LONDON: According to a new report published by Pew Research Center, U.S. adults see various science-related topics much differently than do America’s top scientists, with the two groups expressing widely divergent views on the safety of genetically modified foods, climate change, human evolution, the use of animals in research and vaccines.
The researchers asked a representative sample of the public and AAAS scientists about their feelings on a variety of scientific topics to make their findings. They discovered that the most disputed issue between the two groups was the safety of eating genetically modified (GM) foods.
About 57 percent of the general public believes GM foods are not safe to eat, while 37 percent trust them. For scientists, 88 percent believed GM foods are safe to consume. The researchers also noticed significant differences in views between the two groups in subjects such as using animals in research, vaccines, and which energy technologies to use. On the other hand, 64 percent of the public and 68 percent of AAAS scientists believed the International Space Station was a good investment for the country.
The study found both scientists and the public see U.S. scientific achievements as successful among other industrial countries, but behind in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in Kindergarten through 12th grade. Only 16 percent of the surveyed scientists and 29 percent of the general public ranked U.S. STEM education as above average or higher.
The research found scientists are generally less positive about the state of science than they were back in 2009, but more than half still had favorable views. About 54 percent of the general population believe U.S. scientific achievements are either the best in the world or above average compared with other industrialized countries.
The survey also noticed some differences in scientific views based on political part association, but not in all cases. About two-thirds of Republicans believe the effect of science on the quality of the environment in the U.S. has been largely positive, and this is also true for 61 percent of democrats. Climate change had one of the largest disparities in views between the two parties.
