Recounting the successes of 20th-century science in understanding the nature and composition of matter, the age and size of the universe, and the chemistry and genetics of cells, Dr. Varmus highlighted the importance that scientific technology has come to play in shaping our lives in the fields of communication, transportation, weapons, energy, information use and storage, agriculture and medicine.
Dr. Varmus stated that science at the start of the new century "continues to be exhilarating," and is "not only a source of discovery and technical novelty, but also a necessity." According to him, scientific strength will be needed to conquer unsolved medical problems, find new sources of energy, reduce environmental degradation and enable poor nations to produce more food and find new means to support economic growth.
Ensuring scientific advancement, Dr. Varmus added, requires education and training to attract and make new scientists, and to reach an increasing public understanding of science. Moreover, he felt the need for the government to support and collaborate with scientists, and for a peaceful environment to exist where "dogmas, whether political or religious, are divorced from science." In Dr. Varmus' opinion, however, scientists are increasingly worried because these essential requirements for science to continue progressing are not being met.
"Science seems to be under attack on several fronts, especially in the U.S. but in other advanced economies as well," declared Dr. Varmus. Scientists are reporting "anxiety about their career prospects, [and] a sense of alienation from the dominant culture and politics of our society."
The failure of the U.S. to produce sufficient numbers of engineers and technically proficient people, as well as the low scores of U.S. students in standardized science tests compared to other developed countries are seen by Dr. Varmus as causes for concern. In addition, he expressed his emphatic disapproval with the efforts of intelligent design (ID) proponents to threaten the integrity of the scientific curriculum and to "undermine the teaching of evolution in high school science classes … the very basis of all biology."
Speaking on the issue of support for science from the federal government, Dr. Varmus argued that while the U.S. continues to remain among the top few nations in funding science when measured as a fraction of the Gross National Product, financial support for science has remained flat for the past couple of years without any inflationary increase. This comes at a time when "the promise of science and the need for science are unprecedented." He pointed out that in the NIH, for example, with "the progressive loss of purchasing power, fewer grants can be awarded at a time when the number of active investigators has grown significantly."
Addressing threats to science from the government, Dr. Varmus added that the "federal government has signaled its lack of respect for science by undermining the traditional relationship between those who provide scientific information and those who make policy based on it." He cited several actions taken by the Bush administration to undermine the advisory role of the scientific community including editing scientific reports with political prejudice, limiting the freedom of government scientists to voice their opinions and appointing individuals with questionable credentials to important posts in scientific agencies.
Dr. Varmus also expressed his disappointment at the failure of the government to establish legislative measures to support stem cell research, and to reduce the effects of human activity on climate change. He, however, argued that while it is tempting to "BBFE"-Blame Bush For Everything-he felt it was not correct to do so, and identified three themes responsible for the current problems of science: "first, the uncertain and poorly guarded boundaries between religion and state; second, the failure to recognize science as a foundation of our social and economic well-being; and third, our ambivalent attitudes toward the rest of the world."
Remedies that Dr. Varmus mentioned for ameliorating the problems faced by science included describing and treating religion and science as separate realms, with "science asking how, religion asking why, science invoking reason, religion invoking faith, science depending upon objective evidence from the natural world [and] religion depending on subjective feelings and thought." Other measures to promote science include funding scientific research to increase the social and economic welfare of people, promoting measures to increase investments on science projects abroad, funding research on global and neglected diseases and providing free and open public access to scientific journals around the world.
Dr. Varmus concluded his talk by acknowledging that science in the U.S. continues to enjoy federal and philanthropic financial support, public confidence and the influx of many excellent students from abroad. Nevertheless, he recognized vulnerabilities, including the difficulty in getting the attention of the public, the large expense of teaching and funding science and the difficulty in reversing downward trends in science. Dr. Varmus felt encouraged by recent efforts of some scientists, clergy and politicians to defend science and its integrity, and the measures undertaken to disseminate scientific knowledge among the public via plays, museum exhibitions, operas and other elements of culture. In his view, though, "the good things will not happen unless we all can and do become cheerleaders for science."
Professor of Neuroscience Steven George pointed out, "Dr. Varmus mentioned many problems and hurdles facing science now and in the future. Regarding religion and science, I thought he was rather gentle in his criticism of religious beliefs about the natural world that are not based on evidence. On the other hand, he didn't mention that scientists can also be dogmatic and may fail to acknowledge, or even realize, the values and assumptions that underlie scientific thinking and conclusions."
A graduate from the College with a B.A. degree in English, Harold Varmus went on to receive an M.A. in English literature from Harvard University in 1962 before enrolling in Columbia University to study medicine. He received an M.D. degree in 1966. While studying retroviruses during the 1970s at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Varmus along with the microbiologist Michael Bishop provided new insights into the genetic basis for cancer in cells. In particular, their research on the Rous virus, known to induce cancer in animals, led them to identify a large family of genes called proto-oncogenes controlling normal growth and division of cells in diverse organisms, which become oncogenic or tumor-causing under certain conditions, like after undergoing mutation(s). For their important discovery on the "cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes," Dr. Varmus and Michael Bishop were awarded the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Earlier on Monday, Dr. Varmus met with science majors to talk about science, graduate school and conducting scientific research. Biology major Kipp Weiskopf '07 expressed delight at the opportunity to speak with such a distinguished alum. "Amherst has a number of great alumni in the fields of medicine and life science, and we have been fortunate to have so many of them return to campus this year," he said. "Since Dr. Varmus is one of the most influential figures in the scientific community, it was truly an honor to have him come speak with us. Dr. Varmus wanted to hear about our past research experiences as well as our impressions of science departments … I am very appreciative that prominent figures, such as Dr. Varmus, have maintained a connection with the sciences here at Amherst."
President Anthony Marx, who introduced Dr. Varmus to the audience prior to his talk, stated, "Harold Varmus is an inspiration; a great scientist and humanist, working to eradicate illnesses and to redirect our society to invest in thoughtful science. We at Amherst are proud of Dr Varmus and were fortunate to have his latest visit."