INNOVATION CLUSTERS
The federal government can assume a vital role in which it frames critical national challenges, facilitates the flow of information and expertise to and between regions, and helps finance, in a competitive and leveraged fashion, valuable activities that innovation clusters would otherwise be unable to undertake.
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 [...]
INNOVATION CLUSTERS
The Manufacturing Extension Partnership program’s evolving strategies to spur competitiveness and innovation among small- and medium-sized businesses adjusts to new challenges.
NEUROSCIENCE
Increasingly complicated fMRI research demands increasingly sophisticated evaluations of its validity. We should neither ignore the serious problems with fMRI, nor dismiss its potential to make important scientific discoveries.
Reports this week indicate that the Obama administration is leaning towards keeping secret some information on the controversial interrogation tactics used in the CIA’s detention program. But the administration can’t keep secret recently divulged evidence suggesting that fourteen detainees were [...]
Since the isolation of human embryonic stem cells, or hESCs, in 1998 (see the timeline: A Brief History of Stem Cell Research), scientists around the country have made significant strides laying the groundwork for clinical treatments. In January, the FDA [...]
The Obama administration’s proposed FY2010 budget reflects a sweeping re-thinking of priorities for the U.S. government. A welcome change from previous budgets, the administration makes a significant investment in developing regional centers of innovation, business incubators, and other strategies to [...]
A recent article published in PLoS Medicine reported that human fetal neural stem cell injections used to treat the neurodegenerative disorder ataxia telangiectasia in an Israeli boy caused a multifocal brain tumor four years after his first injection. While it [...]
A few weeks ago, we blogged on why the administration should fund the development of high speed rail networks that can serve as the foundation of regional centers of innovation. According to a New York Times article, at the last [...]
The American economic geography is changing, argues urban theorist Richard Florida in a recent article for the Atlantic. Analogous to how the Great Depression precipitated a flight to the suburbs and how the post-industrial economic anemia of the 1970’s shriveled [...]
Watching another episode of CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation might not be as harmless an activity as you think. According to a report released this week by the National Academy of Sciences, the millions of people who watch CSI every [...]
Last week, Jonathan Moreno called for international standards governing reproductive technologies. But if we want to ensure that frightening decisions about genetic modification are not being made around the world, we should first focus on developing strict regulatory standards here [...]
Connecting universities and professors with the companies and venture capitalists that help turn their ideas into viable businesses, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has launched a new website, iBridge Network, which aims to foster collaborative networks to streamline the innovation [...]
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 [...]
Multiple studies have advocated for improving and modernizing the U.S. rail network as a way to spur economic growth, rein in sprawl, and make a strong commitment to sustainability. One such report, focusing on Boston, found that quality regional transportation [...]
The prolonged closure of a Canadian nuclear reactor that supplies over two thirds of the world’s medical radioisotopes has severely hindered the ability of hospitals nationwide to perform a variety of procedures and diagnostic studies for diseases like cancer and heart disease.
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.
John Kanzius, a retired electrical engineer and TV and radio station owner, is developing one of the most promising new techniques to kill cancer cells.
DeCode Genetics, an Icelandic company, announced personal genome sequencing, available immediately for $985. But there’s quite a bit of fine print to consider as other companies join this infant industry.
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.