Cell Publishes its First Bioethics Article
For a billion years Cell has sworn they will not publish bioethics, or for that matter anything "Soft." Well, for the first time, the most powerful journal in all of science has published an article about bioethics. Our own Paul Root Wolpe authors "Reasons Scientists Avoid Thinking about Ethics" in the June 15th issue [subscription required]. It is difficult to imagine a more profound recognition of academic bioethics in the world of science than a bioethics article in Cell. Here's to you Paul.contribute a comment
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Well, since we can't see this article without paying
$30, my rant can be content-free!!
1) provides a little more but not much in description. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/jun06/cellcomm.htm
2) When the economic elite or the media elite want the public in on their "think pieces", they make them readily accessible. Just goes to show you exactly how ready science is ready for primetime and PR.
3) 5 years after ground zero of Bush's stem cell decision and a year after Hwang's fraud in a fellow American journal, CELL decides it's ready to explore bioethics. Is this what amounts to speedy response in the academic world??
4) Responsibility - Good. Self-scrutiny - very good.
"Thoughtful advocacy" - that may only amount to padding a research grant request with gobbledygook, not opening a discussion of clear moral consequences.
5) What's this "professionals at the helm" and "shepherd ... change" ?? Dream on! In a democratic society, we elect politicians and judges to decide policy and regulations. In other regimes, the elites come from other backgrounds than science. I think that Communists were the best at telling themselves that they were the rationalistic philosopher - scientist - kings that could plan the people's fate. I would surely suggest not to follow their example.
- by Robert B on Jun 17, 2006 at 11:21 PM | link