CRISPR immunity: a case study for justified somatic genetic modification?

The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has killed thousands across the world. SARS-CoV-2 is the latest but surely not the last such global pandemic we will face. The biomedical response to such pandemics includes treatment, vaccination, and so on. In this paper, though, we argue that it is time to consider an additional strategy: the somatic (non-heritable) enhancement of human immunity. We argue for this approach and consider bioethics objections we believe can be overcome.

Organ donor intervention trials and risk to bystanders: An ethical analysis.

There are two distinct problems about bystander effects raised by organ donor intervention research. The first is the problem of "bystander organs"-sometimes called "non-target organs"-which Kimmelman discusses in his case presentation. How do we treat the recipients of organs that are not the subject of the intervention research but nonetheless might be directly affected by the research? The second problem is not about altering the organ but the pattern of distribution of organs. Each of these cases shows bystander effects that matter for real people. This article examines how research ethics should approach each of these cases.