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Dacota Blue: Scientific attitude
The document outlines the scientific attitude that scientists and students studying science should possess. It lists 14 attributes that comprise scientific attitude, including curiosity, determination, open-mindedness, objectivity, humility, skepticism, patience, empathy, intellectual honesty, perseverance, self-confidence, and ethics. Each attribute is further explained with examples of famous scientists who embodied that quality such as Isaac Newton, Alexander Graham Bell, and Louis Pasteur.
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Dacota Blue: Scientific attitude
- 2. Scientific Attitude •Its an attitude that the scientist should possess… • A set of attitude that students study science should possess…
- 3. Scientific Attitude •Curiosity and fascination • Determination • Open-mindedness • Acceptance of Results • Objectivity • Humility and Healthy Skepticism • Patience • Reflection • Empathy for human condition • Intellectual Honesty • Perseverance • Self-Confidence • Scientific Intuition • Aptitude for Serendipity • Ethics
- 4. Curiosity • Alwaystry to seek, inquire, discover.
- 5. Fascination • Itensues with each discovery. Isaac Newton
- 6. Determination • Bepersistent in your endeavors. Be firm and self-confident. Alexander Graham Bell
- 7. Open mindedness •Open yourself to new ideas. Do not be one sided. Louise Pasteur
- 8. Acceptance of Results • Consider failure as a step towards success because it gives you additional scientific information on what to avoid. Failure is a part of a continuum of research.
- 9. Objectivity • Donot be influenced by anything but pertinent physical observations.
- 10. Humility • Beingmodest and unassuming.
- 11. Skepticism • Donot accept things blindly without questioning. Develop the doubting attitude unless presented with reliable data.
- 12. Patience • Waitcalmly for the result of the investigation since most scientific study takes time.
- 13. Reflection • Beingable to monitor and assess one’s behavior/action.
- 14. Empathy for humancondition Putting oneself in the position of another person
- 15. Intellectual Honesty •Be truthful with the all result. Manipulating results may cause misinterpretation of your work. • Do not claim scientific discoveries of others.
- 16. Intellectual Honesty Versus Rosalind Elsie Franklin
- 17. Perseverance • Agood Scientist should not give up. Albert Einstein Thomas Edison Their life story later…
- 18. Self- Confidence •A scientist is confident and ready to depend his work, especially if he knows that he is right.
- 19. Self- Confidence FerdinandMagellan
- 20. Scientific Intuition •Scientist should have a gut feeling to intuitively predict that something will happen such as a disaster. • This intuition is based on scientific training and understanding of scientific principles, unlike a fortune teller’s prediction based on tarot cards.
- 21. Aptitude for Serendipity • Most scientific breakthroughs came out of serendipity. Serendipity means unexpectedly discovering or finding things. Below are some stories in which serendipitous minds bring about accidental discoveries.
- 22. Aptitude for Serendipity Spencer Silver Art Fry
- 23. Aptitude for Serendipity Archimedes Art Fry
- 24. Aptitude for Serendipity Archimedes Art Fry
- 25. Ethics • Scientists’work should be guided by some moral codes.
- 27. The Values ofScience Science can be used to solve problems, but when misused, it can cause serious problem. “SMALL knowledge is DANGEROUS…”
- 28. The Values ofScience Dr. James Orbinski received the Nobel Prize in 1999 on behalf of a group of Doctors without Borders, he pledged that he was going to use the prize money to launch a global network and engage a public private partnership among the academe, hospitals and research laboratories. He wanted to developed low-cost drugs for diseases affecting many people in poor counties. The goal of the initiative was to save lives and not to make money.
- 29. The Values ofScience Weapon of Mass Destruction: “I made one great mistake in my life…when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made; but there was justification-the danger that the Germans would make them.” -Albert Einstein
- 30. The Values ofScience Cloning: • Will humans be cloned? Some have claimed they have cloned humans, but later denied doing so. Science requires ethical considerations. Experiments involving living organisms usually generate bioethical issue and touch on ideas of what is right and wrong. Using the knowledge from science should be guided by wisdom, conscience, humanity.
- 32. Inspired by thesescientists Albert Einstein: He is a dyslexic. His teacher told that he would never amount to anything, saying he was “a lazy dog who never bothered about mathematics at all.” From an early age, he disliked people telling him what to do and doing things just like everybody else.
- 33. Inspired by thesescientists Hating his schoolwork, he soon found an interest in algebra books, which a family friend give him. In 1894, he was expelled from school for rebelling against his teacher. Einstein’s important works includes theory of relativity and his famous formula E=mc2.
- 34. Inspired by thesescientists Isaac Newton: He is known for his laws on gravitation and motion, was not interested in the lessons being taught in school. His grades were also not that impressive. He was more interested in studying how the world works.
- 35. Inspired by thesescientists Isaac Newton sitting under a tree when he saw an apple fall to the ground. While the authenticity of the details of the story is often questioned, it is likely that he indeed observed many objects falling which prompted him to ask many questions, why did the apple fall from the tree?
- 36. Inspired by thesescientists What makes things fall? Can anything stop things from falling? Are the sun, moon, and stars falling? Why don’t they ever hit the ground? Newton spent many years answering these questions by thinking and doing experiments. He later on formulated the law of the universal gravitation. According to this law, everything pulls everything else to itself with a force called gravity.
- 37. Inspired by thesescientists Thomas Alva Edison: He was forced to leave school because he was not good in mathematics and he asked many question. He would not accept everything the teacher would say without testing it and seeing it for himself.
- 38. Inspired by thesescientists Edison was homeschooled by his mother. He is also a dyslexic and a deaf. He invented many electrical device.
- 39. Inspired by thesescientists Thomas Alva Edison conducted more than 10 000 failed experiments. Edison, however, did not give up, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10 000 ways that won’t work.” His positive attitude towards failure eventually led him to success.
- 40. Inspired by thesescientists Stephen Hawking: He is paralyzed and the computer talk for him. But his disability did not stop him to explain the secret behind the Big Bang Theory and revolutionized physics.
- 41. Inspired by thesescientists Leonardo Da Vinci: He wasn’t able to speak until the age of eight. But change the perception of art, science and inventions.
Editor's Notes
- #2 OBJECTIVES: At the end of the lesson the students should be able to: 1: determine the scientific attitudes. 2: realize scientist are also human beings who have strength and weaknesses 3. Have realistic expectations of scientist. References: Books: Pavico, Faraon, Ramos, Bayquen, Silverio (2013) Exploring Life Through Science (K-12 Curriculum Compliant) pages 13 and 33
- #5 A little child examines a patch of grass and investigates the creatures in it. With sheer amazement and wonder, question leads to another. Fascination ensues with each discovery. Asking question “Why?” is the springboard to the universe to the universe of scientific discovery. Curiosity and observation are the start of science and all scientists have that curious child in their hearts and minds. Scientist always ask questions and often wonder about the world. At first, these questions come at random. Later on, the questions become more focused and direct, enabling the scientist to know what data to gather and to plan how to answer these questions through experiments. Scientist usually have a small notebook or journal on which to write down their thoughts, the data they collected, their observations, and the ideas they generate.
- #6 A popular story pictures Isaac Newton sitting under a tree when he saw an apple fall to the ground. While the authenticity of the details of the story is often questioned, it is likely that he indeed observed many objects falling which prompted him to ask many questions, why did the apple fall from the tree? Does everything fall? What makes things fall? Can anything stop things from falling? Are the sun, moon, and stars falling? Why don’t they ever hit the ground? Newton spent many years answering these questions by thinking and doing experiments. He later on formulated the law of the universal gravitation. According to this law, everything pulls everything else to itself with a force called gravity.
- #7 Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. His mother was a deaf and his father was a teacher of deaf. He was married to a deaf and he had grown in the surrounding of hearing imparted people. Graham Bell thought of making a gadget that could make deaf hear. Many scientist discourage and did not believe on his vision. Indeed, Graham Bell failed to create a hearing aid but he has invented the best invention of all time… the Telephone.
- #8 Being open to new ideas even those from unlikely or unexpected sources. Open-mindedness means accepting criticisms and changing one’s views if reliable pieces of evidence are available. This includes showing respect for the work and ideas of others and being open to possibilities and new ways of thinking. It does not, however, accepting new idea without evidence or proof. Throughout the history, it was never easy for people to be open to new views and opinions especially when these ideas ran counter to what they thought true. Scientist who have an open mind are not afraid to re think establish beliefs and are often to try new techniques. However, many scientists who have proposed new ideas have also suffered ridicule. Copernicus, for example , was ridiculed by the church and his peers for his hypothesis- that the sun, not the Earth, is the center of the universe. Today, we know that Copernicus’ hypothesis was not quite precise because the sun is the center of the solar system and the solar system is just part of the universe. The doctrine of spontaneous generation was coherently synthesized by Aristotle,[1] who compiled and expanded the work of prior natural philosophers and the various ancient explanations of the appearance of organisms; it held sway for two millennia. Today it is generally accepted to have been decisively dispelled during the 19th century by the experiments of Louis Pasteur. He expanded upon the investigations of predecessors (such as Francesco Redi who, in the 17th century, had performed experiments based on the same principles). However, the experimental difficulties are greater than people might think, and objections from persons holding the traditional views persisted.
- #9 Whether desired or undesired-there is no such thing as “failure” in a scientific investigation. The fact that the result a scientist is hoping for not achieved is just as important as the facts that it is. They provide useful scientific information-in fact, such unexpected results often lead to further investigations and major discoveries. Not all experiments are successful. Science is not only about getting the answer. It also about the process of getting the answer. In science, being wrong is not entirely bad. It is from failure that one learns to modify and improve and experiment. Even if an experiment does not answer a hypothesis, the result, whatever they are, will provide ideas that can be used to design another experiments. An unsuccessful experiments is an important step in finding the answer. Scientists who study extremely complex problems can spend a lifetime and not “the answer”. Even so, their results are valuable. Eventually, someone can use their work to find the answer. To construct light bulbs, Thomas Alva Edison conducted more than 10 000 failed experiments. Edison, however, did not give up, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10 000 ways tat won’t work.” His positive attitude towards failure eventually led him to success. In 1908, Dr. Ehrlich was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology for his development of salvarsan as a treatment for syphilis, which he obtained after 605 unsuccessful experiments. For 15 years, Rogers, a chemist for polaroid. Experimented with over 5 000 different chemical compounds before inventing a new molecule that enable him to take instant-colored picture.
- #10 Being impartial and remaining influence by anything but pertinent physical observations.
- #11 You should not be arrogant. A good scientist must be humble enough to accept that one does not have the answer to every question. A good scientist admits mistakes. Humility safeguards scientist against arrogance, which limits how far and to what extent the pursuit of science should go.
- #12 Being doubtful unless presented with reliable data. Scientist practice healthy skepticism when they do not accept things simply because someone said so. Healthy skepticism protects scientist from the dangers of accepting everything with absolute certainty. They usually check out or verify the sources of their information. Healthy skepticism is practiced in the laboratory when students perform experiments to verify theories. Not all claims are reliable. Skeptics do not accept claims to knowledge without critical analysis. They view the knowledge as probably true, and accept it only when sufficient evidence can back the claim.
- #13 Ability to wait calmly for the result of the investigation since most scientific studies take time.
- #16 Science is the continuum of knowledge. It is made up of many scientific discoveries and knowledge that has been accumulated. Ethics dictates that scientists acknowledge others contributions. It is also important that scientist do not claim to be the author of the work that does not belong to them. Rosalind Elsie Franklin, a physical chemist at King’s College in London, proposed the double helix structure of the DNA molecule in 1951. Using a technique she devised, she took X-ray photographs of the DNA molecule, which clearly showed a helical structure. At that time, it was said that no one else had been able to produce such photographs . Without her permission, Franklin’s colleague, Maurice Wilkins, shared her DNA photographs with his own colleagues James Watson and Francis Crick. In 1962, four years after Franklin’s death, all three men were awarded the Nobel Prize without any mention of Franklin’s work. Despite of not getting the Noble Prize, Franklin is still recognized in many published books and articles.
- #17 Science is the continuum of knowledge. It is made up of many scientific discoveries and knowledge that has been accumulated. Ethics dictates that scientists acknowledge others contributions. It is also important that scientist do not claim to be the author of the work that does not belong to them. Rosalind Elsie Franklin, a physical chemist at King’s College in London, proposed the double helix structure of the DNA molecule in 1951. Using a technique she devised, she took X-ray photographs of the DNA molecule, which clearly showed a helical structure. At that time, it was said that no one else had been able to produce such photographs . Without her permission, Franklin’s colleague, Maurice Wilkins, shared her DNA photographs with his own colleagues James Watson and Francis Crick. In 1962, four years after Franklin’s death, all three men were awarded the Nobel Prize without any mention of Franklin’s work. Despite of not getting the Noble Prize, Franklin is still recognized in many published books and articles.
- #18 A good scientist should not give up. A scientist should be patient, specially when dealing with problems and unexpected setbacks. A good scientist is ready to try again, specially when things do not work. At times, the expected result do not occur immediately. A scientist takes note and patiently observes changes through time. Sometimes, extreme sacrifices are to be expected in the pursuit of scientific endeavors. Writing reports requires patience and revisions are done several times before the reports are accepted for publication. When the whole world tells you that you cannot make it or that you will never succeed, you must not give up. Instead, persevere to succeed and show your detractors that they are wrong. Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison persevered to be the outstanding scientist despite their learning disabilities. Doing scientific work is like a steep climb. You just have to keep going and face the adversities in order to succeed. We have scientist and researches who painstakingly go against all odds to turn dreams of space exploration a reality. Fr. Joselio Amalia, a diocesan priest from Butuan City, Agusan Del Norte with an academic background in chemistry, has been trying to prove to historians that the first mass celebrated in the Philippines was Masao, Agusan del Norte, and not in Limasawa, Southern Leyte as many Philippine history book claim. Noted Philippine historians are not ready to accept his hypothesis, even if he has amassed sources that date back to the files of Pigafetta, Magellan’s chronicler. The debate on where the first mass in the Philippines was celebrated still continues. Both Fr. Amalia and some historical societies are not giving up in trying to find the truth.
- #19 A scientist is confident and ready to depend his work, especially if he knows that he is right. In the sixteenth century, prior to Magellan’s voyage, people still believed that the world is flat. Ferdinand Magellan was confident, however, that the world was round. He knew he could sail to the east by sailing west. Magellan kept his plans known only to a few. If his crew knew of his radical plans, no one would join him because people feared that monsters waited to devour ships that fell off at the end of the world. Despite what the world thought, Magellan was confident that he was on the right track. Not even a mutiny during his voyage could discourage him. Later on, his voyage provide that the world indeed is not flat.
- #20 A scientist is confident and ready to depend his work, especially if he knows that he is right. In the sixteenth century, prior to Magellan’s voyage, people still believed that the world is flat. Ferdinand Magellan was confident, however, that the world was round. He knew he could sail to the east by sailing west. Magellan kept his plans known only to a few. If his crew knew of his radical plans, no one would join him because people feared that monsters waited to devour ships that fell off at the end of the world. Despite what the world thought, Magellan was confident that he was on the right track. Not even a mutiny during his voyage could discourage him. Later on, his voyage provide that the world indeed is not flat.
- #21 Scientist should have a gut feeling to intuitively predict that something will happen such as a disaster. This intuition is based on scientific training and understanding of scientific principles, unlike a fortune teller’s prediction based on tarot cards. Having this traits will help in making decisions, seeing beyond the obvious or even formulating the hypothesis. Do you ever experience a small voice in you saying, “Mmmmm, don’t go there, its not safe. Don’t touch that , it might be loaded with germs. Don’t buy that. Don’t eat that…” That’s your intuition at work. Later on, you are surprised when your intuition was right. On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power station in Ukraine experienced a power upsurge during a test operation by its engineers. Temperatures in the reactor soared to more than 2 000oC, causing an explosion that released a cloud of radiation into the atmosphere. News about the accident spread all over the world. In the Philippines, a mother was intuitively worried about the powdered milk she was giving her sons. The milk was produced in a Scandinavia country not far from Ukraine. Nuclear fallout from Chernobyl can be carried by the wind to these countries and can contaminate the grass the cows graze on and thus contaminate the milk they produce. To calm her fears, she shifted to a brand of milk that was produced in Australia or New Zealand. A few months after the nuclear tragedy, local newspapers announced that a brand of powdered milk from a Scandinavian country was contaminated with the nuclear pulled out from the market. The mother’s intuition proved to be accurate and her decision saved her from further anxiety.
- #22 Most scientific breakthroughs came out of serendipity. Serendipity means unexpectedly discovering or finding things. Below are some stories in which serendipitous minds bring about accidental discoveries. Spencer Silver, a chemist for 3M, experimented with several polymer cements and produced an adhesive that did not stick well, and was thus regarded as worthless glue. Art Fry, a scientist and a colleague of Silver at 3M, found a nifty use for a foiled product. While singing in the choir one Sunday morning, he become quite annoyed with the markers he put in his song book that often fell off. He thought of Silver’s weak glue and tried it out on his bookmarkers. He found out that his markers would not only stick to his music book, they could also be detached, transferred onto another page, and would stick again. This give birth into a new product – the POST-IT. Today, Post-It notes are commonly used in officers. Silver investigated the adhesive but Fry found a practical use for it and invented Post-It. Archimedes, a Greek scientist (287-212 BC) was asked by a King to determine if his crown is made of a pure gold without destroying the crown. Archimedes took a bath and though about how to do it. As he dipped his body into the bathtub, he observed that the water overflowed. This led him to discovery of what is now known as Archimedes’ Principle of water displacement. The principle states that “ any object, wholly or partly immersed in a fluid , is buoyed up by the force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.” With this discovery , Archimedes ran naked into the streets, screaming “Eureka, Eureka!”. (I found it, I found it!) Applying what he observed to the king’s crown, he immersed the crown in a container of water, and obtained measured the volume of the water displaced. If it was made of pure gold, then each gram of gold will displace a definite volume of water.
- #23 Most scientific breakthroughs came out of serendipity. Serendipity means unexpectedly discovering or finding things. Below are some stories in which serendipitous minds bring about accidental discoveries. Spencer Silver, a chemist for 3M, experimented with several polymer cements and produced an adhesive that did not stick well, and was thus regarded as worthless glue. Art Fry, a scientist and a colleague of Silver at 3M, found a nifty use for a foiled product. While singing in the choir one Sunday morning, he become quite annoyed with the markers he put in his song book that often fell off. He thought of Silver’s weak glue and tried it out on his bookmarkers. He found out that his markers would not only stick to his music book, they could also be detached, transferred onto another page, and would stick again. This give birth into a new product – the POST-IT. Today, Post-It notes are commonly used in officers. Silver investigated the adhesive but Fry found a practical use for it and invented Post-It. Archimedes, a Greek scientist (287-212 BC) was asked by a King to determine if his crown is made of a pure gold without destroying the crown. Archimedes took a bath and though about how to do it. As he dipped his body into the bathtub, he observed that the water overflowed. This led him to discovery of what is now known as Archimedes’ Principle of water displacement. The principle states that “ any object, wholly or partly immersed in a fluid , is buoyed up by the force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.” With this discovery , Archimedes ran naked into the streets, screaming “Eureka, Eureka!”. (I found it, I found it!) Applying what he observed to the king’s crown, he immersed the crown in a container of water, and obtained measured the volume of the water displaced. If it was made of pure gold, then each gram of gold will displace a definite volume of water.
- #24 Most scientific breakthroughs came out of serendipity. Serendipity means unexpectedly discovering or finding things. Below are some stories in which serendipitous minds bring about accidental discoveries. Spencer Silver, a chemist for 3M, experimented with several polymer cements and produced an adhesive that did not stick well, and was thus regarded as worthless glue. Art Fry, a scientist and a colleague of Silver at 3M, found a nifty use for a foiled product. While singing in the choir one Sunday morning, he become quite annoyed with the markers he put in his song book that often fell off. He thought of Silver’s weak glue and tried it out on his bookmarkers. He found out that his markers would not only stick to his music book, they could also be detached, transferred onto another page, and would stick again. This give birth into a new product – the POST-IT. Today, Post-It notes are commonly used in officers. Silver investigated the adhesive but Fry found a practical use for it and invented Post-It. Archimedes, a Greek scientist (287-212 BC) was asked by a King to determine if his crown is made of a pure gold without destroying the crown. Archimedes took a bath and though about how to do it. As he dipped his body into the bathtub, he observed that the water overflowed. This led him to discovery of what is now known as Archimedes’ Principle of water displacement. The principle states that “ any object, wholly or partly immersed in a fluid , is buoyed up by the force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.” With this discovery , Archimedes ran naked into the streets, screaming “Eureka, Eureka!”. (I found it, I found it!) Applying what he observed to the king’s crown, he immersed the crown in a container of water, and obtained measured the volume of the water displaced. If it was made of pure gold, then each gram of gold will displace a definite volume of water.
- #25 Most scientific breakthroughs came out of serendipity. Serendipity means unexpectedly discovering or finding things. Below are some stories in which serendipitous minds bring about accidental discoveries. Spencer Silver, a chemist for 3M, experimented with several polymer cements and produced an adhesive that did not stick well, and was thus regarded as worthless glue. Art Fry, a scientist and a colleague of Silver at 3M, found a nifty use for a foiled product. While singing in the choir one Sunday morning, he become quite annoyed with the markers he put in his song book that often fell off. He thought of Silver’s weak glue and tried it out on his bookmarkers. He found out that his markers would not only stick to his music book, they could also be detached, transferred onto another page, and would stick again. This give birth into a new product – the POST-IT. Today, Post-It notes are commonly used in officers. Silver investigated the adhesive but Fry found a practical use for it and invented Post-It. Archimedes, a Greek scientist (287-212 BC) was asked by a King to determine if his crown is made of a pure gold without destroying the crown. Archimedes took a bath and though about how to do it. As he dipped his body into the bathtub, he observed that the water overflowed. This led him to discovery of what is now known as Archimedes’ Principle of water displacement. The principle states that “ any object, wholly or partly immersed in a fluid , is buoyed up by the force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.” With this discovery , Archimedes ran naked into the streets, screaming “Eureka, Eureka!”. (I found it, I found it!) Applying what he observed to the king’s crown, he immersed the crown in a container of water, and obtained measured the volume of the water displaced. If it was made of pure gold, then each gram of gold will displace a definite volume of water.
- #26 Science work should be guided by some moral code. The word ethics comes from the Greek word ethos which means “character” or “customs”. For instance, the identities of human subjects in scientific studies are not made for public. Medical books for example, show human subjects but their faces are covered or not included. Just because scientists can make something happen does not mean they should do so. They will have to discern if the procedure is ethical; that is, if the action will not have any negative impact on society, humanity, the environment, ecosystem, and so on. Cloning experiments, for example, involve many ethical considerations, Its (mis)use on humans and other life forms is subject to a lot of debates. Another example is how irresponsible mining can have negative impact on the health of miners, the nearby communities, and the ecosystem.
- #29 For science to serve humanity, it applies science knowledge for the common good. When Dr. James Orbinski received the Nobel Prize in 1999 on behalf of a group of Doctors without Borders, he pledged that he was going to use the prize money to launch a global network and engage a public private partnership among the academe, hospitals and research laboratories. He wanted to developed low-cost drugs for diseases affecting many people in poor counties. The goal of the initiative was to save lives and not to make money. Dr. Orbiski declaired, for the first time in the history, there is a recognition that drug research and development is a public responsibility. It cannot be left to the marketplace. From a practical perspective, it means new medicines can be created at a much lower cost.” If science has a good side, it also has a bad side. It all depends on how it is used. Here are just two instances where morality challenges the value of a particular technology developed through science.
- #30 beneath the equation E=mc2 lies the secret of the atom. In 1921, it was predicted, based on the equation, that a huge amount of energy could be released if matter were transformed into energy. Locked within the nucleus of the atom is an unimaginable amount of power that can be harnessed to heal cancer or generate enough electricity to power up cities or even counties. But in August 1945, two atomic bombs named Little Boy (uranium bomb) and Fat Man (plutonium bomb) were dropped to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki (both in Japan), respectively. The tremendous amount of energy the atom could produce was used for mass destruction during the World War II. In Einstein’s biography written by Ronald Clark, it is stated that five months before Einstein's death, he, Einstein, revealed his feelings about his role in the creation of the atomic bomb: “I made one great mistake in my life…when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made; but there was justification-the danger that the Germans would make them.”
- #31 Cloning: Cloning is a series of processes that artificially creates a genetically twin organism. This means the DNA of the two organisms are identical. There are three types of cloning: DNA cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning. DNA cloning is used to generate copies of the DNA of interest. Reproductive cloning is used to generate an animal that has the same nuclear DNA as another currently or previously existing animal. Dolly, the first cloned mammal, was cloned using this technology. Therapeutic cloning, also called embryo cloning, is the production of human embryos for use in biomedical research. The goal of this process is to create cloned human beings but to harvest stem cells that can be used to study human development and to treat diseases. It is hoped that therapeutic cloning technology may be used to produce whole organs from a single cell or produce healthy cells to replace damaged cells such as those with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diseases. Will humans be cloned? Some have claimed they have cloned humans, but later denied doing so. Science requires ethical considerations. Experiments involving living organisms usually generate bioethical issue and touch on ideas of what is right and wrong. Using the knowledge from science should be guided by wisdom, conscience, humanity.