Continuing Efforts to Secure Science Funding
Policy
Congressional Testimony Submitted by SfN President
SfN President Diane Lipscombe recently submitted testimony to the committees overseeing NIH and NSF funding. Lipscombe requested that Congress increase NIH funding to $41.6 billion and NSF funding to $9 billion for FY20. The testimony also asked Congress to pass the budget on time to avoid delays in scientific research.
Review of the FY2020 Budget Request for NIH
April 11, 2019 | United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
Watch the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies’ review of the FY2020 budget request for NIH. The hearing covers funding justifications on various topics including precision medicine, opioids, infectious diseases, health and science workforce, brain mapping, and more.
Congressional BRAIN Investigator Reception
April 10, 2019 | Hill Happenings
SfN, along with the American Brain Coalition, the Kavli Foundation, the Simons Foundation, and the Allen Institute, hosted a Congressional BRAIN Investigator Reception on Capitol Hill to celebrate the BRAIN Initiative and the researchers who are advancing our understanding of the brain. Speakers included Senator Chris Van Hollen and Congressional Neuroscience Caucus Co-Chair Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, as well as several NIH and NSF institute directors.
Science Coalition Demands Protection of Research Funding
April 9, 2019 | University World News
The Science Coalition, comprising more than 50 leading private and public research universities in the United States, has urged Congress to protect funding for the “critically important” National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It has warned that core federal research agencies face a US $5 billion cut in funding and NIST’s budget would be cut by US $88 million next year under sequestration cuts.
“We Can't Take Another Hit Like This”: Brazilian Scientists Lament Big Budget Freeze
April 8, 2019 | Science
The latest federal budget news coming out of Brasília has Brazilian scientists fearing the worst. On March 29, faced with a stagnant economy and falling tax revenues, the government announced it was “freezing” nearly 30 billion reais ($7.5 billion) of the country's public funds for the year, including a 2.2 billion reais ($550 million) slice of the science ministry’s budget.
Science in the News
‘Mindreading’ Neurons Simulate Decisions of Social Partners
April 12, 2019 | University of Cambridge
Scientists have identified special types of brain cells that may allow us to simulate the decision-making processes of others, thereby reconstructing their state of mind and predicting their intentions. Dysfunction in these ‘simulation neurons’ may help explain difficulties with social interactions in conditions such as autism and social anxiety.
Opinion: Cutting Animal Research Would Hurt Humans
April 11, 2019 | The Detroit News
Animal research has led to virtually every medical breakthrough that we now take for granted. Consider smallpox, which once ravaged the globe. In the century leading up to 1950, the disease claimed more than 500 million lives. The disease was finally eradicated in 1980 after scientists developed a vaccine thanks to research in cows.
Active Lifestyles May Help Nerves to Heal After Spinal Injuries
April 10, 2019 | Imperial College London
Leading an active lifestyle may increase the likelihood of damaged nerves regenerating after a spinal cord injury. The early-stage findings, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, come from studies in mice and rats with spinal cord injuries, in which scientists uncovered a mechanism for nerve fibres repairing after they had been damaged.
3D-Printed Transparent Skull Shows Brain Activity in Real Time
April 5, 2019 | Interesting Engineering
A newly developed 3D-printed transparent skull implant for mice is now allowing researchers to watch the activity of the entire brain surface in real time. The innovation, called the See-Shell, could provide new insight for human brain conditions such as concussions, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
