Nature: Keep shouting to save science
Editorial Board

“…The U.S. government has always been one of the largest and most reliable backers of basic science, but that would clearly change if [President] Trump controlled the purse strings. Many scientists draw hope from the fact that he does not, and it’s already quite clear that Congress — which allocates funding — takes a different view of things. The NIH saw its 2017 budget increase in the deal announced in late April, and the EPA saw a manageable … decrease. Trump’s 2018 budget proposal will not survive Congress in anything like its current form, but it could further poison the conversation, particularly among his most ardent supporters. Many groups are already mobilizing to save U.S. science, and those efforts should continue. But the conversation needs to expand. As this publication has stated before, scientists need to talk not only to their elected officials about what they do, but also to their neighbors and communities. Science and innovation have historically been a source of pride, not division, in the United States. That must not change” (5/31).