Researchers recently cured sickle-cell anemia in a mouse model using iPS cells, highlighting the promise of iPS cells for future research and affirming the importance of preventing the current excitement about iPS cells from hastily ending embryonic stem cell research.
MEDICINE
An excerpt from a new history of breast cancer, a disease that has entered the bodies of so many American women and the concerns of nearly all the rest, mostly as a result of how we have detected, labeled, and responded to the disease.
MEDICINE
The number of women diagnosed with breast cancer rose dramatically in the 20th century, increasing fear of breast cancer and leading more and more women to choose prophylactic mastectomies. But much of this increase represents overdiagnosis. Americans must recognize the overselling of cancer fear, and must question current practices that are based on the often-illusory goal of reasserting some control over fear.
In the first demonstrated therapeutic application of induced pluripotent stem cells, researchers have cured sickle-cell anemia in mice. Rudolf Jaenisch, one of the authors of the paper announcing the work pointed out that this achievement means that research on human embryonic stem cells must go forward.
A new vision from Bill and Melinda Gates to eradicate malaria; better math curricula start with algebra; gene transfer likely not cause of death in trial; peer-reviewing bioterrorism intel.
Transparency for global health data; the legal status of embryos; the Bali Climate Declaration by Scientists; genome research open access; U.S. science education.
Open government takes a step forward with the launch of Project Sunlight, a website dedicated to tracking and making public the details of government decision making in the Empire State.
Atlantis launch moved; Facebook address online privacy concerns; energy and climate legislation makes headway in Congress; regulating airline emissions; commercial ventures to the moon.
Three young women scientists make history; arguments over the impact of climate change on global health; how not to get funding from the NSF; John Marburger talks with the National Journal; conflicts of interest at the FDA; the ailing Discovery Corps Fellowship program; and what is Evo-Devo?
Policy makers are responding predicatably to reports that students in the United States on average scored lower than their peers in other wealthy industrialized nations on an international science exam, arguing that the test indicates that U.S. students cannot compete in the international workforce. But talking about “competitiveness” makes it easy to gloss over inequities in the educational system connected to race and class.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Policymakers need to give consumers the choice to protect their privacy or allow e-commerce companies to profile their web travels.
Advances in nanotechnology may yield myriad powerful technical applications. But to grapple with the gap between research and regulation, the Center on Nanotechnology and Society held its 2nd Annual Conference on Nanopolicy this past Friday.
The efforts of China’s State Food and Drug Administration to crack down on drug and medical device companies seems to be improving the industry’s reputation and will hopefully make for a safer marketplace.
James A. Thomson and Alan I. Leshner issued a stinging response to those who would claim that the Bush administration’s stem cell policy encouraged the research that led to induced Pluripotent Cells; they call the work “a breakthrough achieved despite political restrictions.”
The future of the Hubble Space Telescope, a new map of Antarctica, post-Katrina mental health, and metaphors for the climate crisis: in this week’s Science Times section of The New York Times, several stories covering science, health, and technology policy.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is so underfunded and understaffed that it is putting consumers at risk to unsafe foods and drugs, according to a report, “FDA Science and Mission at Risk,” released by an advisory panel to the government agency on November 30th.
An interactive map showing where in the U.S. you can find Flex Fuel cars and gas stations that offer E85. The energy bill currently in Congress provides important provisions to make flex-fuels more widely available.
NASA has a new face on the web; the NIH says gene therapy wasn’t the cause of death in a recent trial; open-source standards and net neutrality can improve global health; and more.
“A new way to trick skin cells into acting like embryos changes both everything and nothing at all.” Alan I. Leshner and James A. Thomson on the new advances in stem cell research, and other news and commentary from the mainstream press.
STEM CELLS
While pundits and bloggers argue over the political implications of recent breakthroughs in stem cell science, Kathryn Hinsch visits one of the first privately funded stem cell labs and learns that research must continue on all fronts: embryonic, IPS, placental, and adult.
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.