Thousands 'Stand Up for Science' in Bay Area to rally against Trump's cuts

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- At organized rallies throughout the United States and in Berkeley, San Francisco and Palo Alto on Friday, communities came together to stand up for science.

Millions posed an important and timely question Friday: where would we be without science?

It comes at a time in which the Trump Administration aims to cut back on federal funding, including critical medical research and treatments.

"Science isn't just some abstract thing," UC Berkeley prof. of Economics Ted Miguel said. "It's what makes us healthy, it's what makes us rich, it's what gives us technology - it gives us our iPhone. So, if we attack it, we're really not going to live the same kind of lives we want to live and I think it's really dangerous."

MORE: Trump administration cutting $4 billion in medical research funding: How Bay Area could be impacted

The Trump administration is attempting to cut hundreds of millions of dollars of scientific research funding.

Since the end of January, grants have been threatened and thousands of employees were fired - leaving millions at risk.

"It's not about politics," Johns Hopkins University graduate Carol Peyser said. "Nobody voted for this kind of devastating attack on our medical system and we have to stand up."

Among the sought-after cuts, the National Institutes of Health would be stripped millions of dollars for research into Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.

MORE: Federal judge blocks drastic funding cuts to medical research

It's work is being done at Bay Area universities, like Cal and Stanford - research with life-saving implications.

"(Without it, it would be) very, very scary," San Mateo County resident Kathryn Strachota said. "Not just for my life, but everyone's lives."

"I, myself, am a young breast cancer survivor," Stand Up For Science SF organizer Nicole Holliday said. "The treatment that I had was developed in universities decades ago, research that was funded by the federal government. So, there's nobody in America whose life hasn't been positively changed by the research that our universities do."

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the drastic NIH funding cuts.

But until the legal battle ends, the fight for science in the community continues.