To propose, as Dawkins does, that science supports such extremist views is an errant misuse of science, if not a form of pseudoscience.
The advocacy group, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, argues that the survey shows a pattern of political misuse of science leading to weaker protections for public health.
The guilt and horror at that grotesque misuse of science was a major factor in transforming Germany--once a leader in genetic research--into one of the most hostile environments for such research and the scientists who do it.
On Wednesday, more than 60 influential scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates, issued a statement criticizing what they described as the misuse of science by the administration to bolster its policies on the environment, arms control and public health.
A few years ago, the National Academy of Sciences turned its attention to the misuse of science in courtrooms, saying that pseudoscientific theories had been used to convict people of crimes they may not have committed.
"I pray that the politicians will be clever enough to save us from the evil misuse of science," Heisenberg, who returned to prominence in German science after the war, told The Associated Press in February 1947.
It was established in 1969, during the height of the Vietnam War, by scientists and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who were concerned about the misuse of science for military purposes.
Dr. Michaels has conducted numerous studies on the health effects of exposure to toxic chemicals and has focused intently on the use and misuse of science in shaping judicial and regulatory decisions.
"It's great news," says Rena Steinzor of the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore, who studies environmental regulation and the misuse of science in environmental policy.
Through such studies, hopefully, lessons are learned to prevent or at least dissuade the misuse of science to bad ends.
