Aspects of scientific ethics and liability of scientists

Today scientific ethics is a number of moral rules or a set of moral principles and every scientist should follow these rules to be successfully engaged in scientific effort. The history knows many examples when discovery for the purpose of improvement of people’s life and science development, led to fatal consequences. For example, possibility to use energy of nuclear reaction has opened a new energy source for people, but at the same time it turned out to be a very powerful and destructive nuclear weapon. Another example is physicians, who have taken the Hippocratic Oath to save life and alleviate suffering. Now they face a dilemma of whether to use medical devices that can prolong life at the cost of increasing suffering, or to follow patients' requests to be allowed to die without any extraordinary life saving precautions or even to be provided with medications or devices to end life.   

There are quite a few ethical problems in science nowadays, for example:

♦Nuclear (biological, chemical) weapons                          ♦Animal testing

♦Using embryos in experiments with stem cells                    ♦Hydrogen bomb

♦Euthanasia, i.e. practice of deliberately killing people who don’t want to live any more.

One of the latest examples of scientific ethics was given by Grigori Perel’man. On 18 March 2010, it was announced that he had met the criteria to receive the first Clay Millennium Prize Problems award of US $1,000,000 for resolution of the Poincaré conjecture but on July 1st, 2010, he turned down this one million dollar prize saying that he believes his contribution in proving the Poincare conjecture was no greater than that of U.S. mathematician Richard Hamilton, who first suggested the program for the solution.

All scientists should follow high ethical standards, and a code of ethics based on relevant norms enshrined in international human rights instruments. The social responsibility of scientists requires that they maintain high standards of scientific integrity and quality control, share their knowledge, communicate with the public and educate the younger generation.