Some people regard genetic screening and testing as aspects of a brave, new, and wonderful world; others regard the new genetics as a reversion to the Nazi past. On Tuesday, November 30, Ruth will use the history of the mandated genetic screening program for Beta-thalassemia on the island of Cypus as a case study into the ethics of contemporary genetic screening. Her talk, “Climbing Up or Down the Slippery Slope? The Moral Paradoxes of Genetic Screening,” explores the possibility that neither its proponents nor its objectors have got it quite right.

Details: 7 PM, November 30, Hostetter Chapel Sanctuary, Messiah College.

On Wednesday, October 27th, Ruth will be speaking on the topic of genetic screening in Cyprus at the New York History of Science Working Group. You can get all the details, and find out about other history of science events in the New York City area, here. The lecture begins at 6 PM in Room 520 of the Mudd Building on the campus of Columbia University, 500 W. 120th Street.

Join Ruth at Penn’s January Science Café for a discussion on emerging science of and markets for genetic testing, titled “DNA Banks and Genetic Tests: Should I Make a Deposit? Should I Take One?” She will discuss the many different kinds of health-related genetics tests that are available today, who can take them, how they are covered (or not) by health insurance plans, and why you might—or might not—want to take one.

Details: 6 PM, January 20, MarBar (40th and Walnut), Philadelphia. Free and open to the public.

Ruth recently spoke at a two-day colloquium on “Personalized Medicine: Planning for the Future,” jointly sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Food and Drug Law Institute. Panelists discussed the scientific discoveries, business models, and regulatory changes that are necessary to develop new personalized treatments and their companion diagnostics. The entire event will be available for video streaming with Real Player (download) through February 28, 2010. Click here to see the first’s day’s video: Ruth starts around 0:12:00.

Watch Ruth’s participation in a panel discussion on “What Would Galileo Think?” at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Ruth was joined by Maurice Finocchiaro of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Joel Primack of the University of California, Santa Cruz, for the kick-off event of the “Legacy of Galileo” Symposium.