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- Author or Editor: Bruce M. Pollock x
Historically, ethical issues in science have disappeared behind the veil which alleges that science is self-correcting because of its reliance on secret peer review. Unfortunately, that same peer review process has closed scientific journals to scientists holding to different ethical standards, while access to the law and courts has been a prohibitively expensive mechanism to protest unethical actions. Although eager to sensationalize ethical lapses, news media have been ineffective in correcting the problems. As a result, dissension has been left exclusively to lay activists. Against this background, in the 1995 AIBS symposium, “Ethics, Science, and Public Policy,” Bella described scientific publications as “propaganda” and Mattson discussed the fact that unbiased science cannot exist within government agencies. However, with the sudden rise of the World Wide Web, scientific societies have lost control of publication, and legal confidentiality has disappeared, because the Web now provides outlets for dissenting views and the opportunity to bring corruption in science to public attention. Thus placed under public scrutiny, the scientific community must confront an urgent need to examine its ethical standards.
The process of peer reviewing manuscripts is frequently considered to be a time-consuming chore. It is, however, critical in maintaining the quality of the society's journals and the respect of the scientific community for the members of the society. The purpose of peer reviews is to insure that the research and resultant paper represent sound and state-of-the-art science. Failure of a paper to achieve this level of excellence, and its subsequent inclusion in the scientist's publication list, essentially falsifies the scientist's credentials and makes each subsequent “promotion based on `those credentials an act of fraud. Since almost all horticultural scientists engaged in research are employees of state or federal agencies, these acts of fraud are against the public agencies and the taxpayers. The editor of the society's journals has recently spoken out against below-standard peer reviews. Unfortunately, the type of peer reviews to which he refers are typical of those I have encountered throughout my 30 years experience with horticulture. I suggest it is time that the members of the ASHS look carefully at the situation before a congressional committee does.
The book, Agricultural Biotechnology: Issues and Choices Information for decision Makers, from USDA and Land Grant Colleges discusses risk evaluation for the use of legislators concerned with public policy. However, that discussion is entirely theoretical. The 1970 epidemic of Southern Corn Leaf Blight caused by the pleiotropic gene for Cytoplasmic Male Sterility provides material to use in real-world risk evaluation for biotechnology. Approximately 1×1012 corn seeds are planted annually in the US. Assuming a mutation rate of 1×10-6, then 1×106 mutations can be expected annually. The poster will evaluate the importance of this number using assumptions based on fold-increase during seed production. Unfortunately, it is not possible to evaluate the risk of incorporating another pleiotropic gene into commercial crops because insufficient data are available on the frequency of pleiotropy.
Abstract
Physiological seed quality can be divided into 2 components. “Viability,” whether a seed is living or dead, is one of these. Because of the emphasis of the seed industry on seed quality, and the stringent enforcement of regulatory laws in past years, viability is not a problem of serious concern to the vegetable industry today.
Abstract
We developed a method of controlling substrate moisture-oxygen levels during the imbibition of seeds. With this method it is possible to control all 3 factors—imbibition temperature, seed moisture, and substrate oxygen supply—known to be critical during the imbibition stage of germination.
Abstract
Germination of some lots of lettuce seeds is strongly inhibited by slight moisture stress at 25°C but not at 20°. Under soil conditions, this sensitivity to moisture stress could be a factor in plant establishment.