Why Saving Science
Could Save Your Life
We got this far because we believed in science.
Where will we go without it?
By Meghan H. Puglia
25 June 2025
I have to be honest. When I went to bed last night, this was not the piece I intended to share as my first-ever blog post today. But I woke up to an email from members of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine with a call to action to support science, and a calendar reminder for my university’s now-regular Research Town Hall – where we get monthly updates on the number of grants cut and lost, the millions of dollars evaporated, and the interruptions my colleagues and I should expect to our life-saving, impact-driven work.
So I decided to table my planned post – an introduction to key concepts in experience-dependent brain development, How Brains are Built. I hope you’ll come back next week to check that out. But today’s post is too important and too urgent to wait.
Science is under attack.
The collateral damage?
Your health, your well-being, your bottom dollar, your very way of life.
⚠️ Trigger warning: This post contains some eye opening facts, figures, and images. But I share them because unless we use facts and clarity to unbiasedly confront where we’ve come from – and what we stand to lose – it’s far too easy to ignore.
And far too easy to backslide to a time when people’s lives were less healthy, less safe, less comfortable, and less connected.
So buckle up, and thanks for being here.
What do you mean,
“Science is under attack?”
In three weeks, Congress will begin to markup key legislation that determines funding for the core institutions of American science.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) – the cornerstone of life-saving biomedical research – is slated to lose 43% of its funding.
-43%
The National Science Foundation (NSF) – which funds basic research in everything from physics to climate modeling to AI– faces a 57% cut.
-57%
NASA – which leads the world in space exploration, Earth science, and climate monitoring – will see 47% reductions in its science budget, threatening innovation, discovery, and our ability to understand and protect the planet.
-47%
The Department of Energy (DOE) – which funds cutting-edge research in clean energy, climate solutions, and advanced technologies – faces a 14% cut to science spending.
-14%
“Why should I care?”
Science permeates your daily life so seamlessly that you may not even notice it anymore. But it's there, quietly working in the background to make your life longer, safer, and better.
Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4861644/
Source: https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/environmental-health/food-safety-in-virginia/milk-safety/pasteurization/
Source: https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/historical-fatality-trends/deaths-and-rates/
Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2008/10/19/the-internet-cell-phones-and-family-communication/
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK220806/
Took your blood-pressure medication? Breathed fresh air? Fed your children safe food? Wore a seat belt? Survived an infection? Checked the weather? Navigated with GPS? Drank clean water? ...
Took your blood-pressure medication? Breathed fresh air? Fed your children safe food? Wore a seat belt? Survived an infection? Checked the weather? Navigated with GPS? Drank clean water? ...
Thank science. For all of it.
“But the budget is limited –we have to cut somewhere!”
I get it. Many of us are feeling the squeeze lately. Groceries, rent, childcare – everything costs more.
But let’s set the record straight.
1. Science funding is a tiny fraction of the federal budget.
In 2024, The NIH received less than 1% (0.71%, to be exact) of the federal budget. The NSF, about 0.1%. NASA, 0.37%. DOE, 0.12%. All of science – across all agencies – represents just a small sliver of discretionary spending.
2. Science has one of the highest returns on investment of any public expense.
For every $1 invested in NIH research, the U.S. sees $2.46 in economic returns – in the form of jobs, medical breakthroughs, patents, startups, and cost savings in health care.
3. Cutting science is the very definition of a false economy.
A false economy refers to an action that saves money at the beginning, but over a longer period of time, results in more money wasted than saved.
Let me give you a quick example from my own life:
Like many families (and like the government), I was looking for ways to trim our budget. So, in December, I cut what seemed like an unnecessary add-on to our car insurance: rental coverage in case of an accident. I had never needed it before. How expensive could a rental be, really?
Then last month, I had a minor fender bender with a tractor-trailer (zero stars, do not recommend 🙅♀️). My car spent three weeks in the shop…. and I paid hundreds for a rental out of pocket. What I would have spent on years of coverage? I burned through in less than a month.
Now, in my case, no one was hurt. My car door was replaceable.
But lives lost due to delayed cancer trials, abandoned rare disease research, or paused medication development?
They’re not replaceable. Budget cuts don’t just mean slower science.
They mean real harm. To real people.
So, yes, cutting science funding today may yield (admittedly small) savings in the short-term. But the long-term costs – in lives lost, innovation stalled, cures delayed, and billions lost to preventable crises – will exponentially outweigh any savings we may see today.
How did we get here?
Public science funding didn’t erode overnight.
This moment is the result of decades of under-communication, misunderstanding, and short-term thinking.
Science is long-term and quiet
Scientific progress doesn’t easily fit into election cycles or viral soundbites. It’s slow, deliberate, and usually invisible – until the moment it saves your life.
But in a culture that increasingly rewards quick wins and expects instant gratification, slow progress is easily undervalued.
Science can feel inaccessible
Let’s be honest: the language of science can be dense.
It’s hard for us to trust what we don’t understand, or care about what feels irrelevant to our lives. When science is under-communicated, it's easily dismissed or manipulated.
We’re living in a moment where misinformation spreads faster than evidence, and where science is sometimes framed as a partisan issue – rather than a public good.
That’s what I’m trying to change with this blog and my broader mission – to bring science from the lab to your living room. I’m owning my role as a scientist operating within a system that over-values the contribution of jargon-filled papers to often-paywalled journals, and I’m committing to making science more digestible, useful, and human.
What will a future without science hold?
We don’t have to guess what life without science looks like.
We’ve been there:
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imagine a world without
VACCINES
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imagine a world without
CAR SAFETY STANDARDS
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imagine a world without
CLEAN AIR
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imagine a world without
MODERN SURGICAL PROCEDURES
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imagine a world without
NEWBORN HEALTHCARE
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imagine a world without
PUBLIC HEALTH
That world is not a dystopian fiction.
That was real life, for most of human history.
We’ve come so far. But none of it happened by accident.
We invested. We researched. We improved lives.
And now, we risk letting it all slip away.
A future without science isn’t just a stall in progress. It’s a rollback on human well-being. It’s a risk we can’t afford.
And it’s a risk our competitors and adversaries aren’t taking. While we cut, other nations are increasing investment in science and innovation . Every dollar we pull is a step behind in the global race for health security, technological leadership, and economic strength.
“What can I do?”
✅ 1. Call or email your lawmakers
Tell your senators and representatives you oppose cuts to our critical science programs.
Here’s a sample script to get you started:
“As your constituent, I urge you to vote against any federal budget cuts that reduce science funding. These programs are vital to our nation’s health, safety, and innovation.”
And here’s a website that makes it easy for you to connect with your representatives about science funding: https://www.aps.org/initiatives/advocate-amplify/policy/support-federal-science-funding-budget
✅ 2. Share this message
Copy this post. Share it. Talk to friends and family. Most people have no idea how serious these cuts are – and how much we all depend on the science being gutted.
✅ 3. Vote with science in mind
Do your homework to learn your candidates’ positions on research and innovation. Elect leaders who believe in evidence-based policy, long-term investment, and the importance of their constituents’ lives.
Science doesn’t have a voice, but you do.
And in this moment – you must speak up.
If you care about cancer cures, maternal health, autism research, clean air, pandemic preparedness, or the innovation economy your kids will inherit…
You care about science.
And science needs you now more than ever.
📣 Let’s keep the conversation going.
Join the discussion on social media: How has science impacted your life?
Tag me or message me on your favorite platform, I’d love to hear your story: