This issue of JERHRE features three main themes: (1) finding and using empirical research bearing on ethical problem-solving that does not appear in the ethics-related literature; (2) determining whether large incentives can induce subjects to accept risks that they otherwise would consider unacceptable, and (3) examining some of the complexity and uncertainty surrounding subjects' decisions to participate in research. Each of these articles breaks important new conceptual and methodological ground and provides new venues for evidence-based ethical problem-solving. A thoughtful grasp of these new concepts will provide new tools and opportunities for students, investigators, and ethics committees.