Anna Raeburn recalls that in the 1970s, a disease called kwashiorkor was prevalent in Biafra. 'All the children were malnourished, because they weren't getting any protein, but their mothers didn't realise that was the problem, and they couldn't have got hold of protein anyway, so they kept feeding them starch. The children remained stick-thin and hopelessly malnourished, but with distended bellies. Modern life is like that: we keep feeding ourselves the wrong things for happiness.
The scientific research enterprise, like other human activities, is built on a foundation of trust. Scientists trust that the results reported by others are valid. Society trusts that the results of research reflect an honest attempt by scientists to describe the world accurately and without bias. The level of trust that has characterized science and its relationship with society has contributed to a period of unparalleled scientific productivity. But this trust will endure only if the scientific community devotes itself to exemplifying and transmitting the values associated with ethical scientific conduct. ...