Sense About Science
Encyclopedia
Sense About Science is a British
charity
that promotes the public understanding of science
. Sense About Science was conceived in 2002 by Lord Taverne
, Bridget Ogilvie
and others to promote respect for scientific evidence
and good science
. Sense About Science was established as a charitable trust
in 2003, with 14 trustees, an advisory council and a small office staff. , the managing director is Tracey Brown.
Sense About Science aims to work with scientists, journalists, and others to ensure that scientific evidence is at the forefront of public discussions about science, and to correct unscientific misinformation
. They encourage and assist scientists to engage in public debates about their area of expertise, to respond to scientifically inaccurate claims in the media, to help people contact scientists with appropriate expertise, and to prepare briefings about the scientific background to issues of public concern.
Reports and campaign statements released by Sense About Science have generated significant press coverage.
Since its founding, Sense About Science has contributed to UK public debates about such subjects as alternative medicine
, "detoxification" products and detox diets, genetically modified food
, avian influenza, chemicals and health, "electrosmog", vaccination
, weather
and climate
, nuclear power
, and the use and utility of peer review
. SAS encourages scientists to explain to the public the value of peer review in determining which reports should be taken seriously. Director Tracey Brown describes such critical thinking as crucial to preventing public health scares
based on unpublished information.
to condemn homeopathy
for diseases such as HIV
.
It has also launched a campaign in defence of a member of its board of trustees, author and journalist Simon Singh
, who has been sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association
. They have issued a statement entitled "The law has no place in scientific disputes", which has been signed by many people representing science, medicine, journalism, publishing, arts, humanities, entertainment, sceptics, campaign groups and law. As of 29 November 2009, over 20,000 have signed. Many press sources have covered the issue. In April 2010, the BCA lost this case with the court accepting that criticism of the BCA concerning its promotion of bogus treatments was fair comment
.
most notably for encouraging celebrities and the public to think critically about scientific claims,
criticizing marketing unsupported by research,
decrying the unsubstantiated claims of homeopathy
,
supporting genetically modified crops,
criticising 'do-it-yourself' health testing
,
denouncing detox products,
warning against 'miracle cures',
and promoting public understanding of peer review
.
They have received positive coverage in publications from the Royal Society
and the U.S. National Science Foundation
,
and in the writings of scientists such as Ben Goldacre
and Steven Novella
.
Lord Taverne, chairman of Sense About Science, has criticised campaigns to ban plastic bags as counter-productive and being based on "bad science".
Sense About Science organised a climate change conference, which resulted in stories warning against the exaggeration and 'Hollywoodisation' of climate change, and the publication of a report "Making Sense of Climate Change". The authors of this report said they firmly believe global warming is happening and man-made emissions of greenhouse gases are a significant cause. But warned that exaggeration of the problems confused the public and made it easier to argue that the scientists were wrong.
This coverage was criticised by the Media Lens website which claimed that Sense About Science is influenced by climate change denial
ists.
Anti-genetic-modification campaigners and academics have criticised Sense About Science for what they view as a failure to disclose industry connections of some advisers,
and Private Eye
reported that it had seen a draft of the Making Sense of GM guide that included Monsanto Company's former director of scientific affairs as an author.
Tracey Brown, managing director of Sense About Science, rebutted these claims on the SAS website.
Journalist George Monbiot
has commented on the connections Tracey Brown, assistant director Ellen Raphael and others working with Sense About Science have with the former Revolutionary Communist Party
and Living Marxism magazine
.
Claims of a Living Marxist 'network' have been denied.
Homeopath Peter Fisher
criticised Sense About Science, who have been working closely with NHS primary care trust
s on the issue of funding for homeopathy, for being funded by the pharmaceutical industry; SAS responded in a statement to Channel 4 News
that "Peter Fisher's desperate comments show about as much grasp of reality as the homeopathic medicine he sells."
industries such as Pfizer
. This dependency has now been diminished since for the fiscal year ending April 2010, the trust received £183,971 in donations of which only £17,500 was derived from the pharmaceutical industry (Unilever and G E Healthcare), with the rest derived from Science Bodies and individuals.
, Mr Richard Ayre, Professor Peter Atkins
, Professor Sir Colin Berry FMedSci, Professor Colin Blakemore
FMedSci FRS, Professor Gustav Born FRS, Professor Sir Robert Boyd FMedSci, Professor John Coggins, Professor Phil Dale OBE, Professor Adrian Dixon
FMedSci, Dr Simon Festing
, Dr Ron Fraser
, Mr David Allen Green
, Dr Irene Hames, Dr Evan Harris
, Lord Hunt of Chesterton FRS, Lord Jenkin of Roding, Professor Trevor Jones
CBE, Sir David A. King
FRS, Professor Sir Peter Lachmann FRS FMedSci, Dr Stephen Ladyman
, Ms Prue Leith
OBE, Dr Robin Lovell-Badge FRS, Professor Julian Ma, Professor Alan Malcolm, Professor Vivian Moses, Professor Sir Keith Peters FRS PMedSci, Lord Plumb of Coleshill DL, Dr Ian Ragan, Dr Matt Ridley
FMedSci, Professor Raymond Tallis
FMedSci, Professor Anthony Trewavas
FRS, Lord Turnberg of Cheadle FMedSci, Dr Roger Turner
, Professor Simon Wessely
FMedSci and Professor Michael Wilson
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
that promotes the public understanding of science
Public awareness of science
Public awareness of science , also public understanding of science , is a term relating to the attitudes, behaviours, opinions and activities that comprise the relations between the general public or lay society as a whole to scientific knowledge and organisation.It is a comparatively new approach...
. Sense About Science was conceived in 2002 by Lord Taverne
Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne
Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne, QC, is an English politician, who is one of the small number of members of the British House of Commons elected since the Second World War who was not the candidate of a major political party...
, Bridget Ogilvie
Bridget Ogilvie
Dame Bridget Margaret Ogilvie, AC, DBE, FRS is an Australian and British scientist.Ogilvie was born in 1938 at Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia, to John Ogilvie and Margaret Beryl McRae...
and others to promote respect for scientific evidence
Scientific evidence
Scientific evidence has no universally accepted definition but generally refers to evidence which serves to either support or counter a scientific theory or hypothesis. Such evidence is generally expected to be empirical and properly documented in accordance with scientific method such as is...
and good science
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
. Sense About Science was established as a charitable trust
Charitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
in 2003, with 14 trustees, an advisory council and a small office staff. , the managing director is Tracey Brown.
Sense About Science aims to work with scientists, journalists, and others to ensure that scientific evidence is at the forefront of public discussions about science, and to correct unscientific misinformation
Misinformation
Misinformation is false or inaccurate information that is spread unintentionally. It is distinguished from disinformation by motive in that misinformation is simply erroneous, while disinformation, in contrast, is intended to mislead....
. They encourage and assist scientists to engage in public debates about their area of expertise, to respond to scientifically inaccurate claims in the media, to help people contact scientists with appropriate expertise, and to prepare briefings about the scientific background to issues of public concern.
Reports and campaign statements released by Sense About Science have generated significant press coverage.
Projects
The Trust maintains EvidenceBase, a database of over 2,000 UK scientists willing to use their expertise to help inform public debate. It also runs the Voice of Young Science programme to help early career scientists engage in public debates. Sense About Science hosts an annual lecture and publishes an ad hoc series of reports under the title of Sense About... and Making Sense of….Since its founding, Sense About Science has contributed to UK public debates about such subjects as alternative medicine
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
, "detoxification" products and detox diets, genetically modified food
Genetically modified food
Genetically modified foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms . Genetically modified organisms have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques...
, avian influenza, chemicals and health, "electrosmog", vaccination
MMR vaccine controversy
The MMR vaccine controversy was a case of scientific misconduct which triggered a health scare. It followed the publication in 1998 of a paper in the medical journal The Lancet which presented apparent evidence that autism spectrum disorders could be caused by the MMR vaccine, an immunization...
, weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
and climate
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
, and the use and utility of peer review
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
. SAS encourages scientists to explain to the public the value of peer review in determining which reports should be taken seriously. Director Tracey Brown describes such critical thinking as crucial to preventing public health scares
Alarmism
Alarmism is excessive or exaggerated alarm about a real or imagined threat e.g. the increases in deaths from infectious disease.-See also:* 2009 flu pandemic* European sovereign debt crisis* 2012 phenomenon* Climate change alarmism...
based on unpublished information.
Supported causes
The Trust actively campaigns in support of various causes. It has issued a statement signed by over 35 scientists asking the WHOWorld Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
to condemn homeopathy
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners claim to treat patients using highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient...
for diseases such as HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
.
It has also launched a campaign in defence of a member of its board of trustees, author and journalist Simon Singh
Simon Singh
Simon Lehna Singh, MBE is a British author who has specialised in writing about mathematical and scientific topics in an accessible manner....
, who has been sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association
British Chiropractic Association
The British Chiropractic Association was founded in 1925 and represents over 50% of UK chiropractors. It is the largest and longest established association for chiropractors in the United Kingdom...
. They have issued a statement entitled "The law has no place in scientific disputes", which has been signed by many people representing science, medicine, journalism, publishing, arts, humanities, entertainment, sceptics, campaign groups and law. As of 29 November 2009, over 20,000 have signed. Many press sources have covered the issue. In April 2010, the BCA lost this case with the court accepting that criticism of the BCA concerning its promotion of bogus treatments was fair comment
Fair comment
Fair comment is a legal term for a common law defense in defamation cases .-United States:In the United States, the traditional privilege of "fair comment" is seen as a protection for robust, even outrageous published or spoken opinions about public officials and public figures...
.
Reception
Sense About Science and their publications have been cited a number of times in the popular press,most notably for encouraging celebrities and the public to think critically about scientific claims,
criticizing marketing unsupported by research,
decrying the unsubstantiated claims of homeopathy
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners claim to treat patients using highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient...
,
supporting genetically modified crops,
criticising 'do-it-yourself' health testing
Medical test
A diagnostic test is any kind of medical test performed to aid in the diagnosis or detection of disease. For example:* to diagnose diseases, and preferably sub-classify it regarding, for example, severity and treatability...
,
denouncing detox products,
warning against 'miracle cures',
and promoting public understanding of peer review
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
.
They have received positive coverage in publications from the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
and the U.S. National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
,
and in the writings of scientists such as Ben Goldacre
Ben Goldacre
Ben Michael Goldacre born 1974 is a British science writer, doctor and psychiatrist. He is the author of The Guardian newspaper's weekly Bad Science column and a book of the same title, published by Fourth Estate in September 2008....
and Steven Novella
Steven Novella
Steven P. Novella is an American clinical neurologist, assistant professor and Director of General Neurology at Yale University School of Medicine...
.
Lord Taverne, chairman of Sense About Science, has criticised campaigns to ban plastic bags as counter-productive and being based on "bad science".
Sense About Science organised a climate change conference, which resulted in stories warning against the exaggeration and 'Hollywoodisation' of climate change, and the publication of a report "Making Sense of Climate Change". The authors of this report said they firmly believe global warming is happening and man-made emissions of greenhouse gases are a significant cause. But warned that exaggeration of the problems confused the public and made it easier to argue that the scientists were wrong.
This coverage was criticised by the Media Lens website which claimed that Sense About Science is influenced by climate change denial
Climate change denial
Climate change denial is a term used to describe organized attempts to downplay, deny or dismiss the scientific consensus on the extent of global warming, its significance, and its connection to human behavior, especially for commercial or ideological reasons...
ists.
Anti-genetic-modification campaigners and academics have criticised Sense About Science for what they view as a failure to disclose industry connections of some advisers,
and Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
reported that it had seen a draft of the Making Sense of GM guide that included Monsanto Company's former director of scientific affairs as an author.
Tracey Brown, managing director of Sense About Science, rebutted these claims on the SAS website.
Journalist George Monbiot
George Monbiot
George Joshua Richard Monbiot is an English writer, known for his environmental and political activism. He lives in Machynlleth, Wales, writes a weekly column for The Guardian, and is the author of a number of books, including Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain and Bring on the...
has commented on the connections Tracey Brown, assistant director Ellen Raphael and others working with Sense About Science have with the former Revolutionary Communist Party
Revolutionary Communist Party (Furedi)
The Revolutionary Communist Tendency , which emerged in 1978, began as a Trotskyist political organisation in Britain in 1978, becoming the Revolutionary Communist Party in 1981, in the tradition of the revolutionary Bolshevik Party...
and Living Marxism magazine
Living Marxism
Living Marxism was a British magazine, originally launched in 1988 as the journal of the British Revolutionary Communist Party . It was later rebranded as LM and folded in March 2000 following an adverse ruling in a libel lawsuit brought by the British news corporation, Independent Television News...
.
Claims of a Living Marxist 'network' have been denied.
Homeopath Peter Fisher
Peter Fisher (physician)
Peter Antony Goodwin Fisher, FRCP , is a prominent figure in the international homeopathic community. He currently serves as Clinical Director and Director of Research at the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine...
criticised Sense About Science, who have been working closely with NHS primary care trust
NHS Primary Care Trust
An NHS primary care trust is a type of NHS trust, part of the National Health Service in England. PCTs commission primary, community and secondary care from providers. Until 31 may2011 they also provided community services directly. Collectively PCT are responsible for spending around 80% of the...
s on the issue of funding for homeopathy, for being funded by the pharmaceutical industry; SAS responded in a statement to Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News is the news division of British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since the broadcaster's launch in 1982.-Channel 4 News:...
that "Peter Fisher's desperate comments show about as much grasp of reality as the homeopathic medicine he sells."
Funding
Funding for the trust has been increasing. Some is derived from industrial organizations engaged in scientific dispute, clinical trials and research for which SAS is supportive (e.g. genetically-modified crops) as well as major publishing houses. For example for the fiscal year ending 5 April 2008, the trust received £145,902 in donations. Disclosed corporate donations comprised £88,000 with pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca donating £35,000. Previous donations included other pharmaceuticalPharmaceutical lobby
The pharmaceutical lobby — also known as the drug lobby — refers to the paid representatives of large pharmaceutical and biomedicine companies in the United States who seek to influence federal government policy.-Political influence in the U.S.:...
industries such as Pfizer
Pfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
. This dependency has now been diminished since for the fiscal year ending April 2010, the trust received £183,971 in donations of which only £17,500 was derived from the pharmaceutical industry (Unilever and G E Healthcare), with the rest derived from Science Bodies and individuals.
People
The charity has an advisory board, which includes Professor John AdamsJohn Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
, Mr Richard Ayre, Professor Peter Atkins
Peter Atkins
Peter William Atkins is a British chemist and former Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Lincoln College. He is a prolific writer of popular chemistry textbooks, including Physical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and Molecular Quantum Mechanics...
, Professor Sir Colin Berry FMedSci, Professor Colin Blakemore
Colin Blakemore
Professor Colin Blakemore, Ph.D., FRS, FMedSci, HonFSB, HonFRCP, is a British neurobiologist who is Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Oxford and University of Warwick specialising in vision and the development of the brain. He was formerly Chief Executive of the British Medical...
FMedSci FRS, Professor Gustav Born FRS, Professor Sir Robert Boyd FMedSci, Professor John Coggins, Professor Phil Dale OBE, Professor Adrian Dixon
Adrian Dixon
Professor Adrian Dixon M.A., M.D., FRCR, FRCP, FRCS, FMedSci is the Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge.He was born in 1948 in Cambridge, where he is now Professor of Radiology at the University of Cambridge, and Honorary Consultant Radiologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital...
FMedSci, Dr Simon Festing
Simon Festing
Simon Festing is chief executive of the Society for General Microbiology.-Education:Festing graduated in 1987 as a Bachelor of Medicine from the London Hospital Medical College...
, Dr Ron Fraser
Ron Fraser
Ronald 'Ron' Fraser was the college baseball coach at the University of Miami from 1963 to 1992.Nicknamed the "Wizard of College Baseball," he was one of the most successful coaches in NCAA baseball history, and was also responsible for bringing college baseball to a new level of public awareness...
, Mr David Allen Green
David Allen Green
David Allen Green is an English lawyer and writer. He is also legal correspondent for the New Statesman; and blogs as "Jack of Kent"....
, Dr Irene Hames, Dr Evan Harris
Evan Harris
Evan Leslie Harris is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Oxford West and Abingdon from 1997 to 2010, losing his seat in the 2010 general election by 176 votes to Conservative Nicola Blackwood....
, Lord Hunt of Chesterton FRS, Lord Jenkin of Roding, Professor Trevor Jones
Trevor Jones
Trevor Jones may refer to:*Trevor Jones , Australian Deputy Chief of Navy *Trevor Jones , South African orchestral film score composer*Trevor Jones , English cricketer for Somerset...
CBE, Sir David A. King
David A. King
David A. King was the tenth Director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center located in Huntsville, Alabama. He was appointed to the position on June 15, 2003. He announced his retirement from NASA on March 26, 2009...
FRS, Professor Sir Peter Lachmann FRS FMedSci, Dr Stephen Ladyman
Stephen Ladyman
Stephen John Ladyman is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for South Thanet from 1997 until 2010.-Early life:...
, Ms Prue Leith
Prue Leith
Prudence Margaret Leith, CBE is a restaurateur, caterer, TV cook, broadcaster and cookery writer. She was born in South Africa, with her working life spent mostly in London, England....
OBE, Dr Robin Lovell-Badge FRS, Professor Julian Ma, Professor Alan Malcolm, Professor Vivian Moses, Professor Sir Keith Peters FRS PMedSci, Lord Plumb of Coleshill DL, Dr Ian Ragan, Dr Matt Ridley
Matt Ridley
Matthew White Ridley, FRSL, FMedSci is an English journalist, writer, biologist, and businessman.-Career:...
FMedSci, Professor Raymond Tallis
Raymond Tallis
Raymond Tallis F.Med.Sci., F.R.C.P., F.R.S.A. is a British philosopher, humanist, poet, novelist, cultural critic and retired medical doctor.-Medical career:...
FMedSci, Professor Anthony Trewavas
Anthony Trewavas
Anthony J. Trewavas is a professor at the University of Edinburgh, best known for his research in the fields of plant physiology and molecular biology....
FRS, Lord Turnberg of Cheadle FMedSci, Dr Roger Turner
Roger Turner
Roger Felix Turner was an American figure skater.He was born in Milton, Massachusetts and died in Walpole, Massachusetts....
, Professor Simon Wessely
Simon Wessely
Simon Wessely is a British psychiatrist. He is professor of epidemiological and liaison psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London and Head of its department of psychological medicine, Vice Dean for Academic Psychiatry, Teaching and Training at the Institute of Psychiatry, as...
FMedSci and Professor Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson may refer to:*Michael Wilson , member of the South Australian House of Assembly, 1977–1985*Michael Wilson , former player of the Harlem Globetrotters and the University of Memphis, also known as 'Wild Thing'*Michael Wilson , American theater director*Michael Wilson , former...
.
External links
- Official Website
- Interviews with Tracey Brown on Little Atoms, the official podcast of The Skeptic magazineThe Skeptic (UK magazine)The Skeptic is a British magazine and is billed as "the UK’s longest running and foremost sceptical magazine, which examines science, scepticism, secularism, critical thinking and claims of the paranormal."-History, format and structure:...
, on Resonance FMResonance FMResonance 104.4 FM is a London based non-profit community radio station run by the London Musicians' Collective .The station is staffed by four permanent staff members, including programme controller Ed Baxter and over 300 volunteer technical and production staff.Until September 2007, ResonanceFM... - Alan SokalAlan SokalAlan David Sokal is a professor of mathematics at University College London and professor of physics at New York University. He works in statistical mechanics and combinatorics. To the general public he is best known for his criticism of postmodernism, resulting in the Sokal affair in...
giving the 2008 Sense About Science lecture - "Sense About Science", The Guardian, 5 January 2010
- Science and Technology Committee's Evidence Check on Homeopathy - Evidence from Sense about Science on Homeopathy, UK Parliament, 12 October 2009