Silence on science

Abstract

Sue Bowler, Editor Science was notable for its absence in the recent General Election campaign in the UK – it did not feature in any of the major parties’ pronouncements, there were few if any photocalls in research institutes, universities or labs, and there was not a murmur in the long-awaited leaders’ debates. It would be easy to conclude from this that science is not important in the UK, but readers of this publication know that this is not the case. Space science in the broadest sense is an academic success story – we rank second in the world behind the US in astronomy, which is punching way above our weight by any measure. But the election must remind us that this is not what counts to our political masters. The 2010 Presidential Address in this issue highlights the impact of astronomy across disciplines and decades, but also makes clear that we, as scientists, have not got our message across. Whatever government we have in the coming months and years will want to know what science is worth. The RAS, together with the IoP, has tried to quantify the impact of astronomy in this way, and concluded that it cannot be done. The social, cultural, societal and technological impact of astronomy is huge, but it is not something that can be reduced to numbers on a balance sheet. That is the message that we in turn need to get across. And now is the time to do so, to Members of Parliament old and, esepcially, new. Contact your MP and make the case for science. Ask them what they and their party are doing to support science and what they are doing to keep our international standing high. And, bearing in mind that hardly any MPs have experience of science, give them some examples that have arisen from scientific curiosity and now figure in the technology that transforms our lives. Editorial NEws