Snap Observations: Science on Both Sides of the Pond, the Shape of Policy Debates, and Erasing Patient Memories
The U.S. is pursuing new approaches to nurture science and technology innovation—and so is the UK. This week’s National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship newsletter sets the two plans next to one another. Perhaps each government could learn from the other.
David Goldston gave a recent talk at the University of Connecticut on the political polarization of scientific evidence, the difference between science policy debates and debates over scientific evidence, and the proper role for scientists to take if they want to inform politicians accurately, honestly, and effectively. Former Staff Director of the House Committee on Science and Technology under Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Goldston appeared today on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show.
Time magazine has a powerful and thoughtful first-person account of erasing a patient’s bad memory. This is not about medications and therapies that may come about in the future or are currently under development. This is about a real case of immediate memory erasure that happened a number of years ago. The substance employed is called propofol and its usage raises issues about the ethics of informed consent and the nature of personhood vs brain chemistry.
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