Given the enormous increase in government funding and control of science and technology in the U.S. during the last few decades, it is surprising that more attention isn't paid to the policy decisions that drive the enterprise, said Daniel Sarewitz, 
Arizona State University
co-director of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes (CSPO) at the AAAS meeting in Boston. What appears to be missing from the equation, he added, is a focus on outcomes. 

Sarewitz has commented for more than 20 years on science policy, dating back to his time working on Capitol Hill as a staff member for former Democratic congressman George E. Brown, Jr., and has written numerous articles and books on this subject. 

The National Football League is facing lawsuits by 4,000 former players who allege the organizations failed to protect them from the long-term consequences of concussions.

A psychologist that consulted with the Montreal Canadiens hockey team and treated players with concussions for 15 years undertook research into the effects of concussions on children and young athletes as well as older athletes. 

To study the effects of concussions,
Dr. Maryse Lassonde, a neuropsychologist and the scientific director of the Quebec Nature and Technologies Granting Agency
had athletes perform specific visual and auditory tasks and also mapped their brains with the help of EEG and MRI equipment, in addition to testing brain chemistry.

Heightened regulation, increased lawsuits and a resulting lack of venture capital has meant the western pharmaceutical industry faces a looming crisis but companies outside America and Europe may pick up the slack - new targets/drugs remain an evergreen medical idea elsewhere, especially to address the unmet need of drug resistance in the treatment of cancer.  

Bisphenol A, widely known as BPA, has recently become a controversial science issue, along with climate change and every food, energy and medicine study. In the modern world, the only legitimate science is the science that agrees with well-funded activist organizations. BPA is a component of plastic bottles and canned food linings that have helped make the world's food supply safer but has recently come under attack because some studies have found it has the potential to mimic the sex hormone estrogen if blood and tissue levels are high enough.

An analysis of almost 150 BPA exposure studies shows that in the general population, people's exposure may be many times too low for BPA to effectively mimic estrogen in the human body. 

The world produces a lot of food, but it is not produced equally. Agriculturally rich areas like American and Europe can fret about whether natural or synthetic toxins are on their food, and how much water a toilet flush should be, while a billion people elsewhere have inconsistent diets.

Paul Ehrlich, legendary doomsday prophet, now has a new concern that will kill the planet if it is not addressed - equal rights for women. 

A group of political scientists says a growing field of research has found links to genetics and political preferences - well, sort of.