TedX Talk on "Global Aging and Longevity Science"

On the weekend I will be giving an 18 mins TedX talk to the event here in Kingston. The theme of the event is:

In 2050, what will our world look like?
Who is going to get us there?
How will you be a part of it?

My talk begins by noting that, by the year 2050, there will be over 2 billion people over the age of 60. And this will rise to 3 billion by 2100. In my opinion the aging of the human species is the most fascinating, and the most significant, story of the 20th century.

The full details of the talk should be available once the recorded talk is posted!

Cheers,
Colin

Podcast Interview

Right of Reply at Queen's University interviewed me last week on the topics of eugenics, virtue ethics, longevity science and teaching philosophy in prison and elementary school. You can listen to the 45 minute interview here.

Cheers,
Colin

NatureNews Piece on Rare Genetic Disorders and Clinical Trials

NatureNews has this interesting piece about the challenges of balancing the requirement for rigorous scientific research with the moral imperative to foster medical innovation. A sample:

We do need rigorous and robust scientific processes,” says Alastair Kent, former director of Genetic Alliance UK, an umbrella body for more than 200 rare-disease patient groups. “But we also need new ways of proving the quality, safety and efficacy of new drugs.” Nick is trying to ensure that the journey will be smoother for others than it has been for him and his family.

....Around the world, regulators are under pressure to speed up the approval of therapies without sacrificing safety and efficacy assessments. Some of these efforts are controversial — a scheme in Japan to approve stem-cell treatments before they are known to work, for example and ‘right to try’ laws in the United States that allow people who are terminally ill to take unlicensed medicines. Nick co-founded another charity in 2012 to help people with rare diseases and their carers advocate for orphan-drug development.

Cheers,
Colin

Back to Teaching!

My Fall term sabbatical is over. And tomorrow I jump straight back into teaching, offering my "Science and Justice" 4th year seminar and the large 2nd year lecture course "An Introduction to Political Theory". Below are the trailers for the two courses, which help get me pumped for the first classes!

Cheers,
Colin