Science Education & Policy

US Leads The World In Science And Technology

Critics may say the US is losing its competitive edge but nonetheless she remains dominant in science and technology worldwide by a large margin, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today. The United States accounts for 40 percent of the total wor ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 12 2008 - 12:45am

Americans Lacked Confidence In The Food Safety System Even Before The Tomato Scare

Genetically modified foods are the enemy, say some activists, but organic foods have caused all the salmonella say others. The food safety message is a mess and Americans lack confidence in the system because of it. A new national study conducted by the Ha ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 12 2008 - 11:51pm

Michael Shermer's Libertarianism

Michael Shermer (the well known  author  and publisher of  Skeptic  magazine) and I usually see eye to eye on all things skeptical. On matters of economics, however, we seem to depart rather sharply. He is a former Randian (as in Ayn Rand) and current mod ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Jun 13 2008 - 10:33am

Sugary Drinks For Kids Exonerated In Study Of Child Obesity, Says Sugary Drink Organization

As a science site, one thing we understand is physics and how it can be exculpatory- no snowflake in an avalance ever has to take the blame. The American Beverage Association(ABA) knows this too. They are the trade association representing the broad spectr ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Jun 14 2008 - 10:46am

TreePeople Gets $1 Million From Boeing For Forest Restoration

TreePeople, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit corporation that does not seem to be one of the groups filing lawsuits every time anyone recommended responsible forest management that would have prevented the numerous wildfires that have ravaged southern Califor ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 15 2008 - 12:02am

Pharmacists Express Concerns Over Obecalp Placebo Pill For Children

LONDON, June 16 /PRNewswire/-- Responding to reports in the media that Obecalp, a placebo pill for children, is due to be made available on the UK market, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain's (RPSGB) Chief Scientist, Jayne Lawrence sai ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 16 2008 - 4:14pm

The Pope Has Delayed My National Institutes Of Health Progress Report

How is it that a statement by the Vatican has delayed my annual report to the National Institutes of Health? Not being Catholic, I generally don't pay much attention to Papal announcements, but maybe I need to start listening. Apparently back in March ...

Article - Michael White - Jun 18 2008 - 10:02am

Teaching Kids Science- NASA Hopes To Catch Disney's Wall-E Wave

NASA hopes to use the the new Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures film WALL-Eto promote interest among schoolchildren in science and technology. They have signed a Space Act Agreement for a series of educational and public outreach activities related to Di ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 18 2008 - 8:50pm

Just This Once, Let's Keep Policy On Pace With Science

Enactment of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008 is a boon to individual patients and for genetic research, write Kathy Hudson, M.K. Holohan, and Francis Collins in the June 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. But the ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 19 2008 - 10:03am

Who Gets Rich From Rising Food Prices?

With food prices going up, farmers are getting wealthy (or wealthier, in the case of the big conglomerates), right? Not outside the US, according to a study in Economic Development and Cultural Change by Marcel Fafchamps(1) and Ruth Vargas Hill(2). In thei ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 19 2008 - 3:37pm