Issues in Science and Technology articles from March 2008

Issues in Science and Technology archives from March 2008

Science in the developing world.(FORUM)
March 22, 2008... Mohamed H. A. Hassan is a great spokesman for the role that science, technology, and innovation (ST & I) can play in facilitating the development of the less developed part of our world ("Global Science Gaps Need Global Action," Issues, Winter...

Dealing with disability.(FORUM)
March 22, 2008... Marilyn J. Field and Alan M. Jette call on the nation to strengthen its commitment to accommodate the needs of its disabled citizens ("Dealing with Disability," Issues, Winter 2008). One of the barriers to such a commitment, they note, is...

Gone fishing.(FORUM)
March 22, 2008... David Festa, Diane Regas, and Judson Boomhower's compelling account "Sharing the Catch, Conserving the Fish" (Issues, Winter 2008) echoes mounting theoretical and empirical evidence on the powerful ability of economic incentives to provide...

Innovation in poor countries.(FORUM)
March 22, 2008... At the World Economic Forum, Bill Gates spoke about creative capitalism as an approach that combines business principles, government policies, and nonprofit activism as a way to expand the reach of market forces so people can participate in the...

Racial disparities at birth.(FORUM)
March 22, 2008... In "Racial Disparities at Birth: The Puzzle Persists" (Issues, Winter 2008), Paula Braveman does a superb job of outlining the case for discrimination as a source of disparities in birth outcomes. As Braveman ably argues, many of the "usual...

Energy in all directions.(FORUM)
March 22, 2008... The excellent and interesting set of articles about U.S. energy policy in the Winter 2008 Issues (headed "Ending the Inertia on Energy Policy") probably went to press before the recent congressional passage of an energy bill. The articles refer...

Bipartisan environmentalism.(FORUM)(Brief article)
March 22, 2008... Newt Gingrich and Terry L. Maple offer a welcome and thought-provoking set of ideas to tackle the nation's and the world's major environmental problems ("Forging a New, Bipartisan Environmental Movement," Issues, Winter 2008). Their call for a...

Open access.(FORUM)
March 22, 2008... There can be no doubt that technology provides the means to better connect developing-country scientists to the larger scientific community. In "Open Access to Research for the Developing World" (Issues, Winter 2008), Matthew J. Cockerill and...

Freedom of speech.(FORUM)
March 22, 2008... In "Freedom of Speech in Government Science" (Issues, Winter 2008), David B. Resnik raises troubling issues about the politicization of government science and threats to the freedom of speech of government scientists. The issue is complicated...

Bush proposes 3.3% increase in FY 2009 R & D budget.(FROM THE HILL)(George W. Bush, research and development)
March 22, 2008... After a rocky end to the fiscal year (FY) 2008 appropriations process, in which R & D funding was hit hard, President Bush on February 4 released a proposed budget of $3.1 trillion for FY 2009. The president's budget includes increases for the...

Energy bill boosting CAFE standards approved.(FROM THE HILL)(Corporate Average Fuel Economy )(Brief article)
March 22, 2008... In December, Congress approved and President Bush signed an energy bill that will increase motor vehicle fuel-economy standards and boost ethanol production. However, more ambitious energy proposals, supported mostly by Democrats, were...

Report faults food-safety agency.(FROM THE HILL)(Food and Drug Administration)
March 22, 2008... A report released in November 2007 says that budget woes at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have resulted in the agency falling behind not only on the growing number of tasks in its purview but also on advances in research and...

Oil lease sales begin despite polar bear concerns.(FROM THE HILL)(Brief article)
March 22, 2008... The Department of Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) said on February 2 that it would proceed with the sales of leases for oil drilling in the Chukchi Sea, off the northern coast of Alaska, starting on February 6. The announcement...

EPA denies California emissions waiver.(FROM THE HILL)(Environmental Protection Agency)(Brief article)
March 22, 2008... On December 19, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied California permission to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles. EPA administrator Stephen L. Johnson said the agency would not grant a waiver under its Clean Air...

Climate change bills advance in Senate.(FROM THE HILL)
March 22, 2008... In December Senate committees approved four bills dealing with climate change, including a bill designed to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change and a bill aimed at adapting to climate change. On December 5,...

EPA launches nanotechnology program.(FROM THE HILL)(Environmental Protection Agency )(Brief article)
March 22, 2008... Despite public reservations, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on January 28 unveiled a new program aimed at improving the agency's understanding of existing nanoscale materials and providing a basis for possible future regulations. ...

A new system for preventing bridge collapses.(PERSPECTIVES)
March 22, 2008... On August 1, 2007, the eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapsed catastrophically during rush hour, killing 13 people and severing a crucial connection across the Mississippi River. Before an investigation even had...

The R & D future of intelligence; The U.S. intelligence community faces a changing landscape. Here is a blueprint for how it can best harness the potential of technology. One key: foster risk-taking.(research and development)
March 22, 2008... The United States has long depended on its capability to develop and use technology for collecting and analyzing intelligence in order to protect national security. Indeed, the intelligence community has a remarkable record in R & D. Among its...

Asian successes vs. Middle Eastern failures: the role of technology transfer in economic development; The differences between the two regions in their openness to trade, investment, and new ideas could not be more striking, nor could the economic consequences be more stark.(Company overview)
March 22, 2008... In 1960, Korea, Taiwan, Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt were in roughly the same economic position. Average per capita income was about $1,500 in 1995 U.S. dollars, and none of these countries had significant manufacturing capacity...

Time to act on health care costs: near-term changes to the consumer and provider sides of health care financing are essential to prevent the nation from being overwhelmed by rapidly rising health care expenditures.
March 22, 2008... Popular discussions of the long-term fiscal challenges confronting the United States usually misdiagnose the problem. They typically focus on the government expenses related to the aging of the baby boomers, with lower fertility rates and...

Learning to deliver better health care: rigorous study of the most effective ways to deliver care as well as what care works best can result in not only better treatment but also significant cost savings.
March 22, 2008... Most Americans assume that the health care they receive is determined by firm medical evidence, that the practice of medicine is fundamentally scientific. But this is far from true. For over 30 years, John Wennberg and others have been...

From medical malpractice to quality assurance: a properly designed malpractice insurance system could actually decrease the prevalence of errors and enhance the overall level of care.
March 22, 2008... Every decade or so, the United States is seized with a fervor to reform medical malpractice. Unfortunately, this zest is typically motivated by circumstances that have little to do with the fundamental problems of medical malpractice, and the...

Animal migration: an endangered phenomenon? Timely international action can sustain this inspiring natural process before it becomes a crisis.
March 22, 2008... Animal migrations are among the world's most visible and inspiring natural phenomena. Whether it's a farmer in Nebraska who stops his tractor on a cold March morning to watch a flock of sandhill cranes passing overhead or a Maasai pastoralist...

Strengthening nuclear safeguards: urgent action is needed to shore up the ability of the International Atomic Energy Agency to detect nuclear weapons programs and safeguard peaceful nuclear programs.
March 22, 2008... As events in Iran and elsewhere illustrate, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is confronting a crisis in its ability to detect nuclear weapons programs and to safeguard peaceful nuclear programs. This crisis stems from a number of...

Spring 2008 public program highlights coast to coast.(Brief article)(Calendar)
March 22, 2008... Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences nationalacademies.org/arts Exhibitions and lectures exploring the intersections of art, science, and culture Closes April 1 Jill Greenberg: Monkey Portraits Closes...

Can the bomb be banned?(The Seventh Decade: The New Shape of Nuclear Danger)(Book review)
March 22, 2008... The Seventh Decade: The New Shape of Nuclear Danger by Jonathan Schell, New York: Henry Holt and Co./Metropolitan Books, 2007, 272 pp. Since the publication of his 1982 book The Fate of the World, a dark vision of the horrors of...

Environmental stalemate?
March 22, 2008... American Environmental Policy 1990-2006: Beyond Gridlock by Christopher McGrory Klyza and David Sousa. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2008, 408 pp. The past decade and a half have been marked by bitter battles over environmental policy,...

Golgi's Door.(ARCHIVES)(Camillo Golgi )(Brief article)
March 22, 2008... In 1873, Italian physician and scientist Camillo Golgi developed a method of staining nerve tissue that made the complex networking structure of the brain visible. What became known as Golgi's method was later used by Spanish neuroanatomist...