http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/ News and Analysis from the World of Science Policy en Copyright 2009 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:08:41 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification by Eli Kintisch Scientists and policy experts will meet in March next year for a 5 day meeting to hash out rules for conducting field experiments on the controversial topic of geoengineering, ScienceInsider has learned. Styled after the landmark 1975... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/march-geoengine.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/march-geoengine.html Environment/Climate Top Story geoengineering Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:08:41 -0500 by Jeffrey Mervis Senator Tom Coburn (R–OK) finally got his long-awaited roll-call vote last night to strip out political science research from the 2010 budget of the National Science Foundation. And while his amendment was soundly defeated, 36 to 62,... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/political-scien.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/political-scien.html Budget Top Story Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:08:12 -0500 by Jon Cohen With reporting by Martin Enserink. Although the world’s attention is focused on the novel H1N1 virus causing the swine flu pandemic, H3N2, a seasonal strain of influenza, has popped up in many East Asian countries—and some variants... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/sick-of-swine-f.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/sick-of-swine-f.html Biomedicine Swine Flu Top Story Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:37:14 -0500 Less than 2 years ago, Princeton agriculture expert Tim Searchinger published a paper in Science that sought to quantify how growing biofuels on cropland in the United States could lead to deforestation abroad. He estimated in some cases that... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/sheehan-searchi.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/sheehan-searchi.html Energy Environment/Climate Top Story Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:57:23 -0500 by Greg Miller Can a genetic disorder that derails brain development be cured with a drug? A clinical trial announced today represents the first step towards testing a drug therapy for Fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited cause of... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/could-a-pill-re.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/11/could-a-pill-re.html Biomedicine Top Story Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:21:51 -0500 *The headline of this story has been changed, see note at end.by Yudhijit BhattacharjeeIt's an article of faith: the United States needs more native-born students in science and other technical fields. The National Academies' influential Rising Above the Gathering Storm... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/study-argues-us.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/study-argues-us.html Education Top Story science education stem Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:51:31 -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 Eli KintischReuters on the conclusion of a 3-year case on the disgraced researcher in Korea: "He was guilty of fabrication," the Seoul court said in a verdict in the trial that stretched more than three years and included painstaking... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/no-jail-time-fo.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/no-jail-time-fo.html Top Story Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:48:40 -0500 by Andrew Lawler NASA should consider extending space shuttle launches into 2011 rather than ending the program next fall, flying the international space station at least until 2020, and boosting spending on its flagging technology programs. That’s the verdict of... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/no-nasa-augusti.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/no-nasa-augusti.html Space Top Story augustine Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:52:54 -0500 by Jeffrey Mervis and Adrian Cho Watch out, Large Hadron Collider (LHC)—the U.S. is not quitting the race to find the famed Higgs boson just yet. If all goes as planned, physicists at the last dedicated U.S. particle physics laboratory... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/its-on-god-part.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/its-on-god-part.html Energy Physics Top Story fermilab higgs LHC Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:16:28 -0500 by Eli Kintisch Results are out today from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's yearly report card of states' energy-efficiency policies. No surprise: California leads the way, same as last year. Overall, states are adopting better standards; the average... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/it-takes-energy.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/it-takes-energy.html Energy Top Story energy efficiency Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:18:09 -0500 by Martin Enserink A "distinguished scientist"—and for the first time not a civil servant—will become the next head of the European Research Council. ScienceInsider has learned that the European Commission will announce on Thursday that it has heeded the advice... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/science-in-char.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/science-in-char.html Europe Top Story ERC Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:33:16 -0500 by John Travis LONDON—A call for more money for agricultural science and greater attention to soil management and irrigation schemes? With recommendations such as those in a new report on how to address the world's growing demand for food, it’s... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/royal-society-r.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/royal-society-r.html Europe Top Story Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:24:50 -0500 by Eli Kintisch The U.S. Congress will explore deliberate tinkering with the climate in its first ever hearing on geoengineering early next month, ScienceInsider has learned.Congressional committees have shied away from focusing hearings on the controversial topic until now. One... http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/exclusive-house.html http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/10/exclusive-house.html Environment/Climate Top Story climate research geoengineering Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:37:22 -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