ECSITE presents BIONET: a digital programme on Life Sciences

On 14 November ECSITE will launch BIONET (http://www.bionetonline.org), a European collaborative project to present for public debate controversial ethical, legal and social issues in contemporary Life Sciences.

Based on a multi-lingual website and a programme of linked events, BIONET has been developed by 8 European science centres and museums with funding from the European Commission.
The website introduces 6 current Life Science issues that raise profound ethical, legal and social dilemmas:
Stem cells, exploring the latest research on stem cells, Living longer, a look at ageing and the possibility to extend our live span, Future food, the controversies behind genetically modified food, Living with HIV, looking at the progress in drugs development and its impact on society, Who owns your genes?, the debate behind information access of ones own DNA, Design-a-baby?, a look at parental selection techniques.
Throughout the web-site, users can learn about the latest scientific techniques, explore the latest applications and participate in on-line debate about the critical issues. Users are invited to play interactive games, watch animations and videos, and answer quizzes. They will also have the possibility to vote on key issues and compare their opinions with those of other users and policy-makers.
BIONET has a number of unique features. For the first time, it will present on the web:
A comprehensive overview of the legal situation in 8 European countries on the issues explored in BIONET;, A debate area in 9 European languages where users can openly and safely discuss;, A program of events in each of the partner institutions where citizens can join experts for live discussions and debates.
The first contribution to the on-line debate will be from school groups in eight European countries. Students will address challenging questions to a panel of experts in London: cloning expert Professor Ian Wilmut, science communicator Joel de Rosnay, EuroMP Robert Goebbels, and ECSITE President John Durant. Chaired by journalist and broadcaster Vivienne Parry, the panel will respond to the students challenges and move the on-line debate forward.
BIONET was developed by:
ECSITE, At-Bristol, Bristol, UK, The Science Museum, London, UK, La Cité des Sciences et de l''Industrie, Paris, FR, Heureka, the Finnish Science Center, Vantaa, FIN, The Experimentarium, Kopenhagen, DK, The Deutsches Museum, Munich, DE, The Museu de la Ciència de la Fundació "la Caixa", Barcelona, ES, The Museu de Ciência da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, PT
For further information on BIONET, please contact:,John Durant, project director ([e-mail]),Andrea Bandelli, project manager ([e-mail]),Walter Staveloz, ECSITE executive director ([e-mail]),