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Whose potbelly is it anyway?

30 April 2010

Professor Inez de Beaufort gave the Council's 2010 annual lecture on ethics, obesity and public health, at the Royal Society.

Watch a video of the lecture.

Professor de Beaufort made arguments around four propositions:

1. An individual ought to lose weight or not become obese because it is healthy and therefore in his/her own interest.

2. An individual ought to lose weight because obesity is a sign of a weak character.

Council meets experts on biofuels

27 April 2010

The Council has held a series of fact finding meetings with biofuels specialists as part of its inquiry into the ethical issues raised by new approaches to biofuels.

The first meeting was held in early March and was attended by scientists from universities and research institutes across the country including London, York, Exeter, Newcastle and Dundee.

Business representatives from BP, Carbon Trust, British Sugar, Green Biologics, E.ON and Cellana attended a second meeting which focussed on the commercial implications of biofuels.

Launch of consultation on human bodies in medicine and research

20 April 2010

The Council launched a public consultation on human bodies in medicine and research on 20 April 2010.

The Working Party is seeking people's views on a number of questions, including:

  • How far should we as a society go in encouraging or even incentivising people to provide material?

  • What control should a person providing material have over its future use?

Can we ethically increase organ, egg and sperm donation?

Press Release

19 April 2010

Should more people be expected to donate organs, eggs and sperm and, if so, how far can we ethically go in encouraging them to donate, asks the Nuffield Council on Bioethics in a consultation launched today. The Council is calling for the public’s views on how we should respond to the current demand for organs, sperm, eggs and other human material for use in medical treatment and research.

Professor Dame Marilyn Strathern, the Chair of the inquiry, said: