A new effort to map global life science innovation clusters, a piece of Obama’s jobs agenda makes progress, and delegates from nearly 200 countries meet in South Africa for global climate change talks.
BOOKS
Rooted deeply in historic fact, Dr. Jason Karlawish’s marvelous new book traces the peculiar career of 19th century clinician-turned-scientist Dr. William Beaumont, who became a scientific one-hit-wonder by exploiting the body of the man who’s life he saved.
SCIENCE IN SOCIETY
Besides his well-known exploits as a printer, diplomat, politician, philosopher, and ladies man, Ben Franklin was also deeply interested in energy efficiency, environmental science, and public health.
BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
Ever wonder how many mice have to die to produce one peer-reviewed medical journal article? Or one new drug? And how much can we really learn about human physiology from mice or other animal experiments anyway? Daniel Engber has authored an excellent, three-part expose at Slate that answers these and other questions about the animal research industry.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
A recent moral intuition study found correlation between indicators of conservative morality and scores on the “Dark Triad” Personality Inventory – a measure of three related “socially destructive” personality traits: Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy.
COMMUNICATING MEDICINE
Scientists who espouse only evidence—without narratives about real people—struggle to control the debate, and typically, they lose.
SCIENCE IN SOCIETY
In addition to being our nation’s first president, George Washington also had a curious mind, leading him to ask questions and conduct experiments to find the truth, something many elected leaders in Washington seem to have forgotten.
CLIMATE SCIENCE
The proposed Climate Service would have made it easier for the government to collect, distribute, and utilize climate data.
BIOETHICS
Why do we have trouble defining what a “person” is? The answer may lie in human evolutionary antiquity, writes Jonathan Moreno in a Huffington Post op-ed.
BIOPOLITICS
Arthur Caplan reports on a closed-door meeting at the Vatican, where Church leadership made it clear it will continue to throw its ethical might and even its money into the debate about where to get stem cells and how best to study them.
SCIENCE POLICY NEWS
A new HHS program will pump up to $1 billion into healthcare technology innovation, at the same time House Republicans threaten to cut by 1/3 the funding for the Office of Science and Technology Policy, a major coordinator of interdepartmental science policy.
CLIMATE SCIENCE
This is part two in James Powell’s series examining the peer-reviewed scientific publications of 115 climate skeptics. His findings: despite ample opportunity, climate skeptics have failed to present any coherent alternative to the theory that carbon emissions are the primary driver of observed warming
INVESTING IN SCIENCE
The House appropriations bill cuts vital science reserach on food safety, technology innovation, agriculture, and rural entrepreneurship, but preserves the corporate jet tax loophole.
SCIENCE IN POLITICS
What would Thomas Jefferson, an avid scientist and enlightenment thinker, have to say about the politicization of science in our day?
SCIENCE POLICY NEWS
This week’s science and technology policy news brief covers intellectual property legislation, a possible alternative to silicon, and a narrowly failed vote in the senate to end the FCC’s net neutrality rules.
CLIMATE SCIENCE
James L. Powell investigates the most prominent climate deniers to see how many of them have actually ever published peer-reviewed papers about climate science.
PODCAST
Ever wonder what Bill Nye the Science Guy has been up to since he left teaching science to children on his popular TV show? Chris Mooney of The Intersection had a chance to catch up with him and find out.
BIOETHICS
So-called “personhood” efforts that are active now in all 50 states represent an attack not only on women’s reproductive rights but also on science.
SCIENCE POLICY NEWS
This week’s science and technology policy news brief covers the changing models of early-stage startup finance, the battle over light bulbs on Capitol Hill, and crowd-funded zombie research.
INNOVATION
An innovative “upstart” company is marketing a new technology to help reduce the 7 billion gallons of drinking water that are wasted each day, showing that profit and social good can go hand in hand.
JOBS AND INNOVATION
A small but promising new federal program aims to help the private sector create thousands of jobs by helping small business, institutions of higher learning, and regional economic development agencies collaborate to innovate.
Science Progress proceeds from the propositions that scientific inquiry is among the finest expressions of human excellence, that it is a crucial source of human flourishing, a critical engine of economic growth, and must be dedicated to the common good. Scientific inquiry entails global responsibilities. It should lead to a more equitable, safer, and healthier future for all of humankind.