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Show California Lawyer Advises; Draft Scientific Code Of Ethics WASHINGTON (CPS) A lawyer has warned universities to draw up codes of ethics for their scientists "before public opinion forces more vigorous government intervention." William Douglass of the University of California's Lawrence Law-rence Radiation Laboratory proposed the development of "self-regulating codes" to avoid conflict of interest problems prob-lems in scientific research. Douglass spoke at an American Ameri-can Council on Education Conference Con-ference on Research Administration. Administra-tion. Douglass suggested that "a university board, composed of senior scientists and engineers from diverse fields, could provide pro-vide the responsible and understanding under-standing guidance needed in the academic environment." CONFLICT OF interest is a relatively new problem to the scientist, who has only recently been confronted with multiple committments to which he may have conflicting responsibilities, both legal and ethical, he said. The problem arises, Douglass explained, because the "nation must rely on a relatively small number of professionals. The number of creative, highly qualified qual-ified scientists and engineers is much lower than the demand. |