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I,SCIENCEThe Science MagaZine of Imperial College The Moral Issue
I,SCIENCE
editors-in-chief
Alex Gwyther
Conor McKeever
Web Editors
Josh Howgego
Tom Bragg
THE SCIENCE
MAGAZINE OF
IMPERIAL COLLEGE I,SCIENCE
Production Manager
Veronika McQuade
Production
Silvia Araguas
Picture editor
Keeren Flora
H ello and welcome to
the winter edition of
I, Science – we hope
you all had a smashing
Christmas and New
Year. This is our first issue as the
new editors, so we’d like to take
this chance to introduce ourselves
questions of morality become
increasingly important.
pharmaceutical industry plays
host to many such concerns and
The
on page 22, we look at the rise of
‘orphan drugs’ – a product of highly
profitable medical research that
only benefits a few sufferers every
and our lovely team. We also want year.
Sub-editors to thank the outgoing editors, who
Andy Roast helped us face the challenges of We must be aware that with our
Sarah Byrne producing our very first issue, and scientific advances, and growing
Julie Gould whose hard work last year led to our power to manipulate nature, comes
Vishnu Srinivasan website being nominated for a 2012 an increasing responsibility to use
Katherine Powell Guardian Student Media Award. our knowledge wisely. As Arthur C.
Victoria Druce Clarke noted: “As our own species
Zainab Chachia And so, down to business – is in the process of proving, one
Bryan Ward this issue is all about morality in cannot have superior science and
Iñigo Martinez de Rituerto science. What ethical dilemmas do inferior morals. The combination
James Tull scientists face when doing research? is unstable and self-destroying.” In
On page 24, we look at the ‘dual-use our greed to consume our natural
Proofreaders dilemma’: is it our duty to publish resources, we are quickly reaching
James White results, even if they can be used for a level of global climate change
Loren Cameron evil as well as good? Should we take beyond the restorative powers
Nicole Trainor the view of Wernher von Braun, of even our own mighty modern
Alexandra Berditchevskaia that “science does not have a moral science.
Susannah May dimension. It is like a knife. If you
Rosie Davies give it to a surgeon or a murderer, And so we give you I, Science’s
Aashish Upmanyu each will use it differently”? own foray into the murky world of
Daniel Spencer moral issues in science. We hope
Fiona Hartley As science becomes more you enjoy the issue.
Heather Jeffery integrated into modern society,
Elise Rattigan Alex & Conor
Jessie Durk
Cloudy Carnegie
Want more features,
opinions, podcasts and
Cover illustration by Tristan varela videos about science?
I Science, Felix Office, Beit Quadrangle,
Join the hundreds of people
PrinCe Consort Road, London, SW7 2BB reading our website every
day at www.isciencemag.
Tel: 020 7594 8072 co.uk
Email: i.science@imperial.ac.uk
Printed by: Nominated for a Guardian
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Hampshire, PO6 1TR
2 I, Science www.isciencemag.co.uk
COVER FEATURE
The Moral Issue
4
IMPERIAL NEWS
Highlights from
Starts on PAGE 8 the College
6
World NEWS
News from
beyond Imperial
contents
9 Sponsorship Science
16
Maddy Staple asks whether Felix Baumgartner’s jump is a Science Behind the
taste of things to come. Photo
Say hello to Antzilla
10 Prenatal testing
25
Alice Jacques explores the practical and ethical
implications of prenatal testing. Are We There Yet?
The Human
12 Sci-Fi Moral Dilemmas Genome Project
A look at the biggest moral dilemmas in science fiction.
26
14 To tell the truth… Nuclear’s Stormy
Conor McKeever asks whether polygraphs really tell the Future
whole truth. Lessons from
Fukushima
18 Rubbish Morals
28
Tom Bragg uses the moral arguments of philosophers to Stepping Stones to
explore the growing problem of waste. Space
NASA’s ambitious
20 Drugs Policy new mission
Jonny Ritson takes a look at the UK’s new drugs policy
29
report. Risky Business
Can we learn from
22 Adopting Orphan Drugs l’Aquila?
Josh Howgego explains why companies want to research
rare diseases.
30
Reviews
24 Bird Flu Books and events
Jenny Mitchell asks whether scientists have a duty to
publish even the most dangerous research.
www.isciencemag.co.uk I, Science 3
IMPERIAL NEWS
news from Physics equation featured
on roadside billboards
IMPERIAL COLLEGE
F eaturing physics equations
on advertising billboards
might sound bizarre, but
that’s exactly the idea behind
a recent installation: for
two weeks in November, Londoners were
treated to a pair of billboards depicting the
Schrödinger equation. Located on Fulham
Palace Road and Ladbroke Grove, the
billboards were part of a project to make
people curious.
The project, aptly entitled ‘Made Curious’,
Phenome Clinic Promises Personalised Care seeks to show the public something
intriguing in the hope they want to discover
more. Artist Geraldine Cox and physicist
S electing the best treatments
for patients on an individual
basis is about to be made easier
thanks to a new clinical centre
at Imperial College. A range
of state-of-the-art technologies will enable
doctors to diagnose patients rapidly, whilst
they are in clinic or even on the operating
table.
The clinic will also host cutting-edge
medical tools including an intelligent
knife, which will make it possible to detect
cancerous or diseased tissue whilst a patient
is being operated on.
The combination of systems at the
centre will allow doctors to follow disease
progression and drug responses, making it
Professor Terry Rudolph, both from Imperial
College London, were responsible for the
campaign, which received sponsorship from
print and project management company Hi
Rezz. They decided to collaborate to create
something that would not only capture the
curiosity of passers-by, but also increase the
public awareness of science. Billboards were
the perfect means for this, as they convey
easier to tailor treatment to an individual’s messages to large numbers of people in all
The Imperial Clinical Phenome Centre, needs. walks of life.
which will be based at St Mary’s Hospital, is
one of only two such centres in the world,
both of which were developed at Imperial. The combination of systems THE PROJECT SEEKS TO
present at the centre SHOW THE PUBLIC SOMETHING
An intelligent knife will will make it easier to INTRIGUING IN THE HOPE THEY
make it possible to detect tailor treatment to an WANT TO DISCOVER MORE
cancerous or diseased individual’s needs
Cox and Rudolph chose the Schrödinger
tissue whilst a patient is Professor Jeremy Nicholson, Head of equation for its beauty, and wrote it in its
being operated on the Department of Surgery and Cancer
at Imperial College London, said “These
concise form to highlight its simplicity.
Furthermore, the equation has far-reaching
analytical technologies are now very mature applications in our technologically-based
At present, technologies that will be and are immensely powerful for telling us world: lasers, superconductors, solar cells,
available at the centre are more commonly about someone’s physical condition and even GPS all rely on this equation.
used in research than in a diagnostic setting. disease state.”
Now, novel techniques based on liquid Although the campaign has now ended,
chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, “Bringing them fully into the clinical setting the website lives on in the hope that anyone
mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy will help doctors make a more informed – not just physicists – can have a piece of
will be used to analyse blood and urine to diagnosis, choose the best treatment, and the Schrödinger puzzle.
determine the severity of diseases. monitor patient progress more precisely.”
JENNY MITCHELL Jessie Durk
4 I, Science www.isciencemag.co.uk
IMPERIAL NEWS
Tree of Life gets the
Google Maps treatment Remote-controlled robotic pill
S cientists expect to have a
first draft of the complete
‘tree of life’ within the next
year. The tree will include
approximately 2 million
species, and in the hope of making it easier
to visualize, an interactive website has
incorporated software similar to that used
in Google Maps.
I Imperial College researchers
are developing a novel
treatment for
cancer using a remote-
intestinal
controlled pill. The pill,
developed by Dr Tim Constandinou and
his team, can be instructed exactly where
and when to deliver its drugs, allowing it to
directly target the small intestine. The small
The 30 mm by 11 mm pill has a built-in
camera, a miniature needle and a remote-
controlled anchor. The pill is swallowed and
travels naturally down the gastrointestinal
tract. When it reaches the small intestine,
an operator can send a remote signal to the
pill, triggering the anchor to hold the pill
in position. The pill will then release a 1 ml
dose of drugs via its miniature needle.
intestine is a particularly hard organ to
reach, thus making it difficult to treat using The Imperial College team is working
SCIENTISTS EXPECT TO conventional surgical methods. The robotic in collaboration with IDC Models, the
HAVE A FIRST DRAFT OF THE pill, however, could provide a simple
method to treat cancers as well as ulcers.
company that provides the technology
required to build such a small pill. The
COMPLETE TREE OF LIFE WITHIN prototype currently in development should
be ready within a few months. The next
THE NEXT YEAR The robotic pill could step will be to test the prototype in animal
models over a two-year period and, if that
A tree of life schematic describes the provide a simple method to is successful, to proceed to clinical trials.
evolutionary relationship between organisms Although it’ll be a long wait before you see
through use of a diagram: the trunk represents treat cancers as well as the robot pill being used in any hospitals, it
the earliest forms of life, while the many
branches leading away symbolise the species
ulcers nevertheless looks like a promising solution
to improving the treatment of cancer and
that have subsequently evolved. ulcers in the small intestine.
Attempts to physically represent this India Renziehausen
intricate diagram are restricted by page
space and are often confusing and difficult
to read. However the website ‘OneZoom’
overcomes this problem by utilising the
near-unlimited space of the digital world.
Created by Imperial’s Dr James Rosindell in
collaboration with Dr Luke Harmon from the
University of Idaho, the website uses fractal
map technology to create an easy to explore
interface. The many branches and twigs can
be panned across and zoomed in on, revealing
more information about the organisms.
Using data from the Open Tree of Life
Project, OneZoom is still under construction
and currently only displays mammals and
amphibians (and only 5000 species for each).
Dr Rosindell hopes that OneZoom will not
only help scientists to visualize the tree of
life and discover new patterns in nature, but
also be used in engaging zoo and museum
displays to teach people about the evolution
and diversity of life.
ALEX gwyther e-Magine Art, flickr
www.isciencemag.co.uk I, Science 5
WORLD News
world news PICK OF THE BEST
Highs and Lows for BBC
Science coverage
BBC East’s recent decision to close
down the much-loved radio show The
On the lookout for ash dieback Naked Scientists has stunned scientists
and laymen alike. Ironically, the
I f you are often a guest of
Britain’s leafy countryside
and happen to possess
a portion of Sherlock’s
observational prowess, then
you have a task of national importance: to
report instances of ash dieback to any of
the UK’s tree health agencies.
young sufferers to prevent further spread.
Mature trees are left standing, however, as
they are valuable to wildlife and can help in
the search for naturally resistant varieties.
The disease – caused by the fungus
Chalara fraxinea – has the following
symptoms for you to look out for: wilting
and black-brownish discoloration of the
announcement came a week after the
launch of Dara O Briain’s Science Club, an
hour-long science program for BBC Two.
The Naked Scientists has a very
successful backstory. In 2008 it won the
Kohn Medal for science communication,
for which the show and podcast reached
114,000 people a month. Despite this,
Ash trees are the third most abundant leaves; formation of small lens-shaped the BBC has decided the programme will
species of broadleaf trees in the UK but lesions on the bark of stems and branches; cease to air in January 2013. The public
many have now been infected with the growth of fungus on leaf stalks; and response was loud enough to call Mick
ash dieback disease. This disease threatens ‘dieback’ of leaves, shoots and twigs, which Rawsthorne, the BBC’s head of regional
the existence of 99% of ash trees in the means they die from root to tip. and local programmes, to interview
country and a widespread outbreak would on Radio 4’s Feedback program. He
permanently alter the face of the British Ash dieback was first noticed in the explained the cut was because The Naked
landscape and its wildlife. 1990s in some parts of Europe, but it was Scientists did not “reflect local life, local
only in 2010 that the correct fungus species communities or tell local stories”.
Officials have been searching for infected was identified. It is this species that is the
trees throughout the UK in order to trace cause of the current epidemic. The Naked Scientists have hit out
the progress of the disease and destroy against the BBC cutting the science
budget by 87.5%. The team celebrate
Aryaman Singh some positive decisions, such as the
introduction of Dara O Briain’s new
show, which opened to generally positive
reviews and reached 124,000 viewers.
Science Club has a lively style with
guests such as the venerable geneticist
Steve Jones (who has, incidentally, also
appeared on The Naked Scientists).
There is now a widespread campaign
to save The Naked Scientists (with
#savethenakedscientists trending on
twitter), which is backed by the MP for
Cambridge, Julian Huppert, and other
high profile bloggers who have offered to
pay the £40 per week it costs the BBC to
run the show. According to The Naked
Scientists’ Facebook page, the BBC is now
reconsidering their decision.
Alice Jacques
dichohecho, Flickr
6 I, Science www.isciencemag.co.uk
WORLD News
Brazil hopes to clone CFBDSIR2149
endangered species
C onservationists in Brazil are
exploring the possibility of
cloning eight endangered
species. The project is
spearheaded by the Brasilia
Zoological Garden, in partnership with
Embrapa, the Brazilian government’s
agricultural research agency. Most of
the species on the conservationists’ wish
list belong to the International Union
for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of
Floating alone:
Threatened Species. Those animals to be
cloned include the black lion tamarin – the
most endangered out of all the animals and
another planetary orphan
the only one that lives exclusively in Brazil
– as well as maned wolves and collared
anteaters.
Animal cloning is not a new development,
having already been successfully completed
with many domesticated animals, such as
cows and horses. One that received a lot
of publicity was Dolly the sheep, a clone
created at Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute
in 1996. However cloning technology is
expensive and not very reliable, with a
success rate of only 6%.
N ot every planet is lucky
enough to orbit a parent
star. The recently discovered
planet CFBDSIR2149 is one
of the unlucky ones: a free
roaming gas giant, 110-120 light years from
Earth. Roaming planets aren’t uncommon,
but 2149 is the closest one to Earth currently
identified.
2149 was initially thought to be a brown
dwarf, but it was found to be relatively cool.
Either it was a very old brown dwarf that had
cooled off, or it was something else entirely.
Further measurements revealed the planet
to be travelling in the same direction and
speed as the AB Doradus Moving Group, a
young cluster of about 30 stars that are 50-
120 million years old. Though it could just
According to an Embrapa researcher, be coincidence, the odds are 87% that 2149
their aim is not for the cloned animals to 2149 wasn’t being deliberately sought is part of the group, and therefore a young
replenish endangered wild populations. after. The French and Canadian astronomers planet.
Instead the goal is to test cloning technology involved were looking for brown dwarfs:
and captive breeding, ultimately providing sub-stellar masses too big to be classified But how did 2149 come to be? Two
zoos with more of these rare animals. as planets, but too small to undergo fusion explanations exist: either 2149 formed as a
and become stars. normal planet before being ejected from its
However, the project has already original solar system, or it formed away from
become a source of concern for many a parent star with too low a mass to achieve
conservationists. These cloned animals fusion.
could drastically reduce the genetic
diversity and fitness of already dwindling
ROAMING PLANETS AREN’T At only 110-120 light years away, 2149
wild populations if allowed to mix.
Furthermore, there are worries that rare
UNCOMMON, BUT 2149 is open to closer study; most rogue planets
are too far away to be accurately observed.
animal farming might encourage the illegal
trade of animal parts and, perhaps most
IS THE CLOSEST ONE TO EARTH It is already the best-studied rogue planet,
with methane and water vapour signatures
importantly, undermine the focus on wild
habitat protection.
CURRENTLY IDENTIFIED detected in its atmosphere. Future work will
aim to identify more about the location of
2149 and the direction it is moving in.
Karin Valencia Laurence Pope
www.isciencemag.co.uk I, Science 7
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8 I, Science www.isciencemag.co.uk
Can Red Bull give
science wings?
Felix’s space jump: incredible feat of ingenuity or simply a PR stunt?
Maddy Staple explores the consequences for science.
O n 14 October 2012, a man
leapt from a capsule, fell
128,100 feet, broke the sound
barrier, landed safely, and
smashed numerous records
along the way. Millions of people around
the world watched him fall to Earth. His
name was Felix Baumgartner.
behind the jump was not complicated:
man goes up very high, man jumps, man
lands safely on the ground. But it had such
window dressing that – just for a short
while – it seemed the most exciting thing
in the world.
Red Bull doesn’t have a duty to educate,
yet this jump was truly accessible. Although
As PR stunts go, it wasn’t half bad. More the science behind getting Felix there and
than eight million people watched him live; back was complicated, the premise was
he took over global media for a few days simple.
and became a household name. Red Bull
was one of the biggest sponsors involved, The science background was there too.
and there’s no doubt they were in it for the The documentary Space Dive was well
publicity. advertised and broadcast all over the world,
and the public’s interest was sustained
Unsurprisingly, having invested seven enough for the science to be interesting and
years and millions of dollars, Red Bull took engaging.
every opportunity to promote themselves.
In the highlight video on YouTube, watched I believe that technological development
by more than 29 million people, their logo was a side effect to the greater goal of an
appears 26 times. That amount and quality edge-of-your-seat PR stunt. It was welcome.
of publicity is priceless – especially since The mission was so successful that it is
association with this event fits perfectly likely to inspire other big companies to do
with Red Bull’s extreme-sports image. similar stunts.
The man himself, ‘Fearless Felix’, has As the world stands at the moment,
become an icon. With his good-looking companies like Red Bull can create
girlfriend and close relationship with his missions, whilst governments freeze or
mother, he is a very family-friendly figure. cut back science funding. With more
Children in particular love him – he has funding, technology can progress more
hero quality. This was heightened by Red quickly and generate new innovations.
Bull, who built tension by reporting that Unfortunately, unlike scientists, companies
he could die at any moment, recounting are not duty-bound to share knowledge.
the tale of his mentor Joe Kittinger’s If a breakthrough is made, a sponsor
spacesuit ripping, swelling his hand to could, theoretically, put pressure on the
twice its normal size. The whole event was laboratory and suppress the information,
captivating. keeping it a secret. The development might
not ever reach the general public.
The PR capabilities of scientists can
be somewhat varied. The results may be Felix captivated the world. Red Bull had
exciting and world changing, but can still be their stunt. Now the focus is on science, and
presented as a PowerPoint in Comic Sans. whether the presence of big corporations
This event was the opposite. The concept will aid or hinder it.
www.isciencemag.co.uk I, Science 9
Foetal genome
sequencing:
how much do we want to know?
Alice Jacques explores the practical and ethical implications of recent advances in prenatal testing.
L ast Summer, researchers
led by Jacob Kitzman at the
University of Washington
sequenced the entire genome
of a human foetus, triggering
one of the most emotionally loaded debates
of the year. The results promise a single
non-invasive test to diagnose a broad range
Termination
decisions could
more than a half-hour chat before the test,
and provisions must be made to prepare the
parents for a very difficult decision.
The American presidential election
brought the issue of prenatal testing into
the limelight. The Republican nominee
Rick Santorum, who has a daughter with
theoretically
of genetic diseases as early as eight weeks Edwards syndrome, attacked the Affordable
into a pregnancy. Care Act’s free testing policy as a “search
and destroy mission” to “cull the ranks
be made on
At the moment, expectant parents in an of the disabled in our society”. There is
at-risk group can opt into amniocentesis or widespread and strong opinion that the
chorionic villus sampling; invasive tests that availability of such testing contributes to, or
gender,
involve inserting a long needle through the even stems from, bad feelings towards the
abdomen, with a small risk of miscarriage. disabled in society. But there are opposing
So why is the debate so loaded? Because views even from within the American
despite the various reasons why pregnant right. Sarah Palin was “grateful for all those
women take the test, around 85% decide
to abort if told they will have a child with
disabilities.
paternity and months to prepare” for her son with Down’s
syndrome, and there are likely to be families
who need the time to get together money
Kitzman’s team isolated the 10% of DNA
in a mother’s blood plasma that is her baby’s,
sexuality and medical expertise. In a discussion on
the popular parenting website Mumsnet,
another woman spoke about her first child,
using a DNA sample from the father’s saliva who was born with a rare disorder that led
for comparison. The benefits of the new described to me how she frequently to a short life full of pain. She told me it was
technique are threefold. Firstly, it does not pacifies frantic parents who have had news not until she was pregnant with her second
entail the risk of miscarriage, which appears delivered from scan-performing experts, child that doctors realised the condition
enormous to many expectant parents. rather than condition-diagnosing experts, was genetic. She had an amniocentesis that
Secondly, diagnoses could be made earlier requiring her to dispel an image of their identified a healthy foetus, and avoided a
in the pregnancy. Finally, this approach child who they think may never achieve pregnancy filled with misgivings.
may be more reliable than the current tests, psychological normality. Our current
which throw up a significant number of system continuously refines the high-risk A rule of thumb is that the earlier
misdiagnoses. category — mothers over 35, those with a the (invasive) test, the bigger the risk of
family history of genetic illness, pregnancies miscarriage (3.5% of pregnancies are lost
However, it is the one-time nature of the with a backdrop of problematic fecundity — at 10 weeks; 0.3% at 20 weeks). Naturally
test that raises some doctors’ concerns, providing layers of preparation for parents. then, many parents leave the decision as
specifically that it might mean poor quality But this could be peeled away by a one-test late as 20 weeks into the pregnancy, by
advice for the parents. One NHS clinician system. Proper counselling should involve which point their baby has grown hair,
10 I, Science www.isciencemag.co.ukunique fingerprints and nails. The new, were left to reconcile themselves with their termination decisions could theoretically non-invasive tests would eliminate this choices. be made on gender, paternity, and perhaps risk — which mainly arises from amniotic one day, sexuality. There is also talk of fluid loss — meaning parents could choose Another facet of better diagnostic parents who are deaf preferentially aborting when to test based solely on the potential resolution is being able to spot less foetuses who are not, and ‘screening-in’ outcome. This may seem inconsequential debilitating or later-onset diseases, making disabilities. It all leads us to the question, if the screen is only for preparation, but for selective abortion for less detrimental what is the moral authority of Nature these those who might terminate the pregnancy disabilities a concern. This leads the debate days? As our dominion over the natural based on the outcome, it is pivotal. Some to eugenics, as seems inevitable for every order increases, has the debate caught up religions make the choice clear. Despite discussion of prenatal testing. If the genome with it? And do we have the right to the the strong anti-abortion stance of Islam, of a foetus is available to the parents, child we want? Shï’a law posits that ‘ensoulment’ occurs up to 17 weeks into pregnancy, and abortion in dire need is permissible up to four months, so concerned Muslim parents need information as soon as possible. This hazily follows the dominant secular school of thought, which assigns a lower moral status to younger foetuses, perhaps making a later decision more difficult even for pro-choice parents. Interestingly though, a significant minority of Mumsnet denizens were concerned that having to make a decision so soon did not give mothers enough time to bond with their quickly growing child. Hopefully these screening developments will go hand-in-hand with developments in treatment, such as in utero surgeries for spina bifida, allowing more pregnancies to result in the birth of a healthy child. For this, the zoomed-in resolution of the complete- genome tests can only help. It might even eradicate stories like that of a mother who had received a positive result for Down’s syndrome, and spent the last three months of her pregnancy grieving the loss of the healthy child she had always imagined. She and her partner had prepared themselves as well as they could, even moving nearer a better-equipped hospital. Their daughter Tristan Varela was born without the condition, and they www.isciencemag.co.uk I, Science 11
More questions
than answers? SIX Moral dilemmas
written by ALex Gwyther, Jade Cawthray, Josh HowGego
From Brave New World to The Empire Strikes Back,
science fiction surrounds us, pervading all aspects of
culture. Just because the settings can be alien, doesn’t Teleportation:
mean that the plots are. Time and again we see ethical
questions rearing their heads in films and books: a whole new you?
should clones have the same rights as everyone else? Teleportation would be an ideal tool for a
Are mind-altering drugs acceptable? Should we talk fugitive; the ability to instantly appear anywhere in
to aliens? Science can be billed as a solution to all our the world could be handy for lots of illegal activities
woes, but it often seems to raise more questions than (prison breaks would certainly become easier!) And
it answers. that’s ignoring the – frankly terrifying – privacy issues.
Disturbingly, the process of teleportation also involves
your atoms being disassembled at your original location
and then reassembled at your destination using local
atoms (kind of like sending a fax rather than a physical
letter). Thus teleportation effectively makes a copy of
you, while the original you is destroyed. Even after
sidestepping the tricky question of whether this
counts as murder or suicide, there still exists
the problematic assumption that the new
you will hold true to your original
intentions.
Clone wars
Science fiction often visits the idea of
clones: whether to create an army, supply spare
body parts or just for some company. In creating
our own clones, we thrust upon it incredibly high
expectations: to act exactly like us, but at the same
time, to do our bidding. Uncomfortably, this ignores
the human right to self-determination. Terrifyingly,
if this clone is our identical equal, who’s to say we I, (evil?) Robot
are in charge? Will they share equal rights to our
possessions? Soon there could emerge racial We are already surrounded by machines that
tensions between original humans and exist to serve us, but we are fast developing
clones. Not to mention the problem of increasingly human-like robots. Are we comfortable
overpopulation. with the idea of one day creating sophisticated
android servants to follow their master’s every
command? As possessions they would effectively be
slaves. As increasingly clever and self-aware androids
(potentially with artificial intelligence) there would
be a blurry distinction as to what basic rights
they would enjoy. Whilst we might create
emotionally neutral and uninhibited robo-
slaves, what’s to stop immoral owners
from using their android to fulfil
their evil intentions?
12 I, Science www.isciencemag.co.ukSounds like Eugenics
in science fiction Genetic engineering offers the potential to
fashion the perfect human being, eradicating any
inherited genetic flaws. It’s an attractive-sounding
proposition: the opportunity to stack the odds in
your favour in the ‘nature versus nurture’ gamble. But
Time breeding perfect humans would create an entirely new
social class. Taking discrimination to new levels, the
travel for dummies class you belong to will not be determined by skin
colour, income or social status, but the make-up of
Widely addressed in science fiction, from your genes. Creating a super-race of humans has
Arnold Schwarzenegger to H. G. Wells, time travel been discussed before, although often not
throws up some interesting moral issues. Especially by the most morally sound kinds of
the huge amount of power and responsibility people.
afforded to anyone able to travel through time and
alter the future by changing past events. Moreover,
due to the difficulty in predicting exactly how your
adjustments will pan out, quantum leaps could be
incredibly dangerous. Whose interests are served?
How much is to be changed? Is it acceptable if
past-you (or present-you?) kills future-you?
Besides the mind-bending complexity,
it’s definitely a moral maze.
Claire Lynn
What a ‘WALL-E’
In the Disney Pixar film WALL-E, humans have
been living on a spaceship for 700 years, waiting for
robots to find signs of plant regeneration on the earth
they have –covered in rubbish. The spaceship is a fully
automated system which utilises sleek and efficient
robots to do everything for the humans. Although
seemingly happy, our species has become confined to
‘hover chairs’, and have become disgustingly obese as
a result. Physical contact is not necessary thanks
to personalized holographic displays which
mediate all activities. In short, we don’t
have to lift a finger. But is that a
good thing?
www.isciencemag.co.uk I, Science 13Polygraphs:
are they telling the truth?
Polygraph tests are used across many industries and are often relied on during police investigations.
Conor McKeever asks whether they are reliable.
W hen Bill Wegerle came home
to find his wife murdered in
their bed, his world fell apart.
To make it worse, he became
the prime suspect in her
murder and, without an alibi, no one would
believe his innocence. In a bid to clear
his name, he agreed to a police polygraph
test, but failed. Twice. By the time he was
compared. An ‘innocent’ person shows
more of a response to control questions,
things unrelated to the crime that someone
is likely to lie about, such as “Have you ever
stolen anything?” A ‘liar’, on the other hand,
shows more of a response to case-relevant
questions.
However, there are many reasons why an
they will have an unexpectedly low control
response, making them appear liars.
As for the guilty person trying to beat the
test, relevant techniques are easy to find.
These include heightening responses to
control questions through physical pain or
mental stimulation, or lowering responses
to relevant questions through meditation.
finally exonerated, in light of new evidence, innocent person might show a heightened Floyd Fay spent his time in prison reading
it was too late – Bill and his children had response to the case-relevant questions. up about polygraph tests and coaching his
spent twenty years living as social outcasts, They may be scared their answer won’t be fellow inmates to beat the test. With just 15
damned by the very machine that should believed, or know something about the minutes of training, 23 out of 27 prisoners
have saved them. crime without having committed it. In fact, could beat it.
if they tell the truth to the control questions,
This might seem to be an anomalous
case, but it’s not – time and time again,
polygraphs have shown themselves to be
undeserving of the nickname ‘lie detector.’
Take the case of Ana Montes, a Cuban
spy who successfully worked at the US
Defence Intelligence Agency for over 25
years despite their regular polygraph tests.
Or Floyd Fay, who was sentenced to life in
prison following a failed lie detector test,
and only released when new DNA evidence
came to light.
The problem lies in how the test works:
it is based on the assumption that when we
lie, we become increasingly emotionally
aroused. The polygraph test measures
changes in heart rate, blood pressure and
skin conductance, which are the body’s
physiological responses to arousal, so
when an interviewer asks control questions
followed by case-relevant questions,
Tristan V
the two physiological responses can be arela
14 I, Science www.isciencemag.co.ukWhat’s more, the test results are analysed states allow polygraph evidence in court,
by the polygraph operator, making them and private employers can polygraph test
vulnerable to subjective errors. In one their employees as part of an internal
It is based
such case, David Westerfield of San Diego investigation. In the UK, the government
failed a polygraph test after the examiner plans to introduce mandatory polygraph
decided his alibi was unbelievable and took testing for sex offenders in the hope that
measures to ‘compensate’ – deviating from this will reduce re-offending rates.
on the
the agreed questions, raising the room
temperature, and adjusting the machine So, the reason for polygraph use?
sensitivity when the readings were too low. Confessions. If a person believes that they
have failed the test (this is often suggested
assumption
Pre-existing biases can also sway the to them by the interviewer), then they are
result, as the American investigative more likely to confess to the crime. But
news programme 60 Minutes cleverly consider the implications of this; because
demonstrated. Using a photography a small number of cases yield results,
that when
magazine as a front, it hired four wrongful convictions and pardons seem
polygraphers to investigate an alleged case like acceptable ‘collateral damage.’ This
of theft. Each examiner was given the same is a seriously unethical way to approach
four suspects to interview and, before the crime solving. What’s more, it means
we lie, we
tests started, told that one of the four was that institutional lying becomes a legally
most likely to be the thief. Despite the fact acceptable way to get the truth.
the hunch-suspect was different every time,
the tests of each of the four polygraphers Yet the most dangerous problem is
become
‘proved’ the suspect they were given as the this: the confession approach only works
hunch-suspect was the thief. Of course, if the person believes in the accuracy of
there had been no theft, and all four polygraph tests. It’s hard to get a confession
suspects were actors – the polygraphers had from someone who knows you’re bluffing.
increasingly
simply looked for reasons to justify their And how long will it be before people start
suspicions. Can we trust that, in a real-life to beat the test? Given the sheer volume of
situation, when the person being tested is information out there about polygraphs, it
already under suspicion, these biases won’t is only a matter of time. If we blindly trust
emotionally
re-emerge? a machine that fails in nearly 40% of cases,
then why not also allow juries to convict
Given these problems, it’s not surprising someone on the basis that he or she ‘looked
that a 1997 survey of psychologists a bit shifty’, rather than considering the
aroused
estimated the polygraph’s accuracy to be evidence that proves it ‘beyond reasonable
around 61% – not much better than chance. doubt’? Better still, just flip a coin. Overall
If we consider the case of a company with you’re bound to be right half the time. It’s
10,000 employees, ten of whom are spies, time to expose the fact that lie detectors
then six spies and 3,896 innocent people do not actually ‘tell the truth, the whole
would be accused of spying. Such a result truth and nothing but the truth’ but only
is next to useless. Yet in America, 17 someone’s interpretation of the truth.
www.isciencemag.co.uk I, Science 15SCIENCE
BEHIND The number of ants living on Earth
at any one time is inconceivable. Their
title of largest ant on Earth. The biggest
of its workers are approximately 2.5 cm in
THE
adults alone are thought to number length, with their heads reaching almost
1,000,000,000,000,000 individuals: almost 1 cm across. Despite these impressive
one hundred and fifty thousand times the statistics, almost all of the diet of this
PHOTO
number of humans alive today. colossus amongst insects is made up of
honeydew, a sugary secretion produced
The Malaysian giant forest ant by aphids and their relatives. The giant
Camponotus gigas is a contender for the ants nest underground but send foraging
16 I, Science www.isciencemag.co.ukworkers out every night at dusk, when they they box with their front legs to defuse the The frog is a juvenile grass frog (possibly can climb up to 80 m into the canopy to conflict: their territories are so large, and Fejervarya limnocharis), commonly feed. So high is their feeding ground that their numbers so small, that the cost of found in temporary water sources such the ants create satellite nests in the canopy losing ants to non-ritual battles is simply as puddles and ditches. This photo was to further protect their territory. Whilst too high. taken in rainforest in Sabah, Borneo, a foraging, the largest workers take part in habitat critically threatened by logging and ‘ritual’ battles when they encounter ants Despite its formidable appearance, the conversion to agriculture. of the same species. Rather than allowing giant ant is a gentle creature, unaggressive clashes to escalate into full-blown violence, towards humans and incapable of stinging. Photo and text by Tim Cockerill www.isciencemag.co.uk I, Science 17
Landfill through
a moral lens
Urgent action needs to be taken to reduce the amount of waste in landfill. Tom Bragg takes a look at
the ethical reasons for waste reduction.
A hundred years ago, when
resources were scarce, it was
costly to replace essentials
like clothes or furniture.
Broken items would be
stripped for parts, and only when there were
no other uses for the constituent materials
would they be discarded. But since the
second half of the 20th century, consumer
there is also an important moral imperative
to stop this uncontrolled natural resource
exploitation.
In the 17th century, the ethicist Benedict
Spinoza equated a life of virtue with a life
lived in accordance with our rational nature.
In line with Spinoza therefore, if it is moral
for us to pile waste into landfill, it must also
products have become so cheap that there be rational. Let’s use the production of a
is now no incentive to reuse materials when simple plastic chair to discuss whether or
an item needs replacing. not we’re behaving rationally and therefore
virtuously. To produce the plastic chair
During this long-running consumption from unused material, a barrel of oil is
boom, did anyone question whether it was first drawn from the seabed up a long
right to pull resources from the ground, pipe and transported to shore in a tanker.
turn them into cheap goods, then guiltlessly It then undergoes processing before being
discard and forget about them? No – the transported to a subsidiary company, where
economic benefits of shelving the problem more processing is carried out. Eventually,
meant that such questions were ignored and the end manufacturer shapes the plastic
saved for another day. Now, landfill in the into a chair, screws on four metallic legs
UK is filling up fast, with some estimating and sells it to a furniture store. The whole
there will be no space left as early as 2016. procedure is an amazing feat of ingenuity.
In response, the Government’s When the chair is no longer needed,
Department for Environment, Food and one option is to throw it into landfill,
Rural Affairs wants to move towards a while another is to unscrew the legs and
‘zero waste’ society over the coming years. reprocess the plastic seat and metal legs.
Their plans have reduced the percentage of Obtaining plastic this second way is clearly
household waste going into landfill from much simpler than the first, because there
90% in 2000 to 60% in 2011. The water is no need to extract oil from the seabed,
industry now treats 66% of sewage sludge and it involves far less processing and
by anaerobic digestion, which helped transportation. The majority of plastic
generate 1 TWh of electricity in 2010. The chair-making companies, however, do it the
reasons for this ongoing clean-up are the first way. Why? You’ll be told it’s because
numerous economic and environmental systems are already in place for the oil-
Tascha Mehrabi problems associated with landfill usage, but extraction method, which makes it cheaper,
18 I, Science www.isciencemag.co.ukdespite requiring more effort. But if we next generation. In our short-sightedness Anscombe’s Consequentialist theory from
have created a plastic chair-making system we might deplete all available resources the mid-20th century, which argues that the
through the complex oil-extraction process, – an especially poignant argument consequences of a person’s actions are the
we must be able to create another system, against landfilling rare earth metals used ultimate moral judge.
using the simpler recycling method. On an in the production of electronics. Also,
industrial scale, this process would require contaminants from landfill pollute surface Drawing on the theories of Spinoza, Mill
even less money and effort than it does now. water, groundwater and soil, thus causing and Anscombe, we can see that there is a
The real reason we’re reluctant to embrace problems for future generations. Finally, moral argument for reducing waste. The
a recycled plastics industry is that reusing there is no logical link between natural UK government is responding to some
material doesn’t prove to ourselves our resource extraction and economic activity; degree, for instance by increasing the tax
own ingenuity. By the rules that drive the no one is going to stop buying chairs if oil on landfill deposits by £8 per year from
economy, this reluctance isn’t rational and pumping from refineries is stopped; chairs £56 per tonne of rubbish in 2011/12, to
therefore, according to Spinoza, isn’t moral. will still sell if they are made from recycled £80 in 2014/15, however, little is being
plastic. done at the manufacturing stage. Why are
Another source for moral guidance on so many products still on the shelves, like
this issue comes from the 19th century Governments can easily create a system disposable nappies, that are made from
philosopher, John Stuart Mill. His theory where it’s cheaper to manufacture goods composite materials that can’t be recycled?
of utilitarianism said that it is moral to act from recycled plastic by taxing goods Why is it still cheaper to buy products
in a way that brings the greatest happiness made from non-recycled plastic. But they made from extracted materials than from
to the greatest number. An economist will don’t because of this unmoving wedge recycled materials? The government is
tell you that extracting natural resources to in the mind that says the objects around dragging its heels in taking the problem to
produce every new product will lead to the us must be imbued with ingenuity. Their the manufacturers’ doors and not providing
greatest happiness for the greatest number position is as immoral as the economist’s enough support for either new materials
because it produces cheap objects, which recourse to a utilitarian argument to defend research or the young recycling industry.
drives the economy, thus making everyone excessive natural resource extraction. The ethical wisdom of Mill might help
richer. The greatest happiness will come from manufacturers recognize that: “Everyone
efficiently using resources and minimising who receives the protection of society owes
But like a number of contemporary waste. This is even more obvious when a return for the benefit.”
considerations, this fails to account for the the utilitarian argument is coupled with
Tascha Mehrabi
www.isciencemag.co.uk I, Science 19Drugs policy:
not as easy as ABC
A new report on UK drug policy is refreshingly different, writes Jonny Ritson.
I n October 2012, the UK
Drugs Policy Commission
published a report, six years
in the making, into the
country’s current approach
to illegal drugs. It highlights a growing
desire in society to move towards a more
evidence-based approach to policy-
making. Entitled ‘A fresh approach to
not all the
effects of drugs
gambling – sadly reminiscent of the horse-
riding comment that led to the vilification
and mockery of Professor David Nutt in the
press.
Outside the media, responses have been
mixed. The Green Party, which campaigns
for the decriminalisation of small drugs
offences, welcomed the findings, with MP
drugs’, it proposes making possession a
civil rather than a criminal offence, and
suggests focusing remedial efforts on harm
are negative Caroline Lucas calling for “policy based on
evidence about what reduces harms, rather
than one driven by moral judgements”. This
reduction so that users can be supported to is a common theme in current drugs policy;
adopt more responsible behaviours instead of criminal records on so large a group. It the assumed moral values of society are
of being criminalised and stigmatised. also discusses the need for policy makers imposed via criminal sanctions on users.
to accept that not all the effects of drugs Interesting questions are raised when we
The report is highly critical of the are negative; frequently young adults will consider that a third of us are taking illegal
antiquated, and largely arbitrary, ‘ABC’ use drugs and simply grow out of it. In this drugs; so where has this assumed morality
system of drug classification drawn up in respect the report echoes one of Bill Hicks’ come from and is using drugs inherently
1971. Under this system, 42,000 people famous rants where he says “I have taken wrong?
were sentenced to drug offences in 2011, drugs before and […] I had a real good time.
with a further 160,000 issued warnings for Sorry. Didn’t murder anybody, didn’t rape The answer will depend on your frame
cannabis possession. Given the body of anybody, didn’t rob anybody”. Refreshing, of reference – many religions, for example,
evidence in the literature on the relative too, is the report’s discussion on why there prohibit the use of alcohol. What if my
impacts of drugs, it seems somewhat ill- is a difference in our minds between ‘drugs’ religion allows or encourages the use of
conceived that magic mushrooms, the and state-sanctioned drugs like alcohol and psychoactive substances, or what if I have
least harmful of drugs to user and society, nicotine; in terms of harm there is no clear- no religion at all? Should beliefs like these
are categorised with heroin and crack, two cut distinction. be given influence over policy in a modern,
powerfully addictive substances. It seems secular society?
that the only similarity in the damage Response to the report has been,
caused by taking mushrooms and crack is regrettably, predictable. Although many There seems to be an underlying theme
the prison sentence that can be brought media outlets communicated the findings, here. Should the use of drugs be a personal
against the user, and the criminal record they could not resist pulling out eye- choice or should the government have
that will follow them for years to come. catching quotes, ironically underlining the control over what you do? The latter is
issues of an alarmist media which the report a troubling idea for people from all over
One of the key successes of the report itself warns against. The Independent, Daily the political spectrum. This is further
is that it recognises the prevalence of drug Telegraph and Huffington Post all opted complicated by the fact many of the ‘wrongs’
use (36.4% of people in England and Wales for headlines picking up on the report of taking drugs – such as exploitation during
take illegal drugs) and the potential impact comparing drug use with junk food or production and the crimes committed to
20 I, Science www.isciencemag.co.ukfeed addictions – are caused or exacerbated
by the fact that drugs are illegal in the first
place.
Intelligent debate on drugs policy has
been extremely difficult, as politicians are
loath to appear soft on crime and many
media sources see decriminalisation as
indicative of declining moral values. A key
recommendation is to remove the political
and criminal angle from drugs policy and
instead make it a health and civil issue – take
responsibility away from the Home Office
and give it instead to the health service. Let
an independent body set statutory policy.
If these measures were taken, evidence-
based policies could be pursued without
any political party being involved, hopefully
allowing some progress.
The Home Office, in response to the
suggestion that responsibility for such
policy-making be taken from them, has
Margeaux Calon
there is an air claimed “our ambitious approach to
tackling drugs is the right one”. Therein
morality and instead move towards a
scientifically based framework which might
of fatalism lies the problem. Having just read an 89-
page report stressing the lack of long-term
thinking, research and evidence-based
actually, well, work.
Is the UK ready for these types of
from knowing policy, it is mildly amusing to hear the
Home Office declare business as usual.
Throughout the report the exasperated
strategies? Colorado and Washington have
just voted to legalise cannabis use, adding to
the growing number of countries and states
their ideas are tone of the authors is evident. Frequently
they offer examples of successful policies of
harm-reduction and decriminalisation that
moving away from a criminally enforced
abstinence approach to one based on harm
reduction. This report points to a new way:
likely to be have worked in Portugal, Switzerland and
the Czech Republic, yet there is an air of
fatalism from knowing their ideas are likely
what if we accepted that some people are
going to take drugs no matter what we
do? Why not just make sure they don’t
ignored to be ignored. Perhaps if enough people
take notice, we might start to see fewer
policies based on some idea of a national
injure themselves or their futures while
they’re doing it? Now that would be a fresh
approach.
www.isciencemag.co.uk 21Pharmaceutical
industry adopts
orphan drugs
Josh Howgego discusses how research into treating rare diseases is gaining popularity and questions
the future for these ‘orphan drugs’.
I n the autumn of 2012, a paper
was published in the journal
ACS Nano that proposed
a model for understanding
how a rare condition called
argyria comes about. The condition is
caused by chronic exposure to silver salts
and is particularly nasty, as it turns the skin
a distressing blue colour. It characteristically
information about argyria was a happy
bonus for the researchers. Since so few
people suffer from the condition, it would
be hard to imagine a funding body or
pharmaceutical company ever investing in
a full-scale search to find a treatment. To
put it in terms of crude economics, the tiny
size of the client base would make it a bad
business move.
Orphan drugs
are riding
a wave of
occurs in the few people who ill-advisedly
guzzle down ‘health tonics’ containing
colloidal silver.
But surprisingly, so-called ‘orphan drugs’
– formulations that treat uncommon
medical conditions, from rare genetic
financial and
The new work was motivated by worries
over the environmental fate of silver
nanoparticles. These are now ubiquitous
diseases to bites from obscure species of
snake – are riding a wave of financial and
clinical success at the moment.
clinical success
in modern life – found in everything
from bandages to cleaning sprays – due According to a report by Thomson rate of orphan drugs increased by 25.8%
to their antimicrobial properties. The new Reuters, the compound annual growth between 2001 and 2010. Sounds like a lot? It
really is, especially given the huge problems
that the industry faces in general: in that
same period, the non-orphan drug market
contracted by 20.1%.
So why the disparity? One reason is the
way drugs are licensed. In most cases a
pharmaceutical drug can be patented for a
set number of years (this varies depending
on country of sale, among other factors).
During that time the developer has exclusive
rights to the active ingredients – the drug
molecules – they have developed. But from
day one their competitors can start working
out how to make the same molecule more
cheaply and efficiently. That means that
soon after the patent expires, usually 10
Frupus, Flickr years or so, the market will be flooded with
22 I, Science www.isciencemag.co.uk‘generic’ competition: the same drug sold than average clinical trials. Applications for
under another name by a competitor. In
some ways that’s great; cheaper drugs that
state approval can be fast-tracked too.
Not only do
have stood the test of time sound attractive. There are, of course, some difficulties
But in practice it means there is wariness
from drug giants about how much to invest
with orphan drugs. For instance, it may be
more difficult to find patients to participate
patients pay more
in researching a drug. If they begin to
think they can’t recoup burgeoning levels
of investment in the first 10 years, they are
in clinical trials – there are fewer of them,
and they are spread out across countries –
so organising logistics is not easy.
for orphan drugs,
prone to pull out.
But this doesn’t seem to be putting
but they jump at
Pfizer, a large drug company, developed
a cholesterol-lowering drug called Lipitor –
the most profitable drug ever – some time
companies off. The Reuters report says
that, in 2010, the industry’s most expensive
drug, Soliris, brought in a total of $541
the chance to do so
ago. But it began facing competition from million in total sales. Only between 4000
generic copies in November 2011. Even and 6000 people have the disease it treats lag time before the public get used to them
before then, the company had been cutting – paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria, and start using them. But patients who
costs by closing offices and research centres a rare and life-threatening blood disease – have a life-threatening disease with only
around the world. In August 2012 they but the drug costs more than $409,000 per one treatment option are understandably
announced they would be pulling the plug year so the money soon adds up. desperate.
on most of their research into Alzheimer’s
disease. One of their clinical trials had Not only do patients pay more for orphan So should we be optimistic about the
failed, and the company evidently decided drugs, but they jump at the chance to do so. future of orphan drugs? We’ve seen evidence
the cost–benefit ratio didn’t make sense Most non-orphan drugs have some sort of of government legislation prompting
anymore. research into drugs for people who would
otherwise have been overlooked. That’s a
Orphan drugs are attractive to
pharmaceutical and biotech companies Orphan drugs have reason to celebrate; there are drugs where
before there was despair.
since they have added protection from
generic drugs plus a host of other financial
bonuses attached to them. It all started in
added protection But at what price? We would be naïve
to think that pharmaceutical companies
1983 when the US introduced the Orphan
Drug Act. Similar acts were passed in from generic drugs, champion orphans for reasons other than
because they turn a good profit. None
Australia and Singapore in the 90s, and of the individual scientists are bad, or
finally one in Europe in 2000. These acts
provided tax incentives to orphan drug
plus a host of immoral, it’s just that the money for drug
research and development must come
manufacturers. But more than that, they
offered ‘marketing exclusivity’ on top of the
patent system, which in practice prevents
other financial from somewhere. So of course we should
be pleased that orphan drugs are taking
off. But we shouldn’t forget that 5.4 million
the drugs from being copied for longer. The
acts also mean that in some cases drugs
bonuses people in the United States are living with
Alzheimer’s. They may not be orphans, but
only need to undergo shorter and smaller they’re still worth caring about.
www.isciencemag.co.uk I, Science 23You can also read
