Studying wet dogs might not cure cancer - but neither will cheap shots at scientists
by Nathan Tauger from on (#1G9J7)
A US senator has ridiculed a selection of 'wasteful' studies. But this latest attack on research spending won't make scientists engage with the tax-paying public
On May 10, Senator Jeff Flake arrived in the US Senate Press Gallery with cups of gummy worms and crumbled chocolate biscuit.
The worms are reference to a study criticised in his new report, Twenty Questions: Government Studies That Will Leave You Scratching Your Head. Flake's report picks apart twenty US government-funded studies, claiming to reveal a culture of waste among scientists and three federal funding agencies: the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
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