Aug. 8, 2014 - This Week's Consolidation of Advocacy News
News
Prominent U.S. Research Institutions Announce Collaboration Toward Sharing and Standardizing Neuroscience Data
Aug. 4, 2014 | CNN Money
Several prominent research organizations including UC Berkeley, California Institute of Technology, New York University School of Medicine, and other medical research institutes, joined forces to create “Neurodata without Borders” which hopes to create an international standard for data sharing in neuroscience.
- Learn more about eNeuro, SfN's new open-access journal.
NIH to Launch Early Ebola Vaccine Trial in September
July 31, 2014 | USA Today
The U.S. will launch an early-stage trial in September of an experimental vaccine against Ebola. The National Institutes of Health has been developing an Ebola vaccine for several years that has had "encouraging results" in primates, says Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci said he's working with the Food and Drug Administration to fast track the vaccine into a phase 1 clinical trial.
- Make the case for increased NIH funding that supports all health and discoveries with this fact sheet.
Against All Odds: Women in Developing Countries Succeed in STEM Fields
Aug. 5, 2014 | U.S. News
It’s difficult, but women in developing countries are succeeding in science. New programs help women break through the several obstacles that remain for women starting their career, including glass ceilings, lack of child care, and cultural obstacles against women in science. Also, a focus on education and literacy rates for younger girls helps to foster the next generation of women in science.
- Check out the Increasing Women in Neuroscience (IWiN) program to see how SfN is working to increase gender diversity in the field.
In Science, It Matters That Women Come Last
Aug. 5, 2014 | FiveThirtyEight
Emma Pierson analyzed authorship trends in almost 1 million papers from arXiv’s database and found that, while women have gained increasing representation over the past 23 years, female academics still publish fewer papers than male ones. The author praises the rise of big data in making these analyses possible.
- Attend the Celebration of Women in Neuroscience Luncheon at Neuroscience 2014.
Articles of Interest
IBM Chip Processes Data Similar to the Way Your Brain Does
Aug. 7, 2014 | MIT Technology Review
IBM’s new SyNapse computer chip is configured to mimic the way the brain processes information. The chip has over five billion processors but consumes up to 10,000 times less power than comparable server chips. It is described in the August 8 issue of Science.
- Watch Jeff Hawkins talk about how brain science will change computing on BrainFacts.org.
Young Scientists Use Crowd Sourcing to Fund Their Research
Aug. 7, 2014 | The Sydney Morning Herald
In this era of declining public funding, scientists are getting creative in finding alternative sources of funding, such as crowd sourcing, for their research.
- For more on this topic, attend the Public Advocacy Forum: “Implications for Science Funding in an Era of Global Brain Initiatives” at Neuroscience 2014.
Shared Brain Activity Predicts Audience Preferences
July 31, 2014 | The Guardian
A study in Nature Communications found that video that produced similar brain activity across small groups of people can predict a larger audience’s response to the same film clips. These results add some support to “neuromarketing” claims that fMRI and other brain imaging techniques can provide insight into consumer preferences.
- Read more about neuroscience in society at BrainFacts.org.
Opinion
Shift in Research Strategy Needed to Forestall Ills of Aging
Aug. 1, 2014 | Medscape Medical News
Recent commentary published in Nature argues that with the global population aging, research agendas should shift from disease-specific approaches to developing interventions that delay or prevent common ailments. John Trojanowski, director of the University of Pennsylvania Institute on Aging in Philadelphia and an Alzheimer's expert, has added his opinion, "These are concepts are worth discussing, but there's not much evidence to point to."
- To learn more about aging and the brain, visit BrainFacts.org
Expert Reaction to Norman Baker’s Comments on Animal Research
July 31, 2014 | Science Media Center
Last week, BBC News reported that Norman Baker, minister of state at the Home Office, said he wants to see an end to animal testing in the UK. Read what Charles Kernahan, interim chief executive of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), and Wendy Jarrett, chief executive of Understanding Animal Research, think about this.
- For information about the necessity of animal research and the contributions animal models have made to health and medical discovery, visit BrainFacts.org/animals.
