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Science
Friday > Archives
> 1998
> October
> October 2, 1998:
Hour One: Scientific misconduct
 | Imagine that your boss announced that two plus two equaled three - even though all YOUR work said that it equaled four. You'd shown your work to your boss, and submitted reports saying that four looked like the right answer, and had even seen your boss add it up and get your answer several times - but you were ignored. Instead, your boss published a paper telling the world the news that two plus two equals three, and went on to win widespread fame. What would you do? Would you step forward? Would you stake your reputation against that of your boss? | An impossible situation? Not necessarily. Scientific misconduct isn't as rare as you might think. Almost every institution has a mechanism set up to handle allegations of fraud, though few cases make it very far into the public eye. There are, however, notable exceptions. The "Baltimore case," in which a scientist working with noted immunology researcher David Baltimore was accused of falsifying data, is one. Another involves allegations that AIDS researcher Robert Gallo claimed work done by another group as his own. And a case at Cornell's AIDS research center broke onto the front page of the New York Times last weekend.
Can the Ivory Tower get dirty? Join guest host Dan Charles for a look at science fraud on Science Friday.
Guests:
Daniel Kevles
Author, "The Baltimore Case: A Trial of Politics, Science, and Character"
Koepfli Professor of the Humanities
California Institute of Technology
Pasedena, CA
Dan Greenberg
Syndicated Columnist
Visiting Scholar in History of Science, Medicine and Technology
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD
C.K. Gunsalus
Associate Provost
Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL
Books/Articles Discussed:
"The Baltimore Case: A Trial of Politics, Science, and Character" by Daniel J. Kevles. W.W. Norton, 1998.
Related Links:
Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Research Integrity
AAAS
project on Research Integrity and Scientific Misconduct
AAAS Professional Ethics Report (publication)
"On Being a Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research" - online book by National Academy of Sciences
Profile of Dr. Imanishi-Kari in Scientific American
Science Ethics Bibliography
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