US science scrutinised.(News)(Survey)(Brief article)

The US public's view of science has slipped over the past 10 years, with only 27% saying that science is one of the country's greatest achievements, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. A decade ago almost half of the US public said that science was one of the country's greatest achievements.

The survey involved 2001 members of the public and a random sample of 2533 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) members.

Unsurprisingly, scientists have a more positive view of their profession, with 49% rating US scientific achievements as the best in world, compared with only 17% of the public, Climate change and evolution continue to be major fracture points between the two communities, with only 32% of the public agreeing with the central tenets of evolution, as opposed to 87% of scientists and 49% and 84%, respectively, agreeing that climate change is due to human activity.

Of the scientists surveyed, 85% see the public's poor understanding of basic science as a serious problem, and three-quarters put much of the blame on the media.

Paul Myers, a professor at the University of Minnesota Morris, US, and a regular commentator on US science and education issues, says that there is no simple answer to why the value the public puts on science has waned.

He lists a number of factors including influential activist leaders who have fought against science, a consumerist culture that does nut value knowledge and an anti-intellectual streak in US public life. Scientists also come in for some criticism. 'Science education is belittled and considered a low-status occupation by researchers, and science popularisers are practically pariahs,' he adds.

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