Scientists and morality- No. I'll tell you the problem with engineers and scientists. Scientists have an elaborate line of bullshit about how they are seeking to know the truth about nature. Which is true, but that's not what drives them. Nobody is driven by abstractions like 'seeking truth.'

Scientists are actually preoccupied with accomplishment. So they are focused on whether they can do something. They never stop to ask if they should do something. They conveniently define such considerations as pointless. If they don't do it, someone else will. Discovery, they believe is inevitable. So they just try to do it first. That's the game in science. Even pure scientific discovery is an aggressive, penetrative act. It takes big equipment, and it literally changes the world afterward. Particle accelerators scar the land, and leave radioactive byproducts. Astronauts leave trash on the moon. There is always some proof that scientists were there, making their discoveries. Discovery is always a rape of the natural world. Always.

The scientists want it that way. They have to stick their instruments in. They have to leave their mark. They can't just watch. They can't just appreciate. They can't just fit into the natural order. They have to make something unnatural happen. That is the scientist's job, and now we have whole societies that try to be scientific. (pp 284-85)

Scientists and power - You know what's wrong with scientific power? It's a form of inherited wealth. And you knwo what assholes congenitally rich people are. It never fails. Most kinds of power require a substantial sacrifice by whoever wants the power. There is an apprenticeship, a discipline lasting many years. Whatever kind of power you want. President of the company. Black belt in karate. Spiritual guru. Whatever it is you seek, you have to put in the time, the practice, the effort. You must give up a lot to get it. It has to be very important to you. And once you havce attained it, it is your power. It can't be given away: it resides in you. It is literally the result of your discipline.

But scientific power is like inherited wealth: attained without discipline. You read what others have done, and you take the next step. You can do it very young. You can make progress very fast. There is no discipline lasting many decades. There is no mastery: old scientists are ignored. There is no humility before nature. There is only a get-rich-quick, make-a-name-for-yourself-fast philosophy. Cheat, lie, falsify - it doesn't matter. Not to you, or to your colleagues. No one will criticize you. No one has any standards. They are all trying to do the same thing: to do something big and do it fast.

Why broken legs are life-threatening for horses?
Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro broke three bones in his right rear leg in Saturday's Preakness Stakes. It is a life-threatening injury because a horse must heal fast and well enough to have four weight-bearing limbs.

Why that's difficult:
Can't keep a horse lying down: Horses are continuous grazers. Sedating a horse enough that it will lie down for a long period of time disturbs its gastrointestinal tract.
Can't keep a horse still: Horses are animals of flight. When horses get in unfamiliar circumstances, they revert to nature and want to run.
Can't keep a horse off his feet: Whenever they are under stress, horses want to stand. In a sling, a horse will struggle until it gets its feet back on the ground.
Artificial limbs aren't practical: Artificial limbs have been tried repeatedly, with limited success. Horses require four limbs to spread their weight. When they overload a limb, it is extremely painful.
Equilibrium is crucial: Equilibrium is so finely tuned in a horse that it needs all four legs for long-term survival.
Source: Larry Bramlage, equine surgeon