"On the one hand, we are living in the best of scientific times," he said. "Advances are coming at a tremendous pace. The ability to sequence the genome has produced advances in our own field, and the ability to look into the brain and watch the brain in action is responsible for quantum jumps in understanding mental and addictive disorders. On the other hand, other issues within science are not going well and are eroding the relationship with society."
Scientists and clinicians concerned about the welfare of the scientific endeavor need to engage in a new way with the American public to reverse a deteriorating relationship between society and science.
Says Alan Leshner, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and executive publisher of the prestigious journal Science, told psychiatrists at APA's 2007 annual meeting in San Diego in May.