This year, as the #MeToo movement led to more allegations of wrongdoing—and, in some cases, investigations and punishments—directed at men in entertainment, politics, the media, and other sectors, new stories of sexual harassment and assault also rocked the life sciences. At the same time, advocates and institutions took strides toward changing science’s culture and rewards systems to stamp out such behavior.
Beginning in the spring, activists starting using petitions to target institutions they saw as failing to withdraw honors or funding from scientists found to have engaged in bad behavior, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the National Institutes of Health. AAAS later announced it had adopted a policy that allows revoking the status of fellows “in cases of proven scientific misconduct, serious breaches of professional ethics, or when the Fellow in the view of ...
