  The gradual crowding out of singleton and small team science by large team
endeavors is challenging key features of research culture. It is therefore
important for the future of scientific practice to reflect upon the individual
scientist's ethical responsibilities within teams. To facilitate this
reflection we show labor force trends in the US revealing a skewed growth in
academic ranks and increased levels of competition for promotion within the
system; we analyze teaming trends across disciplines and national borders
demonstrating why it is becoming difficult to distribute credit and to avoid
conflicts of interest; and we use more than a century of Nobel prize data to
show how science is outgrowing its old institutions of singleton awards. Of
particular concern within the large team environment is the weakening of the
mentor-mentee relation, which undermines the cultivation of virtue ethics
across scientific generations. These trends and emerging organizational
complexities call for a universal set of behavioral norms that transcend team
heterogeneity and hierarchy. To this end, our expository analysis provides a
survey of ethical issues in team settings to inform science ethics education
and science policy.
