Case 1:
A group of researchers have studied the vulnerability of the U.S. milk supply to attacks. They have identified weak (unsecure) points in the milk supply and have developed a mathematical model that predicts how many people will be killed when different amounts of the toxin are dumped into the supply at different points. They have submitted their work for publication in a top-tier journal. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), which funded the research, has contacted the editors and asked them to stop the publication. The agency is concerned that the publication will provide information that terrorists can use for an attack. The editors of the journal want to go ahead with publishing the article, because they feel that the benefits of the research will out weigh the risks. The editors believe that publishing the research will alert milk suppliers and public health officials to the significance of the problem and motivate them to take effective action to secure the milk supply. The editors and officials from NIH have a meeting to discuss these issues.
How should the researchers, editors, and NIH officials handle publication of this research?