Issues in Science and Technology articles from December 2000

Issues in Science and Technology archives from December 2000

Biotechnology regulation.
December 22, 2000... Henry I. Miller and Gregory Conko's conclusion that global biotechnology regulation should be guided by science, not unsubstantiated fears, represents a balanced approach to the risks and benefits of biotechnology ("The Science of Biotechnology...

Research Reconsidered.(conference on basic and applied research)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Basic ? Applied? Who knows, who cares? Let's move on to more interesting and important questions. A group of experienced analysts and practitioners of science policy gathered in Washington in late November to discuss the theme of "Basic...

FY 2001 will be a banner year for federal research programs.(fiscal year, omnibus appropriations bill)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... On December 15, more than two months into fiscal year (FY) 2001, President Clinton and the 106th Congress finally reached agreement on FY 2001 appropriations. The final agreement will result in a banner year for federal research programs. ...

NIH issues guidelines for human stem cell research.(National Institutes of Health)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... On August 25, after nine months of sorting through approximately 50,000 comments, NIH issued final guidelines for federally funded research utilizing human pluripotent stem cells derived from human embryos and fetal tissue. The NIH Health...

Funding for troubled laser facility approved.(National Ignition Facility )(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Despite a host of technical and administrative problems and a critical General Accounting Office (GAO) report, Congress has approved $199 million for construction of the National Ignition Facility (NIF), $10 million less than DOE's request. ...

Senate approves bill to expand S&T spending, but House balks.(science and technology )(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... For the third year in a row, the Senate has approved a bipartisan bill that would authorize increased funding for basic research for a five-year period. However, the House has refused to go along, citing diminution of its legislative authority....

Glenn commission calls for math and science education overhaul.(John Glenn)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... A report from a commission chaired by former senator and astronaut John Glenn calls for a major national effort to improve math and science education. Declaring the current state "unacceptable," the report sets out a detailed plan for...

Bid to improve math and science education programs fails.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... The National Science Education Act (H.R. 4271), a bipartisan package of reforms designed to improve science and math education, failed to pass the House in October after lobbying by the major teachers' unions. The National Education Association...

Filling the Policy Vacuum Created by OTA's Demise.(United States. Office of Technology Assessment)
December 22, 2000... The first president and and the first Congress of the new millennium are taking office in January. This has inevitably generated media speculation about how the rapid pace of technological change will create particularly thorny challenges for...

INSIGHT on Estate Planning.
December 22, 2000... A quarterly newsletter on estate planning and planned charitable giving, provided as a service by the Planned Giving Program of the National Academies Putting Your Values at the Center of Your Estate Plan Estate planning is not...

Expanding the Mission of State Economic Development.
December 22, 2000... State technology pro grams need to extend their reach to give more people the skills needed for the new economy. State technology-based economic development (TED) programs need an integrated dual agenda. Most states have two quite different...

Information Warfare: Time to Prepare.
December 22, 2000... Cooperation between the government and industry is essential to protecting the nation 's information infrastructure. During the past several years, military officials have become concerned about the possibility that a foreign adversary...

Just Say No to Greenhouse Gas Emissions Targets.(The Kyoto Protocol)
December 22, 2000... The Kyoto Protocol's targets are impeding our efforts to deal with climate change. The emissions targets of the Kyoto Protocol are dead, and the international community should let them rest in peace. Diplomatic necessity may require that...

Transportation Safety.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Few topics in transportation are of greater significance, now and in the future, than highway safety. In the developed world, highway crashes constitute a major public health problem; in the United States, they are the leading cause of injury...

Using Safety Labels to Make Cars Safer.
December 22, 2000... Providing buyers with an overall assessment of a vehicle crashworthiness would prod manufacturers to make better cars. What is the best way to make cars safer? As in the case of reducing environmental risks, the traditional strategy has...

Civilizing the Sport Utility Vehicle.
December 22, 2000... We can reduce the health, safety, and environmental risks of light trucks without decreasing their advantages for consumers. Now that the media craze about the Firestone-Ford tire and sport utility vehicle (SUV) controversy is winding down,...

Too Old to Drive?
December 22, 2000... We must provide the elderly with easy mobility while protecting them from driving risks. For every mile they drive, people age 75 or older are more likely to be seriously injured or killed in an automobile accident than are drivers in any...

Auto Safety and Human Adaptation.
December 22, 2000... The effectiveness of new high-tech auto safety devices will depend on how drivers use them. Vehicle manufacturers around the world are spending large sums of money to develop sophisticated new safety devices. Anti-lock brakes were one of...

Improving Air Safety: Long-Term Challenges.
December 22, 2000... Aviation industry growth and change will likely result in safety threats different from those of the past. Air travel in the United States has seen dramatic improvements in safety in the past 50 years. Through the cooperative efforts of...

Fatalities by Transportation Mode.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... Fatalities by Transportation Mode Mode 1970 1980 1990 1995 1998 Large air carrier 146 1 39 168 1 Commuter air N 37 7 9 0 On-demand...

Injuries by Transportation Mode.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... Injuries by Transportation Mode Mode 1970 1980 1990 1995 1998 Air carrier [a] 107 19 29 [R] 25 28 Commuter carrier [a] N ...

Total Fatalities in Traffic Crashes: 1998.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... Total Fatalities in Traffic Crashes: 1998 Drivers/occupants killed in single-vehicle crashes 15.724 Pedestrians killed in single-vehicle crashes 4.795 Pedalcyclists killed in single-vehicle crashes 737 ...

Various rates for a number of countries.(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... Various rates for a number of countries Vehicles per Deaths per Deaths per Deaths Data Country 1000 people 1000 vehicles million pop. per year year USA 777 0.21 ...

Voodoo science.(Review)
December 22, 2000... Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud, by Robert Park New York: Oxford University Press, 2000, 230 pp. A former boss of mine, then-White House Science Advisor Jack Gibbons, used to tell the story of an aging despot who called...

Public health crisis.(Review)
December 22, 2000... Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health, by Laurie Garrett. New York: Hyperion, 2000, 754 pp. Laurie Garrett, author of The Coming Plague and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for her reporting of the 1995 outbreak of the Ebola...

Simon Flexner.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Simon Flexner (1863-1946), like his brother Abraham Flexner, was a prime mover in U.S. medical education and research. At the same time that Abraham's 1910 book on medical education was stimulating widespread reform in medical schools, Simon...