Bioethics@

Case Studies for the Classroom

The following case studies are divided into categories relevant to bioethics. A brief description of the topics are provided as well.

Agriculture

• Hybrid Corn, introduction of hybrid corn varieties
• Golden Rice, issues of human health and rights
  PDF version (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Animals

• The Case of the Cloned Cats, cloning issues close to home
• Four Case Studies, vegetarianism, farm animal production, and hunting
• Don't Goose Me!, animal protection
• Enviropigs™, ethical issues surrounding transgenic pigs developed in Canada
• Marine Mammal Protection and Management, issues surrounding environmental and animal rights issues
• Reintroduction of the Gray Wolf into Yellowstone
• Responding to the Risks Presented by the Presence of Bovine Tuberculosis in Wild Deer
• Web site on animal rights/animal welfare, developed by Gary Varner, Texas A&M University
• Three Little Pigs, Enviropigs

Biotechnology

• Herbicide Resistant Rice, moral issues and risk factors
• Two Case Studies, egg machines and pigs with human genes
• Edible Vaccines, ethical issues surrounding vaccines in food
• Trait Protection, intellectual property of genetic traits
• Lost in the Maize, communicating about GM vs. non-GM with neighbors
  El Maizal MG, el comunicarse sobre organismos genético modificados con sus vecinos (traducido a español)
• The Neighbors, a case study about neighbors communicating about planting organic and GMO crops

Environment

• Marine Mammal Protection and Management, issues surrounding environmental and animal rights issues
• Pfiestria piscicida, a case study on fish kills
• Pfiestria Hysteria, a second case study on fish kills
• Reintroduction of the Gray Wolf into Yellowstone
• Responding to the Risks Presented by the Presence of Bovine Tuberculosis in Wild Deer
• Whose Summer Home is it?, ecologocial preservation
• Mars Exploration, risk to potential life on another planet

Humans

• Case Studies in Organ Transplantation, using human cells and animal organs
• Deliberate Extinction?, eliminating the last vials of the eradicated smallpox virus
  Extinção Deliberada?, eliminando os últimos vials do vírus do smallpox (versão portuguese original)
• Orphan Embryos, using surplus embryos for stem cell research
• Whose Property Are They?, unused embryos and research
• The Ethics of Human Stem Cell Research, discusses using embryonic, fetal, and adult stem cells

Plants

• Rare Plants, protecting natural traits of endangered plants
• Pitcher Plants, protecting an endangered species

Research Ethics

• Valley of Sorrow, breaking confidentiality to save lives
• Plagiarism, writing without illegal/unethical use of others' words
• Publish or Perish, collaboration and printing research articles

Teaching Ethics

• Constructing Case Studies
• Three Case Studies Handout
  Três Casos para Discussão (traduzido no português)
  Tres Casos para la Discusión (traducido a español)
• Evaluation Handout

Veterinary Medicine

• Feral Cats, ethics associated with trapping and neutering feral cats
• Euthanasia in Veterinary Medicine
• Euthanasia in Veterinary Medicine, pre- and post-test

Published by: Office of Biotechnology, Bioethics Outreach
Ames, Iowa 50011-3260, (515) 294-9818, biotech@iastate.edu
Questions about the site?  E-mail biotech@www.biotech.iastate.edu
Copyright © 2003, Iowa State University. All rights reserved.

Last Update 06/17/04