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Science Friday > Archives > 2003 > February > February 14, 2003:
Hour One: AAAS Denver Remote: Legal Constraints on Science

Scientists today are facing a growing number of laws and policies that affect how they conduct their research. In some cases, the laws are designed to rein in researchers -- constraints on research with human subjects, for instance, or work requiring access to potentially hazardous materials. In other cases, though, policies that were perhaps designed for one purpose -- such as ensuring access to of public data, or protecting against unethical reseachers -- have been used to harrass scientists with unpopular views.

In this hour, as we broadcast live from Denver at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, we'll be talking about legal constraints on how scientists do science. Has the legal climate changed for scientists in the wake of the terrorist attacks against the U.S.? Last month, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology turned down a four-hundred-thousand-dollar federal research grant because the government wanted to approve any foreign students working on the project.

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Guests:
Paul Fischer, M.D.
Doctor of Family Medicine
Center for Primary Care
Evans, Georgia

Suzanne Polmar
Director, Grant and Contract Administration
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut

Susan Poulter
Professor of Law
S. J. Quinney College of Law
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah

Wendy Wagner
Joe A. Worsham Centennial Professor of Law
University of Texas School of Law
Austin, Texas

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Related Links:
National Conference of Lawyers and Scientists
NY Times: Law Revises Standards for Scientific Study
The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness
Ensuring the Quality of Information Disseminated by the Federal Government
APS - Statement on Policies for Handling Allegations of Research Misconduct
FEDERAL POLICY ON RESEARCH MISCONDUCT
NY Times: Scientists Discuss Balance of Research and Security
Researchers' dilemma: Grants with strings -- The Washington Times
Law & Contemporary Problems [59 Law & Contemp. Probs. 159]

This segment produced by Karin Vergoth

 


 

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