Bioethics simulations
Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2002 2:50 pm
Hi,
I am currently putting together a "book" of system dynamics simulations
for prospective students of bioinformatics, and I want to include
something on bioethics. Unfortunately I dont know a lot about
bioethics, and my hope is that someone of you might be able to suggest a
relevant bioethics model. The idea is that these are games for
school-leavers to experiment and interact with independently on their
own computer. Ill describe what Ive done so far to give you some idea
of what theyre like:
1. Physics: the first simulation looks at the idea of influence and how
one body affects another. The user plays with different kinds of fields
and tries to get a particle to land at a particular location after
following a complicated orbit through the various fields.
2. Chemistry: In the second simulation the user invesigates the
transformation of structure involved in a simple chemical reaction. The
issue underlying this simulation is the one of structure and its
transformation in nature.
3. Biochemistry: here the user plays with the reaction rates in an
enzymatic reaction. The main point made is the representation and
relevance of information in biological systems. An enzyme is essentially
a piece of chemical information with a physical "meaning" in terms of
reaction rates.
4. Life: the user investigates self-organisation in biochemical systems
in the context of the cyclical reactions of Belousov and Zhabotinsky.
Self-organisation and non-equilibrium are then described as the keystone
of living systems.
5. Biology: here we look at the generation of a pulse in a neuron, a
phenomenon which arises from non-equilibrium enforced by means of
spatial separation of solutions. Spatial separation is described as the
characteristic tool of biological systems in fulfilling the
non-equilibrium criterion of life.
6. Populations: this simulation investigates the conditions under which
the evolution of the human population on Earth can enter a state of
chaos. The conditions for chaos and how to detect it are discussed.
7. Ecology: here we look at the Daisyworld model of James Lovelock. Two
competing species on a planet negotiate with each other to result in
stability of the planets ecology. The importance of global effects in
ecological systems is stressed.
8. Bioethics: ??? Here I want to take some interesting issue from
bioethics and help the user to investigate playfully the pros and cons
of the issue in a simulation. The simulations are all essentially
graphical and interactive representations of dynamical systems - that
is, they can all be represented as (sometimes very complicated) systems
of differential equations. I dont really know much about bioethics, but
I can imagine that there might be some example of a biological system
which can be manipulated in more than one way, with different
consequences, and that these consequences can be far-reaching enough to
probe the ethical values of the user. Im sorry I cant be more
specific, but as I say Im a beginner myself in ethical issues. Do you
have any ideas for such a system?
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Best wishes,
Niall Palfreyman.
From: Niall Palfreyman <niall.palfreyman@fh-weihenstephan.de>
I am currently putting together a "book" of system dynamics simulations
for prospective students of bioinformatics, and I want to include
something on bioethics. Unfortunately I dont know a lot about
bioethics, and my hope is that someone of you might be able to suggest a
relevant bioethics model. The idea is that these are games for
school-leavers to experiment and interact with independently on their
own computer. Ill describe what Ive done so far to give you some idea
of what theyre like:
1. Physics: the first simulation looks at the idea of influence and how
one body affects another. The user plays with different kinds of fields
and tries to get a particle to land at a particular location after
following a complicated orbit through the various fields.
2. Chemistry: In the second simulation the user invesigates the
transformation of structure involved in a simple chemical reaction. The
issue underlying this simulation is the one of structure and its
transformation in nature.
3. Biochemistry: here the user plays with the reaction rates in an
enzymatic reaction. The main point made is the representation and
relevance of information in biological systems. An enzyme is essentially
a piece of chemical information with a physical "meaning" in terms of
reaction rates.
4. Life: the user investigates self-organisation in biochemical systems
in the context of the cyclical reactions of Belousov and Zhabotinsky.
Self-organisation and non-equilibrium are then described as the keystone
of living systems.
5. Biology: here we look at the generation of a pulse in a neuron, a
phenomenon which arises from non-equilibrium enforced by means of
spatial separation of solutions. Spatial separation is described as the
characteristic tool of biological systems in fulfilling the
non-equilibrium criterion of life.
6. Populations: this simulation investigates the conditions under which
the evolution of the human population on Earth can enter a state of
chaos. The conditions for chaos and how to detect it are discussed.
7. Ecology: here we look at the Daisyworld model of James Lovelock. Two
competing species on a planet negotiate with each other to result in
stability of the planets ecology. The importance of global effects in
ecological systems is stressed.
8. Bioethics: ??? Here I want to take some interesting issue from
bioethics and help the user to investigate playfully the pros and cons
of the issue in a simulation. The simulations are all essentially
graphical and interactive representations of dynamical systems - that
is, they can all be represented as (sometimes very complicated) systems
of differential equations. I dont really know much about bioethics, but
I can imagine that there might be some example of a biological system
which can be manipulated in more than one way, with different
consequences, and that these consequences can be far-reaching enough to
probe the ethical values of the user. Im sorry I cant be more
specific, but as I say Im a beginner myself in ethical issues. Do you
have any ideas for such a system?
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Best wishes,
Niall Palfreyman.
From: Niall Palfreyman <niall.palfreyman@fh-weihenstephan.de>