Short Takes
iDigBio, National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), and Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) have opened registration for the Biodiversity Summit 2020 to be held September 20-25, 2020 in Alexandria, Virginia. Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/biodiversity-summit-2020-tickets-85264844445. Registration is free, but all participants must register and display credentials. Deadline for abstract submission is March 31, 2020. For more information visit: https://www.idigbio.org/content/biodiversity-summit-2020.
The Department of State is holding an information session...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 18, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Enhance Your Interdisciplinary and Team Science Skills
Reports abound from professional societies, the Academies, government agencies, and researchers calling attention to the fact that science is increasingly an interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, inter-institutional, and international endeavor. In short, science has become a “team sport.”
There is a real and present need to better prepare scientists for success in this new collaborative environment. The American Institute of Biological Sciences is responding to this call with a new program for scientists, educators, and individuals who work with or participate in scientific teams.
Team science is increasingly...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 18, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Participate in the 2020 AIBS Congressional Visits Day
Join the American Institute of Biological Sciences on April 20-22, 2020 for our annual Congressional Visits Day in Washington, DC.
Meet with your members of Congress to help them understand the important role the federal government plays in supporting the biological sciences. Advocate for federal investments in biological sciences research supported by the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies.
Participants will complete a communications and advocacy training program provided by AIBS that prepares them to be effective advocates for their science. AIBS also provides participants with background informatio...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 18, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Webinar: An Overview of the Nagoya Protocol from the U.S. Government
The Nagoya Protocol is a multilateral treaty that sets up a legal framework for utilizing genetic resources. It should be a part of every researcher’s thinking, from how to conduct research, to manage collections, and how to work with partners. Even for researchers based in the United States, familiarity with the Protocol, and what it requires, is important as provider countries may have rules/regulations/laws that carry obligations that apply to samples even after they have left the country, such as restrictions on use, third party transfer, and tracking of any shared benefits.
Please join us on Thursday, February ...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 18, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Societies Urge CEQ to Extend Comment Period on NEPA Update
Thirteen scientific societies, including the American Institute of Biological Sciences, have urged the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to extend the comment period for the proposed changes for implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA is a landmark law that requires proper environmental assessment prior to undertaking any major federal project that significantly affects the environment, such as airports, buildings, military complexes, and highways.
“The proposed changes to NEPA’s implementation guidelines are widely viewed as a regulatory ov...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 18, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
DOE Science Budget to Shrink by 17 percent
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) would receive $35.4 billion in FY 2021, an 8.1 percent decrease from the FY 2020 enacted level of $38.5 billion. Within this request, $5.8 billion (-17 percent) would be directed toward the Office of Science.
The Office of Science supports both scientific research and design, development, construction, and operation of scientific user facilities. Approximately 23,000 researchers located at over 300 institutions and the 17 DOE national laboratories are supported by grants from the Office of Science. The budget for the Office of Science includes $475 million for exascale computing, $237 m...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 18, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
President Slashes USGS Funding by 24 percent
Under President Trump’s budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2021, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) would be funded at $971.2 million, a 24 percent cut from the FY 2020 level enacted by Congress.
The budget once again proposes to consolidate the agency’s seven mission areas into five new mission areas to “better address stakeholder priorities.” The five new mission areas would be: Ecosystems, Energy and Mineral Resources, Natural Hazards, Water Resources, and Core Science Systems. Programs formerly under the Environmental Health area would be moved into the Ecosystems mission area and prog...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 18, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
NIH Slated for 7 percent Budget Cut
The President has proposed a $38.7 billion budget for the National Institutes of Health in fiscal year (FY) 2021. This translates to a $3 billion or 7 percent cut in the agency’s funding compared to FY 2020.
The NIH budget request includes a $50 million initiative to use artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a better understanding of the causes of chronic diseases and to identify early treatments. This plan is in line with the Administration’s “Industries of the Future” effort, which supports using and developing AI across sectors.
The budget would provide $50 million for the Childhood Cancer...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 18, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
President Proposes Cuts at NSF
The President has proposed a 6.5 percent cut to the National Science Foundation (NSF) in fiscal year (FY) 2021. The science agency is slated to receive $7.7 billion, which is $537 million below the FY 2020 level enacted by Congress.
According to the budget proposal, NSF will continue to invest in its Big Ideas and Convergence Accelerator, providing support for “bold inquiries into the frontiers of science and engineering” in order “to break down the silos of conventional scientific research funded by NSF to embrace the cross-disciplinary and dynamic nature of the science of the future.”
Among th...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 18, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
President's Budget Cuts Science
The White House released the President’s Budget Request for fiscal year (FY) 2021 on February 10, 2020. The budget proposes large cuts for science for the fourth consecutive year. The $4.8 trillion budget framework calls for cuts to most federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The proposal would provide $1.3 trillion for discretionary programs, including $590 billion for non-defense spending - the source for m...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 18, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Short Takes
The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Biological Sciences Directorate (BIO) is soliciting applications for two permanent and two temporary Program Directors in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems. For the Animal Behavior Program in the Behavioral Systems Cluster, NSF is seeking temporary and permanent Program Directors with a broad background in integrative organismal biology focused on behavior across levels of organization and contexts. For the Integrative Ecological Physiology (IEP) Program of the Physiological and Structural Systems Cluster, NSF is seeking temporary and permanent Program Directors whose ba...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 3, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Enhance Your Interdisciplinary and Team Science Skills
Reports abound from professional societies, the Academies, government agencies, and researchers calling attention to the fact that science is increasingly an interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, inter-institutional, and international endeavor. In short, science has become a “team sport.”
There is a real and present need to better prepare scientists for success in this new collaborative environment. The American Institute of Biological Sciences is responding to this call with a new program for scientists, educators, and individuals who work with or participate in scientific teams.
Team science is increasingly...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 3, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Participate in the 2020 AIBS Congressional Visits Day
Join the American Institute of Biological Sciences on April 20-22, 2020 for our annual Congressional Visits Day in Washington, DC.
Meet with your members of Congress to help them understand the important role the federal government plays in supporting the biological sciences. Advocate for federal investments in biological sciences research supported by the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies.
Participants will complete a communications and advocacy training program provided by AIBS that prepares them to be effective advocates for their science. AIBS also provides participants with background informatio...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 3, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Day One Project: Prioritize Mass Digitization of Biodiversity Collections
A new report from the Day One Project is calling for the next Administration to make mass digitization of biodiversity collections an immediate priority.
The report concludes: “U.S. biodiversity collections are made up of nearly half a billion specimens that are irreplaceable and mostly unknown. A large-scale digitization program will illuminate these data, making them visible, accessible, and searchable. Digitization will also protect these data in perpetuity so that future researchers and citizens can answer questions not yet asked. To catalyze this mass digitization effort, the next administration should host a ...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 3, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Lawmakers Introduce Legislation to " Secure American Leadership " in Science
House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) has introduced legislation that would create a long-term strategy for investment in basic research and infrastructure to safeguard American scientific leadership and address climate change. The bill is cosponsored by 11 other Republican lawmakers in the House.
The Securing American Leadership in Science and Technology Act (H.R. 5685) aims to tackle two challenges: competition for global scientific leadership that the US is facing from China, which has expanded public R&D funding by more than 50 percent between 2011 and 2016, and climate c...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 3, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
