The Erasing of American Science

^{Photo by Hans Reniers on Unsplash}

For decades in the united states, scientists and government officials have coexisted in a mostly peaceable and productive symbiosis. The government has funded science and then largely left well enough alone. Scientific agencies have been staffed by scientists; scientists have set scientific priorities; scientists have ensured the integrity of the science that is done, on the theory that scientists know their own complicated, technical, sometimes arcane work best. Under that system, science has flourished, turning the government’s investment into technological innovation and economic growth. Every dollar invested in research and development has been estimated to return at least $5 on average—billions annually.

Recently, that “we pay; you do” mutualism has grown shakier and, since January, fractured into all-out antagonism. In less than a month, the Trump administration has frozen research funds, halted health communications and publications, vanished decades of health and behavior data from its websites, terminated federally funded studies, and prompted researchers to scrub extensive lists of terms from manuscripts and grant proposals. Those changes are, by official accounts, in compliance with...