If you're in the camp that says the U.S. military is not ridiculously ahead of the rest of the world enough, there is good news. Months ahead of schedule, scientists at Los Alamos National Lab have achieved a breakthrough with the Free Electron Laser (FEL) program, demonstrating an injector capable of producing the electrons needed to generate megawatt-class laser beams for the Navy's next-generation weapon system.
For policy makers and politicians, there is confusion over what peer review is and how it should be used in policy decision making and, really, how improved technology and new science (including any ethics issues) make critical evaluation by the independent peers of those who create advancements more important than ever.
A. Alan Moghissi, president of the Institute for Regulatory Science, and Michael S. Swetnam, of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, write in Technology&Innovation that review criteria must be identified, the process must be transparent, and over reliance on specific peer reviewers must be avoided. Institutional, intellectual and personal conflicts of interest must also be avoided.
Do birth control pills cause weight gain? Virtually since their introduction it was believed to be true but new research conducted at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health&Science University says that is not the case.
To conduct their research, scientists and physicians studied a group of rhesus macaque monkeys at the OHSU Oregon National Primate Research Center for almost a year. Rhesus monkeys were used in this study because their reproductive system is nearly identical to humans. However, unlike human studies, more variables can be controlled and measured – such as exact food intake - to provide more meaningful data.
If you are concerned your child spends too much time playing video games, you're not alone. And you may be right in your worry. A new study says video game "addiction" is a global problem and that greater amounts of gaming, lower social competence and greater impulsivity were risk factors for becoming pathological gamers.
A two-year longitudinal study of 3,034 third through eighth grade students in Singapore found approximately 9% of gamers to be pathological players according to standards similar to those established by the American Psychiatric Association for diagnosing gambling addiction. Serious problems like depression, anxiety, social phobias and lower school performance seemed to be outcomes of their pathological play.
America has been a global powerhouse more due to individual and small group initiative than the large, government projects currently popular. But the U.S. seems to have a widening 'inventor' gap - people who regard themselves as creative and interested in science math and desiring to help society. While the U.S. relies on big funding, Indians make $4 microscopes so everyone can have fun with science and generate interest.
The 2011 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index announced today indicates there is a generational basis for the looming shortfall. Americans aged 16–25 possess creativity, interest in science and math and preference for working in groups or with mentors yet do not regard themselves as inventive.
