"It’s disheartening to think of all the scientific discoveries that weren’t made on account of such groupthink."
I think groupthink leads to delay in making many discoveries rather than discoveries not being made at all; discovery is inevitable. The adverse consequences of these delays are indeed unfortunate, particularly for those in need of timely progress.
Stem cell research is a related area of concern where unnecessary delays in biomedical research progress in this country will undoubtedly occur as a result of current policies being implemented.