Autumn officially begins tomorrow, so whether you spend your weekend watching football, picking apples, or indulging in some pumpkin pie, make sure you leave room for our Research Ethics Roundup. This week’s installment features articles on recent protests over genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in China, the human side of clinical trials, and more!

Greenpeace out to sea on GM rice issue, bioethicist says: Greenpeace has been extremely critical of a US Department of Agriculture (USDA)- and National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study in China, which sought to examine the effects of genetically modified rice on a population of children with historically low levels of vitamin A. The author of this article argues that Greenpeace’s protestations have stigmatized a successful research study that could help prevent death or blindness in thousands of children, over a categorically negative perception of genetically modified foods as a whole.

Treatment of subject injury: Fair is fair: In this post from Bill of Heath, a blog from the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard University, PRIM&R faculty member Suzanne Rivera, PhD, highlights the lack of clarity surrounding who is financially responsible for treatment when a research subject is harmed as a result of his or her participation in a study. Dr. Rivera also discusses the complications that can arise when an institutional review board (IRB), sponsor, or institution attempts to limn the details of liability relating to injury of a participant.

Vets and physicians find research parallels: A trend of collaboration and cooperation has emerged between the fields of human and animal medicine. This interdisciplinary approach has led to stunning advances on both sides, and has helped to narrow what has traditionally been a decades-long gap between animal and human medicine.

The trials of cancer trials: In this personal essay, Susan Gubar details the complexity and uncertainty of cancer research trials from a subject’s perspective. From daunting consent forms to the disappointment of disqualification, Ms. Gubar deftly illuminates the emotional toll of participation in scientific research.

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