Scientists behaving badly

Last week one of my colleagues supported Sir David King at the BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science) Festival of Science in York when he spoke about the Universal Ethical Code for Scientists.  After an early round of radio interviews on this important initiative, Sir David led a series of presentations from scientific bodies and institutions, including the FSA, on how the use of the code impacts on the work that we do.
 
During his presentation, Sir David cited the case of the high profile fall from grace of the cell biologist Hwang Woo-Suk in South Korea last year.  Dr Hwang claimed to have created human embryonic stem cells by cloning, but it was later found that these claims were fraudulent and the scientific papers describing the work were retracted.

Although rare, such malpractice undermines public trust in all science and scientists.  At the Q&A session afterwards, the panel was asked how the code could prevent scientists from behaving badly.  It was agreed that a code alone could offer no guarantees; but its increasing adoption will produce a cultural shift that isolates and exposes such behaviour.
 
The Universal Ethical Code for Scientists is concise, straightforward, timeless and applicable to the work of all scientists. It sets out how we expect scientists to behave in their professional lives. I'm pleased to incorporate it into the FSA’s science governance processes and publish them so you can see not only what we do, but also check that we are doing it in the right way and challenge us to do better.