Politics is getting in the way of scientific research: Book

A leading critic of U.S. health care policy has revealed that politics is getting in the way of scientific research.

Washington, December 27 : A leading critic of U.S. health care policy has revealed that politics is getting in the way of scientific research.

Dr. Madelon Finkel, professor of clinical public health at Weill Cornell Medical College, writes in her new book about how politics affects research funding.

"While political activists and the government can bring much-needed attention and money to a public health problem, politics can also poison science," she writes in 'Truth, Lies, and Public Health: How We Are Affected When Science and Politics Collide'.

"Over the last two decades, politics and ideology have increasingly hijacked and distorted science to serve its own purposes -- often ignoring incontrovertible evidence and preventing much-needed policies to improve public health," she adds.

The new book explores the evolution of public health policies on contraception, AIDS, stem cell research, medical marijuana, needle exchanges, tuberculosis control, dietary supplements, silicone breast implants, obesity, vaccination, and disease prevention.

ANI