Weekly Advocacy News Roundup
News
Committee Approves Bill to Promote U.S. Scientific Leadership
April 22, 2015 | Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Press Releases
After committee markups, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee approved the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, part of which addresses aspects of the NSF. Democratic members of the Committee have introduced an alternate version of the bill.
- Learn more about committees in the U.S. Congress that are relevant to neuroscience funding at SfN.org.
Updated: Judge’s Ruling Grants Legal Right to Research Chimp
April 20, 2015 | Science Insider
A New York court order that appeared to grant chimpanzees some legal rights has been amended, suggesting that the court has not made a decision on whether two research animals at Stony Brook University should be recognized as legal persons.
- Find information about the use of animals in research at SfN.org.
Germany’s Researchers Welcome €5-billion Funding Boost
April 17, 2015 | Nature News
Germany’s ruling political parties agreed to put €5-billion more into science from 2018-2028, with most of the money going towards the Excellence Initiative that aims to improve university research and training.
- Read about neuroscience funding globally at SfN.org.
Blunt Wants to Boost Funding for National Institutes of Health
April 20, 2015 | St. Louis Public Radio
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that handles NIH funding, voiced his support for research funding during a visit to Washington University’s Alzheimer’s Research Center.
- Learn more about neuroscience funding through NIH at SfN.org.
Articles of Interest
How Einstein’s Brain Ended Up at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia
April 17, 2015 | Smithsonian
The Mutter Museum is the only permanent place to see pieces of Albert Einstein’s brain, and ended up there after the pathologist performing his autopsy took the brain without permission.
- Read more about neuroanatomy at BrainFacts.org.
A Q&A with the Institute for Research on Innovation & Science
April 20, 2015 | AAAS
Dr. Jason Owen-Smith and E.J. Reedy, part of a new research program called the Institute for Research on Innovation & Science, discuss how the program aims to develop metrics to further our understanding of the science and innovation system.
- Find information on U.S. advocacy programs at SfN.org.
Opinion
Double the NIH Budget
April 22, 2015 | The New York Times
Newt Gingrich discusses how funding basic research is an investment that can help lower health care costs and can “transform our fiscal health, and our personal health, too.”
- Find science funding advocacy tools at SfN.org.
Contentious Markup Expected Today as House Science Panel Takes Up COMPETES
April 22, 2015 | Science Insider
Science Insider discusses the contentious America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, which has funding levels for many research agencies, including NSF, that “depart sharply” from President Obama’s FY2016 budget request.
- Visit the Advocacy Network to stay informed and take action on issues that affect neuroscience research at SfN.org.
Bibliometrics: The Leiden Manifesto for Research Metrics
April 22, 2015 | Nature News
A group of researchers present the Leiden Manifesto, which consists of ten principles that can be used to guide research evaluation.
- Learn more about publishing your research at SfN.org.
