Research is often conducted without the knowledge or consent of those whose tissues are banked and poses possible harms to social groups if information about a few members is unscientifically applied to all.
Erin P. Williams, MBE and Jennifer K. Walter, MD, PhD, MS
Undue influence, which occurs when prospective research participants who otherwise would not enroll are induced to enter studies that might pose significant risks, may also involve social injustices such as unequal payment and participant selection methods that unequally distribute the potential harms and benefits of research.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(12):1116-1121. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.12.ecas2-1512.
Concerns about the deleterious effects of stress on the mind and body have led to the beginnings of a stress vaccine, an injection that will reduce these effects.
Though there are channels through which terminally ill patients can access some experimental drugs that have not yet received FDA approval for marketing to the public, in general those drugs must already be proven safe and effective.