Articles tagged Science Policy
(74 results)

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concludes that the continuing growth of federal research regulations and requirements is “diminishing the effectiveness of the nation’s research investment” by forcing investigators to spend more time on administrative and compliance matters, rather than research. Optimizing the Nation’s Investment in Academic Research: A…

While the science behind the synthetic yeast genome project is cutting edge, the ethical questions surrounding it aren’t new. The scientists of the Sc2.0 project have a goal that sounds akin to science fiction – they’re working toward building a completely synthetic yeast genome. This new strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, affectionately named Sc2.0, will be…

The use of fetal tissue has drawn increasing public scrutiny in recent weeks as a result of secret video recordings involving the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Getting less attention is how fetal cells can be essential research tools. A story on NPR’s Morning Edition this morning focused on the research and clinical applications of fetal cells,…

GSA has responded to a request for information from NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences on “Innovative Approaches to Technology Development for the Biomedical Research Community.” In its comments, GSA argued that technology development need not be tied to specific research questions and that it can be difficult to anticipate all of the innovative…

Long-time GSA member and former Drosophila Board President Denise Montell gave a briefing on Capitol Hill to discuss her research on “Life, Death, and Resurrection at the Cellular Level.” This July 29 event was sponsored by the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus and organized by the Coalition for the Life Sciences.   “Life, Death, and Resurrection at…

Scientific progress runs on the intellect, curiosity, and passion of its practitioners fueled by the research dollars of its sponsors. The concern over research funding in biology in general and genetics in particular led GSA to survey our membership to learn more about the federal support of genetics at the level of individual principal investigators.…

The directors of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) have distributed their annual memorandum on science and technology priorities for the fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget focusing on efforts that span multiple agencies. The memo to the heads of Executive Departments and Agencies is…

Fruit flies suffer from an image problem. Maybe it’s the alliteration in the name, or the association with bananas, but Drosophila have become a go-to target for politicians looking to ridicule wasteful public spending. In February, presidential candidate and US Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) questioned the NIH for spending: “…a million dollars trying to determine…