Reports of ‘mad cow’ disease in United States erupted in the news this week after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed on 24 April that the remains of a California dairy cow had tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). This marks the fourth case of BSE identified in the US, and the first case in six years. Read more
Today in Washington D.C., US Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut revealed that his grandmother was killed by influenza during the 1918 pandemic. This was one reason he has been so interested in a pair of yet-to-be-published papers on laboratory-created H5N1 avian influenza strains that could conceivably prove many times more deadly than the 1918 flu. The other reason for his interest is that he chairs the committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, which had called a hearing to understand how decisions were made about the research’s potential use as an agent of bioterrorism. At the hearing, officials involved in making the decision to publish the research were queried about a letter that was leaked to the press two weeks ago. Read more
The White House today released a “National Bioeconomy Blueprint,” which it calls “a comprehensive approach to harnessing innovations in biological research to address national challenges in health, food, energy, and the environment.” The Blueprint identifies five “strategic imperatives” including investing in research and development, transitioning discoveries to industry, reforming regulations, boosting training, and supporting public-private partnerships. Read more
South Africa’s government will embark on an ambitious PhD training programme to fix the country’s leaky pipeline of health researchers. Read more
Perhaps the most inconvenient thing about global warming is that mainly the poor will have to carry the can. While, for example, the amount of rainfall at wealthy and relatively freshwater-blessed mid and high latitudes is likely to increase as the climate warms, drought-prone regions such as the Sahel zone will likely get even drier. Read more
Science Online New York (SoNYC) encourages audience participation in the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online. To celebrate our first birthday, we are handing the mic over to the audience so that anyone who would like to participate will get five minutes to show off their favourite online tool, application or website that makes science online fun. To complement the celebrations, we’re hosting a series of guest posts on Soapbox Science where a range of scientists share details about what’s in their online science toolkits. Why not let us know how they compare to the tools that you use in the comment threads? Read more
About a year and a half back in September 2010, this picture bagged top honors at the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition in the under-16 category. The photograph will now make it to an official annual book on the competition held by the Royal Observatory of Greenwich, UK. Read more
Science Online New York (SoNYC) encourages audience participation in the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online. To celebrate our first birthday, we are handing the mic over to the audience so that anyone who would like to participate will get five minutes to show off their favourite online tool, application or website that makes science online fun. To complement the celebrations, we’re hosting a series of guest posts on Soapbox Science where a range of scientists share details about what’s in their online science toolkits. Why not let us know how they compare to the tools that you use in the comment threads? Read more
Science Online Bay Area launches! … Read more
Scientists think they have discovered traces of several earlier quakes of similar size to the magnitude 9 Tohoku earthquake that hit Japan in March 2011. Read more
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