Short Takes
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has shared a collection of freely available resources to support the participation and advancement of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM). These include reports that explore the wide range of structural, cultural, and institutional patterns of bias, discrimination, and inequity that affect women, and the steps that can be taken to increase representation in STEMM. Read more at: https://notes.nap.edu/2020/08/25/resources-to-increase-the-participation-and-advancement-of-women-in-stemm/
The National Academies rece...
Source: Public Policy Reports - September 1, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Enter the 2020 Faces of Biology Photo Contest
Enter the Faces of Biology Photo Contest for your chance to win $250 and to have your photo appear on the cover of the journal BioScience.
The competition, sponsored by the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), recognizes scientists who use imagery to communicate aspects of biological research to the public and policymakers.
The theme of the contest is “Faces of Biology.” Photographs entered into the contest must depict a person, such as a scientist, researcher, collections curator, technician, or student, engaging in biological research. The depicted research may occur outside, in a lab, with a n...
Source: Public Policy Reports - September 1, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Prepare Your Resume, Hone Your Interview Skills
Registration is open for the Employment Acquisition Skills Boot Camp for Scientists, an online professional development program from the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS).
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate programs in the United States do an excellent job of preparing students for careers in academia. As early career professionals and a growing number of reports note, however, many STEM graduates (including those with advanced degrees) are interested in employment in sectors beyond the professoriate.
Scientists continue to report that they feel ill-prepared and ill-equipped ...
Source: Public Policy Reports - September 1, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
2nd BCoN COVID-19 Survey: Operational Status, Economic Impacts and Plans for Reopening
In April, the Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN) conducted a survey of the natural history collections/museum community to understand how COVID-19 related economic disruptions are affecting the work of professionals associated with such collections. The results were shared with the scientific community, including federal program managers and policymakers, in May 2020.
This second survey follows up on and uses some questions from a recent American Alliance of Museums request for information. This survey focuses on collections institutions rather than individual staff, with the goal of determining the impact of COVID-1...
Source: Public Policy Reports - September 1, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Certain Endangered Species Susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, Study Predicts
A new computational study predicts that several critically endangered primate species are at a very high risk of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The research, which was published in Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences this month, assessed the susceptibility of 410 species of vertebrates, including 252 mammals, to the virus and identified a number of mammals that can potentially be infected via their ACE2 proteins (angiotensin converting enzyme-2) - the main receptor for the virus.
The species identified by the study that are at “very highR...
Source: Public Policy Reports - September 1, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Report Lays Out Plan for Strengthening Scientific Integrity at Federal Agencies
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has released a new report, Strengthening Scientific Integrity at Federal Agencies: Recommendations for 2021 and Beyond, which outlines a road map for the next Administration to enhance scientific integrity across federal agencies.
“Independent science is under attack in government decisionmaking and its integrity must be restored,” states the report. “Government decisions affect our public health and safety and must be rooted in strong, independent science,” argues the report. “But the safeguards protecting government science have broken down significan...
Source: Public Policy Reports - September 1, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
White House Announces Nationwide Network of AI, QIS Research Institutes
On August 26, 2020, the White House, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than $1 billion in awards for the establishment of twelve new artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum information science (QIS) research and development (R&D) institutes nationwide.
NSF, in partnership with U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the U.S. Department of Homeland’s Security Science and Technology Directorate, and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration, will invest $140 million ov...
Source: Public Policy Reports - September 1, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Fetal Tissue Ethics Board Recommends Rejecting Majority of Research Proposals
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Human Fetal Tissue Research Ethics Advisory Board, which was appointed by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar in February 2020, has recommended that the Secretary withhold funding for most of the applications submitted to NIH to conduct medical research using human fetal tissue.
The Trump Administration first announced that it will restrict federal funding for medical research that uses human fetal tissue in June 2019. The new policy prohibits all intramural research, or research conducted within NIH, involving the use of human fetal tissue from elective abortions. ...
Source: Public Policy Reports - September 1, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
White House Announces 2022 R & D Budget Priorities
On August 14, 2020, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), issued its annual science and technology priorities memorandum. The document guides federal agency priority-setting in the coming budget cycle. The directive identified public health security and innovation, industrial leadership, national security, energy and environmental leadership, and space exploration as priorities for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 budget.
The Administration’s memo asserts that the federal government “serves as a catalyst for innovation by investing i...
Source: Public Policy Reports - September 1, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Short Takes
A new special collection of natural history collection-related articles from BioScience highlights some of the exciting new ways scientists and educators are mobilizing and using biodiversity data from natural history collections. The collection entitled, "Natural History Collections: Advancing the Frontiers of Science," is available at https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/pages/natural-history-collections.
On April 1, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested nominations of scientific experts from a diverse range of disciplines to be considered for appointment to the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) and ...
Source: Public Policy Reports - August 17, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Enter the 2020 Faces of Biology Photo Contest
Enter the Faces of Biology Photo Contest for your chance to win $250 and to have your photo appear on the cover of the journal BioScience.
The competition, sponsored by the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), recognizes scientists who use imagery to communicate aspects of biological research to the public and policymakers.
The theme of the contest is “Faces of Biology.” Photographs entered into the contest must depict a person, such as a scientist, researcher, collections curator, technician, or student, engaging in biological research. The depicted research may occur outside, in a lab, with a n...
Source: Public Policy Reports - August 17, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Prepare Your Resume, Hone Your Interview Skills
Registration is open for the Employment Acquisition Skills Boot Camp for Scientists, an online professional development program from the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS).
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate programs in the United States do an excellent job of preparing students for careers in academia. As early career professionals and a growing number of reports note, however, many recent STEM graduates (including those with advanced degrees) are interested in employment in sectors beyond the professoriate by the time they complete their degree.
Scientists continue to report...
Source: Public Policy Reports - August 17, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Lawmakers Express Concerns About BLM Nominee
In an August 10, 2020, letter to President Trump, all Democratic Senators expressed opposition to William Perry Pendley’s nomination to lead the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The letter, led by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Joe Manchin (D-WV), was signed by all 45 Democratic Senators, as well as Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Angus King (I-ME). Concerns highlighted in the letter include Pendley’s climate change denial, advocacy for selling public lands, and attempts to undermine tribes.
“Over the years, Mr. Pendley has consistently called for selling off public lands...
Source: Public Policy Reports - August 17, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Scientists Concerned About Change to NSF GRFP Solicitation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has updated the guidance for its Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) by announcing three high priority research areas for 2021: artificial intelligence, quantum information science, and computationally intensive research.
The updated program solicitation encourages applications in “all disciplines supported by NSF that incorporate these high priority research areas.”
According to a report by Nature, some NSF-watchers worry that this update to emphasize research in applied computational science will significantly limit funding for fundamental science, particularl...
Source: Public Policy Reports - August 17, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
House Science Panel Chair Calls on NASEM to Study Racism in Science
Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, has requested the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) investigate systemic racism in academic research.
In a July 29, 2020 letter to Dr. Marcia McNutt, President of the National Academy of Sciences, Chairwoman Johnson asserts: “We must meet this moment in history with a rigorous and thoughtful analysis of the extent to which the U.S. scientific enterprise perpetuates systemic inequities to the detriment of society as a whole, as well as how those inequities are manifested.&#...
Source: Public Policy Reports - August 17, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
