Column
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Assessing the state of U.S. science and engineering
Every two years, the National Science Board reports to the president and Congress about the state of the science landscape. This year’s Science and Engineering Indicators report was presented to the White House on January 15. The chairman of the board’s Science and Engineering Indicators committee, physicist Louis Lanzerotti of the New Jersey Institute of […]
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Making informed decisions about mammograms
In November, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a nongovernmental advisory panel of health experts, recommended that routine mammography for breast cancer screening start at age 50, not 40. It met with a chorus of objections. Lisa Schwartz, a general internist at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice in Lebanon, N.H., investigates […]
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Energy, safety and nuclear capabilities intertwined
On January 1, Charles D. Ferguson became president of the Federation of American Scientists, a nongovernmental organization founded in 1945 by Manhattan Project scientists to promote humanitarian uses of science and technology. Ferguson worked at FAS 10 years ago as director of its nuclear policy project, and he returns after working from 2004 to 2009 […]
- Math
Teaching a computer to spot a bogus Bruegel
Mathematicians apply a technique from vision research to find fake art.
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Powering the national labs as engines of discovery
In May 2009, University of Chicago physicist Eric D. Isaacs took the helm of the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago. Earlier in his career, Isaacs spent 13 years at Bell Laboratories, where he directed semiconductor and materials physics research. Recently, Science News senior editor Janet Raloff spoke with Isaacs about ways to […]
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STEM talent: Moving beyond traditional boundaries
Our future belongs to a new breed of science, technology, engineering and math talent — decidedly different minds that will use the transformative power of science and technology to advance the human condition. STEPHANIE PACE MARSHALL “The nature and quality of our thinking shape who we become.” Photography by Feltes In this age of escalating […]
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Mathematics by collaboration
The Polymath project harnesses the power of the Internet to use massive collaboration to solve a major problem in record time
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Funding science research as a sustained enterprise
At the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in October in Chicago, NIH Director Francis S. Collins discussed NIH funding and answered questions from reporters, including Science News writers Tina Hesman Saey and Laura Sanders.
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From fringe to electromicrobiological mainstream
Trained as a microbiologist, Ken Nealson pursues many interdisciplinary endeavors. He was a pioneer in the field of geomicrobiology and has worked on astrobiology and microbial fuel cells. He holds posts at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and the J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego, where he uses genomics to survey […]
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NATO committee fosters science’s role in security
Not everyone knows about Science for Peace and Security, a NATO committee with a small budget that focuses on funding civil science projects with applications to countering threats. The committee’s goal is developing high-quality knowledge in various areas relevant to antiterrorism, to other threats to security or to the priorities of the Partner Countries of […]
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Snapshots from 25 years of publicizing astronomy
Astronomer and author Stephen P. Maran recently retired from 25 years as press officer for the American Astronomical Society. He also worked at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., for more than 35 years. Known for his Einsteinian hair, along with his quips and insightful comments at press briefings that drew record crowds, […]
- Humans
It’s time to reform work hours for resident physicians
A Harvard Medical School physician and sleep researcher says rules should be changed to make sure physicians-in-training get the sleep they need.
