Commission publishes young people's views on biotechnology
A series of studies on the impact of biotechnology has recently been published by the European Commission, Directorate General XII, including the titles, "Cultural and social attitudes to biotechnology: analysis of the arguments, with special reference to the views of young people" and "ACELLUVAX: social acceptance and economic impact of a recombinant vaccine". The studies' objectives were to use philosophical methods to analyse the concepts of risk and safety, to investigate the formation of perceptions of safety and risk among young people, and to combine philosophical and empirical insights and consider the theoretical and value frameworks young people draw on when they respond to specific applications of biotechnology.