Science and Ethical Dilemmas in the Blogosphere

7/30/2019 Science and Ethical Dilemmas in the Blogosphere

1/26

ScienceandEthicalDilemmasin

theBlogosphere

FranckMarchis

SeniorPlanetaryAstronomerattheCarlSaganCenteroftheSETIIns7tute

LectureforUC-BerkeleyCourseEthicsforAstronomers,Nov262012

[email protected]:@AllPlanets


2/26

Outline

WhoamI? BloggingWhatisthis?Shouldyoublog? The#ArsenicLifeSaga DiscussionPleaseinterruptmeTwee7ngduringthelectureisO


3/26

WhoamI?

AssistantResearcheratUCBerkeleyfromOctober2000toJune2011

StartedbloggingfortheCosmicDiary,aCornerstoneprojectoftheInterna7onalYearofAstronomy(January2009)

PrincipalInves?gatoratSETIIns7tuteinJuly200, Editor&MaintaineroftheCosmicDiaryNetworksinceFeb

2011

JoinTwier(@AllPlanets)inAug2010(1,300followersincluding~60scien7ficjournalists) ManagerofG+,Facebook,TwiKerSETIIns?tuteaccounts

(50followers)sinceJanuary2012

Educa7onPublicOutreachco-leaderforGPI(Jan.2012)


4/26

WhoamI?

Youarewas*ngyour*mewiththisblog.AmI? HighlightedPosts(among13)frommyblog

June2009,Jupitergotabruise April2011,todaytheATAishiberna7ng

July2011,90An7opeCampaignofObserva7on September2012,AMeteoronJupiter April2012,SuKerMillMeteorite

->SciencediscussionThesepostswerequoted/usedinscien7ficmagazineand/ormainstreammedia

->WorkStartednewcollabora7onsfromcolleagueswhocontactedmeaerreadingthem

->PersonalIlearnedalotwhilewri7ngthem

TodayIfocusmostofmyenergyonmicro-blogging(TwiKer)andGoogleHangout(seeSETIG+page)


5/26

BloggingToday

WikipediaDefini?onAblogisadiscussionorinforma7onalsitepublishedontheWorldWideWebandconsis7ngofdiscreteentries("posts")

typicallydisplayedinreversechronologicalorder

BloggingishaschangedovertheyearLate1990s->lengthywebpages

Today->Micro-blogging(TwiKer,Tumblr)Today~160millionpublicblogs(Wordpress5E6,

TumblrE6),TwiKer(140E6,)


6/26

ThereisBloggingandBlogging

Broadvarietyofblogs:

- PersonalBlogsmadeofposts/ar7cles(diary,celebrity,family,wri7ng,art,picture,science,

poli7cs,)- Microblogging(shortpostwithlinks/pictures/

videos/ar7cles,e.g.TwiKer)

- Socialmedia(structureofG+similartoablog,longerpost)

- Themeblogs(groupofbloggerswithcommoninterest)

- Corporateblog(todiscussproducts,situa7onofthecompany,answertocustomers)


7/26

TheRisksofBlogging

Asabloggeryouareexposingyourself,soyouaretakingrisks(somethingIdidnotrealizeun7lrecently)

Legal&socialrisksDefama7onandliabilityComplexrela7onshipwithemployerPoli7caldangerPersonalsafety

Rule:Dontwriteanythingonline(inyourblog,inyourtweet,inyourcommentaries,)thatyouwillnotsayinperson


8/26

ShouldYouBlog?

Blurringofthefron?erbetweenmassmedia,blogs,andsocialmedia.

Journalistshavetheirownblog(noneedforthenewspapertopublishtheiridea)

Scien?stshavetheirownblogtocommenttheworkoftheircolleagues,describedtheirrecentfindings,orkeepadiary

TheBlogosphereisalreadyinfluencingtheworld Scien7stsshouldbepartofit,soyes,youshould.

Excellentprac7cetowriteclearly,compellingly&effec7vely Reanimatethescien7ficdiscussion(e.g.climatechange) Protect&defendyourwork(theworldisaccelera7ng) Blogareessen7altoagoodcareer(directcontactwith

colleagueseverywhereintheworld,withscien7ficjournalists)


9/26

Blogging:Isthatreallyahobby?

Typicalbloggerspends1hperdayonhis/herblog

Work7me?TV7me?WhatAmericandoalldaylong.Source:Bureau

ofLaborSta7s7csCredit:LamThuyVo


10/26

AdvicesforFutureScienceBloggers

Goldenrules:1. Chooseathemeforyourblogbasedonyourinterest,exper7seandpassion.Finda

niche!

2. Dontwriteanythingonline(inyourblog,inyourtweets,inyourcommentaries,)thatyouwillnotsayinperson

Youwanttoberead Learnhowtoproperlytagyourpoststobefoundbysearchengines Adver7seyourpostwithsocialmedia,createanetwork Prac7cewri7ngandreadyourcolleagueblogs

Youwanttohavefun Workingroupifpossible Dontbeafraidtobefunny,provoca7ve,showyourpersonality(seetheSarcas7cRoverTwiKerfeed)

Youwanttolearn Chooseagoodserver(wordpress?)andlearnhowtoconfigureit(templates) Dontwriteonlyaboutyourworkoryourdailylife(thinkbig) Usenewtechnologies(videohangout,onlinetools)

Whatyouwritewillremainandrevealyou Itmaybeeasiertofindajobasasciencewriter SearchcommiKeemembersinuniversi7es&researchins7tutesmayreadyourblog


11/26

#ArsenicLife:TheActors

FelisaWolfe-Simon(FWS)

microbialgeobiologistUSGS

Role:leaderoftheteam

Ques7on:Howflexibleislife?

ThebacteriaGFAJ-1getFelisaajob.

Prof.RosieRedfield(RR)

MicrobiologistatUBC

Role:Blogger&Scien7stQues7on:IsNASAright?

+

TheBlogosphere

Includingother

blogger-scien7sts

+

11co-authors

Scien?sts Scien?sts

FundingIns?tu?on Scien?ficJournal


12/26

TheFactsintheEyesofronos

In2009FWSgotagrantfromNASAAstrobiologyIns7tutetostudylifeinMonoLake

Fieldworkin2009atMonoLaketoisolateamicrobecalledGFAJ-1(GiveFelisaAJob)

SamplegrowthexperimentbyincreasingtheamountofArsenicshowedsurvivalofGFA-1

SynchrotronmeasurementsshowthatAswaschemicallyboundinthecells

SciencepapersubmiKedandpublishinScienceExpressinNovember2010 PressconferenceonDecember2010withFelisa,M.

Voytek(NAIdirector),P.Conradandtheskep7calcounterpoint(StevenBenner,achemist)


13/26

RecipeforDisaster

NASAPress-releasewithahyped7tleAlienLifeDiscoveredonEarth

Press-Conferencefiasco.FWSoverlydrama7c&arrogant,noscien7ficexplana7ons,nomen7onofpreviousworks

TheSciencepaperwasinfactconserva7velywriKenbutnojournalistscaredtoreadit

Wevecrackedopenthedoortowhats

possibleforlifeelsewhereintheuniverse,

whatelsemightwefind?

FWS

Thedefini7onoflifehasjustexpanded.

EdWeiler,NASA-SMDDirector


14/26

AndtheSagaStarted

ProfRosieRedfield(RR),microbiologistattheUniversityofBri7shColumbiaandbigfanofopenscience.

Shewasskep?calsinceNASArecordswerenotgood(seetheMar7anmeteoritein1996.

WhenRRwantstothinksomethingthrough,sheblogsinherblog RRResearchRosieRedfielddescribedthencri7cizedthiswork:

Lotsofflim-flam,butveryli:lereliableinforma*on. IfthisdatawaspresentedbyaPhDstudentattheircommi:eemee*ng,I'd

sendthembacktothebenchtodomorecleanupandcontrols.

Idontknowwhethertheauthorsarejustbadscien*stsorwhethertheyreunscrupulouslypushingNASAsThereslifeinouterspace!agenda.Ihesitatetoblamethereviewers,astheirobjec*onsarelikelytohavebeenoverruledby

Scienceseditorsintheireagernesstoscoresuchahigh-impactpublica*on.


15/26

ConsequencesandFirstResponse

RRblogpostini7atedastrongreac7onintheblogosphere(hadbeenbeentwee7ngupastorm#arseniclife),inthescien7ficcommunity,cri7cizing,arguingaboutthefinding.

Journalistsquicklyreportedonthecontroversy(e.gC.Zimmer,Ofarsenicandaliens:Whatthecri7cssaid )

RonaldRomeland(USGS),seniorresearcher&authorofthepapertothemedia(CarlZimmeratSlate)

Wecannotindiscriminatelywadeintoamediaforumfordebateat

this*me.Ifwearewrong,thenotherscien*stsshouldbemo*vatedtoreproduceourfindings.Ifweareright(andIamstronglyconvincedthatweare)ourcompe*torswillagreeandhelptoadvanceourunderstandingofthisphenomenon.Iameagerforthemtodoso.


16/26

MoreResponsestotheCri7cs

FelisaWolfe-Simondeclinedtocomment,arguingthatthesenega7veremarkstothepressdonotrepresenttheproperwaytoengageinascien*ficdiscourseandwewillnotrespondinthismanner.

NASAspokespersonDwayneBrownTheagencydidntfeelitappropriatetodebatescienceusingthemediaandbloggers.Discourseshouldoccurinscien*ficpublica*ons.

FWS&NASAfailedtounderstandthattheworldhaschangedandtheycouldnotsimplyignorethesecri7cisms


17/26

BiKer&PersonalAKacks

MicrobiologistJonathanEisenoftheUniversityofCaliforniaatDaviscalledthelackofresponseabsurdandtoldCarlZimmerfromSlate,Theycarriedout

sciencebypressreleaseandpressconference.Theyarenowhypocri*califtheysaythattheonlyresponseshouldbeinthescien*ficliterature.

SciencewriterEdYongsresponsetothelaKerinapostonDiscovermagazineswebsite:FelisaWolfe-Simonwouldntdiscussherarsenic-lifefindingswiththepress,butsheshappytosharekeystosuccesswithGlamour.


18/26

Backtothescien7ficliterature

Publica7onintheSciencepaperversioninJune32011with8formalcri7quesandtechnicalresponses

Thecri7cismsfocusedmostlyonthepossibilityofcontamina7onandonwhetherarsenatecompoundswouldbestableenoughtosurviveinthecells.

10samplessenttoothergroupsincludingRosieRedfieldlab.


19/26

FromtheBlogospheretoaNewPaperinScience

RRgatheredateamofscien7stswhocontactedthroughherblog(teamingusingablog) RosieRedfieldpostedregularblogupdatesthroughouttheexperimental

process(openscience)

onAugust2Firstevidencerefu7ngWolfe-Simonetal.sresults. PapersubmiKedtoScienceonJan312012andpostedonarXivfor

comments(viola7onoftheScienceembargo) ResubmiKedaercorrec7ons(commentsandresponsesareonherblog) Acceptedforpublica7ononJune1(revisedversionpostedonarXiv) ResultspresentedinatalkattheJointCongressofEvolu7onaryBiology

onJuly12

SciencepostedTWOpapersrefu7ngthe#arseniclifethesameday Theendofthe#arseniclife


20/26

TheFinalResponses

RRpaper:failtoreproducekeyFWSexperiment(thegrowthofGFAJ-1cellsen7relywithoutP) ScienceJournal:Contrarytoanoriginalreport,thenew

researchclearlyshowsthatthebacterium,GFAJ-1,cannotsubs*tutearsenicforphosphorustosurvive,

FWSwrote,Thereisnothinginthedataofthesenewpapersthatcontradictsourpublisheddata,andaddedthatherteamcon7nuedtobuildonitsoriginalfinding.(NYT).Busyfinishingtheresearchandpreparinganother

paper. Reac7onofProf.J.Eisenblogger


21/26

TheSecondEnding Publica?oninNature:HowGFAJ-1iswell-

adaptedtopickingoutphosphateswhentheyrescarce,survivinginaAs/Px3,0007meshigherthanfoundinthelake

ItisnotETbutitmaybeuseful


22/26

Discussions

RR:Thisisastoryofserialfailure.Leadauthorconvincedofevidencewithoutgoodresearch,seniorauthorsdidntprovidesupervision.Co-authorsshouldhaveacceptedresponsibility.Reviewersfailed,missedalotofproblems.Sciencefailedinselec*ngreviewersandNASAfailedbig*me.BUTtheprocessofsciencedidnotfail.

Mythoughts:Ittookonly18monthstoshowtheflawinthefinding(VSALH84001debatewhichisnotyetseKled16yrslater)

C.ZimmerFirst7methescien*ficcommunityopenlyve:edahigh-profilepaper,andinfluencedhowthepublicatlargethoughtaboutit.


23/26

DiscussionsFailures?

NASAisascien7ficagencywhosefundingdependsonitsscien7ficrelevance.Canascien7ficins7tu7onassumeamediarole?

D.Brown,NASAspokesman:Therealissueisthattherepor*ngworldhaschangedbecauseoftheInternet/bloggers/socialmedia.AbuzztermlikeETwillhaveanyonewithacomputerpu^ngoutanythingtheywantorfeel.NASAdidnthypeanythingothersdid.

Sciencepeer-reviewprocess?Editor(B.Albert)weneedtocreateaprocesstoensure

thatthereviewerswhoprovidetheirfeedbacktousonthemanuscriptaresufficientinaggregatetodealwithallofitsmanydifferentaspects .


24/26

Consequences

The#arsenicliferevealedtothepublicthatscienceisnotalwaysara?onal&civilizedworld

Socialmedia&blogsspeedupthescien?ficdebate,humanizebutmayalsopolarizeit FWSclaimedtohavebeenlaidofffromUSGS.

Didtheysacrificethepawnscien7st?


25/26

Ques7ons&Thoughtsifyoudon'toverstateyourcase,noonewilllisten!

VSExtraordinaryclaimsrequireextraordinaryevidence(C.Sagan)

anditisevenmoretrueinourmodernworld

#ArsenicLifeisthetutorialcaseofoverhypingscienceresultsliketheMarsmeteorite,coldfusion,FasterthanLightNeutrinoandmoretocome(MarsCuriositynextweekannouncement).

Cri7cizinginablogtheresearchfromapeer-reviewedpapercouldbedetrimentaltoscience(seetheclimatechangedebate)

Dontscien7stshavetherightsforfailure?Isntitpartofthescien7ficmethodtobedisproved?

Therewerenoethicalviola?onshereIfapaperisflawed,itshouldbedismissed.Thescien7stshouldnot. Arrogantbehavior?Arescien7stsreadytobecatapultedintheworldoffame? Thepeer-reviewprocessisterriblebutthebestwehave.Bloggingwillnotreplaceitbut

ithelpsenhancingthescien7ficdebate.


26/26

Sources Scien7stinaStrangeLandPOPSCIhKp://www.popsci.com/science/ar7cle/2011-09/scien7st-strange-land BloginWikipedia

hKp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

SocialMediainWikipediahKp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media

CosmicDiaryblogbyF.MarchishKp://cosmicdiary.org/fmarchis/

PresidentClintonStatementRegardingMarsMeteoriteDiscoveryhKp://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/snc/clinton.html

RRResearchBlogbyRosieRedfieldhKp://rrresearch.fieldofscience.com/ ArsenicLifeinCarlZimmerBlog

hKp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/category/arsenic-life/

StudiesRebutFindingThatArsenicMaySupportLifeNYThKp://www.ny7mes.com/2012/0/10/science/new-studies-rebut-finding-that-arsenic-may-support-life.html

ArsenicsPoisonousAtmospherehKp://alantownsend.net/2011/0/13/arsenics-poisonous-atmosphere-arseniclife/

ThetreeoflifebyJonathanEisen,Prof.atUCDavishKp://phylogenomics.blogspot.com/

Aperilof"Open"science:Prematurerepor7ngonthedeathof#ArsenicLifehKp://www.labspaces.net/blog/1555/A_peril_of__Open__science__Premature_repor7ng_on_the_death_of__ArsenicLife

CloselyWatchedStudyFailstoFindArsenicinMicrobialDNAhKp://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2012/02/closely-watched-study-fails-to.html?ref=hp

JournalretreatsfromcontroversialarsenicpaperhKp://www.washingtonpost.com/na7onal/health-science/journal-retreats-from-controversial-arsenic-paper/2012/0/08/gJQAFQbWW_story.html

Science and Ethical Dilemmas in the Blogosphere

Documents

Transcript of Science and Ethical Dilemmas in the Blogosphere