Scientists and science media people turn to the incoming Minister of Science, Technology and Space Danny Danon and offer him urgent topics for the agenda
Congratulations and a good week to the new minister in the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space MK Danny Danon - Danny Danon!
Now that you are responsible on behalf of the government for the scientific field in the State of Israel, we would be happy if you could answer us a few questions concerning the path you intend to chart in your new office:
Publicizing and making science accessible to the general public:
Experiments on animals
We are witnessing a growing trend of campaigns against animal testing. All the surveys among scientists, doctors and heads of academia make it clear unequivocally that such experiments are required by reality to advance our biological knowledge, and at the end of the process, to advance medicine. There is no applied research without "pure" research - basic research - excellent and excellent basic research leads to applied research. Both are intertwined. So far these campaigns have not been adequately responded to by recent governments. What does this government intend to do to clarify the importance of experiments to the public? What do you, as the Minister of Science, intend to do about it?
Making science accessible to the periphery
Most of the activities of popular science and making science accessible to the general public that are held in Israel are in the centers of academia in Israel, which is mainly located in population concentrations. How do you intend to promote the accessibility of science to the public in the periphery?
A response to pseudoscientific claims
The public is exposed to a lot of pseudo-science and scaremongering on issues where the general scientific and medical knowledge is different from what is presented. For example - vaccine safety, fluoridation of drinking water, WiFi radiation - in all of which there is a scientific and research consensus regarding their safety. This disinformation sometimes leads to bills and changing regulations, which are largely harmful to progress and science in Israel. Also, these bills and regulations, which are not based on the accumulated scientific knowledge, damage the credibility of science in the eyes of the public. What is your position regarding these issues? How can the weight of the professional recommendations of the chief scientists in the government offices be increased?
Supporting the scientific consensus on evolution
The State of Israel is a powerhouse of evolutionary research. As the Minister of Science, do you plan to push for more enrichment activities for the public in the field?
Academia: the academic boycott, the brain drain, women in science
We are currently witnessing boycotts by academic institutions in the Western world on the research institutions of the State of Israel. How do you intend to take advantage of your position in order to continue to preserve the research relationships that are so essential to academia in Israel? How will you prevent further boycotts by bodies with which we currently have academic ties?
In recent years, we have been exposed in the press to "brain drain" - brilliant Israeli researchers who fail to obtain research standards in Israeli institutions (a resounding example: Prof. Aryeh Warshel, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry). In Israel there are extensive budgets for research and development, but the vast majority of them are for equipment, materials and scientific instruments - and not for personnel. The lure of academia abroad is not only the prestige of these universities, but also a great financial reward (significantly higher than what is offered in Israel). How can you improve the situation in Israel on this issue, and reduce the brain drain as a result?
Unfortunately, there are substantially fewer women researching in the fields of exact sciences and engineering in Israeli academia than men. As the Minister of Science, what do you intend to do to encourage more women to choose academic studies in these fields?
Economics and R&D
- The State of Israel and its economy are based, among other things, on science and its applied technological products. How can you, in your position as a minister, act and assist in budgeting, loans on favorable terms and so on for entrepreneurs in these fields?
- The Ministry of Science grants scholarships for various studies in academia and industry. What are your priorities in response to research proposals in the various fields? Do you think the ministry should determine what the research topics are funded by the scholarships?
- There is a boom in the world of civilian companies that develop technologies for manned flights to space or for sending satellites into space. Does the Ministry of Science support such developments by private companies in Israel?
- We ask these questions out of a place of love for the fields of science and technology and their dissemination to the general public, and we will be happy to be at your disposal for this purpose.
We will appreciate your answer on any platform you see fit!
Your success is the success of all of us.
Big science team, small
Dear followers - if it is also important for you to get answers to these questions and/or add additional questions, we would be happy if you could Share this post On any possible platform and even send directly to the Minister.
Thank you!
Originally published on the Facebook page "Big Science in Small"
2 תגובות
Friends, these are legitimate questions, but with all due respect to the minister, even if he agrees 100% with what the scientific community agrees (evolution, fluoridation, WIFI, etc., etc.) - you need to look at the government itself, and this is a government that will do everything In the opposite direction from science, this means:
* More budgets for teaching Torah and Judaism, less science lessons
* Failure to increase classes/tracks for studying evolution
* Failure to increase R&D budgets, incubators, etc.
There is nothing to be done, the government is net right-wing and the ones sitting in the balance are the religious and ultra-Orthodox parties, and most of these oppose even core studies.
Please make sure to implement the study of the theory of evolution in the curriculum in both secular and religious schools! Tired of the youth's ignorance on the subject.
The theory of evolution is the basis for all branches of biology, it is not just "theoretical" knowledge - it is important and practical.