Teaching Comparative

Political Role of Science

The other Boston Globe article Michael Harvey recommended is about the role of science in Iran. It figures into the politics of Iran's nuclear programs and offers a chance for some comparative analysis with the politics of science in the U.S.A.

Iran looks to science as source of pride

Nuclear program stokes ambitions

"TEHRAN -- The white-coated scientists at Tehran's Royan Institute labor beneath a framed portrait of the turbaned, bearded supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the head of a state that enforces strict religious rules governing everything from how women dress to what kinds of parties people throw.

"But in the cutting-edge field of human embryonic stem-cell research, the scientists work with a freedom that US researchers can only dream of: broad government approval, including government funding, to work on the potent cells from early-stage embryos that researchers believe hold the promise to cure many diseases.

"In 2002, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gave his blessing to research on surplus embryos created for fertility treatments -- work sharply restricted in the United States under pressure from religious conservatives -- calling it a 'lofty' effort that fit his goal of making Iran the scientific leader of the Muslim world.

"The scientific ambitions that led Iran to embrace one of the world's most open policies on stem-cell research also help to explain why many Iranians support the nuclear research program that has thrust their country into a dangerous international confrontation...

"Caught in the middle are Iranian scientists. With government backing, they have been able to launch health initiatives -- from family planning and drug-addiction therapy to prevention of heart disease -- that have won admiration from leading US researchers.

"But they also face restrictions -- from the West and from their own government -- that make it hard for them to take part in international scientific exchange. Iranian scientists who travel abroad can face accusations of having too much contact with foreigners. And they are often denied visas to Western and Arab countries that mistrust Iran..."

posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:13 AM