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Interpreters is a novel that explores the secrets and lies within families, the parent–child relationship, the interpretation of the past and the collective and personal guilt of a generation who grew up in Nazi Germany. Mindful of the moral and ethical issues inherent in memoir and autobiography, I explore the challenges and dilemmas encountered in creating a work of autobiographical fiction that draws on the experiences of those who may never have expected, or wanted, their stories to be told. I attempt to ensure ethical and artistic integrity by recording emotional rather than actual truths, by changing the stories’ and the characters’ natures, and liberating myself from the constraints of conventional life writing with its requirement for historical accuracy, logical timeframe and expectation of truthfulness.

Application for Research Ethics Committee (REC) approval and the conduct of medical research is paper intensive. This retrospective study examined all applications to a single REC in the south of England over one year. It estimated the mass of paper used, comparing the proportional paper consumption of different trial types and during different stages of the research process, quantifying the consumption in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. In 2009, 68 trials were submitted to the REC. Total paper consumption for the REC process and study conduct was 176,150 sheets of A4 paper (879 kg), equivalent to an estimated 11.5 million sheets (88 tonnes, 2,100 trees) a year for the UK; the REC process accounted for 26.4%. REC applica- tions and the conduct of approved trials generate considerable environmental impact through paper consumption contributing to the NHS's carbon footprint. Paper use might be reduced through the implementation of digital technologies and revised research methods, namely changing attitudes in both researchers and ethics committees.

Personal narratives in which medical students and clinicians reflect on their education and practice, or recipients of health care reflect on their journey though the system can provide valuable insights which can usefully be shared. In this paper, a medical student describes the effect of a humanities-based student-selected component on her understanding of anatomy and dissection, and a junior doctor in Iraq learns some painful lessons about medicine and society during a night shift in the casualty department.

HIV testing is now required for non-HIV-AIDS-related immunological studies in areas of high HIV prevalence. Ethical guidelines for testing in these circumstances need clarification and sensitive protocols need to be developed.

Ted Shotter's founding of the London Medical Group (LMG) 50 years ago in 1963 had several far reaching implications for medical ethics, as other papers in this issue indicate. Most significant for the joint authors of this short paper was his founding of the quarterly Journal of Medical Ethics (JME) in 1975, with Alastair Campbell as its first editor-in-chief. In 1980 Raanan Gillon began his 20-year editorship (after which 5-year appointments extendable for up to 2 further years were instituted!). Gillon was succeeded in 2001 by Julian Savulescu, followed by John Harris and Soren Holm in 2004, with Julian Savulescu starting his second and current term in 2011. In 2000 an additional special edition of the JME, Medical Humanities (MH), was published, under the founding joint editorship of Martyn Evans and David Greaves. In 2003 Jane Macnaughton succeeded David Greaves as joint editor. Deborah Kirklin, under whose auspices MH became an independent journal, took over in 2008, and she was succeeded in 2013 by Sue Eckstein. This short paper offers reminiscences and reflections from the two journals’ various editors. From the start the JME was committed to clearly expressed reasoned discussion of ethical issues arising from or related to medical practice and research. In particular, both Edward Shotter and Alastair Campbell, each a cleric (one Anglican, the other Presbyterian), were at pains to make clear that the JME was not a religious journal and that it had no sort of partisan axe to grind. Campbell's appointment as founding editor was something of a surprise, as the original intention had been to appoint a medical doctor, who (‘up to the elbows in blood’) could be expected to know medical practice from the inside. However, in 1972 Campbell, a Joint Secretary of the Edinburgh Medical Group, had published Moral dilemmas in medicine . …

This editorial was written before the sad and untimely death of Dr Sue Eckstein. It captures her vision for the journal and represents an intention to continue her outstanding work. This issue is dedicated to Sue. It is a privilege to be writing this as the new editors of Medical Humanities . We have, thanks to the commitment and leadership of Dr Deborah Kirklin, inherited a gift. Under Deborah's stewardship, Medical Humanities provided a focus for those whose interests and work were sometimes undervalued and often misunderstood. Moreover, she provided a means by which these disparate people could know each other and begin conversations. Those conversations led to networks which led to collaborative relationships and the flourishing of both the discipline and the journal in the UK and beyond. We wish to thank Deborah for her extraordinary vision and dedication. We were, we believed, confident that we knew how diverse, creative and dynamic the realm of medical humanities is when we began our term as Editors. However, we have quickly realised that this is a richer and more stimulating place to be than we could have imagined. The range of submissions to the journal is extraordinary and humbling. Across the world, people are engaged in fascinating and original work in which they consider the widest range of questions and themes pertaining to health and the humanities. We are grateful to them both for their efforts and for their wish to share their work via the pages of this journal. Beyond the submissions in-box, we have spent the last few months exploring the landscape of Medical Humanities and …