WASHINGTON (Reuters) - NASA, accused of censoring its scientists on global warming and the origin of the universe, pledged on Wednesday to reform its policies to ensure "open and full communications."
The move followed more than a week of revelations in The New York Times and on the Internet about internal tussles between NASA writers and researchers and the U.S. space agency's public affairs office at its Washington headquarters.
A key figure in the controversy, George Deutsch, resigned on Tuesday. He had told NASA writers in an e-mail to refer to the Big Bang as a "theory" because NASA should not discount "intelligent design by a creator."
The Times and the scientificactivist.blogspot.com Web site reported that Deutsch, who worked on President George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, lied about his college degree.
"The theory that the universe was created by a 'big bang' is just that — a theory," Deutsch wrote in an e-mail on October 17, 2005, which was obtained by Reuters. "It is not proven fact; it is opinion. Yes, the scientific community by and large may share this opinion, but that doesn't make it correct … .
"It is not NASA's place, nor should it be, to make a declaration such as this about the existence of the universe that discounts intelligent design by a creator — the other half of the argument," the e-mail continued.
Most scientists believe that a monster explosion, the Big Bang, gave birth to the universe.
The e-mail appeared to conform to Bush's views on the debate over intelligent design and the theory of evolution, as he said last August: "Both sides ought to be properly taught … so people can understand what the debate is about."
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