Royal Society statement

At a meeting this evening of the Royal Society, Fellows agreed on the need to stand up for science and for scientists around the world in the face of the growing challenges science faces.

Concern was expressed, in particular, about the fate of colleagues in the US who are reportedly facing the prospect of losing their jobs amid threats of radical cutbacks in research funding.

Fellows, over 150 of whom attended tonight’s meeting, were united in the need for the Society to step up its efforts to advocate for science and scientists at a time when these are under threat as never before and yet at the same time have never been more necessary for humanity at large.

The Society agreed to look at potential further actions that might help make the case for science and scientific research and counter the misinformation and ideologically motivated attacks on both science and scientists.