Penn Bioethics Seminar Series (PBS): John H. Evans, PhD

12:00pm - 1:00pm • Hybrid: 1402 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive (and virtual via Zoom)

2023-09-12 12:00:00 2023-09-12 13:00:00 America/New_York Penn Bioethics Seminar Series (PBS): John H. Evans, PhD The Ethics of Human Brain Organoids and Human-Animal Neural Chimeras Among U.S. Bioethicists and Public John H. Evans, PhD Professor; Tata Chancellor’s Chair in Social Sciences; Associate Dean of Social Sciences; Co-director of the Institute for Practical Ethics University of california, san diego Medical research for neurological disorders has been limited by the fact that it is ethically difficult to experiment on live people’s brains. In response, scientists have created small (4mm) pieces of human brain in a dish made from human stem calls to experiment upon called human brain organoids. With the same motivation, there are now also animals that have had their brains “humanized” in various ways, resulting in human-animal neural chimeras. Professor Evans will talk about the ethics of academics on these issues and compare these to the ethics of the public, as determined by an empirical social science study. The public’s ethics are based on foundational cultural distinctions typically not held by academics. Lunch provided for in person attendees. Livestreaming available via Zoom. Hybrid: 1402 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive (and virtual via Zoom) Penn Medical Ethics

Medical research for neurological disorders has been limited by the fact that it is ethically difficult to experiment on live people’s brains. In response, scientists have created small (4mm) pieces of human brain in a dish made from human stem calls to experiment upon called human brain organoids. With the same motivation, there are now also animals that have had their brains “humanized” in various ways, resulting in human-animal neural chimeras. Professor Evans will talk about the ethics of academics on these issues and compare these to the ethics of the public, as determined by an empirical social science study. The public’s ethics are based on foundational cultural distinctions typically not held by academics.