BIOETHICS
Two stories in the news this week call for the establishment of international standards for reproductive services that draw a line between procedures that are medically appropriate and scientifically compelling.
Charles Darwin, and the legacy of his work describing evolution and natural selection, is often distorted for political ends. But as Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Susan Thistlethwaite explained yesterday, the spheres of science and religion are not in [...]
In today’s Washington Post, Senior Fellow Rick Weiss looks to Charles Darwin’s own life experience to cool tensions between science and religion: Darwin’s humility in the face of insufficient evidence — his willingness to say “I don’t know” — is [...]
SCIENCE LEADERSHIP
The science community wants John Holdren’s expected confirmation to the Office of Science and Technology Policy to be followed by his elevation into Obama’s cabinet.
SCIENCE AND CULTURE
Screenwriter Matthew Chapman, the great-great grandson of the great great scientist, reflects upon science, politics, and culture 200 years after Darwin’s birth.
SCIENCE AND CULTURE
Historical research on the relationship between science and religion reveals a story very different from common tales of discord.
Human embryonic stem cell research may be the path to remarkable disease treatments and cures in the near future. While it is important to be realistic about the science and resist overly optimistic expectations that stem cells are a panacea, [...]
A study released last week by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, in partnership with consulting firm Grant Thornton LLP, found that supporting business incubators, including those multi-dimensional support programs that help scientists with innovative ideas turn them [...]
The backlog at the United States Patent Office is 1 million applications long. This means that it takes almost 33 months for examiners to decide up or down on an application’s status. For sectors like communications where innovation moves at [...]
BIOETHICS
A recent book examining the errors of progressives and conservatives in scientific debates provides a fruitful accounting of the arguments. But grouping the left with science and the right with tradition is a flawed approach to talking about science policy.
While the risks for most people from avian influenza remain low, the virus has occaisionally moved from bird population to humans since 1997. In 2006, the number of human infections peaked; the World Health Organization counted 115 cases and 79 [...]
WEISS'S NOTEBOOK
While pandemic flu is off the media radar, public health officials are busy tracking what they call the number one infectious threat in the world—and are preparing for the worst-case scenario. Above: A scientist works at the U.S. Naval Medical Research in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Food and Drug Administration gave a thumbs up today for ATryn, a blood-thinning drug produced in the milk of genetically engineered goats. As we’ve previously described, it’s the first drug made in the milk of a farm animal to [...]
Food and Drug Administration Acting Director Frank Torti announced Monday in a podcast the creation of a new position in the Office of Chief Scientist: the Senior Genomics Advisor. Dr. Liz Mansfield, a scientist who has worked on scientific policy [...]
Cutting science out of the stimulus bill is like killing the goose that lays the nation’s golden eggs. How else is the United States going to cut healthcare costs, reduce energy dependence and ensure sustainable security except through the waves [...]
TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE
Over time, various technologies have altered our perceptions of what is essential and original. So how is moving a few pixels around in a photo like altering biological systems?
The Senate is doubling down on the House proposal to support biomedical research and innovation with the recovery and reinvestment package—and then some. The Senate version of the stimulus bill originally provided $3.5 billion in funds for the National Institutes [...]
According to new numbers released Monday by the Global Wind Energy Council, the United States has outpaced Germany to become the world leader in wind generation capacity. The map below shows the numbers for selected high-producing countries for capacity in [...]
SCIENCE, CULTURED
Global warming deniers believe selective anecdotes about anomalous local weather refute the fact there is a globally averaged warming trend.
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
Curiosity has waxed and waned among our chief executives. Our 44th President plans to restore its preeminence.
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.