#21 She Blinded Me With Science

Science and politics are always linked. At the first level there is the science inside the lab, next there are multiple layers of politicking within the scientific community and finally, when science is related to public policy, politics are unavoidable.

In 1990 George H. W. Bush said, " Now more than ever, on issues ranging from climate change to AIDS research . . . government relies on the impartial perspective of science for guidance.” Yup- that's reasonable. During Papa Bush's administration no one was demanding that Biblical teachings be used as the metric for evaluating scientific findings. Reasonable people were running things and there seemed to be general agreement with Galileo that, "the intention of the Holy Ghost is to teach us how one goes to heaven, not how heaven goes.'

Well things sure have changed during the eight years GW bush has been in office. Six thousand scientists—including 49 Nobel laureates and 154 members of the U.S. National Academies of Science have questioned whether scientific integrity at federal agencies has been sacrificed to further a political and ideological agenda. (US News and World Report 2005) As Don Kennedy, then editor of Science, wrote in early 2003, “There is growing evidence that the Bush Administration “invades areas once immune to this kind of manipulation.” In August 2003, the Democratic staff of the Government Reform Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives assessed the treatment of science and scientists by the Bush Administration in the report, Politics and Science in the Bush Administration. The report cited numerous instances where members or appointees of the Bush administration “manipulated research process and distorted or suppressed scientific findings.” Climate issues and stem cell research have been the most prominent points of contention but there have been many more.

I resolved several years ago to make sure science was one of the areas I considered when making my next choice for president. It’s been a busy election year and I confess that I have not actually paid that much attention to the candidates positions on science- other than McCain’s muddy statements on stem cell research. I have to hand it to Governor Palin for re-awakening my awareness of the importance of science in the next administration.

Yesterday in her first policy speech Palin described some solid ideas for improving the lives of children and adults with disabilities. Sadly she also demonstrated her lack of understanding of scientific research when she mocked research on fruit flies. “Maverick” Palin takes advantage of every opportunity to demonstrate disdain for government programs and express outrage at government spending but her for fruit fly critique was a cheap shot, meant to inflame voters. We can’t move forward in addressing real problems by resorting to creating controversy where there is none. And--ahhh- fruit fly research helps to further her own cause- children with autism and other neurological disorders.

Governor Palin promised to help children and adults with disabilities but does not seem to understand that research on fruit flies is critical to advancing our knowledge of the human health. That is not defensive rhetoric from the “elite liberal media” it is just the truth. Here is a link to a National Institute of Health 2000 newsletter that described the value of fruit fly research.

Here is a quote from the article: “ fruit flies are essential workhorses in thousands of biomedical research laboratories around the world. Decades of study have revealed that the tiny insects, which bear little resemblance to people, nevertheless share much of our genetic heritage. Fruit flies possess strikingly similar versions of the genes that promote normal human development and, when altered, contribute to disease.”

Here are links to three recently published studies of human illness that relied on fruit fly research.

Published 2008: on human immunity and immune disorders-


Published 2007: on autism-


Launched 2005: on birth defects-


Has the campaign failed to make credible science advisors available to Palin or does she simply not care about the veracity of her words?

My 17 year old son knows that research on fruit flies is basic and important- he learned that in sophomore bio.

I don’t need my candidates to blind me with a wealth of scientific knowledge but I can’t endorse a ticket that assumes I will turn a blind eye to the scientific incompetence Palin demonstrated yesterday.

Want to see the old 80's video She Blinded Me With Science?


Excerpt of Sarah Palin's policy speech.

I tried to find a video of her speech on the McCain campaign website but it is not there!