• Question: Could any unexpected problems arise that might affect the environment or society from your work?

    Asked by caleb1be to Ben, Jony, Katharine, Mark, Peter on 19 Nov 2011.
    • Photo: Mark Basham

      Mark Basham answered on 18 Nov 2011:

      Good question caleb1be

      I think there are always chances that scientific discovery can cause problems, if used in the wrong way many discovery’s can be detrimental. That said though the work we do at diamond is all about understanding the things which scientists bring in, so they could have some big differences but its not always easy to work out what they may be. One big area we do work in though is medical research, and we have already made some great progress in helping with several treatments and understanding quite a few diseases and disorders.

      Hope this answers the question.

    • Photo: Peter Williams

      Peter Williams answered on 19 Nov 2011:

      I think all of us here would argue that the research we do is aimed at improving the enviroment or society. Can there ever be unintended consequences? Scientists often get tripped up by this question in the media, because the burden of proof in science is high – so the logical answer for a scientist is: nothing in life is 100% guaranteed, but the probability of accidents is very small. In other industries, the answer would be a more simple, but more misleading, “no chance”.

      By far the most dangerous thing that i do in my everyday life is crossing the road when i take my son to school.

      In my scientific work, anything dangerous is guarded by multiple passive interlocks. Safety comes first.

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