Death of a Rat

Is science amoral? Are scientists ethical? Why is the pathway to solving important scientific problems commonly so tortuous? Can unorthodox ideas get a fair trial from the scientific establishment? How do religion and politics influence science education today? What role does serendipity play in science? What are some of the obstacles to scientific progress? How do great ideas originate? Are the people who make scientific discoveries always given the full credit they deserve? Does science history repeat itself? To what extent does fraud occur in science and why would researchers engage in it? Questions like these are not commonly raised let alone discussed in high school or college classrooms. Yet gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of science by attempting to confront these vital concerns might go a long way toward reducing popular misperceptions about science while improving science literacy among the general public, a challenge issued to all scientists by leading educators. Geneticist and science historian William D Stansfield presents a popular overview of the major ethical and philosophical issues confronting science today. From concern about the welfare of experimental animals to a consideration of the many kinds of impediments that slow the progress of science - religious, moral, political, and conceptual - each chapter conveys an appreciation for the work that scientists do and the obstacles that stand in their way. Stansfield considers such intriguing issues as human experimentation, fetal-cell research, animal rights, cold fusion, the influence of religion and politics on science, the role that accidental discoveries play in science, and the crucial role of honesty versus fraud in scientific research. Debunking the popular stereotype of science as a dry, antiseptic exercise, Stansfield compellingly describes the fascinating, very human struggle for truth that makes science the most important enterprise of our time.