On Friday 30 October, the distinguished UK scientist Professor Lord Robert Winston gave a wide-ranging and thought-provoking talk on the responsibilities of scientists to 120 scientists and students at Biopolis. The lecture was hosted by A*STAR (Agency for Science Technology and Research) and the British High Commission, Singapore under the ‘UK-Singapore Partners in Science’ programme, which aims to increase collaboration between UK and Singaporean scientists and research institutions.

The lecture addressed Lord Winston’s interests as a pioneer in medical research, the first Professor of Science and Society at Imperial College London and a BAFTA-award winning presenter of popular science programmes. In an engaging style, he developed the theme that scientists, funded by the taxpayer, have responsibilities that go beyond just producing good science. He presented a Scientists Manifesto’ that emphasised the role of scientists in engaging with the public, communicating the uncertainty in science, and avoiding arrogance.

The lecture was illustrated with a wide-range of examples, covering 1.2 million years of human technology, from early flint tools to the human genome project and the latest understanding of the interactions between genes and environment. All new technologies have brought risks as well as benefits and opportunities, and the implications of new technologies, both positive and negative, are often not foreseeable in an increasingly uncertain world.

Lord Winston was in Singapore for the launch of GUSTO, a world-leading study of Singaporean mothers and babies involving researchers from Singapore, New Zealand, and the University of Southampton in the UK.

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