Meet the resistance

In times of existential threat, scientists have always made their voices heard. During the 1950s nuclear weapons tests, Linus Pauling was one of many well-known scientists who chose to speak out publicly and in 1964 was awarded the Nobel prize for peace. In 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War, a group from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, founded the Union of Concerned Scientists. ‘They felt that they couldn’t say some of the things they wanted to say within the university confines, so they stepped out into Campbell Square in Cambridge and started doing ‘teach-ins’’, explains Andrew Rosenberg, the current director of the Union’s Center for Science and Democracy.

But there’s no question we live in polarising times. The presidency of Donald Trump in the US, Brexit in the UK and climate change everywhere means we are living in turbulent times, with many scientists aiming tackle the issues that affect both their professional lives and society at large. So what is the modern face of scientific resistance?