Institutional review boards (IRBs) have the responsibility to ensure the protection of human-research subjects and are legally liable if they fail to do so.
Specific contributions to a scientific article entitle the contributor to be included as an author; requests for authorship by those who have not made those specific contributions are unethical.
A new AMA policy provide guidance for physician-scientists on dual-use research issues and reinforces the message that ethical conduct in scientific research ultimately rests with the individual researcher.