Compiled by Sadie Reed Stimmell, MCC Biology & Chemistry Department Chair
· Explore the biological mechanisms of transplant rejection and the ethical systems of organ allocation.
· Examine how regenerative medicine technologies challenge ideas about healing, enhancement, and bodily limits.
· Connect immune system function and vaccine development to questions of bodily autonomy and social responsibility.
· Analyze how anatomical drawings and representations convey norms about bodies, both historically and in modern contexts, and discuss the ethics of scientific imagery.
· Investigate how lab-grown tissues and regenerative technologies manage contamination risks and biosafety challenges.
· Discuss how research ethics intersect with microbial work in tissue engineering and regenerative systems.
· Link cellular differentiation and stem cell fate to ethical debates about manipulation and control of life processes.
· Explore issues of consent, commercialization, and intellectual property in the use of human cell lines and tissues.
· Compare natural regeneration in organisms with engineered regeneration in humans to reflect on what it means to 'repair' or 'improve' the body.
· Examine the ethics of extinction, interconnectedness of living systems, and links between ecosystem health, human health, and environmental justice.
· Consider who benefits, who’s excluded, and how we define acceptable use of gene therapy and regenerative treatments.
· Discuss DNA data, inheritance, and the ethical implications of consumer genetics.
· Evaluate the boundaries between enhancement and treatment in CRISPR, gene editing, and related technologies.