The BMJ 's ethics committee is open for business

Nominations open for The BMJ Awards 2014.

The BMJ Awards has rapidly become the biggest night of the year for the medical profession in the UK. And 2014 will be no exception, with new categories, an enhanced judging process, and a strong focus on UK medical talent. Nominations are now open for the awards (www.thebmjawards. com), back for a sixth year with its headline sponsor, the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS). F...

BMJ Open Respiratory Research

Correspondence to [email protected] BMJ are pleased to announce the launch of the new online-only fully open access title, BMJ Open Respiratory Research. This is published by BMJ in partnership with the British Thoracic Society. The aim of BMJ Open Respiratory Research is to publish high quality, peer-reviewed medical research in the respiratory field, to help improve healthcare outcomes globally....

BMJ Open Quality launch

BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care

Correspondence to Joyce-Rachel John; jrjohn@ bmj.com We are pleased to announce the launch of BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care — a new online-only, open access research journal published by BMJ in partnership with the American Diabetes Association. As a pioneer in the open access movement, BMJ understands the need to communicate medical advances to the widest possible audience, and is proud to...

What is the role of the research ethics committee? Paternalism, inducements, and harm in research ethics.

In a recent paper Edwards, Kirchin, and Huxtable have argued that research ethics committees (RECs) are often wrongfully paternalistic in their approach to medical research. They argue that it should be left to competent potential research subjects to make judgments about the acceptability of harms and benefits relating to research, and that this is not a legitimate role for any REC. They allow...