Bioethics in the Post-genomic Era

Bioethics is a rapidly developing field. It draws on conceptual and methodological tools from a number of academic disciplines to tackle ethical issues that arise within medical practice, the life sciences, health care provision and management, and related areas. From its early inception in the form of medical ethics, where it was mainly concerned with moral conflicts that played out within the relationship between doctors and patients, it has evolved into a multidisciplinary field that utilizes a wealth of theoretical and methodological approaches to address a variety of moral and practical questions. This article focuses on the most recent developments of bioethics in the so-called postgenomic age.