Lessons from the Darsee Affair

It seems paradoxical that scientific research, in many ways one of the most questioning and skeptical of human activities, should be dependent on personal trust. But the fact is that without trust the research enterprise could not function. This trust is manifested in many ways. Scientists habitually challenge the validity and the interpretation of the experimental evidence reported by their colleagues at meetings or in the literature, but they trustingly assume that the evidence has been honestly gathered and reported. In their own work they are often dependent on raw data obtained by technicians, fellows, or collaborators. They may personally . . .