http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/ News and Analysis from the World of Science Policy en Copyright 2009 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:37:00 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification by Constance Holden Social and behavioral research is finally getting some of the high-level attention it has sought for years at the National Institutes of Health. Yesterday NIH Director Francis Collins announced that $10 million in recovery money will go... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/nih-undergoes-b.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/nih-undergoes-b.html Biomedicine Physical Science Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:37:00 -0500 by Daniel Clery The scientific and engineering team building the ITER fusion reactor was hoping for a green light today for its final design, schedule, and cost estimate, but given the project has a pricetag in the billions of euros... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/iter-fusion-rea.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/iter-fusion-rea.html Budget Physical Science Top Story fusion ITER Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:27:44 -0500 by Jeffrey Mervis Has science become a one-party issue in Congress? A coalition of university organizations with a new Web site touting the benefits to the country from the $21 billion being spent on basic research via the American Recovery... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/pelosi-leads-pa.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/pelosi-leads-pa.html Budget Physical Science Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:19:02 -0500 With both houses of Congress getting ready to take up legislation to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act, a new poll out today reveals that most Republicans and Independents, as well as Democrats, say that existing chemical control laws in... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/roundup-1112-th.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/roundup-1112-th.html Physical Science Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:06:09 -0500 http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/end-of-the-line.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/end-of-the-line.html Physical Science Space Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:41:38 -0500 by Jeffrey MervisThe American Institute of Physics is looking for undergraduates with Potomac Fever. The new AIP Mather Public Policy Intern Program aims to broaden the institute's summer research internships to include students interested in science policy. It is funded... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/new-policy-inte.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/new-policy-inte.html Education Physical Science Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:29:15 -0500 by Adrian ChoAdléne Hicheur, the French physicist arrested 8 October on charges of having ties to Algerian terrorists, did not hide his religious convictions. The acknowledgements in his 2003 doctoral thesis in particle physics begin: “First of all, I would... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/colleagues-offe.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/colleagues-offe.html Physical Science Top Story Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:15:37 -0500 by Jeffrey Mervis The nominees to head the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) at the Department of Energy breezed through their joint Senate confirmation hearing this morning. But the 1-hour hearing gave Marcia... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/congress-goes-e.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/congress-goes-e.html Energy Physical Science White House Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:41:44 -0500 by Jeffrey Mervis President Barack Obama spent time yesterday looking at the stars—both real and those in the scientific firmament. In a formal ceremony in the East Room of the White House, the president honored this year's winners of the... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/obama-honors-sc.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/obama-honors-sc.html Physical Science Space Technology White House Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:15:41 -0500 by Jeffrey Mervis A senior U.S. National Institutes of Health official took a step toward mending fences with the chair of the Senate Small Business Committee today by assuring her that the agency is doing its best to give small... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/landrieu-the-bu.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/landrieu-the-bu.html Physical Science Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:00:19 -0500 by Eli Kintisch The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a $33.5 billion spending bill for energy and water spending in fiscal year 2010, and Senate action could come next week. In the joint House-Senate spending bill that was hammered... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/us-physical-sci.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/us-physical-sci.html Budget Physical Science Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:42:34 -0500 by Eli Kintisch In Part I, ScienceInsider interviewed a fire investigator on the topic of arson and forensic science in the United States, an issue brought to the forefront by the controversial execution of Todd Willingham in Texas in 2004.... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/forensic-scienc-1.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/forensic-scienc-1.html Physical Science Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:33:02 -0500 by Eli Kintisch In February, a landmark report by the National Research Council (NRC) in February criticized nearly every aspect of the nation's forensics science system, including unreliable techniques for analyzing hair and DNA samples—a problem the U.S. Senate has... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/forensic-scienc.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/forensic-scienc.html Physical Science Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:10:00 -0500 Two workhorses of the U.S. Antarctic research program may need to be put out to pasture because the fuel they burn is likely to be banned from the Southern Ocean. Officials at the National Science Foundation, which runs the program,... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/08/impending-ban-o.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/08/impending-ban-o.html Environment/Climate Physical Science Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:17:52 -0500 A former employee at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Palo Alto, California, was arrested Monday for allegedly destroying at least 4000 protein crystal samples by removing them from cryogenic containers at the lab and leaving them out to thaw.... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/07/slac-worker-acc.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/07/slac-worker-acc.html Biomedicine Physical Science Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:27:26 -0500