Delays in updates to ethics guidelines for research spark concern

May 13, 2013

Nearly two years ago, the US government office that oversees human research ethics launched the first-ever major revision to the so-called Common Rule, the 22-year-old regulation that governs the protection of human research subjects there. But the process set into motion by that agency—the Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP), a division of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—is dragging on. And a vocal contingent of bioethicists and researchers say the changes on the table are not enough to fix an outdated and overburdened system, advocating instead for a more fundamental rethink. (Nature)