Science Progress Issues

08-29-08 | Study the Masters, Grasshopper

By Rick Weiss
Three recent studies propel regenerative medicine forward, but don’t yet move it to the clinic. There is still no better venue for studying cell processes than embryonic stem cells.

08-25-08 | Oversight from Bench to Bedside

By Michael Werner and Hans Smith
Stem cell based research and products are carefully managed at the federal, state, and university level. Efforts to change or strengthen these rules must demonstrate that even more regulation is actually necessary.

08-22-08 | Is Michael Phelps A Sonic Doper?

By Rick Weiss
There are lots of righteous rationales for being against doping, but only one stands up to real scrutiny: the rules say it is not allowed.

08-13-08 | Anthrax and the Mad Scientist

By Chris Mooney
The FBI’s case against Bruce Ivins summons mythical fears of science as a perilous ethical endeavor—and that’s a threat to the image of scientists everywhere.

08-29-08 | Better Patents Through Crowdsourcing

By Nancy Scola
Want to clean up the patent mess? Start by admitting government can’t know everything. Then put the public on the task.

08-07-08 | It’s the Money, Stupid

By Beryl Lieff Benderly
It isn’t a scientist shortage or a poor public education system. It’s the lack of decent-paying, tenured job opportunities for young graduate and postgraduate research scientists.

08-06-08 | A New Mission for American Science

By Chris Mooney
While everybody is talking about energy these days, they’re not necessarily talking about the scientific opportunity so much as the business one. The moment is right for researchers to take up—with a sense of unshaking mission and purpose—the grand cause of a generation.

06-25-08 | From the Lab to the Market

By Ed Paisley and Jennifer Nelson
Five factors influence biotechnology transfer—university policies, economic development agencies, venture capitalists, strategic partners, and financial markets. Understanding each of them is crucial to building regional centers of innovation.

09-03-08 | The Hurricane Election?

By Chris Mooney
If we’re focusing attention on storms in 2008, then let’s also pay serious attention to oft-neglected matters of hurricane preparedness policy.

09-03-08 | Western Forests Face a Flammable Future

By Steve Woodruff
Climate change is driving average temperatures upward, and the unmistakable long-term trend is toward a warmer, drier West. Firefighting alone can’t contend with growing fire danger; investment in strategic fuel reduction is the key.

08-14-08 | Nor Any Drop to Drink?

By Sarah Bates
Federal legislation that would enhance the Environmental Protection Agency’s role in protecting our most valuable resource advances to the Senate.

08-11-08 | Another Intelligence Fiasco

By Henry Kelly, Ph.D.
The President and Congress can’t craft sound energy policy when the EIA mis-predicts oil prices by a factor of two.

08-27-08 | The Standing of Science in America

By Chris Mooney
Americans are confident in the leaders of the scientific community. But are they interested in those leaders’ policy recommendations?

08-20-08 | Of Scares and Scarcity

By Chris Mooney
Is the U.S. really producing fewer and fewer scientists—and is the answer to simply crank out more?

08-05-08 | Open Up

By Molly E. Morgan
The processes of decision making in science policy requires public engagement, participation, and broad-based deliberations. Multicriteria Mapping is a way to ensure the reasoning behind choices made are transparent and well understood.

07-23-08 | Fishing for Answers

By Darlene Cavalier
The old Office of Technology Assessment had answers to Pennsylvania’s shad problem today. That’s only one reason why efforts to revive the congressional office are gaining traction.

09-04-08 | Teach the Controversy

By Jonathan D. Moreno
Crippling our nation’s future economic competitiveness and military preparedness by crimping scientific learning and denigrating authoritative science puts our nation at risk.

08-15-08 | Minding Mental Minefields

By Rick Weiss
A new report from the National Research Council argues that the military should harness the power of neuroscience to amplify the cognitive prowess of U.S. personnel and make foreign soldiers, um, less smarter.

08-12-08 | More Than Meets the Eyes

By Jerome Franck, Ph.D.
Bugs pack an amazing set of capabilities into a very small package. Understanding and mimicking those abilities can allow researchers to shrink the size of autonomous robots to proportions like those of household pests.

06-11-08 | The “What if?” of Dual-Use Research Awareness

By Michael Stebbins, Ph.D.
A clear set of policy guidelines for reporting biosecurity concerns in research labs is clearly in order. Here are some suggestions.