UNU-IAS Visiting Professor Prof. Gottweis presenting on modern biotechnology in this rapidly changing world.
Photo: Atsuko Kawamori/UNU-IAS 

Modern biotechnology promises to radically transform our lives in diverse areas such as medicine, food, energy, and environmental technology. Consequently, a number of new ethical and moral challenges have emerged in the recent times. As modern biotechnology’s potential to transform humans and nature increases in one hand, society’s willingness and adaptability to deal with these challenges appear to be declining on the other. Moreover, political and social support to accept these possible challenges through these biotechnological and biosocial interventions also appears to be dwindling. This presentation systematically explored the ethical challenge of modern biotechnology in these rapidly changing situations. How to deal with these new challenges and opportunities for science and society were explored. Examples were presented from medical sciences such as stem cells, genetic medicine, cloning to name a few, and agricultural biotechnology such as genetically modified food.

Programme

12:30 - 12:35	Welcoming Remarks Govindan Parayil, Director, UNU-IAS and Vice-Rector, UNU
12:35 - 1:20	Presentation: Modern Biotechnology and the New Ethical Challenges Herbert Gottweis, Professor, University of Vienna and Visiting Professor, UNU-IAS Download the ppt here.
1:20 - 2:00	Q & A and Discussion

Herbert Gottweis is Professor at the Department of Political Science and Visiting Professor of UNU-IAS. Gottweis also directs the Life Science Governance Research Platform at the University of Vienna (http://www.univie.ac.at/LSG/intro.htm). Before coming to the University of Vienna, Gottweis taught at the Department of Science and Technology Studies, Cornell University (1993-95); Erwin Schrödinger Fellow at the Centre of European Studies, Harvard University (1989-90); and Visiting Research Fellow (supported by the Andrew Mellon Foundation) at MIT’s program in Science, Technology, and Society (1992-93). He served as Visiting Professor in the Division of Social Sciences, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (1997) and at the Australian School of Environmental Studies, Griffith University (2004). In 2005, Gottweis was appointed as Vice-President of the Austrian Research Fund (FWF). His most recent books are Gottweis, H., Salter B, and Waldby C., (2009): The Global Politics of Stem Cell Research: Regenerative Medicine in Transformation (London: Palgrave) and Gottweis H. and Petersen A., eds. (2008): Biobanks: Comparative Governance (London: Routledge).

For further information, please contact Yoshie A. Oya at oya[at]ias.unu.edu or 045-221-2327.