German Reference Centre for Ethics in the Life Sciences
The German Reference Centre for Ethics in the Life Sciences (DRZE) is a national documentation and information centre for the entire field of ethics in the biomedical sciences in Germany.
The DRZE is a Central Research Institute of the University of Bonn. Upon the discontinuation of the BMBF’s funding of the project ‘Ethics in the Life Sciences’, the DRZE applied to be part of the ‘Akademienprogramm’. The project was admitted into the research programme of the German Scientific Academies on 1 January 2004, as a research project of the Project of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts.
It has the task:
- to scientifically elaborate the normative foundations of qualified judgement formation and to make them available in various formats;
- to prepare and make available information from a wide variety of fields on the current bioethical discussion in science, society and politics;
- to promote scientific networking and thus advance the German, European and international discourse.
Obituary of Professor Tom L. Beauchamp
With the death of Professor Tom L. Beauchamp on 19 February 2025, the world has lost one of the most influential bioethicists of our time. As Professor of Philosophy and Senior Research Scholar at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University, he had a lasting impact on the bioethical landscape.
Since its foundation, the DRZE has been closely associated with Tom L. Beauchamp and the Kennedy Institute in bioethical research and the realisation of the literature database BELIT.
Prinzipien der Bioethik
Tom L. Beauchamp / James F. Childress
Dirk Lanzerath / Aurélie Halsband (eds.)
Julia Pelger (transl.)
First German translation of the ‘Principles of Biomedical Ethics’ into German. It is not only an easily read interdisciplinary textbook of medical ethics for health professions, but it is also a significant contribution to applied philosophical ethics – translated and edited at the DRZE.
In Focus
The short information In Focus enables interested non-specialists in particular to get a quick overview of the debate on a current bioethical topic.
Healthcare Data in Research
Imaging in Neuroscience
Expert Reports
The aim of the series Ethics in the Life Sciences - DRZE Expert Reports is to prepare ethical problem areas from the field of the life sciences in a scientifically sound manner for interdisciplinary and societal discourse by comprehensively presenting the respective state of research and discussion.
Bioeconomy
Christina Pinsdorf / Sandra Venghaus / Sascha Stark / Wiltrud Fischer / Peter-Tobias Stoll / Erik Gawel
The Generation of Artificial Gametes
Eva Mall / Stefan Schlatt / Ulrich M. Gassner / Tade Matthias Spranger / Robert Ranisch / Vasilija Rolfes
News
Here you will find news on current topics, projects and events of the DRZE.
Public Lecture:
AI: Control & Intelligence
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Markus Wenzel will address the multifaceted topic of artificial intelligence in medicine on 20 May 2025. The lecture in German will begin at 6 pm at the Bonn University Forum, Heussallee 18-24.
DRZE Journal Club:
Planetary Health and Bioethics
In the ninth issue of the DRZE Journal Club, Prof. Dr. Dirk Lanzerath examines contributions to the discourse that focus on the concept of ‘Planetary Health’ from an ethical perspective.
EU-Funded Project RE4GREEN: 2nd Newsletter
The DRZE coordinates the three-year project RE4GREEN funded by Horizon Europe aiming to develop an encompassing framework supporting the transition to a sustainable economy and society.
8th International BioSC Symposium ‘Bioeconomy and sustainability’
With our BMBF-funded project PRACC, we participated in the 8th International BioSC Symposium ‘Bioeconomy and sustainability’.
6th National Symposium on Developing Socially Responsible Professionals
Prof. Dr. Dirk Lanzerath gave a lecture on professional ethics in healthcare at the symposium at City St George’s, University of London and moderated the panel discussion in which the concept of ‘Planetary Health’ was discussed.
Third-party funded projects
RE4GREEN
The DRZE is coordinating an EU-funded project on climate and environmental ethics in research and innovation.
irecs
The DRZE is coordinating an EU-funded project on research ethics in the context of new and emerging technologies.
STRATEGIC
The DRZE is coordinating an EU-funded project on co-creating digital health technology design in sub-Saharan Africa.
PRACC
The DRZE is coordinating a BMBF-funded project on challenges of climate change in the context of intergenerational justice and freedom.
FRAIM
The DRZE is involved in a BMBF-funded project developing an ethical framework for the use of AI in neuromedicine.