Review: Current Controversies in the Biological Sciences: Case Studies of Policy Challenges from New Technologies (original) (raw)

Science, Technology, and Public Policy

Human beings are in the midst of constructing a new world through science and technology. This is taking place at an accelerating speed in both developed and developing countries. (Indeed, science and technology are essential to what we commonly think of as 'development' and its underlying ideal of human flourishing or well-being.) The kind of world that emerges will be determined not simply by the expanding knowledge of science or the increasing powers of technology. It will depend more significantly on decisions or policies made by governments, NGOS, corporations, universities, and individuals. These decisions in turn hinge on our visions, implicit or explicit, about good and bad, right and wrong, justice and injustice-and by our abilities to enact ideals in the face of limited knowledge and temptations to ease or arrogance. This course introduces students to key themes and topics in science and technology policy and to some of the most important decisions facing human civilization. It aspires to cultivate in students the virtues of reflective thinking, cogent argument, and informed judgment so that they may go on to wisely shape future policies with and for science and technology. Emphasis will be placed on exploration-of relevant ideas, events, texts, and opinions-more so than an obligation to learn or to leave knowing 'the basics' of science policy.

Governing Controversial Science: Lessons from Stem Cell Research

Policy and Society, 2009

Developments in genomic science and biotechnology are creating new governance challenges concerning funding, oversight, and regulation of the underlying science and its applications. Among forms of genomics and biotechnology, human stem cell research has been one of the most controversial. It holds great promise for the development of medical therapies, but the link between human reproduction and research on embryonic stem cells has fuelled serious opposition. We contend that good policy design can reduce tensions around the advancement of controversial science and technologies flowing from it. This article examines issues in the governance of human stem cell research using evidence from California. Four lessons are drawn for the effective governance of other areas of human genomics and biotechnology. They are (1) isolate structural design from controversy; (2) make room for laypeople in the governance structures; (3) promote transparency, minimize secrecy; and (4) create opportunities for learning and innovation.

Regulating scientific research: should scientists be left alone

Faseb Journal, 2007

In our current political climate, decisions about whether to fund research on new stem cell lines or do chimera experiments seem to arbitrarily depend on the religious and economic interests of the administration. Not unreasonably, many scientists believe that science should be left to its own devices in determining research priorities and conducting research. When nonscientific considerations constrain research, it is claimed that values are inappropriately dictating scientific decisions. This assumes, however, that all ethical and social values are irrelevant to such decisions. Using the case of embryonic stem cell research to illustrate the debate, we argue here that this position is untenable for several reasons. First, the aims of science, particularly in the case of the biomedical sciences, cannot be completely extricated from ethical and social aims. Hence, value judgments will be necessary to assess research priorities and methodologies. Second, maintaining this position is inconsistent with actual scientific practices. Scientists already recognize that there are some ethical values that appropriately constrain research, such as in human subject experimentation. Therefore, the problem cannot be that ethical values are brought to bear on science per se but that those values are highly questionable or are imposed by those who often lack the scientific expertise necessary to understand how ethical concerns may relate to the research. Finally, we argue that to the extent value judgments must be made, consensus about such values should be reached by a diverse group of stakeholders, including scientists, community members, policymakers, and ethicists.-Intemann, K. K, de Melo-Martín, I. Regulating scientific research: should scientists be left alone? FASEB J. 22, 654 -658 (2008)

Introduction: Science and public policy - relations in flux

Handbook on Science and Public Policy, 2019

This Handbook on Science and Public Policy will capture a landscape in flux: the relation between science and society has been changing in the last decades, and it has become a hot topic in the science system and in science policy studies. Even though historically the topic is not new, it seems that the roles of science and innovation are being debated more explicitly: the demand for science-based innovation is growing while the legitimation of scientific research is being questioned. Scientific knowledge is hailed as a significant societal and economic resource in global competition. Innovations emerging from science are considered to be the key to market success and prosperity. At the same time, scientific knowledge and research-based innovation are supposed to address so-called grand societal challenges and help achieve ‘sustainable development goals’ (United Nations 2015). Yet, there is also pressure to legitimise the increasing amounts of public funding for research worldwide. And the questions ‘how does society benefit from science?’ and ‘which research is “relevant” and “useful”?’ are raised emphatically. This Handbook assembles state-of-the-art insights into the co-evolutionary and precarious relations between science and public policy. Beyond this, it also offers a fresh outlook on emerging challenges for science (including technology and innovation) in changing societies, and related policy requirements, as well as the challenges for public policy in view of science-driven economic, societal, and cultural changes. In short, this book deals with science as a policy-triggered project as well as public policy as a science-driven venture.

A New Framework for Science and Technology Policy

1999

The usual divisions of science and technology into pure researc~applied research, development, demonstration, and production creates impediments for moving knowledge into socially usefhl products and services. This failing has been previously discussed without concrete suggestions of how to improve the situation. In the proposed framework the divisive and artificial distinctions of "basic" and "applied" are softened, and the complementary and somewhat overlapping roles of universities, corporations, and federal labs are clarified to enable robust partnerships. As a collegial group of scientists and technologists ilom industry, university, and government agencies and their national laboratories, we have worked together to clari& this framework. We offer the results in hopes of improving the results from investments in science and technology and thereby helping strengthen the social contract between the public and private investors and the scientiststechnologists.

Good Governance Connects Science and Society

Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2012

Owen-Smith et al. answer the question about expanding funding for human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) research decisively and emphatically. They conclude that the U.S. federal government should expand funding in volume and scope, and stabilize it through regularity. If the clear goal of policy should be to increase present and future activity within the hPSC research domain over the long term, the solutions are simple-and their recommendations are on target. This, however, is the right solution to the wrong problem.