With scientific advances moving so fast, is more at stake today?
Yes. There has always been a tension between science and society — Galileo is the classic example. We have had the genetically modified organisms (GMO) issue in Europe, which was also a case of political mishandling. If these things aren’t dealt with properly, then positions can easily be adopted that will hold up progress and affect a country’s competitiveness. Many people in society today aren’t scientifically educated, so it can be difficult for scientists to communicate effectively with these people who can feel threatened by developments they don’t understand. Q: Is there a difference between moral and ethical questions in research? A: There’s a formal distinction between the two. Ethics has to do with a codified public system of behaviour, and morality is more of a personal belief. Of course, it’s possible to be a scientist and for your morality to tell you that you cannot work with a human embryo. But I would argue that it wouldn’t be ethical for such a scientist to argue as a
