Science Policy

The scientist has a short editorial about tenure that has generated a lot of comments from readers. Do you think that tenure needs to change?

What does society get for the billions it spends on science?

The CDC just released a tool to track diseases throughout the world, and it uses a Google Maps interface. The bbgm blog is where I found out about this site. EpiSPIDER tracks reports of diseases from all over the globe and puts them on a user-friendly interface. It's a nice example of the power of the internet.

IBM is getting involved the modeling the spread of infectious diseases. They have just released a new version of open source modeling software, STEM. This could be great for researchers that a powerful company like IBM is releasing open source software to help them.

Finally a society with the goal of protecting children has said that kids need to get out and play, even if they get hurt. In fact, this group is arguing that kids need to get hurt so that they learn where their limits are. Bring back the merry-go-round!

Here's an interesting NY Times article about the costs and benefits of certain aspects of health care.

The New Scientist has an article that answers the 26 most common myths and misconceptions about climate change.

Here's some nice data about undergraduate research experiences and how they affect future PhDs. Enthusiastic mentors are the key.

This is a very good opinion piece about framing scientific discussion with the public.

A new report finds that computer aided detection for mammography does not find more invasive cancers. It does however find more premalignant DCIS.