Scientific literacy, public engagement and responsibility in science

This work addresses the issue of scientific literacy and its connection to the responsibility of scientists in relation to public engagement. The points of departure are, first, the notion of science as a global public good, and, second, developments in the past few decades driven largely by the digital revolution. The latter lend a particular urgency to initiatives aimed at promoting scientific literacy. Arguments are presented for reassessing approaches to public communication. The particular example of genome editing is provided as a vehicle for highlighting the challenges in engagement involving the scientific community, policymakers and broader society.

Chih-chen Wang: the social responsibility of scientists

Chih-chen Wang is a distinguished biochemist and molecular biologist, and an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). From 2008 to 2013, she was a vice chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). As a young researcher, Wang participated in research on insulin. Since the 1990s, she has been focusing on the study of protein folding, and has initiated a new research area of isomerase and molecular chaperones in China. In this interview, Chih-chen Wang elaborates on the social responsibility of scientists by drawing on both her scientific research and CPPCC experience. In Wang's view, what China really needs are intellectuals with independent thinking and strong social responsibility, who are able to provide the government valuable advice and communicate with the public to increase society's scientific literacy. She also hopes that female scientists can be more confident and gain greater attention and support from society.

Value-Free yet Policy-Relevant? The Normative Views of Climate Scientists and Their Bearing on Philosophy

This article contributes to the philosophical debate on values in science by exploring how scientists themselves understand the proper role of moral, political, and social values in expert practice. I present findings from interviews with climate scientists who have participated as authors in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The climate scientists subscribe to the value-free ideal as a regulative ideal that applies both to the provision of knowledge to policymakers and how they engage with political issues in the public sphere. Yet their views on the moral responsibility of scientists and the aim of providing policy-relevant output challenge the value-free ideal. The article suggests ways in which their views can be relevant to the philosophical discussion.

COVID-19: Pandemic surgery guidance

Based on high quality surgery and scientific data, scientists and surgeons are committed to protecting patients as well as healthcare staff and hereby provide this Guidance to address the special issues circumstances related to the exponential spread of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during this pandemic. As a basis, the authors used the British Intercollegiate General Surgery Guidance as well as recommendations from the USA, Asia, and Italy. The aim is to take responsibility and to provide guidance for surgery during the COVID-19 crisis in a simplified way addressing the practice of surgery, healthcare staff and patient safety and care. It is the responsibility of scientists and the surgical team to specify what is needed for the protection of patients and the affiliated healthcare team. During crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the responsibility and duty to provide the necessary resources such as filters, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) consisting of gloves, fluid resistant (Type IIR) surgical face masks (FRSM), filtering face pieces, class 3 (FFP3 masks), face shields and gowns (plastic ponchos), is typically left up to the hospital administration and government. Various scientists and clinicians from disparate specialties provided a Pandemic Surgery Guidance for surgical procedures by distinct surgical disciplines such as numerous cancer surgery disciplines, cardiothoracic surgery, ENT, eye, dermatology, emergency, endocrine surgery, general surgery, gynecology, neurosurgery, orthopedics, pediatric surgery, reconstructive and plastic surgery, surgical critical care, transplantation surgery, trauma surgery and urology, performing different surgeries, as well as laparoscopy, thoracoscopy and endoscopy. Any suggestions and corrections from colleagues will be very welcome as we are all involved and locked in a rapidly evolving process on increasing COVID-19 knowledge.

Principles of the Russian education system in the light of scientific and pedagogical activity оf E.D. Nikitin

This paper analyzes the following principles of Russian education: the principle of state funding of science and education, the principle of state responsibility of scientists for the development of science and education, the principle of responsibility and continuity. The genesis and the ontological concepts of philosophy in soil science are shown, some of the main provisions of the scientific and the philosophical, pedagogical, organizational and exhibition activities of E.D. Nikitin are given, and it is indicated that he created scientific and philosophical theory, revealing the main regularities of the relationship between man and nature, homolaterally (theory of the unity of man and nature), highlighted the versatility of feedback, based on the understanding of which, E.D. Nikitin has identified and classified the variety of geosphere, atmosphere and biogeocenosis features of soils and undertook philosophical and scientific generalization on this issue. Continuity in the work of the department «Natural zoning and soil formation» from the 50s of the XX century to the present time is revealed.