German Reference Centre for Ethics in the Life Sciences (DRZE)
The DRZE is a national documentation and information centre for the entire field of ethics in the biomedical sciences in Germany. [ more ]
ISEE summer conference 2027 „After the Anthropocene? Dialogues on Ecological Ethics and Planetary Futures“
June 23-25, 2027 in Museum Koenig, Bonn
Christina Pinsdorf (IWE) and Aurélie Halsband (DRZE) are chairing the ISEE 2027 summer conference that explores the ethical significance of the Anthropocene diagnosis and asks how to navigate tensions between technological innovation, human responsibility, and respect for more-than-human life, amid unequal contributions to ecological harm and unequal power to shape change. Bringing ecological ethics and the environmental humanities into dialogue with the philosophies of nature, biology, and technology, the conference considers possible and desirable planetary futures for all living beings.
The call for abstracts is now open!
Online-Talk on embryoselection and desirable futures
On 19 November, Dr Aurélie Halsband will give an online talk entitled "Embryoselektion und wünschenswerte Zukünfte" from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, as part of the DFG Research Group Medicine, Time and the Good Life. Attendance is free and no registration is required.
Podcast about Bio-Hacking, AI and Ethics
We are able to intervene in the human body with ever-greater precision. But how authentic is a human being then? Prof. Dr. Dirk Lanzerath discusses with Rieke C. Harmsen on the podcast “Ethik Digital” why enhanced games, biohacking, and designer babies are all about justice.
"Who's in charge of my brain?"
On November 4, 2026, the Union of Academies hosted its annual reception at the Academy building on Berlin’s Gendarmenmarkt. Prof. Dr. Dirk Lanzerath and Dr. Aurélie Halsband provided insights into research at the DRZE on the relationship between humans and the brain, with a particular focus on neuroenhancement, embodiment, and the limits of human self-determination.
TRA&ART and 15. Ethik-Forum:
"Third Nature? Synthetic Life Design in Art and Ethics"
The Transdiciplinary Research Area (TRA) Individuals and Societies, in collaboration with the DRZE, the Institute of Art History and the Kunstmuseum Bonn, hosted a dynamic exchange between the arts and academia on October 14, 2026.
The law and ethics of AI in radiology
At the online event, 'When AI Takes the Lead... - Ethical and Legal Challenges in the Use of AI in Radiology', Dr Roman Wagner and Prof. Dr Bernd Halbe explore the ethical and legal implications of using AI in radiology.
The DRZE is a Central Research Institute of the University of Excellence in 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.
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.
KI in der radiologischen Diagnostik
Roman Wagner / Julian Caspers / Simon Eickhoff / Robert Langner / Michael Steinborn / Sara Dokmanac / Joana Günther
Ethics by Design
Julia Maria Mönig / Petra Grimm / Sebastian Bernhard / Hendrik Tenbrake / Julia Berg-Postweiler / Jennifer Bosen / Clara Lemke / Marie Mirsch / Charlotte Nolles / Calvin Röhl / Ann-Kristin Winkens / Carmen Leicht-Scholten
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 BMFTR-funded project on challenges of climate change in the context of intergenerational justice and freedom.
FRAIM
The DRZE is involved in a BMFTR-funded project developing an ethical framework for the use of AI in neuromedicine.