Ongoing projects
Patients know better
The patient has in recent years been assigned a more active and auditing role due to developments in the Dutch care sector towards demand driven and p...
Conditions for vaccinating
Through a meeting with those concerned, the Rathenau Institute inquires into the conditions with which a modern vaccination mandate must comply.
Emerging markets for human tissue
Human eggs for sale? Ordering babies online? Recycling foreskin into a wound dressing, or placenta into an anti-ageing cream? What is fact and what is fiction on the global market for bodily material?
Personalization of healthcare technology
We measure our blood pressure at home, test our cholesterol levels at the supermarket and take part in online keep fit programmes.
Human enhancement
Fitter, happier, more productive. Who would say no? And a bit more attractive, please!
Completed projects
The market for reuse of tissue
Human tissue has taken on a different status. Technology has created new ways in which to store, process and modify tissue, and to derive valuable information from it.
Vaccination
The National Vaccination Programme is one of the great success stories in Dutch preventative healthcare.
Global human health
Poverty and disease go hand in hand. The poor are often malnourished and lack basic sanitation.
Dilemmas in embryo research
Is it ever acceptable to use embryos for scientific research? If so, under what conditions?
Social factors in overweight
Put simply, the Dutch are getting fatter. Over ten per cent of the adult population can now be classed as clinically obese, while the number of overweight children is also increasing at an alarming rate.
Ambient intelligence and healthcare
The term Ambient Intelligence refers to invisible 'smart' technology embedded into the everyday human environment, or even the human body itself.
Elite sport
The Rathenau Institute made an inventory of the applications of new technology in elite (professional level) sport, and the social implications.
A meeting of minds
In a project entitled ‘Meeting of Minds - European Citizens’ Deliberation on Brain Science’ (ECD), lay panels in nine European countries sought to identify the main social issues which are likely to arise from the new developments in cognitive science.
A healthy diet
We are learning ever more about the link between diet and health. We can manipulate or 'enrich' food products to make them even better for us.
Everyday medical practices
Many new medical techniques are regarded as revolutionary. Some may be controversial at first, but over time they become routine and everyday.