Destroying American Science

An Existential Threat

Science in the United States—the most successful effort in the history of our species to understand the universe, our world, and our place in it—is in grave danger of complete and irrevocable collapse.

Tragically, many who might have the power or standing to resist this onslaught are meeting the moment with silence or even capitulation. Unity and solidarity are needed—as well as the will to join the fight. Otherwise, we are on a path to inevitable defeat.

The willful and capricious efforts of a cruel and destructive regime to lay waste to knowledge—and those who pursue it—will have ruinous implications for our health, security, economic vitality, and standing on the world stage. If something this horrific were being waged by a foreign actor, it would rightly be considered equivalent to an act of war. But we are doing it to ourselves.

Perhaps because this threat exists amid a cascade of other crises, the sustained attacks on a system built over decades, at the cost of billions of taxpayer dollars—one that has sent probes beyond our solar system, explored the depths of our oceans, and unlocked the mysteries of disease—have been met with fear, disbelief, and an alarming lack of the urgency, creativity, energy, and courage that the situation demands.

The damage is already staggering—canceled grants, derailed research projects years in the making, and the devastation of promising careers. Brilliant young scientists dedicated to expanding human knowledge are seeing their futures shattered. As always, the heaviest burden falls on already marginalized communities, as the regime targets scientific and health initiatives aimed at the most vulnerable. And scientists from those communities are being shown, once again, that many in the scientific establishment are not concerned about their well-being.

Even before this attack, science and healthcare were rife with inequities—flaws that, if addressed, could ensure these fields were more innovative, equitable, and impactful. Now, instead of trying to improve an imperfect system, we face complete, systemic failure.

To be sure, a story this significant and consequential is being covered in the press and, in many cases, brilliantly by individual reporters and outlets. But as it competes with other outrages and since reporting on the scientific endeavor as an enterprise and not just individual findings has never been a priority of the general press, the public is not getting the picture it needs of what is transpiring or what’s at stake.

This grim state of affairs is being exacerbated by the widespread silence and pre-emptive cowardice of institutions of great power and wealth who know what is going on and are choosing—in what will assuredly be a futile effort—to limit their own exposure by not speaking out or, even worse, trying to appease the marauders wreaking havoc in Washington.

Where are the university presidents, the CEOs of pharmaceutical and technology companies, the former leaders in science and health policy, the Nobel Prize winners, and other tenured scientists whose careers were built on publicly funded research? All of them know that this is madness. All of them know that this will cause death and suffering. All of them know that it will decimate the types of jobs this country needs more of. All of them know that tearing down is far easier than rebuilding.

In a troubling new precedent, Columbia University has already signaled its willingness to surrender its independence in a bid to recover hundreds of millions in federal funding—bowing to the regime’s demands. But the failure isn’t Columbia’s alone. When it was targeted, other universities and scientific institutions did not rush to its defense. Silence is a form of acquiescence.

This will only embolden the forces who are targeting American higher education. Trying to appease or negotiate with ideologically motivated terrorists never works.

Because what this regime wants is to destroy any reservoirs of independent thinking that could threaten its consolidation of autocratic power. This is the same reason why it wants to cow the press, expunge expertise from governmental departments, rewrite history, and decimate the legal system. Like these other institutions, science is ultimately built on the freedom to pursue the truth. When that is subject to coercion or intimidation, our democracy is in peril. As it surely is.

We need to better explain science and why it matters to the American electorate. I plan to return to this often in future posts. It’s crucial to highlight the immediate stakes—such as the impact on cancer research—while also welcoming the public into the nature and process of scientific inquiry. Science isn’t just about results; we must also celebrate the awe, wonder, and curiosity that drive discovery itself.

The boom of post-World War II American science was driven largely by crisis. In 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first human-made satellite, the United States—long proud of its scientific and technological innovations—suddenly found itself trailing its biggest rival. In response, massive resources were poured into science education, research, and industry. The “Sputnik moment” continues to echo across the decades, bringing immeasurable benefits to both this nation and the world.

Now we are hurtling in the opposite direction. We are surrendering our progress. We are demolishing our leadership. We are destroying our prospects for the future. And as we retreat, others will step into the void. But the net effect will be one of great loss.

The chaos is having an immediate effect. Successful scientific research depends not just on consistent support but also on the expectation that such support will continue. Experiments unfold over years, with each discovery leading to new lines of inquiry. Now, suddenly and without rational cause, future support has been thrown into perilous uncertainty. Research cannot be switched on and off like a light. When labs lose funding, longstanding projects can come to an abrupt end, and even if support is later restored, the unique conditions that made the work possible may be lost forever.

Scientific careers are built on years of training, and they only make sense if students see a future in the field. How many will now decide not to pursue science? How many foreign students, who bring vital energy to our research institutions, will choose to stay away?

Modern science is also inherently global, with collaborations that cross borders. The U.S. has long benefited from the free flow of ideas and the global prominence of its researchers and institutions. But as the world watches this self-inflicted damage, how long before America is seen as an unreliable partner in scientific pursuits—our government making us a pariah in yet another area of global affairs?

The arsonists of this regime are eager to see the destruction of what this nation has stood for in its most noble sense of self-identity—a great experiment in self-governance empowered by reason and a relentless search for knowledge. Science isn’t just another government program; it is essential to the DNA of democracy.

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