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Genetics & Biotechnology vocabulary · Bioethics and Regulation

Ethics committee

Meaning in genetics & biotechnology, with examples

nounCommon term

In genetics & biotechnology, ethics committee means: An independent group of experts and lay members that reviews research involving people or animals to protect the participants' rights, safety and welfare.

In Turkish: etik kurul, araştırma etik kurulu

How it is used

Used in research and publishing. Researchers submit a protocol to an ethics committee, obtain approval and give the approval number in their papers. In the US the equivalent body is an Institutional Review Board (IRB); animal studies are reviewed by a separate animal ethics committee.

Example sentences

  1. The study was approved by the local ethics committee (approval no. 2025/114).

  2. We can't start collecting samples until the ethics committee approves the amendment.

Common collocations

  • ethics committee approval
  • submit to the ethics committee
  • research ethics committee
  • institutional review board (IRB)
  • informed consentPermission that a person gives freely to take part in research or to have a test or treatment, after the purpose, risks and benefits have been clearly explained.
  • biobankA large, organized collection of biological samples, such as blood, DNA or tissue, stored together with health and personal data for use in research.
  • biosafetyThe rules, equipment and practices that protect lab workers, the public and the environment from harmful biological agents and genetically modified organisms.
  • germline editingChanging the DNA of eggs, sperm or early embryos, so that the change would be present in every cell of the resulting person and could be passed to future generations.

More terms: Bioethics and Regulation

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