Bending Science: How Special Interests Corrupt Public Health Research

Bending Science: How Special Interests Corrupt Public Health Research

ReviewBending Science is so chock-full of ideas and insights...McGarity and Wagner's insight has large implications both for potential legal reforms and for public faith in the integrity of the scientific process...Bending Science is an immensely important book. It is one of quite a large number of books published recently on the manipulations of science by interest groups and the government. Yet even in this crowded field, Bending Science stakes out its own ground and makes an invaluable contribution to the debate over the role of science in public policy. (Lisa Heinzerling Texas Law Journal 2009-02-01)Bending Science is an intelligent and compelling blend of investigative journalism and theoretical analysis of the structural and functional flaws of the research enterprise, from the development of testable ideas to the use of its results for practical purposes...Bending Science [is] an indispensable read for our current troubled times. All in all, this book is a must-read not only for researchers devoted to the scientific method but also for all who wish to become competent consumers of research that can influence their lives. The narrative is an eye-opener, which will provide the reader with tools to understand the research process and protect himself/herself from advocacy-based distortions. (Maura Pilotti Metapsychology 8111-01-00)What do we know about the possible poisons that industrial technologies leave in our air and water? How reliable is the science that federal regulators and legislators use to protect the public from dangerous products? As this disturbing book shows, ideological or economic attacks on research are part of an extensive pattern of abuse.Thomas O. McGarity and Wendy Wagner reveal the range of sophisticated legal and financial tactics political and corporate advocates use to discredit or suppress research on potential human health hazards. Scientists can find their research blocked, or find themselves threatened with financial ruin. Corporations, plaintiff attorneys, think tanks, even government agencies have been caught suppressing or distorting research on the safety of chemical products.With alarming stories drawn from the public record, McGarity and Wagner describe how advocates attempt to bend science or