title: Ethics in biotechnology and biosecurity.
abstract: Great advances in technology produce unique challenges. Every technology also has a dual use, which needs to be understood and managed to extract maximum benefits for mankind and the development of civilization. The achievements of physicists in the mid-20th century resulted in the nuclear technology, which gave us the destructive power of the atomic bomb as also a source of energy. Towards the later part of the 20th century, information technology empowered us with fast, easy and cheap access to information, but also led to intrusions into our privacy. Today, biotechnology is yielding life- saving and life-enhancing advances at a fast pace. But, the same tools can also give rise to fiercely destructive forces. How do we construct a security regime for biology? What have we learnt from the management of earlier technological advances? How much information should be in the public domain? Should biology, or more broadly science, be regulated? Who should regulate it? These and many other ethical questions need to be addressed.
authors: Senior Scientist and Group Leader, Virology Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi - 110 067, India. jameelshahid@gmail.com
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Jameel
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000941:ethics*; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D014481:United States