RRCR
Last week as a group the Howard Hughes Fellows watched the movie “And the Band Played On” and it told the story of the outbreak of the HIV virus and the subsequent battle to identify the virus, create a blood test for it, and then take the credit for it. The topic for discussion that was brought up by this movie is the dishonesty of taking credit for someone else’s [research] work in order to reap the benefits and glory that comes with it. Based on the real events that happened with this outbreak in the 70s, the American researcher Dr. Robert Gallo, having already been the first scientist to discover a retro virus, stole research and the actual identity of the virus order to gain more notoriety and fame. It is a shame that research at this day and age has become about taking credit just as much, if not more, than it is about helping people. I feel as though research of this nature should not be conducted just to be the first one to do so, but just to get done in order to help the thousands of people who were dying. I am not naive in saying that everyone should have this altruistic view of their work, recognition for a job well done is essential in motivating people to continue working hard. I would certainly want credit if I had been the first to discover a new retrovirus that has spread across the country, but the idea of taking someone else’s work in order to gain that recognition is atrocious. While working in a lab this summer, I have seen every day how hard these people work and the long hours they put in to try to advance scientific knowledge and for someone to falsely take credit, it’s hard to forgive. Whenever conducting research you should always have RCR in mind, because you wouldn’t want someone else to commit that kind of fraud against you.
