Dec. 19, 2014 – This Week's Consolidation of Advocacy News
News
Obama Signs $1.1 Trillion Government Spending Bill
Dec. 17, 2014 | Reuters
President Obama signed the spending bill that was passed by Congress last week. The bill funds most government agencies, including NIH and NSF, through September 2015.
Poll: Majority Supports Ending Sequestration
Dec. 16, 2014 | The Hill
A recent poll of 993 voters found that 73 percent want to partially or fully lift the sequestration caps that were created in 2011. Just over 25 percent of those polled want sequestration kept in place as is.
Science Europe Warns Over Research Funding
Dec. 13, 2014 | Times Higher Education
Science Europe is warning that cuts made to the Horizon 2020 science fund will have a “severe negative impact” on development and economic growth.
Articles of Interest
Scientists Have a Sharing Problem
Dec. 15, 2014 | The Atlantic
Although most scientists support sharing data in theory, most researchers don’t make their own data publically available. This article outlines the obstacles to data sharing, and how it impacts scientific progress.
Paralyzed Woman Can Now Lift Objects With Her Mind-Controlled Robotic Arm
Dec. 17, 2014 | The Washington Post
Jan Scheuermann has been paralyzed from the neck down for years — but thanks to a cutting-edge robotic arm, she can move and lift things with impressive dexterity.
- Read about spinal cord injury at BrainFacts.org.
Birdsong and Human Speech Turn out to be Controlled by the Same Genes
Dec. 11, 2014 | The Washington Post
New research shows that the same genes are involved in human speech and birdsong. This information has resulted from a large effort to map 48 bird genomes.
- Find out more about language at BrainFacts.org.
This Is How Music Can Change Your Brain
Dec. 16, 2014 | Time
A new study shows that kids who are actively engaged in learning an instrument had more improved neural processing than students attending the music class that were not actively engaged.
- Does listening to classical music make you smarter? Read about this neuromyth at BrainFacts.org.
Opinion
NIH Grant Process Boosts Science Through Peer Review
Dec. 14, 2014 | The Columbus Dispatch
This editorial discusses the process of NIH grant review, and the benefits that this process has on scientific research.
Guest Opinion: Foreign Scientists, Engineers Needed
Dec. 16, 2014 | The News-Press
This opinion piece by a retired Pfizer executive discusses how immigration reform needs to address the shortage of visas for skilled workers, including scientists that are educated in the U.S. but cannot stay to work.
