disease for Blacks and Whites

Sep. 7, 2016 — Living in unabashedly racist communities can shorten the lives of both blacks and whites, according to new research. Researchers compared the racial biases of nearly 1.4 million people nationwide to ... read more

Research Reveals Artificial Thyroid Cancer Epidemic

Sep. 6, 2016 — Doctors around the world are over diagnosing the most common thyroid cancer, creating an artificial epidemic that costs billions of dollars each year in unnecessary medical costs, suggests new ... read more

Screening for Latent Tuberculosis Infection Recommended for Those at Increased Risk

Sep. 6, 2016 — The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for latent tuberculosis infection in populations at increased risk. People who are considered at increased risk include people who were born ... read more

Safety Net Programs Don't Support High Rates of Trauma in Participants

Sep. 1, 2016 — A recent study found that a high number of participants in a federal cash assistance program have suffered significant childhood adversity, exposure to violence as adults and other poverty-related ... read more

How AI Might Affect Urban Life in 2030

Sep. 1, 2016 — A diverse panel of academic and industrial thinkers has looked ahead to 2030 to forecast how advances in artificial intelligence might affect life in a typical North American city, and to spur ... read more

20 Cent School Intervention Stops Unhealthy Weight Gain in Children

Aug. 27, 2016 — A school intervention costing less than 20 cents per child has stopped unhealthy weight ... read more

Egyptian Women Say Doctors Don't Discourage Female Genital Cutting, Study Finds

Aug. 26, 2016 — More Egyptian women are seeking the opinions of physicians on whether their daughters should undergo female genital cutting, which is illegal in the country, but they say doctors don't advise ... read more

Baby Simulator Program May Make Teenage Girls More, Not Less, Likely to Become Pregnant

Aug. 25, 2016 — A teenage pregnancy prevention program involving a baby simulator does not appear to have any long-term effect on reducing the risk of teenage pregnancy, according to the first randomized controlled ... read more

Why Are We So Afraid to Leave Children Alone?

Aug. 23, 2016 — Leaving a child unattended is considered taboo in today’s intensive parenting atmosphere, despite evidence that American children are safer than ever. So why are parents denying their children the ... read more

Watching a Lot of TV Makes You More Susceptible to Everyday Myths

Aug. 22, 2016 — People who watch a lot of television are more likely to be susceptible to everyday myths -- irrespective of their age, education or gender. This is the basic finding of a media study. In the recent ... read more

Wednesday, October 5, 2016