Bioethics, Reproductive Technologies, & Genetics Panelists

Featured Topics and Panelists:

Bioethics and Science Reporting: The Problem of Hype

Rebecca Dresser, JD, Daniel Noyes Kirby, Professor of Law and Professor of Ethics in Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis


Nearly every day we hear about scientific breakthroughs in the laboratory. Journalists tell us about potential cures for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and other diseases that plague modern society. But what works in animals often doesn’t translate to effective human treatments. Learn about the ethics of science reporting and why hype is bad for science and the public.


Medical Futility: Where Science & Morals Collide

Griffin Trotter, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Departments of Heallth Care Ethics and Surgery, Saint Louis University


When are doctors are justified in refusing to provide treatments and other interventions because these treatments violate the standards of good scientific medicine? Of special interest are cases where physicians refuse to provide a requested treatment (e.g., mechanical ventilation) because the scientific evidence indicates the treatment will not work —that is, that it is “futile” —for the given case. Dr. Trotter Investigates medical futility claims and the philosophical puzzles they create.


The Genetics of Infertility and the Extinction of the Dinosaurs: Is Humankind Next?

Sherman Silber, M.D., Fellow, Academy of Science – St. Louis; Director, Infertility Society of St. Louis, St. Luke’s Hospital


The modern world is in the midst of an unexpected infertility epidemic. Our genetic studies of infertility offer an explanation for how the X and Y chromosomes evolved and even for how the dinosaurs went extinct. Our changing societal structure is causing the majority of couples who delay childbearing to become permanently infertile, which portends a frightening demographic future for our economy.

DRAWINGS for TWO FREE JUNIOR SCIENCE ACADEMY MEMBERSHIPS at each Seminar.

STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES TO COMPETE FOR COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS – one $250 Middle School Student Scholarship and one $250 High School Student Scholarship. Attend 3 of the 5 seminars or panel discussions and write about your experience. Scholarship decisions announced in May 2010!

To be held at Kirkwood High School Keating Theater, 801 W. Essex, Kirkwood, MO 63122

Parking free in the high school lot.

This event is free and open to middle and high school students, teachers, adults, and the general public.

Pioneering Science Series co-sponsor: