http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/ News and Analysis from the World of Science Policy en Copyright 2009 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:06:32 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee Advances in synthetic biology have prompted fears that terrorists might develop biological weapons by purchasing made-to-order DNA sequences from gene synthesis companies and using them to engineer deadly pathogens. Five of the world's leading gene synthesis companies... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/gene-synthesis.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/gene-synthesis.html Defense Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:06:32 -0500 by Eli Kintisch The secretive JASON group of academic physicists have given a thumbs up to the current program of refurbishing nuclear warheads in the U.S. stockpile instead of building new, more reliable ones. The report should bolster efforts by... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/key-physicists.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/key-physicists.html Defense Physics Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:16:37 -0500 by Greg Miller In the new movie The Men Who Stare at Goats, which opens today in the United States, George Clooney plays a former member of a secret sect of soldiers trained by the U.S. military to deploy a... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/a-philosopher-s.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/a-philosopher-s.html Defense Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:26:59 -0500 http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/congress-asks-d.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/congress-asks-d.html Defense Technology Top Story Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:55:30 -0500 by Richard A. Kerr Before being arrested Monday and charged with trying to sell classified information to an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence agent, planetary physicist Stewart Nozette was on a mission. Fifteen years earlier, he had... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/accused-spy-was.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/accused-spy-was.html Defense Space Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:22:15 -0500 by Erik Stokstad A former government scientist with a top security clearance has been charged with attempted espionage. Stewart David Nozette of Chevy Chase, Maryland, was arrested Monday afternoon and will appear in federal court today. Nozette helped develop... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/space-scientist.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/space-scientist.html Defense Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:02:44 -0500 Lighting up the Internet in India are bizarre allegations that a researcher at the country's premier defense lab was attacked with an ax in a bungled attempt at human sacrifice. But in a press release today, the Defence Research and... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/ultimate-sacrif.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/ultimate-sacrif.html Asia Defense Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:40:23 -0500 by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee A Homeland Security spending bill that received final approval from Congress yesterday will grant the Department of Homeland Security $32 million the next fiscal year to continue planning the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas.... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/hurry-up-and-wa.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/hurry-up-and-wa.html Biomedicine Defense Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:20:26 -0500 The National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) has awarded six $20 million grants for infrastructure to support research including grassland studies in Kansas and Hawaiian environmental monitoring. All 10 campuses of the University of California are... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/roundup-923-goo.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/roundup-923-goo.html Defense Education Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:36:19 -0500 By Yudhijit BhattacharjeeBiodefense researchers in the United States, watch out. A crescendo of concerns over biosecurity and biosafety expressed at different forums today may signal that tougher oversight of research involving dangerous pathogens is around the corner. That includes the... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/lawmakers-offic.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/lawmakers-offic.html Defense Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:43:49 -0500 ... on a Carnegie Mellon University robotics scientist eschewing military cash: I adore such a scientist. It might be difficult, but I believe that it is worth it. On the other hand, loosely speaking, I believe that it looks like... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/from-the-commen.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/from-the-commen.html Budget Defense Education Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:10:45 -0500 by Eli Kintisch Meet the Carnegie Mellon University robotics scientist who has weaned himself off military money—who says that colleagues are quietly contemplating the same decision: [Illah] Nourbakhsh resolved to refuse all military money and choose to work only on... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/why-this-scient.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/why-this-scient.html Defense Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:48:43 -0500 by Eli KintischA few environmental groups have set up an online directory for the public to locate and contact specialists in ecosystem services. Meanwhile, universities have set up Futurity, a new portal for sharing science research news.Today, President Barack... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/roundup-915-tak.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/roundup-915-tak.html Defense Education Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:59:48 -0500 by Gretchen VogelA 20-year-old telegram has heated up Germany's debate over nuclear power in the run-up to parliamentary elections later this month. The telegram seems to substantiate charges that politicians in the government of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl pressured scientists... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/old-evidence-ro.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/old-evidence-ro.html Defense Europe Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:22:39 -0500 The United States currently has 82 viruses and bacteria on its list of select agents, pathogens whose handling requires compliance with a number of safety and security rules mandated by the federal government. A new bill introduced in the U.S.... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/bill-proposes-t.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/bill-proposes-t.html Biomedicine Defense Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:30:13 -0500