For the academic, the process of ethical review can be daunting. All too often, the Research Ethics Committee (REC) is seen as “a cul-de-sac down which good ideas are lured and quietly strangled” (Barnett Cocks, 1944); a bureaucratic hurdle to be jumped, rather than an opportunity for peer review and the development of excellence in research design and delivery. In an attempt to rehabilitate the reputation of the human participant REC, this lecture will explore how the history of research on human ‘subjects’, has given rise to the contemporary practice of research with human ‘participants’. The apparent exploitation of the past, and the resultant evolution of current day ethical review with an emphasis on beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy and justice, will set the scene for an exploration of how technological advances, and changing social mores, are increasingly challenging societies to consider whether, and how, research with human participants should be conducted.