Ethics in Science and Technology A response to Professor Prapon Wilairat with an emphasis on The Importance of Sharing Information Professor S. Ravi P. Silva Nano-Electronics Centre, Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom.

Professor Wilairat very eloquently covered: Science being pure, with ideal technologies used to serve the enrichment of mankind. –Atomic physics, chemistry, biology, nanotechnology But, there are no ethical codes in basic science. Transgressions can occur with publication of results in journals, without suitable standards. In biology, better codification of methodology. –Stem cells, animal experimentation, DNA profiling … Each scientific breakthrough can enrich mans existence as easily as it can damage the fabric of life.

Introduction Journal publication The Information Technology Revolution – The World Wide Web – The Future? Open Access Journals? Concluding Remarks Overview

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants” Sir Issac Newton in a letter to Robert Hooke, February 5 th 1675 The single most evolutionary advantage humans posses is ability to communicate Sharing of ideas and concepts, without boundaries has enabled scientists to make significant progress in all areas of Science and Technology.

Quantum Theory Einstein Pauli Heisenberg Dirac Bohr BoseFermi De Broglie Schrodinger

But, now we live in commercial world where industry and commerce dictate much. The measures used by industry to control information, such as patents in the form of Intellectual Property is being forced upon universities. The pureness of doing Science for the good of the world is challenged with survival, where funding dictates research themes.

Libraries Journals Traditional Methods of disseminating information

Average Journal Price COST 10 year % change !!

Dissemination of scholarly research ensures; State of the art in current fields as starting point Less duplication and known problems Awareness of new techniques This in turn; Reduces moneys spent on doing similar work Increases efficiency Provides more focus to tackle the grand challenges

The Information Technology Revolution Tim Berners- Lee

Sir Arthur C. Clarke

The Future? Quantum Computing Nanotechnology

The Future?

The current position with journals Source: Economic analysis of scientific research publishing- A report commissioned by the Wellcome Trust COST 10 year % change !!

Researchers LibrariesPublishers Shareholders and Societies Profit Public Funders Free Subscriptions Funding Source Scientific Publishing Inquiry, by the Wellcome trust, February 2004 Market failure in scientific Publishing

Open Access Public Library of Science Human Genome Project

Ethics in Science and Technology Science is having a profound influence on our lives and the time it takes for scientific discoveries to affect everyday activities is getting ever smaller. The amount of information being created is also increasing exponentially and so there could be a large amount of duplication if information is not shared. A global policy that ensures scientific information that can benefit humanity as a whole must be made more easily accessible by all. No easy solutions out there …. Concluding Remarks