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US 1,900 scientists accuse Trump of \'wholesale assault\' on sci

(2025-04-01 09:20:32) 下一個

Some 1,900 scientists accuse Trump of 'wholesale assault' on science

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/04/01/trump-science-letter-national-academies-of-sciences/

In a letter, several members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine warn Trump’s overhaul of U.S. science has created a “climate of fear.”

By   
 
Hundreds gathered at the Lincoln Memorial on March 7 to defend science. 

More than 1,900 scientists have signed a letter warning that the Trump administration is threatening scientific independence and urging it to “cease its wholesale assault on U.S. science.” Since taking office, President Donald Trump and his team have upended the country’s scientific research apparatus — slashing funding, terminating grants and attempting to weed out ideas deemed unacceptable, according to the letter, which was shared Monday.

“We hold diverse political beliefs, but we are united as researchers in wanting to protect independent scientific inquiry,” the scientists wrote, addressing the American people. “We are sending this SOS to sound a clear warning: the nation’s scientific enterprise is being decimated.”

The signatories — all of whom are elected members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine — represent some of the nation’s top scientists. Their letter paints a picture of American science in crisis, describing researchers scrubbing papers and grant proposals of scientifically accurate terms that federal agencies have flagged; abandoning studies; and removing their names from work.

“The administration is blocking research on topics it finds objectionable, such as climate change, or that yields results it does not like, on topics ranging from vaccine safety to economic trends,” the scientists wrote, stressing that a “climate of fear has descended on the research community.”

The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The letter comes as Trump’s team overhauls the government, firing thousands of workers in an attempt to dramatically reshape federal institutions. Regardless of the political climate, the government has long been a stable source of funding for scientific research, but even that has not been spared from the Trump administration’s efforts.

Among his first acts in office, Trump demanded that the government halt all spending on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and ordered that the nation recognize two sexes, male and female, a move criticized by some experts for overlooking biology’s complexities. Many researchers were left reeling, concerned about whether their work would stay funded and free of political interference.

As of March, funding for the National Institutes of Health had dropped by nearly 60 percent, putting a wide array of research in jeopardy, The Washington Post reported. Meanwhile, employees at the National Science Foundation have been combing through research projects looking for keywords — such as “trauma,” “diversity” and even “women” — to determine whether the work violates Trump’s executive orders. Last week, Trump extended his efforts to the Smithsonian, which operates 14 education and research institutions, promising to eliminate what he described as unpatriotic ideas. (A handful of signatories on Monday’s letter are affiliated with the Smithsonian.)

Richard Aslin, one of the letter’s authors and a senior scientist at the Yale School of Medicine, said the scientists want “to make sure the American public is aware that this is not just about us losing our jobs. It’s about the whole country losing a tremendously valuable resource that has made us, honestly, the envy of the world.”

Government funding for science, he said, has remained mostly steady for the past 50 years — providing stability that is crucial, given that discovery and innovation can take years.

Trump’s slashing represents “an unprecedented level of cuts,” Aslin said. “When I talk to my colleagues in Europe, for example, they’re just dumbfounded by it because, of course, the United States is a leader in science.”

Inside science, the anxiety is palpable — some who declined to sign the letter said they worried about opening themselves up to retribution, he noted.

Recent events are “disturbing to many, many scientists because the vast majority of scientists are apolitical,” Aslin said. To have terms like “climate change” characterized as political, he added, leaves researchers on edge, asking: “What’s going to happen next? What’s the next word that’s going to be unacceptable?”

約1900名美科學家聯名譴責特朗普政府破壞科學事業

2025/4/1  新華網 記者黃恒 譚晶晶

  新華社洛杉磯3月31日電,約1900名美國國家科學、工程和醫學學院成員當地時間3月31日發布公開信,呼籲特朗普政府“停止對美國科學事業的全麵攻擊”。

  公開信說,“特朗普政府正通過削減研究資金、解雇數千名科學家、取消公眾獲取科學數據的權限以及迫使研究人員出於意識形態原因改變或放棄工作”,“重創美國的科學事業”,為此,美國國家科學、工程和醫學學院的成員們不得不聯合起來,向公眾發出“求救信號”。

  公開信指責說,特朗普政府削減資金並在法律層麵發出威脅,“迫使科研機構暫停研究(包括新的疾病療法研究),凍結教職員工招聘,並停止招收研究生”。

  這些科學家在公開信中說,特朗普政府正根據自身意識形態要求,建立審查製度,破壞科學研究的獨立性。“它利用行政命令和財務威脅來操縱哪些研究能得到資助或發表、如何報告研究成果以及公眾可以獲取哪些數據和研究成果”,阻止科學家研究特朗普政府反對的或研究結果令其不快的課題,包括氣候變化、疫苗安全和經濟趨勢等。

  公開信指出,“當前美科學界籠罩在恐怖氣氛中”,研究人員因擔心失去資金支持或工作保障,被迫從出版物中刪除自己的名字,放棄(一些領域的)研究,重寫資助申請書和論文,以刪除其中令特朗普政府反感的科學術語。盡管科學界有一些人提出了口頭抗議,但大多數研究機構和大學等噤若寒蟬,避免因與政府對抗而危及獲得資助。

  “我們呼籲政府停止對美國科學事業的全麵攻擊,我們敦促公眾加入這一呼籲。”公開信說,“科學的聲音不能被壓製。我們都從科學中獲益,如果國家的研究事業被摧毀,我們都將蒙受損失”。

  這封公開信由13名來自多個領域的科學家撰寫,並得到了覆蓋38個州、400多所大學和研究機構的約1900名科學家的支持,他們都是美國國家科學、工程和醫學學院成員。公開信最後表示,這封信隻代表了簽名者個人觀點,不代表美國國家科學、工程和醫學學院或簽名者所屬科研機構的觀點。

數百名哈佛教授聯名呼籲反對川普政府對大學的攻擊

 
近日,超過600位哈佛大學教授簽署了一封公開信,要求哈佛大學的治理委員會公開譴責川普政府對大學的攻擊,並拒絕任何妨礙學術獨立的命令。信中指出,持續的攻擊威脅到民主社會的基本原則,包括言論、結社和探究自由。
此次信件發布後,哈佛大學的各學術領域教授紛紛響應,呼籲學校在麵對政府壓力時采取與哥倫比亞大學不同的態度,要求哈佛公開表示將“合法反對並拒絕遵守威脅學術自由和大學自治的非法要求”。信件的簽署人包括來自計算機科學、數學、比較文學等領域的教授,體現了哈佛學術界的廣泛憤慨。
哈佛肯尼迪學院教授Archon Fung指出,大學間的合作可以解決個別大學為自身利益作出妥協可能帶來的危險前例。他強調,如果僅考慮哈佛或哥倫比亞的局部利益,可能會在短期內獲得好處,但從長遠來看,這對高等教育的整體發展是不利的。
此外,哈佛的部分學生、校友和教授也發起了抗議和公開信,要求學校更為明確地譴責川普政府的行為,並承諾保護言論自由和學術獨立。哈佛美國大學教授協會已提起訴訟,指控其侵犯國際教職工的第一修正案權利。
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