Minutes of the meeting held on 1 November 2000
Tue, 16 August 2005
1st meeting
NUFFIELD COUNCIL ON BIOETHICS
WORKING PARTY ON GENETICS AND HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
Minutes of the Meeting held at the Nuffield Foundation 28 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3JS on Wednesday 1 November 2000
PRESENT
Professor Bob Hepple (Chairman)
Professor Martin Bobrow
Professor Tom Baldwin
Professor Martin Richards
Professor Anita Thapar
Dr Andrew Wilkie
Dr Paul Pharoah
Professor Terrie Moffitt
Mr Pushpinder Saini
Professor Sandy McCall-Smith
Professor Annette Karmiloff-Smith
SECRETARIAT
Sandy Thomas
Tor Lezemore
Susan Bull
APOLOGIES
Dr Tom Shakespeare
CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION
1 The Chairman and the Director welcomed the Working Party members and thanked them for coming in spite of the rail problems. The Chairman and Working Party members then outlined their expertise and interest in the field of human behavioural genetics.
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
2 The key themes of the Council’s workshop that had preceded the establishment of the Working Party were outlined. These included the importance of recognising the long and controversial history of research into the biological foundations of behaviour and the diversity of current opinion on the topic. It was noted that this Working Party would focus specifically on behavioural characteristics that were not pathological, unlike the previous Report into the genetics of mental disorders.
3 It was noted that in such a controversial and emotional area, dispassionate discussion and ultimate consensus in all the areas under consideration might be difficult to achieve.
DRAFT TERMS OF REFERENCE
4 There was some discussion about the wording of the draft terms of reference.
METHOD OF WORKING
5 Members agreed on the length and format of future meetings, and allocated responsibility for different aspects of the topic.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION
6 The Working Party would launch a public consultation period in March 2001 to obtain the views of the public about the topic.
DRAFT PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT
7 It was agreed that once the amendments to the terms of reference had been incorporated, the draft press release could be finalised and released.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
8 The Chairman reminded the Working Party members to return their declarations for the register of interests, and to inform the Secretariat of any inaccuracies in their personal details.
Last Updated Tue, 16 August 2005