The wellbeing of Americans and the country’s longstanding position as a world leader in science and technology are in jeopardy due to the actions of the Trump administration, approximately 1,900 leading figures in medicine, science, and engineering warn today in an open statement to the American public. The list of signatories includes Nobel Prize winners, deans of medical schools, and national leaders in science and technology.
“For over 80 years, wise investments by the US government have built up the nation’s research enterprise, making it the envy of the world,” the experts note. “Astoundingly, the Trump administration is destabilizing this enterprise by gutting funding for research, firing thousands of scientists, removing public access to scientific data, and pressuring researchers to alter or abandon their work on ideological grounds.”
The statement is an “SOS to the public” to warn that these setbacks will forestall life-saving medical research and slow advances in science and technology that Americans rely on daily. The advances science has given us range from medical discoveries to smartphones, GPS, weather forecasting, and cleaner air. Weakening the US research capacity will damage the economy and diminish U.S. global competitiveness and national security. “We all benefit from science, and we all stand to lose if the nation’s research enterprise is destroyed,” said the authors.
The statement cites a range of actions by the Trump administration, including layoffs at federal research agencies, cuts to funding that underwrites research at hundreds of universities and medical centers, and government “censorship” to alter data and research findings available to the public. Financial and legal threats are forcing the nation’s research institutions to pause research (including studies of new disease treatments), freeze faculty hires, and stop enrolling graduate students, “the pipeline for the next generation of scientists.” They describe a “climate of fear” among researchers, who are altering their proposals and publications to remove scientific terms objectionable to the current administration.
The statement was written by 13 scientists and physicians and endorsed by approximately 1,900 leaders in science, medicine, and engineering from 38 states and over 400 universities and research institutions, all of whom are elected members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Congress established the National Academy of Sciences in 1863 as a private, nongovernmental institution tasked with advising the government on issues of science and technology. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 and the National Academy of Medicine in 1970. Election to the academies is one of the highest honors a scientist can receive. The authors state that the views expressed are their own and not those of the National Academies or their home institutions.
Teilen mit:
Entdecke mehr von Pugnalom
Melde dich für ein Abonnement an, um die neuesten Beiträge per E-Mail zu erhalten.
