Scientists are servants of society not masters, warns professor

President's address: Scientists do not own the science they produce, nor can any government lay claim to it, the president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science believes.

In fact, science belongs to the public that pays for it, and the taxpayers who make it possible, according to Prof Robert Winston.

"We are the servants of society, not its masters," Prof Winston will argue today when he delivers his presidential address on the opening day of the British Association's week-long Festival of Science at Trinity College Dublin.

Prof Winston will warn that too much dependence on commercial funding can damage science, and in particular, damage public trust in scientists. He will argue strongly for a better level of public engagement by scientists and that communication skills should be a part of every undergraduate science course.

"Who owns the science and what is the role for the scientist in future?" is the title of Prof Winston's address. It is the first time in 48 years the festival has come to Dublin.

A consultant in reproductive medicine at Hammersmith Hospital and professor of fertility studies at Imperial College London, Prof Winston is a world- renowned scientist but also an author and TV presenter on programmes including The Human Body, Superhuman, Walking with Cavemen, and The Human Mind.

Our lives are increasingly affected by scientific discovery and the application of science has brought huge benefits to society. Yet many see these advances as a threat, something that many scientists find difficult to understand.

"Although we have sometimes made a mistake in thinking otherwise, people in general are well-informed and discerning. So it should not astonish us that so many view the science we value with suspicion - or even hostility," he will argue.

Scientists are "caretakers" rather than possessors of the knowledge created by scientific endeavour.

"An important step forward must be for the scientific community to accept that it does not own the science that it pursues."

Most scientific research occurs in publicly funded universities or hospitals funded by the taxpayer. Science is paid for by society and so society has a right to lay claim to it.

Public funding streams into scientific research because governments believe that this will improve economic performance.

"In Ireland too, science is seen as an endeavour which will improve the country's economy

"Funding of science to make our respective countries 'competitive' is to be welcomed - but it has its downside," according to Prof Winston.

Science is no longer seen as an essential part of our cultures or as an important expression of essential human inquisitiveness. "This has grave dangers for science, though scientists often forget this." It is a threat, for example, to a subject such as astronomy, which may lose funding because it doesn't produce overt economic returns.

There is a very serious danger that commercial activity could change the public perception of science. It changes its ownership.

"Once the pursuit of science becomes heavily geared to profit which the public feels it is not sharing in any major way, scientists may be compromised," according to Prof Winston.