10 most forbidden experiments

1 Show gruel

What is prohibited nuclear weapons tests.
July 25, 1946. The tests of the atomic bomb in the area of ​​the Marshall Islands

What is the interest of science Atomic Bomb many consider the triumph of physics. At the beginning of the XX century theorists on napkins we wrote their formula. A July 16, 1945 in the state of New Mexico had made the first atomic bomb. Terrible weapons has become a test for many scientific theories - nuclear fusion, nuclear disintegration, and so on. Actually, every bombing - a kind of experiment explode this structure or not.

His benefit from nuclear tests had not only nuclear scientists. For example, the geologists analyzed as a shock wave propagates into the earth, and built on the basis of the device model of the planet. Incidentally, among the experimental explosions of nuclear charge made by the Soviet Union, about a dozen produced specifically for seismic sounding.

The reasons for the ban Fall fallout. Underground explosion is less dangerous, but it is, for example, can trigger earthquakes. But most importantly - a ban on the bomb test should deter countries from the temptation to develop nuclear weapons.

In 1996, at the 50th session of the UN General Assembly was adopted by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which was signed by the leading countries of the world.

Ways to get around the ban most humane way - to simulate a nuclear explosion on supercomputers. But you can not just sign and ratify the treaty. For example, did India, Pakistan and North Korea. In India and Pakistan tested nuclear bombs last held in 1998, and North Korea is something blew up three years ago. However, if there is in fact the North Korean nuclear bomb is still unclear.

Reflection in the culture of the book - Kurt Vonnegut "Cat's Cradle" Dan Brown "Digital Fortress."





2 Simulate the executioner

What is forbidden
Psychological experiments that may cause moral damage to their members.
Fragment of an experiment Stanley Milgram

What is the interest of science
The idea is social psychology need to understand where are the cruelty, xenophobia, totalitarianism, fascism and other nastiness. But if scientists want to understand something, they have to simulate it. Just as biology is necessary to plant disease virus in test tubes, social psychologists need to establish fascism in laboratory scale.

A series of such experiments thundered throughout the world in 60-70 years of XX century. The most famous was an experiment Stanley Milgram. He suggested that the test supposedly participate in the study of mechanisms of memory. "So, you're a teacher. Your student should learn a couple of words. Every mistake you are punishing him electric shock. At each following error amperage should be increased "- so sounded instructions that were given to volunteers. With increasing power of those "student" shouted all the more desperate, and then all fell silent. Despite this, the majority of participants came to the last circuit breaker marked "450 V».

Of course, in reality, no one did not receive electric shocks, "student" was an accomplice of the experimenter, and the screams were recorded on tape. But the subject seriously thought he was obeying orders, really killed a man.

In the same series Stanford Prison Experiment, conducted by psychologist Philip Zimbardo social. In the basement of the university it was modeled prison, which placed "guards" and "prisoners", recruited from the student volunteers. Although everyone knew that this is just a game, very soon he began to resemble a real basement prison with all its cruelty and humiliation. The experiment had to be aborted after five days, although it was designed for a week.

The reasons for the ban
Immediately after the publication of the results of these experiments the authors barrage of criticism.

- Scientists have misled the participants are not aware of the true purpose of the study, - says Mikhail Debol'skii, penitentiary department head of psychology of the Moscow City Psychological-Pedagogical University (MGPPU). - In addition, for example, the Milgram experiment ended with a minimum of a nervous breakdown in the subjects.

What the psychologist obviously cheating test - is still bearable. Often you can not do otherwise, because if a person learns about the true purpose of the study, it will seek to show the socially approved behavior, not a natural reaction. But Zimbardo and Milgram experiment participants actually reported that they could easily become the executioners. Agree, not easy to live with it.

Now such experiments are banned. When Zimbardo suggested to carry out a new simulation of the prison to try out techniques of humanization guards, he was immediately denied. Similarly, now it is impossible to reproduce the Milgram experiment. In the 90s it was trying to do in the Russian psychologist Alexander Voronov, but he clearly said that no one would risk fund to finance such a project.

Often the key role played by self-regulation of the scientific community. Psychologists from MGPPU told us the following story. In 70 years of one of the teachers decided to conduct an experiment showing how the conflict develops in the student group. On examination, he put all undeservedly high marks, and then said that one of the parties found a crib. If students understand who is copied, it will not reduce the assessment to all, and will reduce the assessment only to that person. Naturally, the students began a rapid investigation and search for the "traitor". As a result, one of the students, their classmates hunted, tried to commit suicide by jumping from the fifth floor.

- When we heard about this experiment is that the teacher, of course, not fired, but his hands did not submit more than one, - says Mikhail Kondratyev, dean of the faculty of social psychology MGPPU.

Ways to get around the ban
In psychology, the norm rather vague as this science itself. Code of Ethics of the American Psychological Association provides: "Psychologists should not be subjected to the test influences, leading to permanent harm or risk of physical or psychologically ...»

Principal ban on deception of subjects, there is only the desire not to commit fraud "without due reason. ' Same thing with the modeling of aggression and selfishness. The decision in each case, takes the university ethics committee.

Reflection in the culture
Feature film "Experiment", "Experiment 2: Wave", "Cube Zero" documentary - "Povinuemost", "Phantom Fury".



3 Genes for the ideal man

What is forbidden
Improving human genes.
A fragment of the human genome

What is the interest of science
Achievements in sports, science and art are largely dependent on human heredity. Theoretically, you can create a gene whose owner will have the musculature of Schwarzenegger, the charm of Brad Pitt and intelligence Perelman. At the same time he will not be afraid of alcoholism, depression and drug addiction.

"Progress is unlikely to stop in the correction of deficiencies. Cure the disease and stop aging, people would start to improve the body's own, for its rebuilding on its own plans and desires. Users will be able to arbitrarily mold his own body and mind, to add new skills - the ability to live underwater, fly, eat the energy of sunlight - to add new parts of the brain, the new organs of the body, "- predict the supporters of so-called transhumanist movement.

- Human genome deciphered, but not understood - says Vyacheslav Tarantula, Deputy Director of the Institute of Molecular Genetics. - And now, scientists are trying to understand what genes are responsible in DNA sequences.

The reasons for the ban
If found genes relevant to diseases, can be safely explore and try to replace at a "healthy". But invade the genome for the betterment of the human species is that it is forbidden.

"Intervention in the human genome, seeking to modify, it can only be carried out for preventive, therapeutic or diagnostic purposes and only under the condition that such intervention is not aimed at changing the genome of any descendants", - says the International Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine.

Any manipulation of the genes - it is a certain risk. And this risk is justified only in the case when a man threatened deadly disease. On the other hand, if the functions of all the genes has finally become clear, the desire to create your perfect there everyone. And then the talent that is born on the table of the genetic surgeon, will lose its value.

Ways to get around the ban
It is not always possible to define the line where it ends and begins the therapeutic goals "improving the breed».

Reflection in the culture
Books - Aldous Huxley "Brave New World" Sergei Lukyanenko "Genome"; TV series "The X-Files."



4 To work with the "black death»

What is forbidden
Working with variola virus and other dangerous infections.
Training. Actor portraying a patient with smallpox patient is moved into boxing

What is the interest of science
Smallpox - one example of an all-out victory of medicine. Through vaccination illness, which a hundred years ago mows millions, it was completely liquidated. Back in 1980, the World Health Organization officially declared the eradication of smallpox on the planet Earth.

However, scientists like to continue working with this virus. Firstly, it is unclear whether he will not appear again, and just in case you need to improve the vaccine. Secondly, additional knowledge about it useful to deal with other viruses. Third, it's just interesting.

The reasons for the ban
Subject of biological terrorism in the last decade has become one of the most popular. If some villain succeeds in acquiring the smallpox virus, it will be more terrible than any atomic bomb, given that the lethality of the disease up to 90%, and vaccination stopped doing in the early '80s. Even if you do not take into account the malice, can not eliminate the risk of accidental contamination.

Today, no one has the right to work with samples of the smallpox virus. An exception is made only for two laboratories: one belongs to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention United States, and the other - Scientific Center "Vector", located near Novosibirsk.

Ways to get around the ban
The only way - to turn to the US and Russian lab. But you need to hurry up: according to the decision of the WHO, the last samples of the smallpox virus should be destroyed in 2014.

Reflection in the culture
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of films in which the main character - a deadly virus escaped from the laboratory walls. Get at least "epidemic" with Dustin Hoffman.



5 Cells from baby

What is forbidden
Conduct experiments with stem cells taken from human embryos.
Greenpeace protests against the use of embryonic cells

What is the interest of science
Stem cells can be figuratively called cells without specialization grows, they are transformed into nerve, blood, muscle, and so on. D. The researchers plan to learn how to control this mechanism, which will treat many diseases - for example, to grow tissues and organs for transplantation.

Stem cells have each adult, but there are rare and isolated. Convenient to take them out of the embryo, where they are concentrated in the state - though in this case the embryo dies.

Usually scientists for such experiments using embryos left unused in the treatment of infertility by IVF.

- In this procedure, grow seven to eight embryos transferred into the womb and a woman, as a rule, one or two, - says Roman Deev, medical director of the Institute of human stem cells. - In any case, the remaining embryos after IVF would be killed.

Then, based on stem cells, scientists are trying to create drugs to treat and conduct more sophisticated experiments, trying to grow these cells from the liver or kidney.

The reasons for the ban
Embryo dies - read, the little man. And even good purpose - to cure a dozen deadly diseases, and therefore saving hundreds of people already living - yet does not justify the killing of embryos.

In Russia, the ban will be the adoption of the Law "On biomedical cell technologies", which is being developed since 2010 and has already caused an uproar among experts. Thus, the transhumanist community is collecting signatures with the demand to change the text of the document. In particular, they are asked to lift the ban on experiments with stem cells. The bill is not changed until now, but not adopted. The struggle continues.

Similar bans exist in some EU countries. For example, in Italy, in 2004 a law prohibiting the use of embryos to obtain stem cells, and even egg donation.

Ways to get around the ban
While the law does not come into force, experts are trying to lobby for their interests. What will come of this remains to be seen. Precedential case in the history of science has the United States. For example, in 2010 the Federal Court of the District of Columbia invalidated a ban on setting up the experiments with stem cells - the ban came after a group of religious people sued the scientists. The scientists have won this court and won the right to conduct such experiments.

Reflection in the culture
Subject to the new science, and we did not find any well-known movies or books. Writers and writers have work to do.



6 Play in God

What is forbidden
Human cloning.
"Clones": identical twins Gillian Woollett and Brenda Armstrong

What is the interest of science
The most promoted and controversial experiment has been twenty years is considered to be cloned. And the most promising technology of cloning - nuclear transfer method, by which the 1996 British scientists "birth" of Dolly the sheep. The fertilized egg, enucleated, transplanted nucleus of normal cells being who want to clone. Then, the egg of a surrogate mother podsazhivayut.

Contrary to popular myths, human clone will not be something unique. Its resemblance to the "original" will be even less than those between identical twins (they are added to the genetic identity of the same conditions of fetal development). If we clone Lenin, he probably will not burr, would be taller and will not engage in a revolution, and, for example, legal support of real estate transactions.

But, theoretically, cloning could solve a lot of scientific problems - for example, the eternal dispute that in mind and the human body is due to genes, and that the conditions of life.

The reasons for the ban:

- There is not one reason - says Boris Yudin, head of the complex problems of human studies, Institute of Philosophy. - Firstly, the problem of efficiency. It is necessary to conceive a hundred human embryos, of which three survive. The rest should be at different stages of research to die. Imagine you go to a woman and say: get pregnant, please, 100 times, including 97 times will miscarriages. Secondly, these technologies are not developed, and there is a big risk that they will turn out freaks. And it is unclear what to do with them. Unclear lifestyles clones and their future status - as will be seen in the community this man?

In most countries, cloning is prohibited directly. For example, in the Russian law "On the basis of the health of citizens in the Russian Federation" have a point "The ban on human cloning." However, there are exceptions.

- The Chinese do not have this ban - says Pavel Tishchenko, philosopher and bioethicist. - I was a few years ago at the World Conference on ethics of genome research in Beijing, there is someone of my colleagues asked the Chinese delegation for a long time the obvious question: "Why you do not clone a human being? You have no inhibitions! "And the Chinese said, we do not do it for one simple reason - if we clone human, those Americans and Europeans, who work with us, refuse to cooperate. That is no problem, that only three people out of a hundred will survive - China generally do not have such experiences. But they realize that they, as they say, in a nice house will not be invited.

Ways to get around the ban
Cloning is therapeutic and reproductive. With the second case, all is clear: it is about creating a full-fledged human clone. This is unlikely to be allowed in the near future. A therapeutic cloning implies that the embryo survives only until 14 days. Then he had taken stem cells that can be grown individual tissues or organs for whose genes are taken.

- The ban on reproductive cloning science, maybe a little bit lost.










































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