FY2020 House Funding Proposal for NSF
Policy
Appropriations Subcommittee Approves Fiscal Year 2020 Commerce-Justice-Science Funding Bill
May 17, 2019 | House Committee on Appropriations
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies today approved by voice vote its fiscal year 2020 bill. The legislation contains $73.895 billion in discretionary budget authority, an increase of $9.78 billion above the fiscal year 2019 level. The bill next heads to the full Committee for markup.
Europe’s Premier Research Funder Appoints New President
May 14, 2019 | Nature
Nanobiologist Mauro Ferrari will become president of the European Research Council (ERC), the European Union’s premier funder of basic research. Ferrari’s appointment comes as the agency faces challenges to its budget, which cannot currently cover all of the grants that evaluators deem fundable.
NIH Fears Good-Government Bill Would Hamper Peer Review
May 13, 2019 | Science
The much-admired system to review grant proposals at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, has become the latest flashpoint in a long-running battle between Congress and the executive branch over how the U.S. government manages advisory bodies.
Diverse STEM Workforce Needed to Preserve U.S. Competitiveness
May 10, 2019 | American Association for the Advancement of Science
U.S. innovation has long drawn inspiration from a mix of scientific disciplines, academic institutions, research laboratories and industries, yet the scientific enterprise’s workforce lacks diversity of another sort, according to testimony before a House panel on May 9.
Second Place America? Increasing Challenges to U.S. Scientific Leadership: 2019 Benchmarks
May 7, 2019 | Task Force on American Innovation
The US share of global R&D is diminishing while China is on track to surpass the US in R&D expenditures. South Korea, Germany, the United Kingdom and China all have created national strategies to increase government investment in science research. To help sustain US leadership, the report calls for increased federal investments in scientific research and human capital.
Science in the News
Primal Fear: Can Monkeys Help Unlock the Secrets of Trauma?
May 15, 2019 | New York Times
On Valentine’s Day, 2018, five months after Hurricane Maria made landfall, Daniel Phillips stood at the edge of a denuded forest on the eastern half of a 38-acre island known as Cayo Santiago, a clipboard in his hand, his eyes on the monkeys. The island sits about a half-mile off the southeast coast of Puerto Rico, near a village called Punta Santiago. Phillips and his co-workers left the mainland shortly after dawn, and the monkeys had already begun to gather by the time they arrived, their screams and oddly birdlike chirps louder than the low rumble of the motorboat that ferried the humans.
Abbott, NIH Collaborate on Neuroscience Research
May 15, 2019 | MedTech Dive
Abbott said Monday it will partner with the National Institutes of Health on research into neurostimulation therapies for brain disorders, contributing its neuromodulation technologies as part of the agreement. The collaboration will tie into NIH’s BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) initiative, an ambitious multi-agency project launched under the Obama administration focused on speeding research in areas including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, autism, epilepsy, schizophrenia, depression and traumatic brain injury.
Animal Research: Perceptions vs Reality
May 14, 2019 | Foundation for Biomedical Research
The Foundation of Biomedical Research (FBR) announced its newest resource aimed at tackling the myths surrounding animal research. This digital flipbook is aimed at educating readers to the true and proven facts about the benefits and successful results animal research has provided.
