Vint Cerf leaves his post as Chairman of the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers this Friday. ICANN has drawn criticism in the past for U.S. control of the Internet, but new changes will expand and internationalize possibilities for domain names.
A new report from the Urban Institute takes aim at the common conception in policy circles that the United States is educating fewer scientists and engineers and that those students are underperforming in comparison with their international peers. How should it change the questions we ask about science and engineering education?
DEFINING SCIENCE
How should we think about the relationship between global warming and an increased risk of wildfires to the United States?
The New Jersey appellate court cleared the way for a $450 million referendum funding stem cell research in the state. But how much will go to work with embryonic stem cells, and how much will go to the less-promising work with adult stem cells?
STEM CELLS
New Jersey boasts about its embryonic stem cell research ambitions, but most of the grant money is going toward adult stem cell research. What gives?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that 25 to 30 percent of the U.S. population carries the staph bacteria MRSA, which was for responsible for more than 94,000 life-threatening infections and 19,000 deaths in 2005.
Andrew A. Rosenberg on how “emphasizing what we don’t know often drowns out what we do know.” Also, a new Urban Institute study claims that the U.S. has more than enough scientists and engineers.
This week boasts a slew of congressional hearings on science and technology policy issues including: renewable energy, gene patenting, aviation safety, nanotechnology safety, and drug-resistant TB.
MEDICINE
Medical information is only useful when it can travel from provider to provider. That’s Mom’s role today, but the federal government could save everyone money and ensure better care by insisting on interoperable records.
GLOBAL WARMING
Why are we really upset by the editing of Center for Disease Control Director Gerberding’s written testimony to Congress on the health effects of climate change?
The InterAcademies Council report released Monday on sustainable energy options reiterates familiar suggestions for greening the planet’s energy future, but it also presents a compelling argument for applied scientific and technological research in pursuit of the common good.
Georgia governor Sonny Perdue wants to blame the state’s drought on federal bureaucracy. But the big story is the relationship between natural resources and regional growth.
Only in rare cases should women freeze their eggs in order to save them for fertilization at a later date, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
The cuts the White House made to CDC Director Julie Gerberding’s congressional testimony began with the sentence: “Scientific evidence supports the view that the earth’s climate is changing.”
CENSORING SCIENCE
Testimony of Director Gerberding prepared for a hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Tuesday on the impact of climate change on public health. The portions excised by the White House are highlighted in red.
The Bush Administration continues to censor scientists. The AP has the latest on extensive revisions made to the testimony of CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding, who testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Tuesday on the health impacts of climate change.
Behind the News
There are problems galore lurking behind the baffling appointment of an anti-contraception activist to the Office of Population Affairs.
“People are either thinking about civil rights or they are thinking about climate change. Rarely are they thinking about both.” The two issues are inextricably linked, argued Majora Carter at a panel on “green collar jobs” at the Center for American Progress this Monday.
Cures Without Cloning, a Missouri group that opposes embryonic stem cell research, is trying to overturn the results of last year’s ballot initiative that protected stem cell research in the state. The CAP Bioethics Initiative posted an update last week. Here’s a roundup of the latest.
Science and Government
WWII contracting out of scientific inquiry in the interest of national security was the springboard for mid-20th century reform of American government that yielded great successes but has lost its moorings. It’s time to re-envision the role of private contractors in the public service.
Science Progress and American Progress's Doing What Works project teamed up to produce a set of policy proposals that the Obama administration and Congress can adopt to reinvest in the building blocks of American science, innovation, and economic competitiveness. Read the overview of the five reports.
Science Progress proceeds from the propositions that scientific inquiry is among the finest expressions of human excellence, that it is a crucial source of human flourishing, a critical engine of economic growth, and must be dedicated to the common good. Scientific inquiry entails global responsibilities. It should lead to a more equitable, safer, and healthier future for all of humankind.