Trust for science

Under threat now is the social contract between science and society. Scientists as a community must sit up and act. Science and scientists are lauded during war times — for example, most recently for drones and AI. However, we are concurrently also witnessing events that disrupt the pursuit of science. This is a cause of alarm. Without allowing unfettered pursuit and promotion of science, society will suffer, although the suffering may not be palpable in the short term

- PARTHA P MAJUMDER The writer is National Science Chair, Government of India

Most will remember that Katrina Kariko and Drew Weissman won the Nobel Prize in 2023 for their mRNA vaccine research that resulted in a very efficacious vaccine for SARS-CoV-2. We expressed our gratitude to them for saving many lives during the Covid-19 pandemic. Surprisingly, some weeks ago, headlines in newspapers stated "Lifesaving mRNA vaccine technology appears targeted under Trump and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr." and "Trump administration at 'war' with mRNA technology."

Science is facing an existential crisis. Trust for science seems iffy now in many countries. There is greater denial of science now than before. Consequently, the role of science and scientific knowledge in decision-making for social good appears questionable. However, those of us who believe in the relevance and power of science need to defend science without being abrasive.

Science is anchored on a set of principles. Based on experimentation, observation and logical argumentation, it generates an organized body of knowledge, most of which are applicable for public good, either immediately or in the longer term.

The method of science makes its conclusions universally applicable. Practitioners of science derive conclusions on their own, obtain views on these from their peers, publish results in widely-read journals, which then are replicated by some peers.

Sometimes, conclusions need to be modified. The process is repeated until the results turn out to be broadly applicable, that is, generalizable. In non-experimental sciences, logical inferences are deduced based on observations that are designed to be free of subjectivity and bias. This nature of drawing conclusions in science makes the conclusions reliable and inclusive.