In a rather disturbing newspaper report by the Guardian, Ian Sample discusses some rather disturbing tests which have been conducted in the name of science. While I was upset with the use of a massive dose of LSD on an elephant, what really got my attention is this:
One of the most gruesome experiments to make New Scientist’s list was performed by the Soviet surgeon Vladimir Demikhov. In 1954 he unveiled a two-headed dog, created in the lab by grafting the head, shoulders and front legs of a puppy on to the neck of a German shepherd dog. Journalists brought in to examine the creature noted how milk dribbled from the stump of the puppy’s head when it attempted to lap milk. Occasionally, the two would fight, with the German shepherd trying to shake the puppy off, and the puppy retaliating by biting back.
The unfortunate creation lived for six days, though Dr Demikhov repeated the experiment 19 more times over the next 15 years, with the longest-lived lasting a month. Although the work was dismissed as a publicity stunt outside the Soviet Union, Dr Demikhov was credited with developing intricate surgical techniques that paved the way for the first human heart transplant.
To combat this moral rot, I think scientists should be required to have a minor in ethics in their undergraduate studies. Moreover, there should be some sort of continuing education program for any scientist who receives governmental aid, one which requires constant training in ethics, so as to help them understand what limits should be placed upon their pursuit of science. Doing evil just because it helps speed up the acquisition of scientific knowledge is never justified.Â
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