nan | 楠木

31"Money spent on research is almost always a good investment, even when the results of that research are controversial."

Scientific research is one of the keys to social progress. Through research new technology is developed, and those technologies are put into use in all areas, tackling all kinds of existing problems and helping to make our life better. Thus most nations put great emphasis on funding research(researches). Yet it is not true that money spent on research, regardless of the research subject and results, is always a good investment.

First of all, we must realize that though most of the research had(researches have) good intentions at start, some of the results actually caused(cause) more harm than good. The nuclear bomb, for instance, has been plaguing the entire human race ever since its birth. Some of the scientists who took part in Project Manhattan were later to have serious regrets about their work. Even today, some 10 years after the cold war, we still face the grim reality that the number of nuclear warheads is more than enough to destroy our world many times over. Considering this, it is therefore irrational to say that funding all kinds of research is always good.[d1] 

Secondly, looking at the world today, we find that we are facing the problem that certain technologies are beginning to pose serious threats to our traditional values. Cloning, for instance, is hugely controversial in that it challenges the traditional way of human reproduction, which happens to be the foundation of our entire society and all of our values[d2] . Just imagine the moral and social problems that could occur due to human cloning（if human cloning were put to practice one day）―even our sense of personal identity would be challenged, not to mention the difficulty it creates(would create) for the more practical social issues like criminal investigations and etc. Indeed, when research projects have such unforeseeable consequences, we must show caution in deciding whether to fund them or not, and our decision must not be based on economical concerns only. We must take into account all the aspects,( All aspects of the issue should be taken into account as well, ) especially those concerning society and ethics.[d3]  (A grim picture is shown to us in Michael Crichton’s excellent thriller, Jurassic Park, in which human greed combined with advanced technology created a biological nightmare.)

Yet the other side of the coin should be mentioned, to make my opinion complete and unbiased. （to gain a complete and more informed idea about this issue ）Often when scientists devote themselves(to) their research, they can not foresee the impact of their results, for they don’t even know what their findings might be. Indeed, a lot of the important discoveries were accidental results (the X-ray, for example), and hence it would be unfair to conclude that we must not invest (should refrain from investing)in all research(es) that have unforeseeable outcomes. This is contradictory with the basic nature of research: studying the unknown.

So in conclusion, I am of the opinion that as a general rule we should be cautious and discreet in funding research, especially those in already controversial fields like cloning. It would be best if we could evaluate the results before hand and thus decide whether money should be invested or not; but we should also give scientists the freedom (and funding) to study the unknown. In sum(short), a highly cautious and discreet approach is needed.