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General information |
Course unit name: Bioethics
Course unit code: 366691
Academic year: 2025-2026
Coordinator: Gemma Marfany Nadal
Department: Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics
Credits: 3
Single program: S
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Prior considerations |
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Articles and other material addressing specific scientific bioethical issues will be uploaded to the Virtual Campus. |
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Estimated learning time |
Total number of hours 75 |
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Face-to-face and/or online activities |
20 |
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- Lecture |
Face-to-face |
10 |
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(Lessons) |
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- Practical exercises |
Face-to-face |
5 |
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(Practical cases) |
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- Seminar |
Face-to-face |
5 |
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(Seminars) |
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Supervised project |
25 |
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Independent learning |
30 |
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Competences / Learning outcomes to be gained during study |
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CG6. Communication skills (written and spoken). |
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CB5. Learning skills that are necessary to undertake further study with a high degree of autonomy. |
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CB4. Capacity to communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences. |
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CG2. Capacity for learning and responsibility (capacity for analysis and synthesis, to adopt global perspectives and to apply knowledge in practice, and capacity to take decisions and adapt to new situations). |
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CB3. Ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within the field of study) to inform judgements that include reflection on relevant social, scientific or ethical issues. |
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CE16. Capacity to provide reasoned explanations of the concept and general characteristics of disease, the mechanisms through which diseases develop, the personal and constitutional aspects of pathological reactions, the different types of diseases, the respective mechanisms of distribution, and the dynamic structure of different diseases, and a familiarity with the principal methods for the study and diagnosis of diseases, including epidemiology |
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CE18. Capacity to apply electronic, instrumental, analytical and molecular techniques and to work safely in a laboratory environment |
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CG1. Commitment to ethical practice (critical and self-critical capabilities / capacity to demonstrate attitudes consistent with accepted notions of ethical practice).
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Learning objectives |
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Referring to knowledge This subject is taught in English.
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Teaching blocks |
1. Lectures on bioethics
1.1. Bioethics; an introduction, origin and history
1.2. Bioethics; a view from the institutions and legal frameworks
1.3. Ethics in research: plagiarism, manipulation, invention; research integrity
1.4. Bioethical questions in experimental research and teaching; animal models; the 3 Rs; regulations and guidelines
1.5. Bioethical questions in experimental research and teaching; human samples; informed consent; compliance with the objectives and social/personal return
1.6. Bioethical questions in health and medicine; clinical trials; bioethical questions in social sciences; polls and questionnaires; recording
1.7. Bioethical questions in a global world (I): climate change, famine, water, biodiversity
1.8. Bioethical questions in a global world (II): equity, global health, medicines, pandemics
1.9. Bioethical questions for the future world (e.g., human modification, cyborgs, artificial consciousness)
2. Practical sessions and case studies
2.1. Open access research, open data
2.2. Genetically modified organisms; microorganisms, yeasts, plants, crops, animals
2.3. Personal and sensitive data; big data; anonymity; privacy; confidentiality; AI and health
2.4. Ethics and bioethics committees; how to approach bioethical issues in research projects
2.5. Future bioethical challenges: gene editing, precision medicine, species modification, cyborgs, technology and life
3. Problem-based learning; exercises
4. Seminars
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Teaching methods and general organization |
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This subject is taught in English and is concentrated during 2 weeks, 2 presential face-to-face hours per day. It is structured around a series of lectures, practical sessions, case studies and seminars (20 h).
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Official assessment of learning outcomes |
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As the course will be compacted in two weeks, 2 h per day (13:00- 15:00) from Monday to Friday, the evaluation will be continuous based n the evaluation of the knowledge acquired and the student’s attitude during the course. As the group has a limited number of students, the lecturer takes into account attendance and participation in lectures, practical classes and seminars (up to 10% of the final grade).
Examination-based assessment As this course is compacted in two weeks (2 hour from Monday to Friday), students are assessed on a continuous basis. |
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Reading and study resources |
Check availability in Cercabib
Book
Derecho y bioética
de Lecuona Ramírez, Itziar; Leyton Donoso, Fabiola; Plana Casado, María José ISBN: 978-84-9180-579-3
Bioética y tecnologías disruptivas
López Baroni, Manuel Jesús Herder Editorial ISBN: 9788425447129