ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION The Doctors’ Trial at Nuremberg and the Tuskegee syphilis scandal demonstrated that not all scientists are committed to basic standards of ethical behavior. The resulting loss of trust has led to the increasing regulation of scientific research. This system of control is based, in large part, on the principles developed by bioethicists in the wake of Tuskegee. These principles have become synonymous with ethical conduct in research. Their influence has thus spread across many academic disciplines well beyond the medical and biosciences from which they were derived. They have been formally adopted in the codes of ethical conduct of a wide range of organizations concerned with research including universities, professional bodies, public and private funding bodies, and other government agencies.
