General editors: John Sulston and John Harris
Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation,
Manchester University

The impact of science and technology and of the ethical issues that new discoveries generate is dramatic.  It is now well understood that the rate of such development is increasing exponentially, as of course is the frequency of ethical and regulatory dilemmas.
 
Less well understood is the ethical basis of the transition process for new scientific and technological developments, from discovery through proof of principle to the clinic or the marketplace, and the scope and limits of the regulation of this process. Equally the moral imperatives and the public interest that underpins both the theory and the practice of science are seldom articulated let alone understood.  What is urgently required is serious work at the interface between science, ethics and innovation, not as a way of providing a defence – an apologia – for science and technology but as a vehicle for examining the role and the moral responsibilities of science, technology and innovation in society both locally and globally.
 
It is intended that this series will feature the very best work at this interface, spanning a number of disciplines including bioethics, sociology, medicine, physical and life sciences, international relations, law and policy.
 
Themes

The most pressing and important challenges facing all societies occur at the interface between science, ethics and innovation; and the solution of these will be vital for the future of humankind.

• Global justice
  
• Public health
  
• Technological governance
  
• Intellectual property
  
• The scope, limits and future of humanity
  
• Chronic poverty
  
• Climate change
  
• Environment

Early titles will focus on issues in:
 
Global and equitable access to the benefits of science, including medicines and health care products, resources and knowledge; and investigation of the dynamics which affect the progress of science and innovation.
 
The ethics and policy dimensions of the radical enhancements of human functioning that are becoming available.  These include chemical cognitive enhancers, cyber and computer enhancement and genetic manipulation.  
 
The dilemmas created by the exponential increase in the availability of personal biological information, such as genomic databanks, forensic databases and biobanks.
 
Intended audience

Because of the multi-disciplinary nature of the work and the international importance of the issues, it is envisaged that this series will have broad appeal so that, in addition to academic readers and students in the relevant disciplines, we intend always to address a general, non-specialist audience.
 
For more information contact Professor John Harris at the Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation