A fine line.

The programme asks how far scientists feel responsible for the ultimate results of their research. In the first part, scientists whose work led to the development of the nuclear bomb (Prof. Nicholas Kurti, Sir Rudolf Peierls and Prof. Joseph Rotblat) discuss their attitudes to their work as it became clear how their research would be used. In the second part, Prof. Kay Davies (geneticist, Oxford University), Sir David Weatherall (Oxford Institute of Molecular Medicine), Dr. William Cookson (author, "The Gene Hunters") and Prof. John Bell (Nuffield Prof. of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford) examine the responsibilities of those at the forefront of genetic research and consider whether the potential benefits of this work outweigh the dangers, as far as the latter can be perceived.