Science in the 21st Century
The November’s issue of Scientific American addresses the issue of “Scientific Fact” in ways that we can hopefully use to expand our conversation with the public here in our country and beyond. Such a conversation is sorely needed as more and more we are being governed by individuals that outwardly reject these basic facts and more. This is particularly true with regard to positions that many Republican Office Holders, including President-Elect Trump, take with respect to scientific issues, especially related to the science of Climate Change. The Scientific American “Facts” include:
1. Evolution is the Only Reasonable Explanation for the Diversity of Life on Earth.
2. Homeopathy Has No Basis in Science.
3. Climate Change Conspiracy Theories Are Ludicrous.
4. Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism.
5. No Credible Evidence of Alien Visitation Exists.
There are of course many additional Scientific Facts, but the five included within the Scientific American November Issue identify some that are commonly abused by individuals as well as public media.
It is amazing how misinformation about these Basic Facts has worked it way into our general conversations as a society! This blog will be dedicated to supporting Scientific Fact, and calling out misinformation related to Science.
There was a publication in the New York Times recently that described how Syngenta Corporations in England was insulating their scientific research from the public world. Research by Dr. Cresswell, a scientist investigating the crisis in deaths of bees in Bee Colonies, was prohibited from being published in Scientific Journals for a period of five years. The power of science rests in the open communication between individual scientists in their community. This communication is founded in the publication of scientific findings in scientific journals. The scientific journals must be available to all scientists and the public as well. When a scientist is prohibited from publishing the results of their research because of a threat to the market value of their product it undermines in a very basic way the power and authority of science. This process within corporations needs to be seriously evaluated and revised to allow the scientific community to learn about the research that is being done within the corporate infrastructure.
New York Times Articles of Scientific Interest:
The extravagant splendor of the animal kingdom can’t be explained by natural selection alone — so how did it come to be?