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Science is done in the open, with people publishing their theories and results for all to see and criticise. And believe me, that criticism can be vicious. Ideally, theories can be scrutinised to see what predictions they make and this can be followed up experiment to either confirm them or not. The process makes it is hard for an individual or group of individuals to conspire, hide or fake results, because there are many rivals out there who try to either replicate or find fault with each result or publication.
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I beg to differ here. There's a hell of a lot of science that's done behind great veils of secrecy, cloak and dagger routines and is far from open. Even in those institutions that are supposed to be open and accountable. Plus not all scientific work is done for altruistic purposes or even in the spirit of altruism, in so far as confirming or denying theory is concerned.
I'd say you've been lucky in your dealings with the scientists you have. Most of the ones I know are good people too...my own colleagues are decent people. However, when it comes to money and reputations...egos and such, there are many who would figuratively kill someone to keep those things intact for themselves. If it meant destroying another person's career because what they were proposing was going to disadvantage them in some way, then they would do it. Science is full of politics and in many cases those within it act as if they're "high priests" of some religion.