Ethics of testing
Tue, Sep 15, 2026 · Week 4 · Principles of Biomedical Technology (Principles of Biomedical Science)
Today's goal: Debate whether all biological samples should be tested for everything possible, and defend your stance.
This is a model of the work you should turn in today. Use it to check your own: match the structure and the level of detail, do not copy it. Your data and wording should be your own.
Parallel case: A hospital lab has a single small tube of a patient's leftover blood after the ordered test is complete. A researcher asks to use it. Should the lab run every research assay the tube can support, or only the assays the study's question calls for?\n\nClaim: The lab should run only the assays the research question calls for, not every assay the leftover tube can support.\nEvidence: The leftover blood is a fixed, single-use amount, and each assay consumes part of it; running every possible assay can exhaust the tube before the study's own question is measured. Consent for leftover samples is also usually written for a stated purpose, so tests outside that purpose may fall outside what the patient agreed to.\nReasoning: A defined research question sets which assays are meaningful, so the results can be interpreted together instead of becoming a pile of unrelated numbers. Each extra assay on the same tube also adds another chance of a false positive, so broader testing raises the odds of a misleading finding that no one planned to act on. Limiting testing to the question protects the sample, keeps the findings interpretable, and keeps the work inside the consent the patient gave.
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: A claim-evidence-reasoning paragraph, modeled on a parallel scenario, arguing whether the scope of testing on a limited biological sample should be set by a specific question or run as broadly as the sample allows.
- Write one defensible claim.
- Choose specific evidence that supports the claim.
- Explain the scientific rule that connects the evidence to the claim.
Keep the structure. Replace the question, facts, measurements, and evidence. Then recheck units, vocabulary, and whether the conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
Also due today: Post your CER to the discussion board or hand in the written copy before leaving.
Claim ceiling: Today's evidence supports a classroom claim about ethics of testing. It cannot prove causation, diagnose a real patient, or justify action outside this room.
One exam-style question that uses exactly what you practiced today. Try it before you reveal the answer, then read why each choice is right or wrong.
Tap an answer to see the full explanation. Nothing is recorded or graded.
It builds this reusable test skill: Weighing testing scope against sample limitation and false-positive risk.
- Name the concept or data pattern being tested.
- Cross out choices that violate that rule or the evidence.
- Justify the best remaining choice before checking the answer.