Russians don't trust modern biomedical innovations: Poll

Most Russians do not trust modern biomedical technologies and consider them useless or even unethical, according to a poll.
Russians are cautious about modern technologies, including biomedicine achievements in biomedicine, suggests a poll conducted by researchers at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Russia.
Researchers polled 1,671 Russians over 16 years of age in 137 settlements across the country.
Those polled neither completely reject, nor accept novelties and consider the interference in human's life deprecated, according to Yury Voynilov and Valentina Polyakova, researchers at HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK).
"The most cautious attitude has been demonstrated by respondents to biotechnologies implying the intervention into the human life and activities by means of stem cells, gene engineering, or implantable devices. These ideas have gained between 22 and 31 per cent of popularity," experts said.

Some 50 per cent of respondents said they are ready to use such technologies as domestic solar cells, smog sensors, and smart clothing.

According to the poll, most Russians consider biological novelties useless or even unethical. At the same time, they are concerned about the problems, which can be solved using innovations.
For example, 78 per cent of those polled are anxious about the birth of children with transmittable diseases, but only 30 per cent said they are ready to take genetic tests.
About 90 per cent of respondents are worried about air and water pollution, but only 48 per cent of them said they would like to use pollution alert sensor.