PAT KENNY LAUNCHES RTÉ RADIO 1'S BIG SCIENCE DEBATE ROADSHOW & RADIO SERIES

RTÉ broadcaster, Pat Kenny, chaired a lively debate on Human Enhancement: Making People Better or Making Better People? at RTÉ Radio's Donnybrook studios last night.

LOG ON:  www.rte.ie/science

The debate marked the official launch of RTÉ Radio 1's Big Science Debate road show, radio series and website and was the first in a series of six Big Science Debates; exploring ethical issues in science, which RTÉ Radio 1 is hosting, in association with The Irish Council for Bioethics (ICB) and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI).

Last night's panel included the 'human cyborg', Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybornetics at Reading University, John Harris, the Sir David Alliance Professor of Bioethics at the University of Manchester, Donald Fitzmaurice, Director of E-Planet Ventures and Maureen Junker-Kenny, ethicist at Trinity College, Dublin.

Speaking at the launch Adrian Moynes, Managing Director of RTÉ Radio, said,

 "RTÉ Radio 1's Big Science Debate aims to take the mystery out of science and to allow everybody around the country to participate in discussions on questions affecting all of humankind.  I'd like to invite members of the public in Castlebar, Athlone, Letterkenny, Waterford and Ennis to come along and take part in the road show and if you can't make the road show please tune into the programme from Sunday, 7 October ".

 Dr Siobhán O'Sullivan, Scientific Director of The Irish Council for Bioethics said,

"Creating sound public policy on scientifically complex and ethically fraught areas not only requires people to be adequately informed but also to be allowed to express their opinions on emotionally charged topics. Therefore, the Council is very excited about this radio series."

Professor Frank Gannon, Director General of Science Foundation Ireland stated that,

 "SFI is delighted to be associated with the Big Science Debate Roadshow.  It is vitally important to create a real awareness among the general public in exploring ethical issues in science so that informed decisions are made by policymakers and government.  This road show will facilitate the overall effort to create a greater understanding of these important societal issues."

 Other topics to be explored in the series include: In your Blood: Forensic DNA Databases, Environmental Ethics: Whose Planet is it Anyway?, Stem Cell Research: Hope or Hype?, Organ Donation: The Gift of Life? and Euthanasia: Your Body, Your Death, Your Choice?

 RTÉ Radio 1 has also launched a dedicated website, www.rte.ie/science, where members of the public can submit questions for each debate, answer polls and learn more about RTÉ's Big Science Debate topics, with downloadable information sheets developed by the Irish Council for Bioethics.

The road show will be out and about visiting towns throughout Ireland from 27 September until 5 November.  RTÉ Radio 1 is inviting members of the public to come along to each venue and join in RTÉ's Big Science Debate.  Entrance is free and all are welcome to attend.  Members of the public should arrive at venues at 6.50pm.

Each of RTÉ's Big Science Debate road shows will be recorded and broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 at 6pm on Sundays from 7 October.  RTÉ's Big Science Debate is produced by Ella McSweeney

RTÉ RADIO 1 BRINGS HUMAN CYBORG TO DUBLIN FOR LAUNCH OF BIG SCIENCE DEBATE

The 'human cyborg', Kevin Warwick, will be in RTÉ Radio's Donnybrook studios on Monday, 24 September for the launch of RTÉ Radio 1's Big Science Debate road show, radio series and website.

LOG ON:  www.rte.ie/science

Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybornetics at Reading University, will be one of a panel of guests, chaired by RTÉ broadcaster, Pat Kenny, who will debate the topic; Human Enhancement: Making People Better or Making Better People?

The other panellists are John Harris, the Sir David Alliance Professor of Bioethics at the University of Manchester, Donald Fitzmaurice, Director of E-Planet Ventures and Maureen Junker-Kenny, ethicist at Trinity College, Dublin.

The panel will explore how mankind has already dabbled in the area of human enhancement, with cosmetic surgery, and debate whether people should be allowed to ask for better children, longer memories or even ageless lives. Will human enhancement change what it means to be human? Should future people be stronger and more intelligent? Or will human enhancement just widen the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots'?

This is the first in a series of RTÉ's six Big Science Debates; exploring ethical issues in science, which RTÉ Radio 1 is hosting, in association with The Irish Council for Bioethics (ICB) and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). The road show will be out and about visiting towns throughout Ireland including Castlebar, Athlone, Letterkenny, Waterford and Ennis from 27 September until 5 November. Well-known RTÉ broadcaster, Rachael English, will host each of the shows.

Other topics to be explored in the series include: In your Blood: Forensic DNA Databases, Environmental Ethics: Whose Planet is it Anyway?, Stem Cell Research: Hope or Hype?, Organ Donation: The Gift of Life? and Euthanasia: Your Body, Your Death, Your Choice?

RTÉ Radio 1 has launched a dedicated website, www.rte.ie/science, where members of the public can submit questions for each debate, answer polls and learn more about RTÉ's Big Science Debate topics, with downloadable information sheets developed by the Irish Council for Bioethics.

Each of RTÉ's Big Science Debate road shows will be recorded and broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 at 6pm on Sundays from 7 October. RTÉ's Big Science Debate is produced by Ella McSweeney.

RTÉ Radio 1 is inviting members of the public to come along to each venue and join in RTÉ's Big Science Debate. Entrance is free and all are welcome to attend. Members of the public should arrive at venues at 6.50pm.

RTÉ RADIO 1 TO BRING BIG SCIENCE DEBATE NATIONWIDE

On Monday, 24 September RTÉ Radio 1, in association with The Irish Council for Bioethics (ICB) and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), will launch RTÉ's Big Science Debate, a nationwide road show, radio series and website at RTÉ's radio studios in Dublin.

From 24 September until 5 November RTÉ's Big Science Debate Road Show will be out and about visiting towns throughout Ireland; Dublin, Castlebar, Athlone, Letterkenny, Waterford and Ennis.

LOG ON:  www.rte.ie/science

A panel of expert guests, including some celebrity scientists, will debate ethical dilemmas facing humankind in front of a local audience.  RTÉ's Big Science Debate will cover the following topics;

• Human Enhancement: Making People Better or Making Better People?
  We've already dabbled in the area of human enhancement with cosmetic surgery, but should we be allowed to ask for better children, longer memories or even ageless lives?  Will human enhancement change what it means to be human?
  
  
• In your Blood: Forensic DNA Databases
  In an age when Governments are doing more and more to fight the threat of terrorism, many would argue that only the guilty have anything to fear when it comes to using DNA databases in criminal investigations.   But should everyone's DNA be sampled in order to prevent crime?  Are we in danger of sacrificing our civil rights?
  
  
• Environmental Ethics: Whose Planet is it Anyway?
  If 2006 was the year the world accepted climate change as a problem caused by human activity, is 2007 the year that we have a moral obligation to move to a more eco-friendly society?  Who should be responsible for combating climate change, individuals or the Government?  Is it immoral not to act to stop it? 
  
  
• Stem Cell Research: Hope or Hype?
  Few scientific developments have been both as promising and controversial as stem cell research.  Some experts have suggested that stem cell research is the only way to unlock treatments for devastating disorders such as Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's.  Others say that destroying embryos for the sake of stem cell research is indefensible.  Should embryos be used for research? 
  
  
• Organ Donation: The Gift of Life?
  Organ donation is, for most receivers, a gift of life or a better quality of life.  Should people be paid to donate their organs?  Should Ireland start a live organ donor programme?  Should it be opt-out rather than opt-in?  Or is Ireland ready for such a system, in light of the organ retention controversies of the last decade? 
  
  
• Euthanasia: Your Body, Your Death, Your Choice?
  Do terminally ill people have the right to decide how and when they wish to end their lives?  Does euthanasia devalue life?  How can we guarantee that euthanasia is voluntary and not enforced? 
  

RTÉ Radio 1 is inviting members of the public to come along to each venue and join in RTÉ's Big Science Debate.  Entrance is free and all are welcome to attend.  Members of the public should arrive at venues at 6.50pm.

RTÉ Radio 1 has also launched a dedicated website, www.rte.ie/science, where members of the public can submit questions for each debate, answer polls and learn more about RTÉ's Big Science Debate topics, with downloadable information sheets developed by the Irish Council for Bioethics.

Each of RTÉ's Big Science Debate road shows will be recorded and broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 at 6pm on Sundays from 7 October.  RTÉ's Big Science Debate is produced by Ella McSweeney.

JOIN IN, TUNE IN AND LOG ON:

JOIN IN: RTÉ Radio 1's Big Science Debate Road Show, nationwide from 24 September to 5 November

TUNE IN: RTÉ Radio 1's Big Science Debate Radio Series, Sundays at 6pm from 7 October

LOG ON:  www.rte.ie/science

RTÉ Radio 1's Big Science Debate Road Show 

TOPIC: Human Enhancement: Making People Better or Making Better People?
VENUE: Studio 1, RTÉ Radio Centre, Donnybrook
LOCATION: Dublin
DATE: Monday, 24 September 
TIME: 6.50pm

TOPIC: In your Blood: Forensic DNA Databases
VENUE: Castlebar Library
LOCATION: Castlebar
DATE: Thursday, 27 September
TIME: 6.50pm

TOPIC: Organ Donation: The Gift of Life?
VENUE: Athlone Library & Civic Centre
LOCATION: Athlone
DATE: Friday, 5 October
TIME: 6.50pm

TOPIC: Environmental Ethics: Whose Planet is it anyway?
VENUE: Regional Cultural Centre
LOCATION: Letterkenny
DATE: Tuesday, 16 October
TIME: 6.50pm

TOPIC: Euthanasia: Your Body, Your Death, Your Choice?
VENUE: Waterford Library, Lady Lane Branch
LOCATION: Waterford
DATE: Tuesday, 23 October
TIME: 6.50pm

TOPIC: Stem Cell Research: Hope or Hype?
VENUE: Glór Irish Music Centre
LOCATION: Ennis
DATE: Monday, 5 November
TIME: 6.50pm

Date: 13 September 2007

NOTES TO EDITOR:

What is Bioethics?
Bioethics is a discipline dealing with the ethical implications of research and practice in the biological sciences and medicine. It facilitates a deeper understanding of a range of moral choices, which can inform decision-making in areas of public policy and with respect to the direction and control of science. Bioethics is also a forward looking discipline, working to anticipate future questions of concern, encourage awareness about them and stimulate progressive debate amongst the public.

About The Irish Council for Bioethics
The Irish Council for Bioethics is an independent, national body set up by the Government in 2002 to consider the ethical questions raised by biological research and biomedicine, such as stem cell research, IVF, genetic modification and euthanasia.  An important objective of the Council is to promote public understanding, informed discussion and education with respect to bioethical issues. For more information see www.bioethics.ie

About Science Foundation Ireland
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) is the national foundation for excellence in scientific research. Through strategic investments in the people, ideas and partnerships essential to outstanding research, SFI aims to build in Ireland, research of globally recognised excellence and nationally significant economic importance. For more information see www.SFI.ie

About RTÉ Radio 1's Science & Environment Programming
The aim of RTÉ Radio 1`s science output is to entice people into the world of science and the environment. RTÉ Radio 1 achieves this by making engaging and enjoyable programmes, such as Future Tense and The Quantum Leap.  The series Mind Matters, which is about conditions of the brain, uses personal testimonies to reveal the dramatic science stories underneath.  Icons of Irish Science tells the rich stories of Irish scientists whose work has made an international impact.  Environmental series such as the wildlife series Shanks Mare, the marine biology series Into the Deep, and the new Thursday evening series The Green Light, all reflect the increasing interest in such issues amongst RTÉ Radio's listeners.