Document Actions

ISSP Newsletter #01 - June 2010

Living Technology - Scientific Social Responsibility June 17 - Naomi Oreskes / Merchants of Doubt June 24 - Putting People in the Present

Welcome to the first issue of our monthly ISSP-Newsletter. In this we will do our best to keep you informed about ISSP and related activities, news and events. Like all other ISSP activities the ISSP-newsletter aims to promote our declared goal: the bringing together of science, society and policy in sound dialogue.

To achieve this grand ambition new as well as old ways of thinking are needed. Thus, ISSP recently implemented a new and young Co-director to the ‘old’ ISSP team. Pelle Guldborg Hansen is Ph.D. in Philosophy from Roskilde University with prior experience in like efforts and you may read more about Pelle here.

Living Technology

Speaking of implementing new life into the already existing, May also became the month of a great scientific success within one of ISSP focus areas: Living Technology. This came by means of Venter et al’s success of implementing an artificial genome into a living cell. The result received broad interest in the media, where it was compared among other things with the completion of the sequencing of human DNA and you may read more about it here.

Living Technology There is no doubt Venter et al’s achievement is a grand one, but as Prof. of Physics Steen Rasmussen (member of the ISSP Living Technology working group and head of center for Fundamental Living Systems at SDU) comments here the achievement is not one of creating full-blown life yet.

No matter what, though, as Prof. of Philosophy Mark Bedau (Director of ISSP and member of the ISSP Living Technology working group) comments here the result raises important scientific and societal issues, calling for scientific social responsibility beyond those raised by biotechnology in general and genetic engineering in particular – e.g. how do we balance the opportunity of uncovering and manipulating life itself with precautionary thinking?

Scientific Social Responsibility June 17

However, living technology is far from being the only scientific area that calls for considering more closely the idea of scientific social responsibility, which is another of ISSP’s focus areas.

Thus, in this arena ISSP has joined forces with CBS, DEA and ATV in a one day conference on social scientific responsibility to be held June 17 in Copenhagen. You can learn more about the program and how to sign up here.

Naomi Oreskes / Merchants of Doubt June 24

But June offers even more on scientific social responsibility, this time in relation to the third focus area in ISSP: regional sustainability. Thus, June 24 ISSP proudly presents two lectures with Prof. Naomi Oreskes from University of California San Diego. Naomi Oreskes is one of the leading researchers in as well as on the climate debate. She has spoken to the US senate and her research is perhaps best known in the public from its central role in the Academy award winning documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ (2006), which also featured Al Gore.

Naomi Oreskes During her visit June 24 Naomi will first give a small and exclusive lecture on ‘Science and the Public’ at University of Southern Denmark for ISSP members and partners. In the evening she will give a public ISSP-lecture in Copenhagen revolving around her new book Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming organized in collaboration between ISSP, University of Southern Denmark, Dagbladet Information and University of Copenhagen. You may read more about June 24, as well as sign up here.

Putting People in the Present

Putting People in the Present From all the above it should evident that June is going to be both a very interesting as well as busy month in ISSP. But of course, you may pick and choose as fits your calendar. For those most comfortable with planning well ahead it should also be emphasized that now is also the time to sign up for one-day grand event Living Technology: Putting People in the Present to be held August 24 at SDU. You may take a sneak preview at the very exciting program as well as sign up here.

We’re looking forward to seeing you in June.



Home About ISSP People Living Technology Regional Sustainability Publications ISSP Events News Downloads Contact	Newsletter	Document Actions ISSP Newsletter #01 - June 2010 Living Technology - Scientific Social Responsibility June 17 - Naomi Oreskes / Merchants of Doubt June 24 - Putting People in the Present Welcome to the first issue of our monthly ISSP-Newsletter. In this we will do our best to keep you informed about ISSP and related activities, news and events. Like all other ISSP activities the ISSP-newsletter aims to promote our declared goal: the bringing together of science, society and policy in sound dialogue. To achieve this grand ambition new as well as old ways of thinking are needed. Thus, ISSP recently implemented a new and young Co-director to the ‘old’ ISSP team. Pelle Guldborg Hansen is Ph.D. in Philosophy from Roskilde University with prior experience in like efforts and you may read more about Pelle here. Living Technology Speaking of implementing new life into the already existing, May also became the month of a great scientific success within one of ISSP focus areas: Living Technology. This came by means of Venter et al’s success of implementing an artificial genome into a living cell. The result received broad interest in the media, where it was compared among other things with the completion of the sequencing of human DNA and you may read more about it here. There is no doubt Venter et al’s achievement is a grand one, but as Prof. of Physics Steen Rasmussen (member of the ISSP Living Technology working group and head of center for Fundamental Living Systems at SDU) comments here the achievement is not one of creating full-blown life yet. No matter what, though, as Prof. of Philosophy Mark Bedau (Director of ISSP and member of the ISSP Living Technology working group) comments here the result raises important scientific and societal issues, calling for scientific social responsibility beyond those raised by biotechnology in general and genetic engineering in particular – e.g. how do we balance the opportunity of uncovering and manipulating life itself with precautionary thinking? Scientific Social Responsibility June 17 However, living technology is far from being the only scientific area that calls for considering more closely the idea of scientific social responsibility, which is another of ISSP’s focus areas. Thus, in this arena ISSP has joined forces with CBS, DEA and ATV in a one day conference on social scientific responsibility to be held June 17 in Copenhagen. You can learn more about the program and how to sign up here. Naomi Oreskes / Merchants of Doubt June 24 But June offers even more on scientific social responsibility, this time in relation to the third focus area in ISSP: regional sustainability. Thus, June 24 ISSP proudly presents two lectures with Prof. Naomi Oreskes from University of California San Diego. Naomi Oreskes is one of the leading researchers in as well as on the climate debate. She has spoken to the US senate and her research is perhaps best known in the public from its central role in the Academy award winning documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ (2006), which also featured Al Gore. During her visit June 24 Naomi will first give a small and exclusive lecture on ‘Science and the Public’ at University of Southern Denmark for ISSP members and partners. In the evening she will give a public ISSP-lecture in Copenhagen revolving around her new book Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming organized in collaboration between ISSP, University of Southern Denmark, Dagbladet Information and University of Copenhagen. You may read more about June 24, as well as sign up here. Putting People in the Present From all the above it should evident that June is going to be both a very interesting as well as busy month in ISSP. But of course, you may pick and choose as fits your calendar. For those most comfortable with planning well ahead it should also be emphasized that now is also the time to sign up for one-day grand event Living Technology: Putting People in the Present to be held August 24 at SDU. You may take a sneak preview at the very exciting program as well as sign up here. We’re looking forward to seeing you in June.