The unique knowledge and freedom of science evoke novel responsibilities for scientists to stay tuned to, and to inspire, the desires of mankind. Scientists should be candid and honest when addressing the public and should not shun the full implications of ideas, of questions, or of the capacity for science and innovation to shape the future. For example, when members of the scientific community quote polls that show the public supports allocation of more money for basic research, they must not

The United States patent system, as envisioned by Benjamin Franklin and provided for in the Constitution, has a mandate to stimulate innovation and commerce to benefit society. To accomplish this, inventors obtain patents to protect intellectual-property rights by creating temporary monopolies to market inventions without competition. A major tenet that "Basic research is the source of fundamental knowledge that eventually leads to innovation, technology development, and economic growth" (Rep.

Scientific Innovation Author: Fred M. Cowan The "information age" with accompanying "big science" has emphasized data generation, analytical thinking, and specialization. This may have had the unfortunate consequence of segregating mainstream science from the novel and abstract ideas, often created at the margins of science, that stimulate rapid progress and invention. Has too narrow a focus on empirical phenomena slowed the innovations that benefit society and prove the utility of science?