Bioethics is the study of the ethical issues emerging from advances in biology and medicine. It is also moral discernment as it relates to medical policy and practice. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy. It includes the study of values ("the ethics of the ordinary") relating to primary care and other branches of medicine.
Cancer risk in humans exposed to low radiation doses is usually calculated based upon estimates obtained at higher doses. As many cancers originate in stem cells, studying low dose radiation effects on these cells is particularly important.