Transdisciplinary interfaces and innovation in the life sciences

Life science comprises any of the branches of natural science dealing with the structure and behavior of living organisms and their relationships to one another and the environment. By presenting the proceedings of three transdisciplinary transatlantic workshops, this book deals with the interface among the ever expanding fields of molecular biology, nano-technology and synthetic biology as well as the subsequent ethical issues and the need for regulations. In this context the book emphasizes the role of regulations and ethical practices in clinical research, and points out the different approaches used in Europe and the USA. Clinical research was discussed from the perspective that medicine is and should always be a socially responsive human engagement advancing the condition of the living.