Invest in science funding

We are deeply unsettled by the funding cuts to discovery-based scientific research (e.g., NIH, NSF, USDA, NOAA, USGS). Discovery-based research investigates the fundamental interactions in our world and undergirds all applied technological advancement. The federal budget for science funding is only 0.8% of GDP. Many funded projects sound unimportant, but we don’t know where we will find the solutions to urgent problems. No one wants to stall treatments for deadly illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, and infectious diseases, or solutions to the risks posed by microplastics, unregulated AI technologies, and chemical treatments of crop fields (but funding is being cut for all these areas as well). Many solutions come from unpredictable places: the DNA of tiny bacteria (PCR, the technology that tracked the COVID-19 pandemic), or the venom of desert lizards (GLP-1, the chemical behind drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy for diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and psychological addictions).

Investing in discovery-based science is an investment in American progress and prosperity. For the past 80 years, no country has invested in science as strongly and consistently as the USA, and this investment built our world. We cannot replace the infrastructure abandoned, salvage the progress to be lost, or realize the benefits of future scientific discoveries if the Trump administration’s wishes for the destruction of US science come to pass. It will cause catastrophic, incalculable losses to the health, safety and prosperity of the United States and the entire world, now and for generations.

Stand with science. Visit http://tiny.cc/sciencepledge to register your support.

Sarah J. McPeek and Mark A. McPeek

Enfield

Sarah J. McPeek is a post-doctoral fellow in evolutionary biology at a research institute in German. Her father, Mark A. McPeek, is a biology professor at Dartmouth College.

Who’s committing
genocide?

A recent letter made a narrow legal argument that Israel is guilty of genocide (“A biased view of genocide”; June 14). It swept under the table the fact that Israel was the victim of a vicious surprise attack that killed and injured thousands of innocent Israelis and captured as hostages hundreds of men, women and children. Indeed, Hamas had to know Israel would respond and Gaza’s own civilian population would suffer.

Moreover, I have seen reports that Hamas fighters have used civilians as shields and used civilian schools and hospitals as hiding places for weapons and soldiers in order to use safe civilian spaces as deterrents to Israel. In addition, there have been many reports of Hamas intercepting food supplies intended as humanitarian aid to Gaza civilians and used these supplies for themselves or resold them at extraordinary prices.

The letter further quotes a top Israeli official as saying “Gaza will be destroyed.” But if Hamas surrenders, this is unlikely. On the other hand, at the beginning of the war, a common chant was “From the (Jordan) River to the (Mediterranean) Sea,” meaning the end of the Israeli state. Also, on many college campuses and elsewhere, we have heard chants of “Death to Israel.” I have not heard chants of “Death to Palestine,” except for that comment attributed to the official.

In short, I believe it is a gross misstatement to label Israel as genocidal while holding Hamas and Palestine as victims. If there is genocide, Hamas and many supporting Gaza citizens have brought this upon themselves.

Dennis Logue

Enfield