Science hasn ’t gone ‘woke’ – the only people meddling with it are the Tories | Philip Ball

Michelle Donelan ’s plan to “depoliticise” science with new guidelines on sex and gender research is a chilling moveThe science secretary, Michelle Donelan, told the Conservative party conference this week that the Tories are “depoliticising science”. Or as a Conservative partyannouncement later put it, in case you didn ’t get the culture-war reference, they are “kicking woke ideology out of science”, thereby “safeguarding scientific research from the denial of biology and the steady creep of political correctness”.Scientists do not seem too delighted to be defended in this manner. “As a scientist, I really don’t know what this means,”tweeted Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, professor of psychology and cognitive neuroscience at the University of Cambridge. “This is totally shocking and is something I never thought I would see in the UK,” said Buzz Baum, a molecular cell biologist for the Medical Research Council.Philip Ball is a science writer and the author of the forthcoming book, How Life Works: A User ’s Guide to the New BiologyDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, pleaseclick here.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Conservative conference 2023 Gender Conservatives Science Politics UK news Sexuality Source Type: news