As Brain Research Expands, It May Not Need Major Ethical Overhaul

By Paul Basken. Not long after he proposed giving researchers $100-million to improve fundamental understandings of brain function, President Obama was worried. How, Mr. Obama asked his bioethics commission last month, might improved technologies for reading the brain affect society in areas that include personal privacy, moral and legal accountability, stigmatization, discrimination, and measures of intelligence?
On Tuesday the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues began tackling that question. And, at least on its first pass at the subject, it largely counseled calm. More...