Letter: Ethical science

LEWIS Wolpert ('Should scientists have built the bomb?", 19 July) thinks ethical decisions such as bombing Dresden should, in wartime, be taken by our chosen representatives rather than those who design, build or use the weapons. Presumably then, he will agree that scientists in peacetime are responsible for their ethical decisions about what to research, and should not use politicians as scapegoats when they produce what may be dangerous knowledge.

Nick Hunt

Lancaster University