Will American science become the “Hitler’s gift” of the 21st century? | by Ethan Siegel | Starts With A Bang! | Jul, 2025
Over the first half of 2025, the USA has cut science as never before. This disaster for American science is a gift to the rest of the world.
From World War II until 2024, the USA stood unchallenged as the scientific leader of the free world. Across practically every discipline — physics, materials science, astronomy, chemistry, biology, medicine, geology, etc. — American scientific missions and initiatives, often in collaboration with European, Canadian, Asian, and many other global partners, brought us new advances and breakthroughs, paving the way for generations of scientists to thrive. In a society that values facts, scientific truths, education, and the public good, this recipe led to multiple generations of continued breakthroughs and advances.
Since late January of this year, however, all of that has rapidly changed. Many of the most valuable scientific organizations in the world, including NOAA, NASA, the NSF, the CDC, the EPA, and the FDA among them, have experienced a set of internal attacks that are truly unprecedented.
- Funding streams have been terminated.
- Grants that have been successfully competed for and won have been pulled.
