The role and importance of ethics education have begun to be recognized by the NIH. Guidelines for
NIH research training grants now require a minimal number of hours of ethics education. Ethics need
not be taught within a single graduate course, but it is beginning to be recognized that education in the
basic conventions of the field and in the basic approaches to ethical decision making can no longer be left
to one-on-one mentoring alone. As the ever-dwindling availability of research funds fuels the fire of
competition, there will be increased pressure on scientists to bend or break rules. Research laboratories,
particularly large groups where some students rarely see their faculty advisors, cannot be assumed to
teach research ethics, or even to train students in all research conventions