If you sat down and explained to a non-scientist how science actually works they would be dumfounded. What good reason could any scientist have for publishing their work behind a paywall a year after they collected the data? Or not sharing data, reagents and information with anyone who asks? Why do scientists care so much about which journal publishes their work? Why is the distribution of scientific resources so unequal? Why do scientists study pointless shit? Why is there so much fraud?
I’ve made money making decks and trailers for doctors who want $ and glory instead of truly helping anyone. If someone’s motivation in Science is money and fame they are in the wrong field. Glad you aren’t at NASA anymore. Thanks for this article.
“But as long as the establishment continues to pervert science for their individual glory there will be a cost in knowledge, medicine and the alleviation of human suffering.“ Well damn
I think most scientists I know understand this, and are just not powerful enough alone to do much. Organizing might help.
I found a relatively sweet spot, an academic lab as a staff scientist. I do a lot of industrial work, some more exciting than other, but I like it because at the end, it works or it does not. Not much room for fraudulence, and no incentive.
But to your point- so much science is performative, now. I love outreach and know it is generally going to take work, but we're kind of incentivized to preen more than do stuff.
And the money chase is awful, and does not help the zeitgeist at all.
I have a rare genetic muscle disease caused by a missense mutation in the gene that codes for alpha sarcoglycan.
20 years ago there were advances in genetic medicine that had the promise of a cure just around the corner, I have seen how those advances that were announced as great news for me, were kept in a drawer because companies are not interested in a drug that does not make them millionaires.
I have no medical training, but I keep reading and trying to understand. I have been following laboratories, companies and researchers for decades.
Companies spend more on advertising than on research and focus on developing therapies that do not cure, they could, but it is more profitable for them that we are chronically ill.
The more I know, the more I realize that everything is wrong. It is very sad.
Since I graduated as a medical biotechnology student I ve been searching and reading books and articles i adore molecular biology so I went back to see classical papers in that field and I ve been wondering what's happening to the world since Beadle and Tatum major discoveries that changed the world helped ill people 1941 no advanced technology but incredible papers what's wrong in the 2022 and that when it hit me when I first worked in a biochemistry lab and they handed me this protocols no wonder there's no major discoveries how could you do science when you have detailed protocols you have to follow sold by companies at that time I realised how much I was wrong about science and it felt so bad that I'm just like a machine applying protocols and calling myself a scientist how sarcastic is the situation I'm planning to set up my small lab and pretend to be in 1940 discovering new things and be a real scientist
I’ve been observing this since I studied science in college over 20 years ago. The quality of drugs and healthcare in general has declined markedly, even as technology improves and prices reach astronomical heights. I had an r&d director at a major company tell me that ‘perception is reality’. At the same company a senior scientist tried to get me to falsify a method to sell a product. I refused and lost my job. It’s frightening how difficult it is to get people to even see the holes in the garbage data they put out regularly now. When we swimming in a toxic enough soup that nearly everyone gets cancer of some kind, the mountain of slanted studies showing these myriad chemicals are ‘safe’ will be just as worthless as they are today.
Years ago, an article in the Lancet decried the influence pharma money was having on medical school curricula and it had to be retracted because of influence from pharma. We’re truly doomed if we allow this to continue.
And SciHub isn't even working that well any more for papers published recently because the founder is being legally pursued and paused the service as a show of good will while hoping that a court in India creates a safehaven for SciHub servers, but so far she's just been in legal limbo for a long time
While I largely agree with your argument, I find it a conflict to argue for the freedom to study any topic scientifically, and then mock a legitimate paper on fruit flies using more alcohol when deprived of sex. As you point out, you never know where the results of a scientific paper may lead, and fruit flies are a model organism in research.
I’ve made money making decks and trailers for doctors who want $ and glory instead of truly helping anyone. If someone’s motivation in Science is money and fame they are in the wrong field. Glad you aren’t at NASA anymore. Thanks for this article.
Your post has changed my paradygm. Thank you for preventing me from mistakes, that I would definitely do in next 4 years, if you didn't post this.
Hey jo how would you recommend to start learning gene editing and crisper by your self
“But as long as the establishment continues to pervert science for their individual glory there will be a cost in knowledge, medicine and the alleviation of human suffering.“ Well damn
It's a mess.
I think most scientists I know understand this, and are just not powerful enough alone to do much. Organizing might help.
I found a relatively sweet spot, an academic lab as a staff scientist. I do a lot of industrial work, some more exciting than other, but I like it because at the end, it works or it does not. Not much room for fraudulence, and no incentive.
But to your point- so much science is performative, now. I love outreach and know it is generally going to take work, but we're kind of incentivized to preen more than do stuff.
And the money chase is awful, and does not help the zeitgeist at all.
I have a rare genetic muscle disease caused by a missense mutation in the gene that codes for alpha sarcoglycan.
20 years ago there were advances in genetic medicine that had the promise of a cure just around the corner, I have seen how those advances that were announced as great news for me, were kept in a drawer because companies are not interested in a drug that does not make them millionaires.
I have no medical training, but I keep reading and trying to understand. I have been following laboratories, companies and researchers for decades.
Companies spend more on advertising than on research and focus on developing therapies that do not cure, they could, but it is more profitable for them that we are chronically ill.
The more I know, the more I realize that everything is wrong. It is very sad.
Since I graduated as a medical biotechnology student I ve been searching and reading books and articles i adore molecular biology so I went back to see classical papers in that field and I ve been wondering what's happening to the world since Beadle and Tatum major discoveries that changed the world helped ill people 1941 no advanced technology but incredible papers what's wrong in the 2022 and that when it hit me when I first worked in a biochemistry lab and they handed me this protocols no wonder there's no major discoveries how could you do science when you have detailed protocols you have to follow sold by companies at that time I realised how much I was wrong about science and it felt so bad that I'm just like a machine applying protocols and calling myself a scientist how sarcastic is the situation I'm planning to set up my small lab and pretend to be in 1940 discovering new things and be a real scientist
I wonder how scientific publishing differs between capitalist, socialist, communist, etc societies? Or is there even a difference?
I couldn't agree more!
I love it. You are writing very similar stuff to another substack I follow, and it made few points more systemic points you didn't so you may find the link interesting: https://graymirror.substack.com/p/the-restoration-of-science
word
I’ve been observing this since I studied science in college over 20 years ago. The quality of drugs and healthcare in general has declined markedly, even as technology improves and prices reach astronomical heights. I had an r&d director at a major company tell me that ‘perception is reality’. At the same company a senior scientist tried to get me to falsify a method to sell a product. I refused and lost my job. It’s frightening how difficult it is to get people to even see the holes in the garbage data they put out regularly now. When we swimming in a toxic enough soup that nearly everyone gets cancer of some kind, the mountain of slanted studies showing these myriad chemicals are ‘safe’ will be just as worthless as they are today.
Years ago, an article in the Lancet decried the influence pharma money was having on medical school curricula and it had to be retracted because of influence from pharma. We’re truly doomed if we allow this to continue.
> SCI-HUB!
And SciHub isn't even working that well any more for papers published recently because the founder is being legally pursued and paused the service as a show of good will while hoping that a court in India creates a safehaven for SciHub servers, but so far she's just been in legal limbo for a long time
While I largely agree with your argument, I find it a conflict to argue for the freedom to study any topic scientifically, and then mock a legitimate paper on fruit flies using more alcohol when deprived of sex. As you point out, you never know where the results of a scientific paper may lead, and fruit flies are a model organism in research.