Transcript Good Science, Bad Ethics

Good Science, Bad Ethics
Or, Does the end Justify the Means
Introduction
• 1935 Max Delbrück publishes paper on
gene mutation
• 1944 Research into viruses shows that DNA
was responsible for gene mutation
• 1946 Schrödinger popularizes idea of genes
as information carriers in his book What is
Life?
• The race to discover the geometrical
arrangement of the DNA, the “Rosetta
Stone” of genetics, was on!
The Players
• Linus Pauling discovers the basic structure of
the protein molecule at Cal Tech in 1951. Soon
after he starts to model DNA.
• Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin begin
studying the structure of DNA using X-ray
crystallography by 1951 at King’s college
• In that year James Watson joined Francis Crick
as researchers in the Cavendish laboratory
under the supervision of Max Perutz and Sir
Lawrence Bragg
• Bragg and Perutz had been studying complex
proteins for some time, also using X-ray
techniques
• Important investigations
into the structure of DNA
were done by Pauling,
Wilkins and Franklin.
• It was Crick and Watson
who were able to pull
everything together and
make a correct model
• 1953 Watson and Crick are the
first to publish the correct
structure of DNA
• 1958 Franklin dies
• 1962 Watson, Crick, and Wilkins
are awarded the Nobel Prize in
Medicine
• 1967 Watson publishes The
Double Helix, his account of the
discovery
• Watson’s account reveals he is a
jerk and he and Crick violated
ethical norms for scientists
Wilkins and Franklin
• Wilkins considered Franklin his
lab assistant, this was not the
case
• There was bad blood between
Wilkins and Franklin
• Franklin takes first X-rays of
DNA
• It was Wilkins that provided
Franklin’s data to Crick and
Watson
• Franklin was not credited in
Watson and Crick’s paper
Sir Bragg
• Bragg was in charge of the
Cavendish laboratory
• Unwritten standards at the
time dictated that scientists
not compete with
colleagues on projects
• DNA was Wilkins project,
Bragg told Watson and
Crick to cease work
• Watson and Crick push
ahead anyway
The Double Helix
• Harvard University Press refused
to publish the book
• Crick, Wilkins, and others
objected to Watson’s book
claiming it misrepresented the
truth
• Watson’s portrayal of women in
general and Franklin in particular
was demeaning and at times
simply untrue
Watson, you twit!
• “The thought could not be avoided that the
best home for a feminist was in another
person’s lab.”
• “Momentarily I wondered how she would
look if she took off her glasses and did
something novel with her hair.” (Franklin
did not wear glasses)
• Sir Lawrence Bragg was “a relic of the
past” who had “lived too long under the
shadow of his famous father”.
• In France “fair play obviously did not
exist”.
• “A goodly number of scientists are not only
narrow minded and dull, but also just
stupid.”
Evidence Watson/Crick Acted
Unethically
• Watson was in violation of his fellowship
• Watson and Crick were told by Bragg to
discontinue research on DNA
• King’s College group already working on DNA
• Unpublished data was obtained without Franklin’s
knowledge and used without her consent
• Franklin was misrepresented and unrecognized
Points to Ponder
• Is there a code of ethics for scientists?
• What are the consequences for a breach of
said code?
• Is it a scientist’s responsibility to accurately
represent an event, a situation, or person?
• Is moral fuzziness and acceptable price to
pay for scientific innovation?
The True Turtleneck
References
• Watson, James The Double Helix; Edited by Gunther S.
Stent, Norton & Co. 1980. Edition contains original papers,
reviews and commentaries from several sources
• James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, and Rosalind
Franklin article from website
http://www.chemheritage.org/EducationalServices/chemach/ppb/cwwf.html
copyright 2000 The Chemical Heritage Society
• Rosalind Franklin from
http://www1.um.edu/scitech/franklin.htm