Unethical behaviour of scientists and the impacts of misconduct

Unethical behaviour of scientists and the impacts of misconduct, by Lisa Christian.

Unethical behaviour for a scientist is by not being thorough with testing all potential outcomes of a hypothesis and then marketing a theory as an improperly tested conclusion.

This type of science is call pseudo-science, as its not the real thing.

For science to be ethical and carried out well, it needs to be tested with examples such as a placebo, blind testing and the same conditions for all test groups.

A placebo is when you give the same tablet to one group as another and measure the effects.

Blind testing means not telling the test group which type of tablet their taking.

Sometimes the placebo tablet has the same reaction. This is called the placebo affect and is a mystery, but it may help people get better sometimes.

An example of pseudo-science is astrology. It can't be properly tested.

There are also ethics issues in correct fully tested, science.

10 examples include: 

"- Should we make all people normal?

- Should populations be controlled?

- Should robots be allowed to kill?

- Should we explore other planets?

- Should we geoengineer the planet?

- Should synthetic lifeforms be set loose?

- Should animals have more rights?

- Should we stop doing science?

- Should we give up prvacy online?

- Should children's genomes be edited?" (New Scientist, 2024)

These are called ethical dilemnas.

There are other ethics necessary to consider, when it comes to science. This is the use of AI and AI writing. AI stands for artificial intelligence. It can help spur ideas and write hypotheses and conclusions but is it honestly tested? It works by information processing, but that's not the same as testing out scenarios. Surely using one's brain is more reliable and honest but using AI, can be helpful too, provided everything being tested about the scientist's hypotheses are honest.

5 unethical examples of pseudo-science and false marketing, that were big mistakes, include:

- The Prison Doctor Who Did Testicular Transplants: he transplanted younger mens' testicles onto older man to try and improve stamina in older men, after doing vasectomies.

- The Oncologist Who Injected Cancer Cells Into Patients and Prisoners: He injected live cancer cells into prisoners and healthy people, which made some people sick.

- The Aptly Named ‘Monster Study’: he ridiculed children with speech problems thinking negative reinforcement might improve their condition, but it just made them worse.

- The Dermatologist Who Used Prisoners As Guinea Pigs: he tested chemicals such as deoderants and foot powders for big companies on prisoners, which left them with pain and scars, instead of helping them.

- The Endocrinologist Who Irradiated Prisoners: he paid prisoners to radiate their testicles to see the effect it would have on sperm production, but in some cases gave them pain, inflammation and a small risk of testicular cancer.

In conclusion, it is important for the scientist to be honest and accountable in experiements, to be ethical.

References:

Discover Magazine, 2024. 5 Unethical Medical Experiments brout out of the Shadows of History.

https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/5-unethical-medical-experiments-brought-out-of-the-shadows-of-history

Essential Skills for Science and Technology - Chapters 1, 2.

New Scientist, 2024. Ethics Issues.

https://www.newscientist.com/round-up/ethics-issue/