COMMENTARY: Is Boston University the new Dr. Frankenstein?
It’s a bit early for Halloween but when the news headlines are filled with horror, it’s a motivator to revisit the stories of this scary season and how they still apply today. The news this week has the scariest headline I’ve seen all year: Boston University researchers develop a deadlier version of the COVID virus by combining two strains. Headlines and stories noted that this combined strain has an 80% mortality rate in mice.
If such a virus exists, this will be a deadlier virus to human beings than the Black Death in the Middle Ages. The Black Death killed 1/3 of the population of the known world at that time, which included Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. But this laboratory-created virus claims an 80% mortality rate.
Can you imagine if 8 out of 10 of the people you know DIED?? That is what could be unleashed if this virus gets out of the lab and then continues to mutate. Why on earth would any responsible, ethical scientist or researcher perform gain of function research to create a virus with that sort of killing potential?
And don’t think it can’t happen. It’s highly likely that the COVID-19 virus was the product of similar gain of function research that accidentally got out of the lab. While it may have been intended as research, and not meant to be a global disaster, COVID-19 wreaked havoc that is still being measured.
Which brings us back to why Boston University is likely the New Dr. Frankenstein – and why it’s a cautionary tale for our times.
Many of us know the Frankenstein Monster, but we often make the mistake of thinking the Monster is Frankenstein. The Monster’s real name is Adam, as in the first man. If we go back to the original novel by Mary Shelley, “Frankenstein,” it is a tale of horror about a scientist named Dr. Frankenstein who decides to play God and create life out of dead body parts. His irresponsible and selfish behavior leads to tragedy for him, the Monster, and those he loves. It is a cautionary tale about why ethics, codes of conduct, and self-control need to be an integral part of research.
I will add to that list THINKING about the potential outcomes of any research we do, both good and bad.
“Advancing science” in the tale of “Frankenstein” is really an excuse to feed one man’s ego and personal desires. He was not seeking to advance science but his own position in the world. He was seeking his own self-aggrandizement. This selfish and self-centered action brought doom to himself and all around him, including the creature he created.
How does the cautionary tale of “Frankenstein” apply to the nonprofit community? It directly relates to ethics, codes of conduct, and professional responsibility. All of us in our profession have at least one horror story about embezzlement, harassment, self-serving decision making, nepotism, and failure to live up to the duties of care, loyalty, and obedience.
The researchers at Boston University are going down the same irresponsible road as Dr. Frankenstein. Research without responsibility is reckless endangerment at the very least, and potentially global mass murder. Research, experts, and science are not infallible. We must think, and we must hold ourselves to a higher standard.
