UCS Unveils Tool to Track Attacks Against Science in the US
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has unveiled an interactive tool geared toward documenting and highlighting the different ways through which science has come under attack from the time Trump took office for the second time. The tool also documents possible violations of draft legislation before Congress, called the Scientific Integrity Act.
The tool, dubbed Attacks on Science Tracker, so far has a total of 576 attacks against science and 188 incidents that are categorized as possible violations of the Scientific Integrity Act. These cases span from January 2025 up to June 29, 2026.
The developers of the tool aimed to bring to the public’s attention the different ways through which political and elected officials have been attacking federal science, and also show how such actions affect the general public due to the undermining of science. The effects are varied and include impacts on climate science as well as medical science that people need in order to be safe.
In the tool, attacks on science are categorized into 11 groups. Out of these groups, five qualify as possible violations of the draft legislation, the Scientific Integrity Act. Attacks fall under data accessibility, altering scientific results, altered data collection, censorship of scientific information, the loss of positions by scientists who have views that don’t align with the agenda of elected officials, and orders/regulations or rules that stifle science.
Other categories include measures limiting the activities of scientific advisory boards, targeting scientists based on their identity, politicization of funding and grants, the imposition of restrictions on how scientists engage professionally with their peers, and imposing restrictions on the accessibility of scientific data.
The tool documents examples of incidents falling into those different categories. For example, there is a concerning case in which a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) official nudged analysts to repeat an analysis that had produced results that contradicted the policy position of the White House.
That was a blatant effort to twist science in order to make it conform to the political interests of the president and his administration.
The UCS is urging the public to use the tool to become informed about how science is being attacked and how such attacks impact everyone in the country. The nonprofit also wants the tool to help people push back against attacks directed at science, and to urge lawmakers in Congress to pass the Scientific Integrity Act so that science can be protected for the good of everyone.
For companies like Co-Diagnostics Inc. (NASDAQ: CODX) focused on working as best they can to develop tools that improve infectious disease diagnosis, attacks targeting science are a major concern because they detract from efforts aimed at improving conditions for communities.
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the BioMedWire website applicable to all content provided by BMW, wherever published or re-published: http://BMW.fm/Disclaimer
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has unveiled an interactive tool geared toward documenting and highlighting the different ways through which science has come under attack from the time Trump took office for the second time. The tool also documents possible violations of draft legislation before Congress, called the Scientific Integrity Act.
The tool, dubbed Attacks on Science Tracker, so far has a total of 576 attacks against science and 188 incidents that are categorized as possible violations of the Scientific Integrity Act. These cases span from January 2025 up to June 29, 2026.
The developers of the tool aimed to bring to the public’s attention the different ways through which political and elected officials have been attacking federal science, and also show how such actions affect the general public due to the undermining of science. The effects are varied and include impacts on climate science as well as medical science that people need in order to be safe.
In the tool, attacks on science are categorized into 11 groups. Out of these groups, five qualify as possible violations of the draft legislation, the Scientific Integrity Act. Attacks fall under data accessibility, altering scientific results, altered data collection, censorship of scientific information, the loss of positions by scientists who have views that don’t align with the agenda of elected officials, and orders/regulations or rules that stifle science.
Other categories include measures limiting the activities of scientific advisory boards, targeting scientists based on their identity, politicization of funding and grants, the imposition of restrictions on how scientists engage professionally with their peers, and imposing restrictions on the accessibility of scientific data.
The tool documents examples of incidents falling into those different categories. For example, there is a concerning case in which a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) official nudged analysts to repeat an analysis that had produced results that contradicted the policy position of the White House.
That was a blatant effort to twist science in order to make it conform to the political interests of the president and his administration.
The UCS is urging the public to use the tool to become informed about how science is being attacked and how such attacks impact everyone in the country. The nonprofit also wants the tool to help people push back against attacks directed at science, and to urge lawmakers in Congress to pass the Scientific Integrity Act so that science can be protected for the good of everyone.
For companies like Co-Diagnostics Inc. (NASDAQ: CODX) focused on working as best they can to develop tools that improve infectious disease diagnosis, attacks targeting science are a major concern because they detract from efforts aimed at improving conditions for communities.
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the BioMedWire website applicable to all content provided by BMW, wherever published or re-published: http://BMW.fm/Disclaimer
