> But the fact that retractions happen at all are proof that the system WORKS. 

That's funny, just last night we had takeout Chinese food and my fortune said something like: a true patriotic is someone who when they find a parking ticket on their car they rejoice that the system works! Aside from that being an overly long and pretentious blurb, it's also a gross oversimplification. 

Speaking of Chinese, the researcher who blundered ahead with the first human genetic alteration was invited to a conference recently, after spending 3 years in prison for performing unethical human experimentation. He stunned the attendants by not only being unrepentant, but also by talking about his misguided future plans. This is an example of how punishment fails to achieve positive results, but perpetuates a scoff-law attitude. 

This too is an oversimplification but hey, electronic communication promotes gross oversimplification. Now you see estimated reading time before every news story as if people don't really have much time to spend on getting informed.

PLB

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