INTA fired a scientist for ‘irregularities.’ Colleagues say it was her findings

This piece was co-written by Marina Peña and Juan Pérgola Scientist Virginia Aparicio was dismissed in late October from Argentina’s National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA, for its Spanish initials) over alleged irregularities in her research into the effects of agrochemicals on people, animals, and the environment. Aparicio and many in the Argentine scientific community, on the other hand, have described her dismissal as blatant persecution. The scientist and her colleagues have based their claims on the fact that the INTA blocked a scheduled public presentation of her research…