The development of an ongoing scientific study has ceased and blacklisted as a consequence of Senator Ted Cruz, who claims that the scientific research on mint plants is allegedly “woke” and had been conducted within a radical political perspective, based on “Neo-Marxist Theories.”
On February 11, Cruz published an investigation that his team had worked on, a wide database which identified over 3,400 grants, which are non-repayable funds that the National Science Foundation (NSF) awards to support scientific research. These grants are given to researchers or institutions to help finance their projects.
Cruz considered the studies worked mainly as weapons to serve a left-wing political agenda.
“Over the past few weeks, the Trump administration has been taking a sledgehammer to the radical left’s woke nonsense. DEI initiatives have poisoned research efforts, eroded confidence in the scientific community, and fueled division among Americans. I am proud to release our investigation’s database, which exposes how the Biden administration weaponized federal agencies to push a far-left ideology. Congress must end the politicization of NSF funding and restore integrity to scientific research,” Cruz publicly announced.
Charlotte Lindqvist, a biology professor at the University at Buffalo, is responsible for conducting the research on plants. Lindqvist has dedicated a large amount of time to this research, while analysing the mint plant’s DNA, searching for evidence of genetic differences between species and studying plant diversity which, as she said, could help secure more resilient food systems.
It’s “very frightening,” Lindqvist said. “We are really trying very, very hard to move our world forward, understanding it better through our sort of foundational, sometimes groundbreaking research, and then you get flagged and blacklisted because there is a word like ‘female’ in your project.”
These sorts of words account for Cruz’s identifying the research as “Woke,” however, this is merely a large misconception of the use of these words.
PROPUBLICA worked on an experiment that consisted of using advanced models of artificial intelligence to analyze and evaluate the large amounts of data contained in the 3,500 grant descriptions of the database searching for indications of Marxist propaganda, “woke ideology,” or diversity, equity and inclusion.
The model tracked down and distinguished those themes, and the results of the experiment revealed that Cruz’s inquiry swept up numerous National Science Foundation projects that either only touched on social inequalities or had no connection to the social and economic issues his committee highlighted.
One such project, which received a $470,000 grant to study the evolution and dispersal of mint plants across continents, became a focal point. The project reportedly encountered resistance from Republicans on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation over two key terms in its NSF application: “diversify,” used to describe plant biodiversity, and “female,” noting that the research team included a promising young female scientist.
The investigation also uncovered several projects flagged by the committee. One project focused on developing a device to treat severe bleeding was scrutinized for its use of the term “victims,” in reference to gunshot survivors, and “trauma.” Another initiative, which aimed to create biosensors for detecting infectious diseases, was criticized for repeatedly using the acronym “POC.” Although intended to signify “point of care”—the site where patients receive treatment—it was misinterpreted as “people of color,” and the term “barrier” was also noted, referring to a component of the biosensor.
Additionally, a project designing eye-tracking technology to diagnose and treat concussions was flagged for its references to “traumatic” brain injuries and the “status” of patients, with the latter term intended to denote the patients’ condition.
Republicans in the senate exposed their report on all the grants of the Public Heath and Safety Organization (NSF). Listing the assembled key-words which, as they said, are “often based on neo-Marxist theories that identified merit by physical or ethnic attributes, not one’s talent, work ethic, or intellectual curiosity.”
The database was fully published when Donald Trump’s administration NSF assured that they were examining the investigation grants to make sure they comply with Trump’s executive orders which abolished all diversity, equity or inclusion initiatives.
It remains unknown whether the scientific projects will get the monetary funding or not. A federal judge concluded that the administration can not be cancelled to support grants programs on diversity, equity or inclusion.
