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RFK Jr. Vowed to Find the Environmental Causes of Autism. Then He Shut Down Research Trying to Do Just That. (www.propublica.org)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/science@lemmy.world
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cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/48326364

  • Slashed Autism Funding: RFK Jr. promised to identify the causes of autism but has eliminated parts of his agency actively investigating them and has cut millions in funding for autism research.
  • Silent on Rollbacks: Once an ardent environmentalist who took on big polluters, RFK Jr. has been silent on Trump’s dismantling of efforts to combat climate change and pollution.
  • Conflicting Priorities: RFK Jr. helps lead an administration that is reversing regulations on pollution and chemicals, including some linked to autism.
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[–] 21 points 1 year ago (4 children)

The real damage here is not RFK as much as Trump ending NIH funding. And there is little/no public outcry. 5 years from now, there will be no new drugs (pharma does not actually do basic drug research any more).

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago* (1 child)

    US Pharma does plenty of drug research, not nearly as much as advertising mind you. it's just not anything that's actually beneficial for the bulk of society.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago

    Most of the drug research that actually produces new, useful treatments is done by universities and government research institutions, (or at least it was before the budget cuts). That research produced with state funding is then bought for pennies on the dollar by big pharma who does the last couple steps and reaps all of the financial rewards.

    The NIH and CDC would be fully funded in perpetuity (along with many research institutions and universities) if they got paid even a fraction of the profits for their foundational research.

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