Abstract
This chapter covers the importance of ethics in biomedical research, in both human and animal work. It highlights ethical decisions made in the development of the COVID-19 vaccines and the challenges that other new technologies bring to research design. It explains the regulatory structures in place to ensure that researchers are aware of their ethical obligations. The chapter also highlights historical ethical issues in human and animal research and the importance of gaining consent.
This chapter covers the importance of ethics in biomedical research, in both human and animal work. It explores ethical decisions made in the development of the COVID-19 vaccines and the challenges that other new technologies bring to research design. The chapter explains the regulatory structures in place to ensure that researchers are aware of their ethical obligations. It also explores historical ethical issues in human and animal research and the importance of gaining consent. Scientists, both researchers and teachers, are faced with ethical decisions daily. The use of animals in research has proven essential in making progress in science. Animals represent an entire physiological system, which cannot be completely replicated with in vitro culture systems or in silico computer modelling. A major ethical issue with scientific experiments on animals is the psychological experiences of the animal. There are numerous ethical issues when performing human research. The most difficult area to address is that of consent.