Author Posts Archive: Jennifer Nelson
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decided on Tuesday in
Sierra Club v. EPA to throw out a rule that prevented states from implementing their own pollution-limiting permits.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research has shut down a program that helps developing nations predict and prepare for natural disasters such as droughts, floods, and cyclones, Andrew Revkin reports in
The New York Times. The program, called the Center for Capacity Building, was created in 2004.
Why did it take almost four months after the first report of a Salmonella St. Paul infection for the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control to find the grower responsible? Two congressional hearings yesterday and today aimed at understanding why this most recent food safety scare took so long to understand.
The House and Senate agreed yesterday to ban three types of phthalates, chemicals that are common in plastics, perfumes, lotions, and shampoos, and that can disrupt normal hormone function.
Three big pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer, Merck, and Eli Lilly, announced last week that they will join forces and create a joint venture called Enlight BioSciences that will help speed drug development. A look at profits and drug approvals.
New research published this week indicates that a genetic mutation prevalent in individuals of African descent may increase susceptibility to HIV infection.
Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) told the attendees as a conference on scientific integrity that the “vigilant protection of the integrity of science” cannot relax after the November elections. But we need to be more vigilant about the science that informs national energy policy now.
A report released today by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation analyzes the evolution of the innovation ecosystem in the United States over the last four decades and argues that in order to encourage innovation most effectively, policymakers must better understand where new ideas come from.
The Red Cross recently released its 2008 Disasters Report, which calls the global HIV/AIDS epidemic a “disaster.” The study devotes a chapter to unraveling the the “complex link” between natural disasters and the spread of HIV.
On Monday President Bush signed a supplemental appropriations bill granting $337.5 million in additional funding to various federal scientific agencies. The support is good news, but the administration should not have neglected the financial health of these vital groups in the first place.
Congress is moving forward to provide $400 million of additional funding for scientific research and education for fiscal year 2008. Last week the House passed legislation allocating the additional dollars to various scientific agencies.
Last week Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) spoke to students about his efforts to facilitate discussions between Congress and top scientists. To make informed policy decisions about scientific issues such as stem cell research, nuclear energy, and global climate change, lawmakers need better scientific advice than what they’re currently receiving.
In response to recent outbreaks of food-borne illnesses, including salmonella-contaminated tomatoes, the Bush administration has asked Congress to add $275 million to the proposed 2009 budget of $2.4 billion for the Food and Drug Administration. But the patch won’t fix a fractured food safety system.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently decided to no longer hold pharmaceutical companies to the standards of the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki while conducting human drug trials. The change poses bioethical dilemmas when U.S. companies conduct trials on foreign soil. Merrill Goozner is currently reporting from Russia, which could become “ground zero” for discussion about the shift in policy.
