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In the case that led the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs Wade, the State of Mississippi made the strong claim that fetuses can feel pain. We argue that critical biological evidence used to support this claim was misinterpreted and that the State’s argument conflated pain and nociception. Abortion policy has profound moral and ethical consequences and therefore needs to be grounded in the most accurate scientific arguments, as well as a clear understanding of what we mean when we use the term pain.
By integrating ongoing bioethical collaboration, neuroscientists can create a positive effect on their research and the knowledge it produces. To this end, we offer our experiences with an interdisciplinary model for the ethical advancement of a promising area of neuroscience — human neural organoid research.
Although issues surrounding diversity and inclusion in science are global, distinctive region-specific socioeconomic factors and operational biases interact to widen the opportunity gap and exacerbate the isolation of specific groups of disadvantaged scientists on the global stage. This commentary reviews the issues currently faced by the Latin American (neuro)science community and outlines key actions on multiple fronts to overcome the barriers impeding their global inclusion, visibility and success.
Can studying individual differences in brain structure and function reveal individual differences in behavior? Analyses of MRI data from nearly 50,000 individuals may suggest that the possibility is fleeting. Although sample size is important for brain-based prediction, researchers can take other steps to build better biomarkers. These include testing model generalizability across people, datasets, and time points and maximizing model robustness by optimizing brain data acquisition, behavioral measures, and prediction approaches.
Science engagement can be a daunting prospect. This is especially true for scientists whose work involves animal models, and particularly nonhuman primates. Here, we show that openly explaining our rationale for our neuroscience work involving nonhuman primates — and the legal and ethical regulations that govern animal experimentation — increased public support and understanding, which is crucial for this essential research to continue.
