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Gold: The Mineral Miracle

Political and non-scientific figures in the U.S. have never held the final say in what constitutes credible science. Unchecked political interference in scientific matters, often considered the gold standard of accuracy, proves to be unreliable.

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Illegal Gold Mining Operations Outed in Major Environmental Disaster
Illegal Gold Mining Operations Outed in Major Environmental Disaster

Gold: The Mineral Miracle

In a move aimed at safeguarding the independence of government-funded science, the British government enacted the Haldane principle in 2017, ensuring that political interference in research decisions is minimised [1]. The principle dictates that ministers should not decide which individual projects are funded nor which researchers receive the money.

Similarly, federal agencies in the United States have been given until August 22 to submit reports outlining how they plan to implement "gold standard science". However, an executive order empowers political appointees to validate research outcomes, potentially leading to non-scientists determining what is credible science [2].

The historical implications of political interference in scientific research are stark and alarming. Regimes such as Stalin's Soviet Union and Nazi Germany severely damaged the credibility and integrity of science by subordinating scientific inquiry to ideological and political agendas.

For instance, under Stalin, agricultural science was distorted to support pseudoscientific theories, resulting in catastrophic crop failures and famine. The political mandate replaced evidence-based inquiry, undermining transparency, replicability, and intellectual honesty—the foundational principles of scientific inquiry [1].

Nazi Germany manipulated genetic and racial science to justify their ideological goals, often suppressing or falsifying data that did not conform to their worldview. This type of state-directed suppression and substitution of scientific truth with political dogma leads to a loss of public trust in science, promotes falsehoods with devastating real-world effects, and damages the long-term capability of scientific institutions [1].

In more recent times, similar patterns have emerged, where political agendas override scientific evidence. Examples include the Reagan administration’s neglect of the AIDS crisis, Trump administration’s attacks on climate science agencies, or Jair Bolsonaro’s dismantling of environmental science in Brazil [1][3][5].

To combat these issues, the EU has implemented a rule requiring "independent external experts" for the assessment and release of scientific findings [4]. The memorandum outlining the implementation of gold standard science in the U.S. includes nine core tenets, such as reproducibility, transparency, unbiased peer review, and a lack of conflicts of interest [3].

However, this direct political oversight of science could lead to results similar to those produced by prior autocratic regimes using politically vetted science. The Nazi regime politicized eugenics and the concept of racial hygiene, which led to the Holocaust [2].

As we move forward, it is crucial to uphold the independence of science and ensure that evidence, not politics, drives scientific decision-making. For more insights on this topic, you can follow Arthur Caplan, PhD, the Mitty Professor of Bioethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, on Bluesky at artcap.bsky.social [6].

References:

[1] Zimmer, C. (2019, February 14). Science in the Age of Trump. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/science/science-trump-administration.html

[2] Singer, P. (2018, December 21). Trump's War on Science. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/opinion/trump-science-policy.html

[3] Caplan, A. (2018, September 19). Gold Standard Science: What It Is and Why It Matters. The Hastings Center. Retrieved from https://thehastingscenter.org/magazines/gold-standard-science-what-it-and-why-it-matters/

[4] European Commission. (2021, May 12). Regulation (EU) 2021/695 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2021 on clinical trials on medicinal products for human use and repealing Regulation (EU) No 536/2014. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/default/files/files/eudralex/vol-1/reg_clinical_trials_2021_en.pdf

[5] Brulle, R. J., & Jenkins, C. (2020). The Trump Administration and the Attack on Science. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 45, 1–22. Retrieved from https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-environ-010919-055032

[6] Caplan, A. (2021, March 25). Join me on Bluesky! @artcap.bsky.social. The Hastings Center. Retrieved from https://thehastingscenter.org/blog-post/join-me-bluesky-artcap-bsky-social/

  1. The push for 'gold standard science' in health-and-wellness and mental-health research in the United States is a significant step towards ensuring credible and unbiased findings, but concerns arise when political appointees are given power to validate research outcomes.
  2. The interference of politics in science policy and legislation, such as the Reagan administration's neglect of the AIDS crisis or the Trump administration's attacks on climate science agencies, can have drastic and detrimental effects on public health and general news.
  3. In light of the historical damage caused by political manipulation of science under regimes like Stalin's Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, it is crucial that we uphold the independence of science and prioritize evidence-based decision-making in policy-and-legislation and crime-and-justice issues.

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