Features

Will the Vaccine-Autism Saga Finally End?

Not likely. You can retract a scientific paper, but not a mass movement.

A single, small study stirred a mass anti-vaccine movement that threatens public health. Now that the paper has been declared totally invalid, advocates and the medical establishment need to talk.

By Chris Mooney

    CLIMATE CHANGE Chris Field

    Video: Climate Change Is a Clear and Present Danger

    Joe Romm interviews Christopher Field, Ph.D., the director of the Department of Global Ecology at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, professor of biology and environmental earth system science at Stanford University, and the Working Group II Co-Chair for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

    CLIMATE CHANGE Mike MacCracken

    Video: How We Know Humans Are Changing the Climate

    Joe Romm interviews Michael MacCracken, Ph.D., the chief scientist for Climate Change Programs at the Climate Institute and a co-author and contributing author for various chapters in the IPCC assessment reports.

    INNOVATION Obama at the National Academy of Sciences

    A First-Place Budget for Science

    The budget request for fiscal year 2011 that the Obama administration released on Monday includes foundational investments that will help the United States remain the leader among innovative nations.

    By Andrew Plemmons Pratt

    SCIENCE, CULTURED This  Feb. 1, 2005 file photo shows an aerial view of the Siachen Glacier, which traverses the Himalayan region dividing India and Pakistan, about 750 kilometers (469 miles) northwest of Jammu, India.

    Yet Another Climate Science Mess

    With the latest climate scandal—this time, involving dubious claims made about the likely fate of the Himalayan glaciers—the case grows ever more urgent for serious rethinking of science communication practices.

    By Chris Mooney

    SCIENCE, CULTURED two scientific beakers, one with green liquid, another with blue liquid

    Is the Science Glass Half Full, or Half Empty?

    The latest figures on the relationship between science and the U.S. public can be used to support either a positive or a negative perspective.

    By Chris Mooney

    FOOD SAFETY Ron Samascott organizes apples from his orchard in Kinderhook, N.Y. at the Union Square Greenmarket on Friday, June 20, 2008 in New York.

    To Market! To Market!

    New policies are in the works to contain food safety problems after they appear, but we need a comprehensive federal policy that helps get safe, fresh food from farms to local markets.

    By Valerie Imbruce

    SCIENCE, CULTURED mountain top removal in West Virginia

    When Scientists Speak Out

    What a highly influential recent paper on mountaintop removal mining shows about how scientists can change policy by getting their message (and timing!) right.

    By Chris Mooney

    INNOVATION Chinese participants stand onboard a giant float with a theme of science and technology moving towards Tiananmen Square for a major rehearsal ahead of the 60th National Day celebrations in Beijing, China, Friday, Sept. 18, 2009.

    Chinese Science Rising?

    There is no reason for us to fear for our scientific advantage, but we should be resolute in cultivating U.S. research, development, and innovation.

    By Jonathan D. Moreno

    SCIENCE, CULTURED green sign with ARRA logo and beaker

    Condoms, Malt Liquor, and Good Research

    Two conservative senators have teamed up in a fleece war on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, targeting 100 of its projects, many of them scientific in nature, as examples of wasteful spending.

    By Chris Mooney

    SCIENCE, CULTURED President Obama peers into a telescope during the Astronomy Night event on the South Lawn of the White House

    The Year in Science, 2009

    It was a banner year for scientific progress and progressive science policy. But sadly, it was also the year for the rebirth of what is now a wide-ranging war on science.

    By Chris Mooney

    BIOETHICS Stephen Jay Gould

    The Areas of Our Expertise

    Evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould famously suggested that science and religion deal with non-overlapping areas of knowledge. The idea is useful for quelling debates about creationism, but it’s a mistake when developing public policy for the life sciences. Why we can’t separate science and ethics.

    By Eric M. Meslin

    H1N1 girl receiving H1N1 vaccine

    Public Relations and Public Health

    The vaccine, while safe and effective, has provided a vehicle for the anti-vaccine movement to launch attacks on some of our most vital tools for protecting public health.

    By Saheli Sadanand

    INNOVATION CLUSTERS hand writing Collaboration on chalkboard

    Bringing New Ideas to Market

    The Obama administration’s push for innovation to boost economic competitiveness requires better strategic links between federal agencies and universities.

    By James J. Zuiches

    BLOGGING COPENHAGEN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Chairman Rajendra Pachauri

    Can Copenhagen Succeed?

    An analysis of the warming in store, and the warming we can hope to prevent, shows that proposed policies will have to stretch to put us in a climate “safe zone”— especially for developing nations.

    By Chris Mooney

    SCIENCE CAREERS engineering students wearing white coats in lab

    Voting with their Wallets

    Although the numbers of young Americans studying science, technology, engineering, or math in high school and college are as strong as ever, the very best of those students are less likely than in decades past to stay in STEM fields when they leave college.

    By Beryl Lieff Benderly

    SCIENCE CAREERS woman working in lab with test tubes

    Get a Life

    Researchers with families need more than childcare. They need a culture of professional assessment that looks for their contributions as teachers, scholars, and citizens—not just an unrelenting rate of work.

    By Dr. Rebecca Bushnell

    NATIONAL SECURITY artist's conception of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite

    The Watchmen and the Scientists

    A comprehensive approach to developing, deploying, and utilizing our eyes in the sky can revolutionize national security and environmental sustainability.

    By Dr. Christopher K. Tucker

    GENOMICS Stethoscope in the shape of a double helix

    Genetic Testing 101

    With new opportunities come questions about how to interpret the avalanche of genetic information and how to protect it from improper use.

    By Michael Rugnetta

    INNOVATION FINANCE film still from Its A Wonderful Life with Clarance Odbody and George Bailey

    Angels Sometimes Need Help, Too

    Early-stage investors in innovation companies—angel investors—and the founders of start-up companies they support financially, warrant investment support. Here’s one intriguing idea.

    By Ed Paisley

    INNOVATION Kyoto, Kiyomizu temple

    Letter from Kyoto

    Rekindling an innovation economy focused on regional clusters would go far to making Americans productive and optimistic again.

    By Jonathan D. Moreno

    PODCAST A student crosses a bridge to arrive to his school, on the background is seen the Rocinha slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Population Matters (And So Does How We Talk About It)

    The relationship between population and environmental sustainability is complex, and understanding the fraught history of debates on the issue is critical for scientists and advocates.

    By Andrew Plemmons Pratt

    PODCAST close up of hands tying on a dark Minitel terminal

    Online Since the ’80s

    The lessons learned from the French Minitel network in the 1980s are still important as the FCC considers net neutrality today. A philosopher of technology talks about the importance of digital democratic innovation.

    By Andrew Light and Andrew Plemmons Pratt

    SCIENCE CAREERS women working in lab at hooded cabinet

    Time for Family, Time for Science

    A significant proportion of American women leave scientific careers between earning their Ph.D. and winning tenure-track positions. Many of these "leaks" in the pipeline are the result of decisions to start families. Changes to federal and university policy can stem the losses, say the authors of a new report.

    Interview by Andrew Plemmons Pratt

    ENVIRONMENT Slums in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Social Justice Can Support Sustainability

    It's time to have a new conversation about population and the environment—one that is grounded in science and guided by values of human rights, equity, and social justice.

    By Laurie Mazur and Shira Saperstein

    GENOMICS scientist working at computer in crime lab

    DNA Confidential

    Most states refrain from prescribing rules governing partial match reporting or familial searching in statute, regulation, or well-publicized memoranda. This report represents the first effort to catalog in a comprehensive manner state policies and practices regarding partial match reporting and familial searching.

    By Natalie Ram

    GENOMICS multicolored state map of DNA policies

    Interactive Map: State Policies for DNA Crime Databases Vary Widely

    Certain “partial” and “familial” matches found in DNA databases can implicate an offender’s close genetic relatives as possible perpetrators of a crime. But there are no consistent federal rules on how to conduct such searchers and report findings.

    By Natalie Ram

    GENOMICS forensic scientist explainig DNA search information on a computer screen

    The Terms for a Search

    State crime labs can collect and analyze DNA evidence, comparing results to profiles stored in the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System. Here’s how the process works.

    By Natalie Ram

    INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY strand of DNA with words Pat. Pending

    Do Gene Patents Hurt Research?

    Controversies over gene patents often ignore the lack of evidence that they impede basic research. The more important concern may be the negative impact of the push to commercialize science.

    By Timothy Caulfield

    PODCAST The Porta Farm settlement in Zimbabwe, where government forces demolished the homes of about 700,000 people in 2005. This image analysis by AAAS shows 870 destroyed structures.  © Copyright 2006 DigitalGlobe Inc.

    Tools for Truth Telling

    Given the Obama administration's positive approach to science and to human rights, a new CAP report argues that now is the time to craft policies that support collaborations between researchers and advocates that stop atrocities. An interview with Sarah Dreier and William Schulz on science in the service of human rights.

    By Andrew Plemmons Pratt

    CLIMATE CHANGE planet Earth with a pipe wrench

    Uncivil Engineering

    A “plan B” focused on planetary control through geoengineering might turn out to be nothing but a mistaken notion.

    By Sanna Joronen and Markku Oksanen

    REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH med students sitting in lecture

    Continuing Medical Education

    With a bold investment of federal resources into clinician education during their academic training years and throughout their careers, we can improve reproductive health care.

    By Wayne C. Shields

    INNOVATION Obama delivering speech on innovation

    The Science of Recovery

    Supporting research and innovation can unleash Americans' talents for discovery and entrepreneurship.

    By Rep. Rush Holt

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