Hold Off Attacking Holdren
Appointment Has Riled Climate Deniers
President-elect Obama’s pick for White House science adviser, John Holdren, has received numerous barbs from critics of progressive climate policy. Unfortunately, the attacks are a distraction from the real problems facing the planet.
Science Progress Blog
-
01-05-09
Enabling Economic Recovery Through Innovation
We will release the Fall/Winter 2008-2009 print edition of Science Progress next Monday, January 12. This issue will feature entirely new content on regional centers of innovation, patent reform, and government contracting of scientific and technological work.
-
01-05-09
The Top 12 Science Progress Features of 2008
Here’s a look back at the most popular features we ran in the past year. Some of them dealt with major controversies over political interference with science at the Environmental Protection Agency, the teaching of creationism, and access to reproductive health services. Others tackled challenges of a networked world, or considered how policy can better harness the talents of a burgeoning scientific workforce. -
12-18-08
Breaking: Physicist John Holdren Is Likely Pick for Science Advisor
Eli Kintisch reports at Science Insider that the Kennedy School of Government professor flew to Chicago this morning to meet with members of the transition team.
-
12-15-08
Looking for a Research Bailout
Arguments over the state of funding for research at the National Institutes of Health, and for the younger generation of life science researchers in general, continue. As the new administration considers candidates for the next NIH director, the question of how the government will bail out various sectors of the economy weighs on the issue of money for R&D.
-
12-12-08
Want to Work Together? The Impact of Multi-University Collabortion
The Internet has broken down traditional barriers to scientific collaboration and made the entire world one great intellectual salon, right? Sort of, according to a recent analysis published in Science, but the relationship between improved digital communications, multi-university research teams, and the pecking order of institutions where scientists work is actually quite complicated. The findings could potentially shape thinking on where to direct R&D resources.
-
12-11-08
“The Single Most Effective Way to Prevent the Transmission of Disease”
The organizers of National Handwashing Awareness Week, which runs through Saturday, want you to know that washing your hands with soap and warm water, or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, is the best way to stop the spread of germs. -
12-11-08
Chu Is Bringing Science Back
Major news outlets have been reporting since yesterday afternoon that Steven Chu is President-elect Obama’s choice to head the Department of Energy. Chu currently directs the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he has led a drive to develop clean and renewable sources of energy to combat global climate change. If confirmed, he would be the first Nobel laureate in the cabinet to go into the job with a medal in hand. -
12-10-08
National Research Council: Nanotech Safety Needs a Closer Look. Much Closer.
The National Research Council cannot tell us whether or not nanomaterials present a danger to the public, but the Council is sure that the federal government is not doing enough to identify risks nanotechnology may pose. -
12-08-08
Neuroscience Everywhere
The past few days have yielded stories on how poverty affects childhood cognitive development, societal acceptance of brain enhancing drugs, the first meeting of the Neuroethics Society, and the most famous patient in neuroscience research. -
12-05-08
Change for America on Science and Tech Policy, Part 4: The Office of Science and Technology Policy
In Washington, D.C. access is influence, and as we’ve argued several times here on Science Progress, in order to drive progressive science and tech policy across the entire federal government, the next science adviser to the president must be at the top level of the White House staff. And few would know better the importance of the science adviser holding cabinet-level rank than the last person to serve in the position at that status, Neal Lane.
The Top Eight Science Policy News Stories of 2008
Rick Weiss offers a thumbnail of advances in science that will have long-lasting impacts on science policy—or advances in science policy that we predict will have long-lasting impacts on science.
How Scientists View Law Enforcement
Anecdotal evidence has led to the impression that many in the scientific community hold a negative view of law enforcement. We need to get a sense of the types and range of views scientists hold to help solve the problem.
Advanced IT Policy for a New America
Speedy access to the Internet for every American is about so much more than expanded broadband access. It's about all aspects of advanced communications and information technology.
Seven for Science: Now that’s Science Progress!
The seven science advisers Barack Obama has chosen are surely the most distinguished group of scientists at the highest levels of government in decades.
Not Up to Standards
The new regulation disrupts the careful balance established by medical codes of conduct and standards of care, placing the health, well-being, and dignity of patients at risk.
Where Are the Grad Students?
Science and engineering will continue to play a key role in growing our economy and developing clean energy technologies. The government needs to enable more students to pursue schooling that contributes to our green growth.
Next Steps for Progressive Stem Cell Politics
In the wake of the Bush administration’s policies, we will have the political space to craft a pro-research stand that simultaneously highlights the need for consistent and enforceable regulation, for hope without hype, and for developing human biotechnologies according to principles of social justice and human rights.
Public Nano-tudes
Proponents of nanotechnology—along with federal regulators—have some serious work to do beyond public education if the field is to break through safely to commercial success.
How Reducing Negligible Risks Drives Up Health Costs
The over-prescription of statins is costing Americans billions, and the media is complicit with the problem. An independent national institute that compared the effectiveness of treatments could reduce unnecessary spending.
The Right to Share in Scientific Advancement
AAAS Science and Human Rights Program Director Mona Younis talks with Rick Weiss about how scientists have protected the rights of their colleagues, helped bring Balkan war criminals to justice, and safeguarded vulnerable populations in Darfur.
The Creeping Death of Science Coverage
The news that CNN is eliminating its science reporting team is just the latest blow to mainstream science journalism. But an informed democracy needs good coverage of issues that touch virtually every aspect of our lives.
Screening Newborn Screening
Genetic screening for newborns can spot devastating disorders, but false positives and research-driven mission creep are cause for concern. Knowledge is nothing to fear, but parents should have the right to decide what they want to know about their kids.
Deciphering Today's Signature War Injury
Traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder are major clinical challenges for doctors treating veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. Although very different in nature, the symptoms of the two conditions overlap, making diagnosis and treatment difficult.
The Ins and Outs of the Global Carbon Cycle
Scientists are now worried about the degree to which carbon sinks could shrink, or carbon sources could grow, in response to the rapid increase in anthropogenic CO2 emissions.
The Science Unveiling
It's critical that we see the science adviser rollout given a degree of prominence similar to other top-level nominations. In our next government, science can't just be an afterthought.
Building a Better Bird
Whether by DNA manipulation or old-fashioned selective breeding, we engineer our food. Is it time to get over it?
Attack of the Nerds from Outer Space
The Science and Entertainment Exchange is a new departure for the scientific community, but precisely the sort of outreach measure that can help it better connect with our broader society.
Medicare Costs and the Income Trap
Biomedical research cannot solve all the problems of public health. An effective overhaul of the current system won't happen without attention to some basic psychology and economics.
Intelligence on the Brain
A large set of questions for 21st century neural and behavioral science has come into focus, and they will play a significant role in both national intelligence operations and in relations within a globalized scientific community.
A New Day, and a New Tone
Divisiveness and the lack of shared purpose have been too common surrounding science issues. It’s time for a change.
No Virtue In Fatalism
A look at conservative bioethics and Eric Cohen’s In the Shadow of Progress. Refusing to pursue recent and possible future developments in medical research is itself a morally momentous decision—and that inaction has consequences Cohen and other right-wing thinkers refuse to acknowledge.
The Revolution Will Be Personalized
It will be an uphill battle to justify some of the upfront costs of the personalized medicine revolution, given the technical, political, and educational hurdles that stand between where we are and where we want to get: to a place with better care that costs less.
How to Save the U.S. Space Program
The future of the U.S. space program is very much in doubt, in spite of continued great accomplishments.
The Human Toll of Climate Change
Science projects dangers to people and their well-being, including severe natural disasters, the spread of disease, loss of coastal communities, and declining crop and fish yields.
Speaking Up for Science
The time has come for scientists to stand up and communicate to policymakers the reasons why science helps Americans live safer, healthier, and more productive lives.
Synthetic Biology
Synthetic biology will soon be able to "streamline" and redesign the genetic material of living organisms to make them operate more efficiently, and to design and assemble new artificial life forms from scratch.
The Crichton Effect
His anti-global warming novel was unfortunate. But like it or not, his impact on the image of science in our culture was massive.
An Emerging Consensus
The international community is developing policies that support embryonic stem cell research and embryo screening for medical purposes, but oppose human reproductive cloning, embryo screening for non-medical purposes, and genetic "enhancement."
The Science Crunch
How will unprecedented budget deficits affect the funding of American science? The answer: No one is entirely sure, but they can’t be good.
A PROJECT OF
