Scientists shouldn’t have to face pressure or harassment from political figures or institutions—but too often they do. Our experts expose attacks on science across the country.
January 27, 2021 4:29 PM EDT
Today, the Biden Administration releases a presidential memo on scientific integrity and evidence-based policymaking, setting the stage for the administration’s efforts to build back from the Trump administration’s unprecedented assault on science and strengthen protections for science and scientists across the government. This is big and it puts science on the agenda like never before. Here’s my take on today’s bold actions and what we should watch in the coming months and years. Read more >
January 26, 2021 2:19 PM EDT
One of President Biden’s first executive orders has reversed President Trump’s unprecedented effort to alter the count of persons in the U.S. Census, the nation’s largest scientific project. The Census count of persons allocates the 435 seats to the House of Representations based on state population, in addition to directing 1.5 trillion in federal spending. The order also rescinds a Trump directive to provide citizenship data to states for redistricting using government records. Read more >
December 9, 2020 4:00 PM EDT
To get an idea of what the Biden administration could do to strengthen scientific integrity policies and stop political appointees from running roughshod over career federal scientists in future administrations, I turned to the lead author of our “Roadmap for Science in Decisionmaking,” Jacob Carter, a research scientist who worked at the EPA before joining UCS in 2017. Read more >
November 20, 2020 11:53 AM EDT
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, health experts have advised the public on the use of masks. Today, the consensus is clear—mask up!—but the whys and hows of mask-wearing have changed over time. Here’s what we know now, and what we must do to stay safe. Read more >
November 16, 2020 4:38 PM EDT
In the third quarter of 2020, public confidence in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suffered as we saw signs that politics is interfering with the agencies’ responses to COVID-19. Read more >
