Sept. 5, 2014 - This Week's Consolidation of Advocacy News
News
Roundtable Envisions Better Future for U.S. Health Care Innovation
Aug. 29, 2014 | Lancaster Online
As part of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s "21st Century Cures" initiative, Francis Collins, director of NIH, along with a dozen representatives from government agencies, medical institutions, and companies, participated in a roundtable with several members of Congress. The meeting took place in Lancaster County, PA, and focused on the state of the health industry.
- Keep up to date on relevant activities in Congress by joining SfN’s Advocacy Network.
September is National Biosafety Stewardship Month
Sept. 2, 2014 | Science
This year, NIH declared September "National Biosafety Stewardship Month." The declaration offers an opportunity for all the agency’s labs to reinforce their safety practices, policies, and training in order "to optimize further biosafety oversight," and to strengthen partnerships with investigators "to achieve shared biosafety goals."
- Learn more about National Biosafety Stewardship Month on the NIH website.
Medical Research Would be 'Eroded and Lost' by Scottish Independence
Sept. 1, 2014 | The Guardian
Scotland stands on the edge of a major decision about whether to break free from the United Kingdom. A "yes" vote on September 18 will cause many major impacts to the country, including possibly to biomedical research funding. Recently, more than 60 Scottish medical experts specializing in areas such as cancer, neuroscience, and genetics wrote a letter warning that their cutting-edge research would be "eroded and lost" if independence wins due to a "brain drain" of top scientists and possible funding reductions. Proponents of independence, however, claim the new Scottish government will fill the funding gap.
Articles of Interest
Female Alzheimer’s Researchers Unite to Push for Equality, Sex-Specific Studies
Sept. 3, 2014 | The Washington Post
A new group, The Alliance of Women’s Alzheimer’s Researchers (AWARE), was recently formed to encourage increased research on gender-specific effects in Alzheimer’s disease, in light of the fact that two-thirds of people suffering from dementia are women.
Life Outside the Lab: The Ones Who Got Away
Sept. 3, 2014 | Nature News
This article interviews several gifted graduate students who left science to pursue other careers. It explores their motivations for leaving and how their science training helped them in their new career.
- Check out SfN’s Career Paths and Profiles section for more information on a variety of careers in neuroscience.
Why Null Results Rarely See the Light of Day
Aug. 29, 2014 | Science
A new article in Science found that, in social sciences, only a third of null results are written up compared to 96 percent of strong results. The authors recommend a registry to contain all data to avoid wasteful duplication by other researchers.
- eNeuro, SfN’s new journal, accepts manuscripts containing negative results and failures to replicate other studies.
Opinion
Neuroscience: Where is the Brain in the Human Brain Project?
Sept. 3, 2014 | Nature
Launched in October 2013, the Human Brain Project (HBP) was sold by charismatic neurobiologist Henry Markram as a bold new path towards understanding the brain, treating neurological diseases, and building information technology. Yet, the authors claim that the project needs to clarify its goals and establish transparent governance.
- Read more about the Human Brain Project on BrainFacts.org.
Closing the Science Gap
Sept. 2, 2014 | Center for American Progress
The National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE Science) provide a substantial amount of the country’s basic research funding. Although these agencies have a history of bipartisan support, Congress has continued to fall short on meeting funding goals. At a time when so much of the nation’s economic competitiveness hinges on R&D, the cost of the science gap is too high.
