President Obama intends to nominate worker health and safety advocate David Michaels, PhD, MPH to lead the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, according to a statement released by the White House yesterday. Michaels, an epidemiologist, is the director of the [...]
WONK LAB PODCAST
How many bioethics subfields do we really need to grapple with the issues at the cutting edge of contemporary science? Maybe just one.
It turns out that induced pluripotent stem cells are more similar to embryonic stem cells than previously thought—at least in mice. Although iPS cells are not completely identical to embryonic stem cells, two teams of Chinese scientists have been able [...]
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides at least $200 million for the 20,894 challenge grant applications the National Institutes of Health recently received. This influx of applications comes on top of the 16,312 regular applications received for the same [...]
PUBLIC HEALTH
Digital technologies are changing the world of public health, and officials are just now exploring the best ways to incorporate these new tools into older systems of disease detection and medical research. Looking ahead, the nationwide switch to digital health records has enormous implications for public health—but not just for the reasons most people are talking about.
BIOETHICS
In 2006, President Bush called for a ban on the creation of animal-human hybrids. This month, Sen. Sam Brownback returned with a bill to stop the monsters.
BIOETHICS
Embryonic stem cell research is good science, and it needs to be part of our federally funded biomedical research enterprise if the United States is to retain its status as a global scientific leader. That’s why it must be conducted responsibly and ethically.
SCIENCE, CULTURED
How to understand how America has changed since the days of the Space Race.
Last week, Chris Mooney described how the Washington Times and a cadre of right-wing bloggers have been fearmongering about John Holdren, President Obama’s science adviser and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Now FoxNews has jumped on [...]
Science communication is a regular topic of discussion here at Science Progress, and those in DC interested in learning more about the issue can attend a workshop with seasoned professionals tomorrow at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. [...]
Mothers exposed to significant levels of air pollution while pregnant give birth to children with lower childhood IQ scores, according to a new study released this week in Pediatrics. The study involved 249 New York City children whose mothers were [...]
Senior Fellow Ruy Teixeria takes a look at the recent Pew poll on public perceptions of science at the main CAP site today and concludes that in spite of the previous administration’s decidedly negative stance on a variety of scientific [...]
RESEARCH ETHICS
Conflicts of interest are a special concern in biomedical research because they have the potential to influence the outcome of study results or clinical trials, leading to results that favor certain products or unnecessary risks for patients. New rules may curb the undue influence.
HEALTH IT
Experience at the Center for Connected Health presents policymakers with clear evidence that comprehensive health care reform can deliver better quality care at a lower cost.
Demographic changes in recent decades are thinning out conservative views on “culture war” issues such as stem cell research, according to a new report from the Progressive Studies Program at the Center for American Progress. Among the findings: Public support [...]
Legislation reauthorizing and updating the Small Business Innovation Research program and Small Business Technology Transfer programs has now cleared the House of Representatives and the Senate, but considerable differences between the House and Senate versions will require significant reconciliation efforts [...]
The United States is generally supportive of scientists and government funding for research and education, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. [...]
SCIENCE, CULTURED
Conservatives have found another ludicrous charge to hurl against the president’s science adviser.
Researchers at Newcastle University in England have pushed cell reprogramming into uncharted bioethical territory, claiming to have transformed stem cells into human sperm. Reports in the British press from last week indicated that the work is intended as a treatment [...]
INNOVATION CLUSTERS
We need to take a closer look at the institutions that enable innovation, not only to see how they can be better coordinated but also how they can respond to the evolving forms and practice of innovation.
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.