The human microbiome : ethical, legal and social concerns / edited by Rosamond Rhodes, Nada Gligorov, and Abraham Paul Schwab.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Print version record.

The human microbiome is the bacteria, viruses, and fungi that cover our skin, line our intestines, and flourish in our body cavities. Work on the human microbiome is new, but it is quickly becoming a leading area of biomedical research. What scientists are learning about humans and our microbiomes could change medical practice by introducing new treatment modalities. This new knowledge redefines us as superorganisms comprised of the human body and the collection of microbes that inhabit it and reveals how much we are a part of our environment.

Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Microbiome Working Group Participants -- Introduction: Looking Back and Looking Forward -- The Project Collaborators -- Our Method -- The Scope of this Volume -- Reading this Book -- 1. The Human Microbiome: Science, History, and Research -- Introduction -- The Role of Microorganisms in the Environment -- The Use of Microorganisms in Industry and Food Production -- The History of Microorganisms in Human Health and Disease -- The Human Microbiome -- Human Microbiome Project and the National Institutes of Health -- Research Tools and Methods -- Acquisition of the Microbiome -- Interactions Between the Microbiome and the Host Genome -- Manipulating the Microbiome for Medical Purposes -- Conclusion -- 2. Personal Identity: Our Microbes, Ourselves -- Introduction -- Personal Identity over Time -- The Human Microbiome and Numerical Identity -- The Human Microbiome and Conceptions of Self -- The Impact of Science on Commonsense Conceptions of Self -- Conclusion -- Policy Recommendations -- 3. Property and Research on the Human Microbiome -- Four Controversial Cases -- Introduction -- Ownership and Property in Philosophy -- Ownership and Property in the Social Sciences -- Ownership and Property in the Context of Biomedical Research -- Current Property Structures and Research on the Human Microbiome -- Patents -- Copyrights -- Property Rights and Biological Samples -- Conclusion -- Policy Recommendations -- 4. Privacy, Confidentiality, and New Ways of Knowing More -- Introduction -- Philosophical Approaches to Privacy -- Confidentiality -- Legislations to Protect Medical and Research Information -- Data Sharing -- Conclusion -- Policy Recommendations -- 5. Research Ethics -- Introduction -- The Landscape of Microbiome Research -- Historical Development of Research Ethics Regulation and Guidelines.

Research Ethics and Human Microbiome Research -- Critical Reflections on the U.S. Framework for Human Subject Research -- Implications for the Conduct of Human Subject Microbiome Research -- Research and Regulation of Probiotics and Phages -- Conclusion -- Policy Recommendations -- 6. Biobanks and the Human Microbiome -- Introduction -- What Is a Biobank? -- Human Microbiome Biobanks -- Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Human Microbiome Biobanks -- International Biobanks -- Community Consultation: A Reasonable Approach to Participatory Research -- Discrimination and Other Issues -- Conclusion -- Policy Recommendations -- 7. Public Health and Research on Populations -- Microbes and Public Health -- Public Health, Liberty, and Privacy -- Public Health Functions -- Public Health Agency Powers -- Public Health Methods -- Research Regulations and Public Health Data Gathering -- Quality Assurance, Quality Improvement, and Surveillance -- De Minimis Risk: A Proposal for a New Category of Research Risk -- Additional Factors in the Ethical Conduct of Population Studies -- Prevention and Education -- Cautions for Public Health Policymakers -- Coda: Further Philosophical Reflections on Public Health and the Microbiome -- Policy Recommendations -- Glossary -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- K -- L -- M -- N -- P -- R -- S -- T -- V -- W -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.

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