Chapter 5 is about the balancing of harms (or risks) and benefits, both in research generally and in the special case of
randomised controlled trials. These raise particular issues about whether doctors engaged in research have the same
duty to benefit their patients that they would have in a clinical setting, and about the use of placebos and controls,
and the baseline against which assessments of harm should be made. The general part of the chapter includes discussion
of the concept of minimal risk and an introduction to the precautionary principle.