Ethical Issues in Biochemistry

 
The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) has established guidelines for undergraduate programs in biochemistry and molecular biology (Voet et al., 2003). The society has now received a grant from the Teagle Foundation to access the relationship between the goals of a major in biochemistry and those of a liberal education (Wolfson, 2007).

Here's a list of skills that biochemistry and molecular biology undergraduates should obtain by the time they graduate.

• Understanding of the fundamentals of chemistry and biology and the key principles of biochemistry and molecular biology.
• Awareness of the major issues at the forefront of the discipline.
• Ability to assess primary papers critically.
• Good quantitative skills such as the ability to accurately and reproducibly prepare reagents for experiments.
• Ability to dissect a problem into its key features.
• Ability to design experiments and understand the limitations of what the experimental approach can and cannot tell you.
• Ability to interpret experimental data and identify consistent and inconsistent components.
• Ability to design follow-up experiments.
• Ability to work safely and effectively in a laboratory.
• Awareness of the available resources and how to use them.
• Ability to use computers as information and research tools.
• Ability to collaborate with other researchers.
• Ability to use oral, written, and visual presentations to present their work to both a science-literate and a science-non-literate audience.
• Ability to think in an integrated manner and look at problems from different perspectives.
• Awareness of the ethical issues in the molecular life sciences.

This is your chance to comment on this list. I'll make sure your comments are passed along to Professor Wolfson so she can incorporate them into the study. I don't necessarily support everything on the list.

I'd like to start with the last one "Awareness of the ethical issues in the molecular life sciences." How important is this in a biochemistry/molecular biology undergraduate program? Who do you think should teach it? What kind of issues should we cover? Should there be some instruction on ethics philosophy?

Wolfson, A.J. (2007) Biochemistry and Undergraduate Liberal Education. Biochem. Mol. Biol. Educ. 35: 167-168.

Voet, J.G., Bell, E., Boyer, R., Boyle, J., O'Leary, M. and Zimmerman, J.K. (2003) Recommended curriculum for a program in biochemistry and molecular biology. Biochem. Mol. Biol. Educ. 31: 161-162.