RESEARCH CONDUCT: Lessons of the Stem Cell Scandal

What justifies the United States ban on federal funding for nonreproductive cloning?

This paper explores how current United States policies for funding nonreproductive cloning are justified and argues against that justification. I show that a common conceptual framework underlies the national prohibition on the use of public funds for cloning research, which I call the simple argument. This argument rests on two premises: that research harming human embryos is unethical and that embryos produced via fertilization are identical to those produced via cloning. In response to the simple argument, I challenge the latter premise. I demonstrate there are important ontological differences between human embryos (produced via fertilization) and clone embryos (produced via cloning). After considering the implications my argument has for the morality of publicly funding cloning for potential therapeutic purposes and potential responses to my position, I conclude that such funding is not only ethically permissible, but also humane national policy.

Ethical modernization: research misconduct and research ethics reforms in Korea following the Hwang affair

The Hwang affair, a dramatic and far reaching instance of scientific fraud, shocked the world. This collective national failure prompted various organizations in Korea, including universities, regulatory agencies, and research associations, to engage in self-criticism and research ethics reforms. This paper aims, first, to document and review research misconduct perpetrated by Hwang and members of his research team, with particular attention to the agencies that failed to regulate and then supervise Hwang's research. The paper then examines the research ethics reforms introduced in the wake of this international scandal. After reviewing American and European research governance structures and policies, policy makers developed a mixed model mindful of its Korean context. The third part of the paper examines how research ethics reform is proactive (a response to shocking scientific misconduct and ensuing external criticism from the press and society) as well as reactive (identification of and adherence to national or international ethics standards). The last part deals with Korean society's response to the Hwang affair, which had the effect of a moral atomic bomb and has led to broad ethical reform in Korean society. We conceptualize this change as ethical modernization, through which the Korean public corrects the failures of a growth-oriented economic model for social progress, and attempts to create a more trustworthy and ethical society.

Research integrity in China: problems and prospects

In little more than 30 years, China has recovered from the intellectual stagnation brought about by the Cultural Revolution to become a global leader in science and technology. Like other leading countries in science and technology, China has encountered some ethical problems related to the conduct of research. China's leaders have taken some steps to respond to these problems, such as developing ethics policies and establishing oversight committees. To keep moving forward, China needs to continue to take effective action to promote research integrity. Some of the challenges China faces include additional policy development, promoting education in responsible conduct of research, protecting whistle-blowers, and cultivating an ethical research environment.

The legacy of the Hwang case: research misconduct in biosciences

This paper focuses on the infamous case of Hwang Woo Suk, the South-Korean national hero and once celebrated pioneer of stem cell research. After briefly discussing the evolution of his publication and research scandal in Science, I will attempt to outline the main reactions that emerged within scientific and bioethical discourses on the problem of research misconduct in contemporary biosciences. What were the ethical lapses in his research? What kind of research misconduct has been identified? How this kind of misconduct affects scientific integrity? How to avoid it? Focusing on these questions, the paper interprets the Hwang's case as a case study that might shed light on the worst aspects of highstakes global science. This case presents a group of problems that might endanger scientific integrity and public trust. Regulatory oversight, ethical requirements and institutional safeguards are often viewed by the scientific community as merely decelerating scientific progress and causing delays in the application of treatments. The Hwang's case represents how unimpeded progress works in contemporary science. Thus, the case might shed light on the often neglected benefits of "the social control of science".

Ethics and Stem Cell Therapeutics for Cardiovascular Disease

As research on stem cell therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in adults is being planned and conducted it is essential to address the ethical issues associated with it. The considerable attention that is currently focused on the ethical issues associated with stem cell research as well as the acute clinical situations sometimes encountered when treating cardiovascular disease, underscore the need for explicit attention to the ethical aspects of this research. In this article, I survey some of the key ethical considerations regarding research involving stem cell therapeutics for cardiovascular diseases including: (1) the standard ethical considerations for translational and clinical research and mechanisms of ethical oversight of them; (2) additional oversight related to stem cell research; (3) considerations for obtaining informed consent for this research and in selecting individual human subjects to participate in it; (4) concerns related to justice that may manifest themselves with respect to which research endeavors move forward and (5) conflicts of interest in research and their potential relationship to research integrity.

Neuroethical responsibilities

Neuroscience represents a dynamic area of biomedical research where neuroethical responsibilities for researchers are emerging. This paper is the companion piece to the French-language one also published in this issue of the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. It serves as a review of recent advances in neuroethics through the lens of three cases: (1) incidental finding of anomalies in neuroimaging research; (2) creation of neurotechnologies that can lead to cognitive enhancement, and (3) responsible communication of research results. We propose and discuss a multidimensional framework of neuroethical responsibilities to help tackle these issues. The framework reiterates the fundamental role of scientific integrity, puts in the foreground social responsibilities pertaining to the eventual use of neuroscience knowledge, and highlights self-reflection in research and training of researchers.

The distribution of forensic journals, reflections on authorship practices, peer-review and role of the impact factor

This article presents information about journals specializing in the forensic sciences and legal medicine, their development and distribution and their current status as reflected in the journal impact factor. The first scientific journal devoted to spreading information and reporting new developments in social and legal medicine seemingly originated in Germany about 150 years ago. The official journal of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (Journal of Forensic Sciences, JFS) was founded in 1956 and has enjoyed 50 years of scholarly publishing. The two leading European journals specializing in forensics are Forensic Science International (FSI) and International Journal of Legal Medicine (IJLM). Besides the size of the circulation, the readership numbers, the quality of the editorial staff and the peer-reviewers, the number of submitted and accepted manuscripts, considerable interest has focused on the journal's impact factor as a measure of prestige. The 2006 impact factor of a certain journal is derived by counting the number of citations in 2006 to all material published in the journal in the previous 2 years (2004 and 2005) and dividing this total by the number of citable items (articles and reviews) published in the same 2 years. Impact factors for several thousand scientific journals are compiled and published by a company called Thomson Institute for Scientific Information (Thomson ISI) and are available on-line via the database Journal Citation Reports. Forensic journals are grouped within the subject category Medicine, Legal, which currently comprises nine journals a few of which are seemingly unrelated to mainstream forensics. The top-ranked forensic journal in terms of its impact factor was IJLM with a score of just over 2.0 in 2004. This means that the average article published in 2003 and 2002 was cited twice per year in the 2-year window after publication. Impact factors of forensic journals are fairly low in comparison with many other disciplines, probably because of the small size of the field, fewer active researchers and less pressure to publish. The relatively low impact factors of forensic journals should be less of a concern than ensuring that manuscripts receive a rigorous and preferably an open peer-review prior to acceptance for publication. The information, conclusions and opinions published in forensic science journals might one day be proffered as evidence in criminal or civil litigation.

Establishing procedures for institutional oversight of stem cell research

Academic health centers (AHCs), which are at the forefront of stem cell research, need to establish institutional stem cell research oversight committees (SCROs) to comply with 2005 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recommendations and to establish public trust in this sensitive research. Institutional review boards (IRBs) typically lack the expertise and time to adequately review the specific ethical issues raised by stem cell research. To assure careful, timely, and coordinated review of the science and ethics of stem cell protocols, AHCs need to address many practical procedural issues, such as SCRO membership, quorum, conflicts of interest, and procedures for protocol review. The SCRO committee at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), established in 2003, has developed detailed policies and procedures on these issues. The UCSF SCRO has broad scientific expertise and uses ad hoc reviewers to strengthen the review process. Studies receiving full SCRO review have three lead reviewers: a scientist, a reviewer with ethics expertise, and a public representative. Studies introducing human stem cells into nonhuman blastocysts receive full review, even if the stem cells are anonymized. Some protocols are eligible for expedited review. The SCRO neither replaces nor duplicates review by the IRB and institutional animal care and use committees. Other AHCs can draw on the UCSF experience when developing their own policies and procedures for stem cell research oversight.

Human therapeutic cloning (NTSC)

Human therapeutic cloning or nuclear transfer stem cells (NTSC) to produce patient-specific stem cells, holds considerable promise in the field of regenerative medicine. The recent withdrawal of the only scientific publications claiming the successful generation of NTSC lines afford an opportunity to review the available research in mammalian reproductive somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) with the goal of progressing human NTSC. The process of SCNT is prone to epigenetic abnormalities that contribute to very low success rates. Although there are high mortality rates in some species of cloned animals, most surviving clones have been shown to have normal phenotypic and physiological characteristics and to produce healthy offspring. This technology has been applied to an increasing number of mammals for utility in research, agriculture, conservation, and biomedicine. In contrast, attempts at SCNT to produce human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have been disappointing. Only one group has published reliable evidence of success in deriving a cloned human blastocyst, using an undifferentiated hESC donor cell, and it failed to develop into a hESC line. When optimal conditions are present, it appears that in vitro development of cloned and parthenogenetic embryos, both of which may be utilized to produce hESCs, may be similar to in vitro fertilized embryos. The derivation of ESC lines from cloned embryos is substantially more efficient than the production of viable offspring. This review summarizes developments in mammalian reproductive cloning, cell-to-cell fusion alternatives, and strategies for oocyte procurement that may provide important clues facilitating progress in human therapeutic cloning leading to the successful application of cell-based therapies utilizing autologous hESC lines.

Responsabilités Neuroéthiques

Neuroscience represents a dynamic area of biomedical research where neuroethical responsibilities for researchers are emerging. This paper is the companion piece to the English-language one also published in this issue of the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. It serves as a review of recent advances in neuroethics through the lens of three cases: (1) incidental finding of anomalies in neuroimaging research; (2) creation of neurotechnologies that can lead to cognitive enhancement, and (3) responsible communication of research results. We propose and discuss a multidimensional framework of neuroethical responsibilities to help tackle these issues. The framework reiterates the fundamental role of scientific integrity, puts in the foreground social responsibilities pertaining to the eventual use of neuroscience knowledge, and highlights self-reflection in research and training of researchers.

Screening for hereditary hemochromatosis: a clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians

Hereditary hemochromatosis is a genetic disorder of iron metabolism. Diagnosis of hereditary hemochromatosis is usually based on a combination of various genetic or phenotypic criteria. Decisions regarding screening are difficult because of the variable penetrance of mutations of the HFE gene and the absence of any definitive trials addressing the benefits and risks of therapeutic phlebotomy in asymptomatic patients or those with only laboratory abnormalities. The purpose of this guideline is to increase physician awareness of hereditary hemochromatosis, particularly the variable penetrance of genetic mutations; aid in case finding; and explain the role of genetic testing. This guideline provides recommendations based on a review of evidence in the accompanying background paper by Schmitt and colleagues. The target audience for this guideline is internists and other primary care physicians. The target patient population is all persons who have a probability or susceptibility of developing hereditary hemochromatosis, including the relatives of individuals who already have the disease.