Voice of Young Science

Voice of Young Science (VoYS) is a programme of the part-corporate-funded lobby group Sense About Science.

The Sense About Science website states:

The VoYS programme helps research scientists in the early stages of their career to get actively involved in public debates about science.

Funders and supporters

VoYS's partners, as listed on the SAS website of October 2009, include:

• The Biochemical Society
• Elsevier
• Health and Science Communication Trust
• Institute of Biology
• Medical Research Council
• Research Councils UK
• Royal Pharmaceutical Society
• Royal Society of Edinburgh
• University of Dundee
• University of Edinburgh
• University of Glasgow
• University of Stirling
• University of the West of Scotland

Publications

VoYS has produced publications which focus on attacking alternative health systems and ridiculing public concern about risky chemicals (as if there were not an abundance of scientific evidence in support of the latter). Here are examples from the SAS website:

• Detox Dossier: 'Detox' has no meaning outside of the clinical treatment for drug addiction or poisoning. VoYS published a dossier on their hunt for the evidence behind detox claims made for products and diets, and began a campaign to alert the public.
• There Goes the Science Bit...: From food that doesn't contain chemicals to a spray that shields against EMF, young scientists have been contacting organisations - manufacturers, distributors, retailers - to ask for more evidence for such claims. This is their dossier of extracts from their experiences.

In fact, the phrase "food that doesn't contain chemicals" is seldom seen outside the mythmaking of Sense About Science and bodies like it. It is a 'straw man' argument that is often used by the chemical industry and its friends. Of course, all food consists of chemicals. But what groups like VoYS and SAS don't want to admit is that some chemicals are more compatible than others with living organisms.

VoYS has a highly selective focus. They do not, for example, choose to turn the spotlight on false claims of safety made for chemicals, pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines.

People

• Alice Tuff – YoYS coordinator. Biologist.
• Frank Swain – Biologist and author of the sciencepunk.com website. According to Swain's bio on his sciencepunk.com website, "he worked at Sense About Science, co-editing "There Goes the Science Bit", a report by the Voice of Young Science group investigating dodgy science claims in advertising, and working with Newsnight to uncover the pseudoscience behind the Brain Gym programme."