The Biofuels Conundrum

THE CONUNDRUM OF EUTHANASIA

Biofuels

The global energy market provides humans with about 370 exajoules of energy per year, which is equivalent to about 170 million barrels of oil per day (Box 1) or about 11.73 terrawatts (TW) per hour [1]. Approximately 95% of this energy comes from fossil fuels. Additionally, the International Energy Agency suggests that direct combustion of plant biomass provides about one-third of the energy ne...

the conundrum of euthanasia

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The prostate cancer conundrum.

In 2003, the American Cancer Society estimates that 220 900 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and that 28 900 will die from this disease (1). Since the introduction of testing for prostate-specific antigen (PSA), the incidence of prostate cancer has increased, whereas the mortality from this disease has decreased. During the early 1990s, mortality from prostate cancer peaked in the Uni...

The dual-use conundrum.

SCIENTISTS ARE INCREASINGLY ABLE TO CREATE GENETICALLY MODIFIED MICROORGANISMS WHOSE properties are perceived as being benefi cial as well as potentially useful for malevolent purposes. In 2004, a committee of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences adopted the term “dual use” for instances in which genetic or biosynthetic manipulations create new microorganisms, which, although valuable scientif...