Post by virologist Angela Rasmussen going over the actions and beliefs of NIH head Jay Bhattacharya and comparing him to the infamous Soviet pseudoscientist Lysenko. She shows how he is using the power of the state to promote false beliefs (including anti-vaccine conspiracies) and silence opposition. The state has a lot of power over the scientific field, and when the leaders start using it, it can cause severe and long-lasting damage.
People frequently talk about what will happen to American science “after.” Though I am not sure there will be an “after,” I think AK’s experience is informative if there is. Unfortunately, it doesn’t provide much to be optimistic about. Lysenko inflicted destruction on Soviet biology that could not be rebuilt and killed millions in the process. Bhattacharya is on track to annihilate the research that has made America the scientific envy of the world. The impact this will have on scientific progress globally will be severe. Fewer drugs will be developed. Fewer vaccines will be made. Lives will be shorter, harder, and sicker.
Bhattacharya is going to replace NIH’s exceptional research portfolio with pseudoscientific pursuits designed to affirm the harmful and discriminatory policies he wants to implement. He will try to eliminate peer review, thus making it more difficult for the public to distinguish legitimate science from quackery. He will support research that serves political objectives rather than scientific ones. He will dismiss criticism as an attempt to censor or politicize science, despite being the arbiter of political censorship at NIH. He is going to retaliate against critics with the expertise to point out his many scientific shortcomings by defunding their labs and banning their research; he has already done this to many of my colleagues and friends. If he has the opportunity, Bhattacharya will have his enemies prosecuted and purged, just as Lysenko did. This will silence any meaningful opposition. All of these changes will cause people to die: from lack of access to medication, from cancer and diabetes and HIV, from vaccine-preventable diseases, from any epidemic or pandemic that might occur.
Posted by Mrmini231