American Scientist

Science is an international endeavor, not beholden to any geopolitical borders. Sigma Xi is an international society and has members worldwide; the Society is celebrating its 140th anniversary this year. And although our publication has “American” in the title, we work hard to cover research across the globe. However, it would be a lost opportunity not to acknowledge this year’s 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence: The history of the country since its inception has influenced how the research enterprise has developed, and science policies of the United States will continue to have implications for the worldwide science ecosystem.

The American experiment was established on the ideal that a country could govern itself as a constitutional democracy, with standards rooted in equality and liberty. In this issue, we examine some of the results of that experiment so far, with a special section focused on 250 years of science and democracy. The articles in this section look at the past 250 years from a historical perspective, and we also look forward to the possible future results of the frameworks that this history has established.

In this issue’s Spotlight article (When Inflammation Met Insurrection), Philip A. Rea looks at a case of medical misinformation and how it might have affected the outcome of the American Revolutionary War. In Science and Engineering Values (Revolutions and Revolutionaries), Robert T. Pennock examines the country’s founders, their connections to the ideals of the Enlightenment, and how these ideals affected their composition of the Declaration of Independence and later legislation. And in Perspective (Salt of the Earth), Laura Clerx reviews how commercial enterprises in the early days of the United States informed the development of scientific research.

Moving to more recent eras, in Science Policy (The Case for Sea Grant), Samantha Muka describes how this government program created a research network for a basic understanding of our world’s oceans, which would not have been possible through private industry alone. In Science Communication (Competing Histories), Judith Kaplan takes a deep dive into how a museum exhibition revealed competing ideas of how to portray the history of American science. And in Technologue (Elections in the Age of AI), R. Michael Alvarez explains how ballot challenges during the 2000 U.S. presidential election spurred research into how to quantify problems with voting systems, and how that research is evolving with new advances in technology.

In our First Person interview (Information and Community), Ahmer Arif discusses human-centered ways to address online misinformation, and how access to good information is vital to good governance. And in an unusual step for American Scientist, we have invited a current U.S. senator, Todd Young, along with Michelle Rozo, to author a Commentary column (Biotechnology and the Spirit of American Discovery), in which they discuss the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology and proposed legislation to support a national biotechnology initiative.

Be sure to also look on our blog for highlights of past content, as well as reviews of books, all related to the theme of this special section. And check out Sigma Xi’s blog for more historical information on the Society’s 140-year legacy.

Recently, federal funding for research has taken a lot of hits, and celebrating history at this time might give us conflicting feelings. But more than ever, it’s important to acknowledge the effects that science and democracy continue to have on each other.