Since the early 1970s, all aspects of academia have skewed left. With that political shift, the confidence that scientists are neutral arbiters for the public good has also declined on both sides.
More Republicans than Democrats think the fix is in regarding a green 'agenda' and global warming whereas more Democrats than Republicans think scientists are shills for Big Ag, Big Pharm, etc. regarding food and vaccines. Basically, science can't win but there was a time when being an academic, and certainly a scientist, was impressive and not a presumption about a political world view. Getting into the political muck - and plenty of advocates for science recommend doing more of it, not less - has been a bad thing for credibility.
There is a Chinese middle class for the first time ever and they have decided to avoid their numerous conventional food scares by opting for organic food scares.
Coming into the Democratic convention, science academia is going to be enthusiastic in its support of President Obama. Unlike counterparts in private-sector science, academia will vote up to 85% Democratic and some of that reason has been that Democrats are more 'pro-science' than Republicans.
Obviously that isn't true, I (co)wrote a whole book itemizing how progressives who have a vocal minority among Democrats hijack their liberal and even conservative brethren. They're dangerous and their anti-science positions far outweigh the craziness on the right. A complete itemized list isn't possible in an article but we can talk about one thing; money.
Obesity is not just happening in New York City 7-Elevens(1), it is also happening in aging bones.
Bone marrow stem cells, which are adult stem cells, are in their fifth decade of uncontroversial new discovery. But they can still surprise us. Our bones may be getting fatter as we age, and it could lead to
osteoporosis, the condition where
bone mineral density is 2.5 standard deviations below the mean (62%). The NIH estimates that up to 50% of women and 25% of men over the age of 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis.
I'm not much of a drinker, never have been. I have always assumed it was because I did competitive athletics until I was about 25, which means I was outside the age where you 'learn' to like the taste of alcohol, so I never picked it up.
Older now, I can drink a beer socially and I sometimes drink a glass of red wine because the consensus says it is good for you in moderation, but I am still not really a drinker.
Once a year someone is claiming to be on the trail of Atlantis, a science-fiction city or nation or whatever in which super-smart people from the past were somehow wiped out and took a whole lot of cool technology with them.
Last year,
it was at least interestingly supposed to be in Spain.
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