Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the open market. In a similar vein, it's impossible to stop a country from importing every piece of
medical equipment that might somehow be used develop bioterrorism materials.
Clearly, the culture of open collaboration and sharing of information in bioinformatics is at odds with
recent national security concerns as well as those opposed to genetic research on religious or other
grounds. It remains to be seen how concerns for privacy and security in the name of the common
good will affect the efficiency and effectiveness of collaboration between researchers involved in
bioinformatics and molecular biology research. What is certain is that molecular biology and
bioinformatics computing aren't fields in which major decisions will be made by stereotypical
scientists dressed in white lab coats, working quietly and diligently in a wet lab. Practitioners and
practices in both fields will be open to public scrutiny. They'll also have to bear the brunt of political
legislation regarding cloning, genetically modified foods, and designer drugs, and will likely be the
focus of heated ethical debates. We do live in interesting times.