Impure Science: Fraud, Compromise and Political Influence in Scientific Research

In an alarming expose of the scientific community, City University of New York economics professor Bell charges that all aspects of our welfare, social and military infrastructure are threatened by extensive fraud, secrecy and fierce competition for research funds from government and industry. While whistle-blowers are penalized, he notes, especially for exposing such costly fiascos as the space shuttle and the Hubble telescope, control measures--e.g., replication, peer and journal reviewing--are prone to abuse, as are the grant-awarding procedures of the National Science Foundation, the Pentagon and Congress. Among the author's sometimes over-detailed examples--such as the recent case of scientific data faking which forced Nobel Prize winner David Baltimore to resign the presidency of Rockefeller Institute--Bell also condemns drug companies for gross violation of FDA regulations. The author's very tentative solutions call for excluding peers from investigations, providing increased protection for whistle-blowers and meting out stiffer penalties for offenders. (June)