The responsability of a scientist

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On one hand…
Society elevates scientists to the level of ‘super experts’, who are expected by the public to provide expertise and knowledge to solve societal problems.

On the other hand…
Many people remain cautious and even fearful of the technological and medical progress enabled by scientific research.

Wernher von Braun (1912–1977)

Wernher von Braun (1912–1977)

Fritz Haber (1868–1934)

Fritz Haber (1868–1934)

Edward Teller (1908 – 2003)

Edward Teller (1908 – 2003)

Andrei Sakharov (1921 – 1989)

Andrei Sakharov (1921 – 1989)

Contemporary biologists…
Ian Ramshaw and Ronald Jackson

Eckard Wimmer

Ron Fouchier and Yoshihiro Kawaoka

Artificial mousepox virus

Synthetic poliovirus

Avian influenza virus

Variola major the human smallpox virus

mutant that reduced the neurological effects of the virus Four mutations in the viral haemagglutinin gene were needed to create a highly pathogenic virus

Science
“(…) such research should be done and published. (…) today’s technologies would allow the rapid discovery of antiviral drugs and make a terrorist or military attack (…) less efficient.” “A research result obtained for a beneficial purpose could potentially create adverse

uses - ‘dual

use’.”

Comparing the contexts…
Contemporary and the historical examples
Jackson, Ramshaw, Wimmer,
Fouchier and Kawaoka

Von Braun, Haber, Teller and
Sakharov

Open and liberal countries

German Empire, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and the USA of the 1950s.

Their work was dedicated to the benefit of humanity: battling a pest invasion or understanding a deadly virus.

Weapons of mass death and destruction for the military.
They too originally sought to serve the public good: civil energy production, agriculture, space flight or a greater understanding of theoretical physics.

Author’s opinion
Did the scientists involved acted more responsibly than von Braun, Haber and Teller?

Yes

“(…) they actively started discussions on biosecurity, dualuse research and possible abuse after the potential harm became obvious, and because they had no intention to weaponize their research.”

No

“(…) despite the potential for misuse of their work, they still published it; we should not underestimate the publication pressure and the conditions needed to advance academic careers.”

Solutions
•

“In my view, universities and research institutes should have a much more proactive role in raising awareness and supporting responsible behaviour through explicit declaration (…)”

•

“A good start, and a goal in itself, would be to require the total transparency of funding and open access to all research data.”

“Would Fritz Haber, Edvard Teller or Wernher von Braun have acted differently if dual-use research and the responsibility of researchers towards society had been drilled into them as part of their respective educations?” ?

?

?

?

?

Conclusions
“They were products of the societies in which they lived, in which they were educated, and in which they worked and sought recognition for their work.”

This problem remains today

“All of us should feel responsible for upholding moral values, for educating the next generation about those values and for making responsible decisions about the use of inventions.”