Durham Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences Blog

The CELLS Blog offers a multidisciplinary platform for commentary and analysis on a range of subjects and themes related to the ethical, social and regulatory issues raised by the life sciences. We welcome submissions from students, early career researchers, policymakers, academics from all relevant fields, lawyers, healthcare professionals and support services, civil society organisations and anyone with a vested interest in the relevant subject area broadly construed.

Blogs will not be peer-reviewed but will be reviewed by the editorial staff for relevance, originality, timeliness, topic, style, and focus. Blogs under consideration elsewhere or those already published on other platforms will not be considered. Before being posted on the CELLS website, editors will collaborate with authors to edit the piece. Twitter will be used to publicise blogs on publication (on submitting your blog post please provide details of your Twitter account or that of your research group so that we can tag you when sharing).

To submit a blog post for consideration, please read our Blog Guidelines

Latest Blogs from CELLS

End of Life Care for Patients with Severe Eating Disorders in Canada and Great Britain

Rachel Jenkins comments on developments in the care available to individuals with severe eating disorders in Canada and Great Britain.

The advent of Artificial Wombs - are we nearing more restrictive abortion laws in England and Wales?

Francesca Mesure, MJur candidate at Durham University Law School, draws on her undergraduate dissertation research into artificial wombs to explore the potential impact of this novel assisted gestative technology on the viability threshold, and the pressure it may put on abortion regulation.

Young woman with pregnancy test in hands

From Farm to Table, Not Lab to Label: Italy's Ban on Lab-Grown Meat

Scarlett Swain, CELLS Member and PhD researcher at Durham University Law School, examines a recent legal development affecting efforts to address the environmental consequences of animal agriculture by replacing meat from animals with lab-grown meat.

Law and policy can do more to address adolescence in early adulthood

Emma Cave and Hannah Cave discuss their recently published work in which they call for responses in medical policy, law and practice to evidence about how adolescence can affect decision making by young adults

3D rendering of human brain on technology background

Is a ‘Gestateling’ a Fetus or a Newborn? Potential Problems Concerning the Introduction of Artificial Amnion and Placenta Technology

Lauren McCaughey explores issues relating to the introduction of artificial amnion and placenta technology and the legal status of the ‘gestateling’. She introduces her MJur research topic which considers if it would be possible to ‘switch off’ this technology once a fetus has been transferred.

An Investigation into the Medical Management of Intersex Infants: Towards Meaningful Law Reform in the UK

In this blog post, Eleanor Drover introduces her PhD research that explores the medical management of intersex infants in the United Kingdom.

Towards further dialogue between law and science and technology studies

Dr Mark Flear draws on his recently published work in the Journal of Law and the Biosciences (2021) in calling for further law-led engagement with concepts and ideas such as 'Imaginaries' which are used in Science and Technology Studies.

A New Perspective on British Medical Ethics

Professor Holger Maehle's latest book, A Short History of British Medical Ethics (Ockham Publishing, 2021), challenges established understandings in Bioethics of the traditional ethics of doctors.

Book cover for a short history of British medical ethics

No Jab… No Job? Vaccination Compulsion for Care Home Staff

Clara McNeill offers an initial response to recent Government guidance in favour of a conditional vaccination mandate for staff working in older adult care homes in England. She discusses the reasons behind the mandate and how the protocol will impact staff and residents, and how it can be ethically defended.

Murdering a foetus by taking drugs while pregnant? The role of criminal law in regulating the behaviour of pregnant women

Murdering a foetus by taking drugs while pregnant? We need to think carefully about the role of criminal law in regulating the behaviour of pregnant women

A European Gilead: Using the Courts to Curb Abortion Rights in Poland

Zoe Tongue comments on the recent ruling by Poland's Constitutional Court which will lead to a near-ban of abortion in a country which already has one of the most restrictive abortion regimes in Europe.

People handling placards and protesting in the street

Responding to Challenges in Diagnosing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Four Durham CELLS members responded to a NICE consultation on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in September 2020. In this post we set out some of the concerns raised in our individual responses. In particular, we are concerned at the proposal to screen and record all alcohol consumption during pregnancy and record it in any forthcoming child’s medical notes, without any mention that the pregnant person should give informed consent.