This Week in Science Policy and Advocacy
Policy and Advocacy News
Science Gets a Major Boost in 2018 U.S. Spending Deal
March 21, 2018 | Science
A FY18 omnibus bill was released which would include $37 billion for NIH and $7.8 billion for NSF. An additional $414 million for Alzheimer’s research was also included, bringing the total to $1.8 billion.
- Join the Advocacy Network to stay informed about science policy issues at SfN.org
U.S. Chimp Retirement Gains Momentum, as Famed Pair Enters Sanctuary
March 21, 2018 | Science
Once criticized for its slow retirement of research chimps, the NIH is making progress toward resettling all of its chimps to sanctuaries. The process has been particularly difficult because of frail condition of many of these chimps and concerns of stressing them during transport.
- Find Animals in Research resources at SfN.org
Reporter's Notebook: House Budget Hearing Shows Science Chairman's Impact on NSF Peer Review
March 16, 2018 | Science
In a House science committee hearing on NSF’s 2019 budget request, Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) criticized the peer review process and focused on a handful of grants he saw as a waste of taxpayer money. Smith has long been a proponent of NSF spending more money on computing and they physical science and his persistent criticisms have changed the nature of how NSF does its business as well as caused vocal science defenders, like Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) to emerge.
- Learn about US Advocacy Programs at SfN.org
Chinese Leaders Create Science Mega-Ministry
March 20, 2018 | Nature
The Chinese government recently released plans to expand the powers of the country’s science and technology agency (MOST) as well as merge, restructure, or abolish more than 15 other ministries. The expansion of power has raised concerns over issues such as competing missions and the possibility of weakening support for basic research.
- Engage in global advocacy programs at SfN.org
Opinion
Rethink Public Engagement for Gene Editing
March 21, 2018
This editorial speculates about the public debate that will occur as gene editing applications continue to expand. The author argues that a public engagement structure should be built that assesses which populations likely need to learn more about gene editing, connecting individuals with vested interests, scientists, and policymakers.
- Read about a Congressional briefing on gene editing at BrainFacts.org
Articles of Interest
US Kids' Doodles of Scientists Reveal Changing Gender Stereotypes
March 20, 2018 | Nature
Result from an experiment found that when US kids are asked to draw a scientist, one in three will draw a woman. The findings show a dramatic shift from previous experiments, such as those in the 1960s and 1970s, in which 99.4% of children drew male scientists. Some believe this shift is the result of more women becoming scientist and the mass media featuring more female scientists.
- Find tips for women in science from women in science at Neuronline.org
Babies Think Logically Before They Can Talk
March 15, 2018 | Scientific American
A recent study assessed infants aged 12 to 19 months to determine if logical reasoning depends on language acquisition. When observing infants’ gaze and pupil dilation, researchers found that illogical outcomes were more likely to be fixed upon and could be discerned by infants even before mastering language skills.
- Learn about early brain development at BrainFacts.org
Worn Like a Helmet, a New Brain Scanner Aims to Make it Easier to Treat Kids With Epilepsy
March 21, 2018 | STAT
A portable magnetoencephalography or MEG brain scanner has been developed that will likely be helpful for imaging youth brains and individuals with movement disorders. Existing MEGs are most sensitive when the patient’s head is closest to the device but are made for adults and require patients to be still for a prolonged time. Increasing the flexibility of MEG is important for increasing patients’ accessibility to the technology and has the ability to capture more natural patient behavior.
- Read about MEG at BrainFacts.org
