Science is the attempt of man to understand oneself and the environment, based on experimental observations. Thus, the pursuit of science per se is, on the surface, devoid of any ethical concerns or considerations.
Technology is the application of scientific knowledge to the service of mankind. Here, ethical concerns and considerations do come into play. Technology can be used in both beneficial and harmful applications. The employment of knowledge in atomic physics, chemistry and biology can be applied to produce atomic power plants and atomic bombs, curative drugs and toxic compounds, protective vaccines and bioweapons.
As a scientist and teacher, what advice can I offer to the youth of today who wish to embark on a career in science and technology? What ethical standards should we adhere to and to whom should we look for guidance and advice?
Surprisingly, in the basic sciences, there is no formal code of ethical behavior, as is found in the applied sciences, such as in medicine and engineering, where some forms of unethical practices are spelled out, and transgressors are subject to punishment meted out by society.
One of the normal routine activities of a scientist is to publish the results of experiments conducted in a specialized journal for the scrutiny by one’s peers. This is probably the first contact that the scientist has with ethical issues. It is expected that the experiments have been conducted honestly, that the data reported have been analyzed with full rigor of existing mathematical tools and without bias, and that the results of others are taken into due deliberation. Who is responsible for these actions being carried out? At the laboratory level, it is the onus of all the authors of the research publication (in particular the mentor of the youth/student involved) to be responsible for the truthfulness and veracity of the research work; and at the journal level, it is up to the reviewers of the research paper and the editor of the journal to ensure that the results in the published article have been properly and honestly carried out.
What types of transgressions can occur? They can include selective omission of data, plagiarism and outright falsification of experiments. Detection of these unethical conducts is difficult, time consuming and harmful to the careers of all concern (both guilty and innocent). It is best if youths entering into science and technology are inculcated with the proper values and behavior of ethical scientific endeavors, through both formal instruction and guidance of appropriate role models. Nevertheless, the scientific community needs also to establish an institutionalized and transparent system to investigate allegations of scientific misconduct, to punish those found guilty and more importantly, to ensure that the careers of the innocent by-standers are not tarnished nor irreparably damaged in the process.
For scientists in the life sciences, experiments involving animals or human beings are governed by ethical guidelines. Experimentation on animals is based by the concern that it should not cause unnecessary pain or suffering, and termination of life should be avoided whenever possible. There is a strong movement to have many tests on animals replaced by chemical or in vitro surrogates. In Thailand, the National Research Council of Thailand has produced guidelines for ethical practices in animal experimentation; there is as yet no legal or mandatory certification of researchers doing animal experiments.
Experiments (in universities) involving human subjects must be approved by an ethical committee on human experimentation, which in addition to determining that the procedures are safe and necessary, requires each subject to sign an informed consent form that ensures that the subject involved understands the procedures and risks of the experimental procedures and that the anonymity of the subject’s identity and personal data be protected from public exposure except to those directly associated with the experiments. In Thailand, there is no standard informed consent form, but the ethical conduct of physicians is supervised by the Thailand Medical Council.
Recent advances in molecular biology, especially the acquisition of knowledge concerning the genetic basis of life, ranging from viruses and unicellular bacteria, to multicellular organisms such yeast, protozoa, plants and animals, including man, have raised a new set of ethical issues under the umbrella of “bioethics”. UNESCO is in the process of issuing a Declaration on Universal Norms on Bioethics, in which the term “bioethics” refers to theoretical and practical moral issues raised in medicine and the life sciences that apply to man and man’s relationship with the environment.
If one wades through the bureaucratic jargon of the document, it becomes evident that the drafting committee for UNESCO agrees on the need for the creation of ethics and bioethics committee to assess the ethical (and legal and social) issues of scientific research and the development of technologies arising from such research. In addition to recognizing the need for informed consent of peoples enrolled into the scientific and medical experiments and the protection of their privacy, the Declaration also includes provisions for the sharing of the benefits of research and technology development to persons that have participated in the research. The Declaration further states that risk assessment be a normal aspect of good bioethical conduct in cases where there is doubt regarding the impact of new technologies on human health and the environment. A relevant example is the debate on the ethical use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) (which is part of the program of this 4th COMEST meeting).
Another issue that requires public debate is that concerning therapeutic cloning in man. Therapeutic cloning is the process by which cells of a desired type are generated by in vitro differentiation of embryonic stem (ES) cells. These ES cells are obtained from the inner cell mass of blastocysts grown in culture, which are produced by multiple divisions of a human egg that has been “fertilized” by insertion of a nucleus from another (somatic) donor cell following removal of the egg’s own nucleus. These differentiated cells, if introduced into the body of the donor, can replace defective cells of the same type without any rejection. This technology has the potential of curing such diseases as heart failure, diabetes, Parkinson’s, kidney failure; in fact any disease that is caused by the premature failure of cells to function properly. In the process of harvesting ES cells, the blastocyst is destroyed: The ethical issue is whether the blastocyst is a human being, and thus has a right to life, or whether it is just a collection of cells, and as such is considered an organ. In some societies, a human being exists from the moment of conception (which includes fertilization by nuclear transfer), whilst others accept that there is a period, ranging from weeks to days, before a collection of cells is considered to be a human being.
If the blastocyst produced as described above is allowed to develop in utero, then we have generated a human clone and the process is known as reproductive cloning, which is considered by almost everyone as being unethical (and in some countries, unlawful).
The ability to rapidly amplify desired sequences of a cell genetic material (DNA) and to characterize its property has led to the technology of DNA profiling or fingerprinting. This allows a person to be codified based on the unique DNA profile of that individual, which is not the same as anyone else (except for identical twins), and DNA profiling has become an important and necessary tool in forensics. There is a desire in some countries to maintain a complete catalog of DNA profiles of all their citizens, so that criminals can be readily tracked down or accident victims quickly identified. However, DNA is the blueprint of our very being, with records of our genetic heritage, both good and bad. Ethical, legal and social issues need to be explored and debated in an open and transparent fashion before such a decision becomes implemented.
Each scientific breakthrough and technological development is a Janus coin, on one side presenting the promise of improvement of man’s lot on earth and on the other the promise of a bitter harvest. Only by examining and upholding acceptable ethical (and bioethical) practices will man be able to distinguish between the two faces of the coin.