Science Education & Policy

Paul Ehrlich's New Doomsday Problem- Equal Rights For Women

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 ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 15 2013 - 3:24pm

US Science Policy Leaves Out Ways To Improve Science Itself

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,  ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 17 2013 - 11:30am

Genetically Modified Crops Are Overregulated

Despite being in use for almost 20 years with no health or safety issues, controversy continues to surround genetically modified crops and their regulation. Bruce Chassy, a professor emeritus of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illino ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 17 2013 - 9:36pm

The Social Dynamics Of Scientific Collaboration

Science has always had a social component. Much of science is a neutral endeavor for the public good but in modern times the political component has meant navigating treacherous social and environmental policy waters.  Not an easy task when science requir ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 18 2013 - 11:27am

Geoengineering By Committee? Time To Get Totalitarian

Solar geo-engineering is one proposed approach to mitigating the effects of climate change- the idea being to deflect some of the sun's incoming radiation.  Ignoring the technology issues, in a world where countries can't even agree they contrib ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 22 2013 - 12:03pm

Student Loans Help All Graduate, But Women More Than Men

Sociologists have found that student loans provide more help to women than they do for men in encouraging graduation from college but, on average, taking out loans makes graduation more likely for all students. Yet the debt eventually  has diminishing ret ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 21 2013 - 4:21pm

Deficit Thinking- Still A Mistake In Science Outreach

Deficit thinking is the belief by elites that the public is simply unaware of or unable to understand science and that lack of knowledge prevents the right policy decision. It rarely works as a strategy. Scholars at Umeå University in Sweden analyzed publ ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 22 2013 - 12:30pm

Climate Change Runs Up Against Green Fatigue

Environmental activists make money telling us all how terrible things are; climate scientists appreciate the help promoting their data, we do have a bit of a train wreck coming at us emissions-wise, but climate scientists also know there is a risk of backl ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Mar 1 2013 - 11:36am

Survey: Public Supports Government Action On Obese People

A survey analysis finds both that the public is supportive of government action to curb obesity, diabetes, and other noncommunicable diseases- but don't like interventions that appear intrusive or coercive. The Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 4 2013 - 7:24pm

Foodborne Illness Outbreaks- Improving Speed And Accuracy When It Happens

Each year more than 40 million Americans become sick with foodborne infections. Among those who become ill, 128,000 will be hospitalized and 3,000 will die. Foodborne illness also takes a toll on our economy: Broad estimates are that the US loses $77 bill ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 5 2013 - 7:00pm