Ethical Perspectives in Biogerontology

From the perspective of scientists involved in biogerontology, the branch of science focused on the biology of aging, ethical themes can be classified as either belonging to an ‘inner sphere’ where the conduct of the aging research itself is under ethical scrutiny; or, secondly, an ‘outer sphere’ where questions are raised about the philosophical and social implications of ‘curing aging’. There is of course some overlap between these spheres (most evidently when communicating between them) but generally commentators tend to focus on the ‘outer sphere’. Here, we shall focus on the ‘inside’ perspective of moral agents involved in biogerontology. We make no claim to be representing ‘the biogerontology perspective’ nor do we aim to chart, let alone consider in depth all the ethical issues that might arise from this perspective. However, in a debate where commentators—including biogerontologists—tend to discuss abstract positions, we suggest that considering these issues from the particular vantage point of a research protagonist provides a useful further angle to enrich the discussions. There are some ‘established’ ethical issues that arise in biogerontology as they do in other fields, albeit with some particular characteristics: Research relying on elderly people may be more difficult to conduct since they may be more prone to frailty and regenerate less quickly plus the capacity for giving informed consent may be a greater issue than in other demographic groups. Animal research may involve keeping animals a longer time in confinement than in other fields giving rise to different husbandry requirements. Where research focuses on genetic or medical data privacy may be an issue. This is not necessarily surmountable simply by resorting to anonymization of data—a data subject may resent that her information