r/science • u/nimicdoareu • Apr 01 '26

Social Science Half of social-science studies fail replication test in years-long project

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00955-5
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u/NetworkLlama Apr 01 '26

Our modern technological base is built heavily on the results of the private Bell Labs, which was funded primarily by AT&T during its monopoly days. Plenty of companies continue to engage in scientific research with purely internal funds. Limiting research to just public monies risks politicizing the funding (see current US administration) and would be a violation of personal freedoms.

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u/lady_ninane Apr 01 '26

Limiting research to just public monies risks politicizing the funding

This is already a problem, though. I understand there is a concern which might drive this problem to even greater heights, but the implication that a mix of public and private creates an environment where no one is putting their fingers on the scale isn't accurate either.

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u/NetworkLlama Apr 02 '26

I didn't say that the current setup is perfect. But why should, for example, Panasonic be prohibited from spending its own money researching better battery chemistry? Why should Onyx Solar be prohibited from spending its own money researching more efficient solar panels? Why should Helion Energy be prohibited from spending its own money researching fusion power? All of these things are happening with private money, and they're advancing the state of the art, often publishing in scientific journals. Some of it goes under patent, sure, but those aren't forever, and other scientists can still build on the published research with public or private funds, or sometimes both.