Presidential Science Lessons

摘要

Early in the administration of the next president, the first synthetic organism-a bacteria-like creature-is due for production in the United States. When that happens, the president, the U.S. public and the world will be dealing with the first in a series of scientific, ethical and policy concerns that will come to the forefront in the next few years. Other challenges will follow in the fields of nanotechnology and genetics. How do we harness the benefits of scientific exploration into the very nature of life without crossing moral lines? How do we promote manipulation of matter at the atomic and molecular level while regulating the potential hazards? Given the complexity of the questions facing the next president and the nation, many in the scientific community joined forces to enlist the support of the next administration. A grassroots movement called Science Debate 2008 started in late 2007 inviting all of the presidential candidates to address scientific questions in a debate setting. Over 30,000 scientists, engineers and concerned citizens signed on to the movement along with 20 Nobel Laureates and 80 university presidents. But the debate never occurred during the primary season and is unlikely to be adopted during the general election campaign, lacking support from both the candidates and the media. Instead Science Debate 2008 has made plain what's missing from the national discourse, and raised the question of why the public and the media pay more attention to flag pins than to how the President directs and draws upon the country's scientific resources.