Can the International Science Community Find the Balance Between Cooperation and Competition?
Charles M. Vest, president of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and moderator, 2010 Kavli Prize Science Forum. (Credit: NAE)
Cooperation comes naturally to science; or at least it should, as the big problems science is called upon to address – from climate change to pandemics – respect no boundaries. And science at its best is a group effort, inclusive and open.
But are competitive forces, now stronger than in the past, working against globally collaborative science? This will be one of the issues addressed at the inaugural Kavli Prize Science Forum, a partnership of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, The Kavli Foundation and the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. To be held on September 6 in Oslo as part of Kavli Prize Week, the Forum is a biennial event aimed at facilitating high-level, global discussion of major topics on science and science policy. This year’s topic: “The Role of International Cooperation in Science.”
The inaugural forum will bring together some of the most influential science policy figures in the world. Among them will be John P. Holdren, science advisor to President Barack Obama, and Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, the first head of the European Research Council and now Secretary-General of the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSPO). Also joining a panel discussion will be the presidents of the Royal Society, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Science Council of Japan, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Officials from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Max Planck Institute will also be panelists. (For a full list of participants, click here) (more…)
U.S. Congress Takes Another Stride Toward Public Access to Research
Fueling the growing momentum toward openness, transparency, and accessibility to publicly funded information, the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2010 (FRPAA) has been introduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) and a bi-partisan host of co-sponsors. The proposed bill would build on the success of the first U.S. mandate for public access to the published results of publicly funded research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and require federal agencies with annual extramural research budgets of $100 million or more to provide the public with online access to research manuscripts stemming from funded research no later than six months after publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
“Free and open access to scientific literature and data are the underpinnings of discovery in the digital age,” said Stephen Friend MD PhD, President and Co-Founder of Sage Bionetworks. “Full collaboration among researchers is essential, and we have the power now to communicate, collaborate, and innovate in ways that were previously unimaginable. I applaud the sponsors of the Federal Research Public Access Act for their commitment to ensuring the kind of access scientists need to make progress on improved disease treatments and diagnostics in the digital world.” (more…)
Geopolitical Shifts in Science and Knowledge Creation
A Discussion Paper released today by Science-Metrix Inc. examines geopolitical shifts in knowledge creation over the past three decades in the ex-USSR, the Middle East and Asia.
Using information extracted from the Web of Science (Thomson Reuters) database of scientific publications spanning the last 30 years (1980 to 2009), the paper examines the effects of geopolitical change on scientific production.
“When we started this research, we expected to find Asian countries growing rapidly,” says Eric Archambault, author of the Discussion Paper and president of Science-Metrix. “But we were both awed and pleasantly surprised. Asia is catching up even more rapidly than previously thought, Europe is holding its position more than most would expect, and the Middle East is a region to watch.”
As one example of geopolitical change and its effects, the study cites the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. While the levels of scientific output of most of the ex-Soviet republics (with the exception of Lithuania and Estonia) have yet to recover, those of other ex-members of the Warsaw Pact surged very shortly after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
The paper also discusses the Middle East, where constant political tensions and armed conflict have led to substantially different responses in the development of national scientific systems. Iraq’s system is still shattered, and Kuwait’s still hasn’t fully recovered. Importantly, Iran has exhibited one of the fastest growth rates in scientific production the world over. The growth and specific efforts in strategic subfields indicate that this may be the result of Iran’s highly controversial nuclear technology development program. (more…)
Global Science Initiative Planned To Tackle World’s Looming Challenges
Professor Hawking holds a Distinguished Research Chair at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and is a Patron of the new Perimeter Scholars International program. (Photo NASA)
The end of the Quantum to Cosmos Festival marks the beginning of preparations for the Waterloo Global Science Initiative (WGSI), an international science conference expected to take place in Waterloo Region in spring, 2011.
The global gathering will see international researchers, business leaders and public policy decision-makers help identify actions in the science and technology arena that must be taken in order to seize opportunities in the decades ahead and monitor progress against those actions.
The WGSI will focus on the role that science and technology can play in addressing the world’s most fundamental social, environmental and economic challenges. The conference will provide leading thinkers with a forum in which to view the long term and identify clear actions. Areas of provincial, national and global concern may include energy, quantum information and water resources. (more…)
More UK Students Studying Engineering and Physical Sciences
More students than ever before have been accepted onto science and engineering related degree courses this autumn, according to the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Science is also now the most popular subject at school according to a new poll of children aged 5 to 18.
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Chief Executive Dave Delpy has welcomed the news and says this strengthens the case for supporting our future scientists and engineers:
“With the increase in undergraduate interest in science and engineering, we anticipate greater numbers of PhD students applying for research funding over the years to come. It is therefore more vital than ever to create a support network for school children to encourage them to engage with science and engineering at an early stage to help them become career scientists and engineers.” (more…)
Nanotechnology and Synthetic Biology: What Does the American Public Think?
JBEI researchers are using the tools of synthetic biology to engineer new microbes as an alternative to yeast that can quickly and efficiently forment complex sugars ito advanced biofuels. (Lawrence Berkeley Nat'l Lab - Roy Kaltschmidt, photographer)
Nanotechnology and synthetic biology continue to develop as two of the most exciting areas of scientific discovery, but research has shown that the public is almost completely unaware of the science and its applications. A groundbreaking poll of 1,001 American adults conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) found that 90 percent of Americans think the public should be better informed about the development of cutting-edge technologies.
“Historically, government and industry have done a poor job of informing and engaging the public about scientific developments that could have transformative impacts on society,” said David Rejeski, director of PEN. “The poll showed that better communication is needed and could be beneficial in securing the promise of our investments in science.”
The poll, which was conducted by the same firm that produces the well-known NBC News/Wall Street Journal polls, revealed that the proportion of adults who say they have heard a lot or some about synthetic biology more than doubled in the past year (from 9 percent to 22 percent). Awareness of nanotechnology (30 percent have heard a lot or some) increased slightly since last year, putting it back at the same level measured in 2006. A report which summarizes the findings of the poll can be found at http://www.nanotechproject.org/news/archive/hart4/. (more…)
New Biology Initiative Offers Potential for ‘Remarkable and Far-Reaching Benefits’
Biobased products and catalysis research is helping PNNL deliver technologies to private industry and government customers to reduce reliance on foreign oil and gas supplies.
A report released today by the National Research Council calls on the United States to launch a new multiagency, multiyear, and multidisciplinary initiative to capitalize on the extraordinary advances recently made in biology and to accelerate new breakthroughs that could solve some of society’s most pressing problems — particularly in the areas of food, environment, energy, and health.
The report was requested by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and U.S. Department of Energy, which asked the committee that wrote the report to look at how best to build upon recent scientific developments such as the Human Genome Project.
Advances in many technologies have allowed biologists to observe life at levels of detail that were once thought impossible. Interpreting the vast amounts of data being generated by these innovations and developing practical solutions to major challenges will require collaboration among scientists and engineers from many disciplines. And despite the potential of these recent advancements, the committee said that the design, manipulation, and prediction of complex biological systems needed for practical applications are “well beyond current capabilities.” (more…)
Man-Made Crises ‘Outrunning Our Ability to Deal With Them’, Scientists Warn
A pessimistic vision of the future.
The world faces a compounding series of crises driven by human activity, which existing governments and institutions are increasingly powerless to cope with, a group of eminent environmental scientists and economists has warned.
In today’s issue of the leading international journal Science, the researchers say that nations alone are unable to resolve the sorts of planet-wide challenges now arising.
Pointing to global action on ozone depletion (the Montreal Protocol), high seas fisheries and antibiotic drug resistance as examples, they call for a new order of cooperative international institutions capable of dealing with issues like climate change – and enforcing compliance where necessary. (more…)
Ashok Khosla: Science for the Future
Ashok Khosla, Chair of Development Alternatives in New Delhi, President of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and former advisor to the UN Development Programme chronicles his career with Roger Revelle and the impact Revelle had on establishing science for sustainability. Series: Roger Revelle Centennial Symposium [5/2009]
Digital Technologies Present Opportunities, But Also Challenges for Scientists
Though digital technologies and high-speed communications have significantly expanded the capabilities of scientists — allowing them to analyze and share vast amounts of data — these technologies are also raising difficult questions for researchers, institutions, and journals. Because digital data can be manipulated more easily than other forms, they are particularly susceptible to distortion. Questions about how to maintain the data generated, who should have access, and who pays to store them can be controversial.
Maintaining the integrity and accessibility of research data in a rapidly evolving digital age will take the collective efforts of universities and other research institutions, journals, agencies, and individual scientists, says a new report from the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine, which recommends principles to guide these stakeholders in generating, sharing, and maintaining scientific data. (more…)
Survey: Scientific Achievements Less Prominent Than a Decade Ago
Public praises scientists; scientists fault public, media.
A new report by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that overwhelming majorities of Americans believe that science has had a positive effect on society and that science has made life easier for most people. The public - even those skeptical of some scientific conclusions on such topics as climate change and evolution - rates scientists highly and believes government investments in science pay off in the long term.
But the study, conducted in collaboration with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), also finds that the public has a far less positive view of the global standing of U.S. science than do scientists themselves. As the 40th anniversary of the moon landing approaches, just 17% say U.S. scientific achievements rate as the best in the world, compared with nearly half (49%) of scientists who hold that view. (more…)
Trust In Science Is Diminishing
Trust in science is diminishing, according to recent studies, especially in the area of biomedicine, biotech and genetics. University of Alberta researchers Tim Caulfield and Tania Bubela blame it on the complexity of many discoveries and they’re concerned the whole message from the study isn’t getting across to the general public.
Caulfield, who is jointly appointed in the Faculty of Law and School of Public Health, and Bubela, also from the School of Public Health, and a group of 22 international experts in health, law, science and communications gathered to discuss ways to ensure the message is complete. (more…)
Changes in Science and Media Demand Evolution in Science Communication
Matthew C. Nisbet, Ph.D., is a professor in the School of Communication at American University. His research tracks scientific and environmental controversies, examining the interactions between experts, journalists, and various publics.
Matthew C. Nisbet, an expert on the intersections between science, media, and politics at American University’s School of Communication, says that changes in scientific research and the rapidly changing media landscape demand that eight specific steps be taken by science organizations and journalists in order to better engage the general public and to accurately report scientific research.
“During the past several decades, science has become more bureaucratic, problem-based, and dependent on private funding. Public surveys point to a high trust in scientists, especially those affiliated with universities, but the trust level decreases when it comes to scientists affiliated with corporations or industries,” Nisbet said. “Factor in changes in the media landscape that have created audience fragmentation and ever fewer quality sources of science news, and it is clear changes in science communication are needed to better engage the public on science-related issues.” (more…)
Peering Deep Into Space from Edge of the Atmosphere
The BLAST device was assembled at the McMurdo scientific research station in Antarctica. (Credit: Mark Halpern)
People have always wondered where we, our Earth, our galaxy, come from. A group of scientist has now driven that quest one step further and taken a peak at how the stars that gave rise to most of the material found on our universe formed over cosmic history.
University of Miami professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, Joshua Gundersen is part of an international research team that built an innovative new telescope called BLAST (Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Sub-millimeter Telescope) and launched it to the edge of the atmosphere, where it discovered previously unidentified dust-obscured, star-forming galaxies that could help illuminate the origins of the universe. (more…)
Michigan Scientist, Ethicist Urge Scientists to Speak Out on Environmental Policy
"I seek to understand, but thinking that I understand destroys understanding. My approach to this paradox is to wake up every morning and hope to be shown how something - the more basic the better - is not what I think it is," says John A. Vucetich.
Should environmental scientists be advocates for environmental policy? To a wildlife ecologist from Michigan Technological University and an environmental ethicist from Michigan State University, the answer is a resounding yes.
“Scientists, by virtue of being citizens first and scientists second, have a responsibility to advocate to the best of their abilities and in a justified and transparent manner,” say John A. Vucetich and Michael P. Nelson in an advance online publication of a paper in the journal Conservation Biology. The paper is titled “On Advocacy by Environmental Scientists: What, Whether, Why, and How.” (more…)
Exploring Conflicts Between Science and Religion
Publicity for the film "Angels and Demons" screams "the battle between science and religion turns to war!" St. Lawrence University physics professor Aileen O'Donoghue has searched for – and found – a peaceful solution to the conflict, at least in her own life.
Publicity for the film version of Angels and Demons, based on the enormously popular book by Dan Brown and scheduled to open May 15, screams “the battle between science and religion turns to war!” St. Lawrence University physics professor Aileen O’Donoghue has searched for – and found – a peaceful solution to the conflict, at least in her own life, and described that journey in her 2007 book The Sky Is Not A Ceiling. O’Donoghue has read Angels and Demons, as well as Brown’s blockbuster with a similar theme, The DaVinci Code, and says she understands why we find stories about the crossroads of science and religion so compelling.
In Angels and Demons, symbologist Robert Langdon discovers the resurgence of a secret society promoting science over religion, called the Illuminati.
O’Donoghue’s discoveries may not be quite as dramatic, but they nonetheless make for compelling reading according to recent reviews. (more…)
Scenarios of Suppression
/Field Note
“Coincidences are a true paradox… on the one hand they seem to be the source of our greatest irrationalities–seeing causal connections when science tells us they aren’t there. On the other hand, some of our greatest feats of scientific discovery depend on coincidences.” - Josh Tenenbaum, quoted in The Power of Coincidence.
When seeking to determine the extent of suppression of scientific research and technological development, there is a considerable range in the scenarios presented.
At one end of the spectrum, we have what might easily be classified as “conspiracy theories.” Here we have the claims that workable technologies and discoveries have already been made and that these have somehow been withheld or buried, often as the result of threats and even the suspicious deaths of researchers.
Here’s a trailer I found on YouTube this gives an example of this type of extreme scenario: (more…)
Scientific Suppression: Stamping out dissent
By Brian Martin
Too often, unconventional or unpopular scientific views are simply suppressed.
Brian Martin is Professor of Social Sciences in the School of Social Sciences, Media and Communication at the University of Wollongong.
Textbooks present science as a noble search for truth, in which progress depends on questioning established ideas. But for many scientists, this is a cruel myth. They know from bitter experience that disagreeing with the dominant view is dangerous — especially when that view is backed by powerful interest groups. Call it suppression of intellectual dissent. The usual pattern is that someone does research or speaks out in a way that threatens a powerful interest group, typically a government, industry or professional body. As a result, representatives of that group attack the critic’s ideas or the critic personally–by censoring writing, blocking publications, denying appointments or promotions, withdrawing research grants, taking legal actions, harassing, blacklisting, spreading rumors. (more…)
The Suppression of Inconvenient Facts in Physics
This is one of the better articles covering the subject of the suppression of physics. It’s long, but very well researched and so is republished here in its entirety. - Blake Harris
by Rochus Boerner
“Textbooks present science as a noble search for truth, in which progress depends on questioning established ideas. But for many scientists, this is a cruel myth. They know from bitter experience that disagreeing with the dominant view is dangerous - especially when that view is backed by powerful interest groups. Call it suppression of intellectual dissent. The usual pattern is that someone does research or speaks out in a way that threatens a powerful interest group, typically a government, industry or professional body. As a result, representatives of that group attack the critic’s ideas or the critic personally-by censoring writing, blocking publications, denying appointments or promotions, withdrawing research grants, taking legal actions, harassing, blacklisting, spreading rumors.” (1)
Introduction
Science is in a state of crisis. Where free inquiry, natural curiosity and open-minded discussion and consideration of new ideas should reign, a new orthodoxy has emerged. This ‘new inquisition’, as it has been called by Robert Anton Wilson (2) consists not of cardinals and popes, but of the editors and reviewers of scientific journals, of leading authorities and self-appointed “skeptics”, and last but not least of corporations and governments that have a vested interest in preserving the status quo, and it is just as effective in suppressing unorthodox ideas as the original. The scientists in the editorial boards of journals who decide which research is fit to be published, and which is not, the science bureaucrats at the patent office who decide what feats nature allows human technology to perform, and which ones it does not, and the scientists in governmental agencies who decide what proposals to fund, and not to fund, either truly believe that they are in complete knowledge of all the fundamental laws of nature, or they purposely suppress certain discoveries that threaten the scientific prestige of individuals or institutions, or economic interests. Research that indicates that an accepted theory is incomplete, severely flawed, or completely mistaken, is frequently rejected on the grounds that it “contradicts the laws of nature”, and therefore has to be the result of sloppiness or fraud. At the heart of this argument is the incorrect notion that theory overrides evidence. (more…)
Schrödinger on Cultural Context
The philosophical issues raised by Schrödinger's cat are still debated today and remains his most enduring legacy in popular science, while Schrödinger's equation is his most enduring legacy at a more technical level.
/Field Note
“Physical science, which aims not only at devising fascinating new experiments, but at obtaining a rational understanding of the results of observations, incurs at present, so I believe, the grave danger of getting severed from its historical background. The innovations of thought in the last 50 years, great and momentous and unavoidable as they were, are usually overrated compared with those of the preceding century; and the disproportionate foreshortening by time-perspective, of previous achievements on which all our enlightenment in modem times depends, reaches a disconcerting degree according as earlier and earlier centuries are considered. Along with this disregard for historical linkage there is a tendency to forget that all science is bound up with human culture in general, and that scientific findings, even those which at the moment appear the most advanced and esoteric and difficult to grasp, are meaningless outside their cultural context.” - Erwin Schrödinger, Are There Quantum Jumps? (1950)
James Burke: Connections, World Views and Technological Innovation
/Field Note
James Burke: "There is nothing hard-wired about the human mind. Over long periods of time, I think what we do is alter our perceptions."
Again retracing my steps a little in preparing a launch point for the first documentary in the current series, I took a fresh look at an old interview I did with science historian James Burke. It’s got a lot in it that is still very relevant today and so I’m posting it below.
Burke is possibly best known for Connections, a ten-episode documentary television series he created and narrated. It first aired in 1978 in the UK. It took an interdisciplinary approach to the history of science and invention and demonstrates how various discoveries, scientific achievements, and historical world events built off one another in an interconnected way to bring about particular aspects of modern technology. (more…)
Scientists to Texas Board of Education: Teach Evolution Right!
Over 50 scientific societies representing hundreds of thousands of American scientists today publicly urged the Texas Board of Education to support accurate science education. The board–dominated by creationists–has been embroiled in a debate over changes to the Texas science standards that could compromise the teaching of evolution.
“Evolution is the foundation of modern biology, and is crucial in fields as diverse as agriculture, computer science, engineering, geology, and medicine,” says the signed statement. “We oppose any efforts to undermine the teaching of biological evolution…whether by misrepresenting those subjects or by inaccurately describing them as controversial and in need of special scrutiny.” (more…)
Study Finds Researchers Open to Knowledge Transfer
Christian Dagenais, director of the Centre de liaison sur l'intervention et la prévention psychosociales (CLIPP).
Scientists like to pay it forward. According to a new study by Université de Montréal professors Christian Dagenais and Michel Janosz, most academics are quite open to knowledge transfer.
“We debunked the myth that researchers are so consumed by their work that they don’t have time for knowledge transfer,” says Dagenais, a professor at the Université de Montréal and director of the Centre de liaison sur l’intervention et la prévention psychosociales (CLIPP).
Although knowledge transfer is becoming a prerequisite of most funding agencies, universities had little data on what the research community thought about sharing results from their life’s work. Until now.
The study was conducted by the VINCI group (Valorisation de l’innovation et du capital intellectuel) and surveyed scientists from 16 research units affiliated to the Université de Montréal. As part of the study, 216 researchers filled out a questionnaire, while 30 academics and five funding agencies were also interviewed. (more…)
Texas School Board Set to Vote on Challenge to Evolution
Elaine Howard Ecklund, associate director of Rice’s Center on Race, Religion and Urban Life, directs the national study on religion and spirituality among scientists at top universities.
The Texas Board of Education’s upcoming contentious vote this week on a new science curriculum that outlines the way evolution is taught in Texas public schools could set a national trend.
At issue is whether a teacher should raise doubts about evolution when teaching biology and other science classes. The impacts could be felt far and wide, as school textbook publishers write to Texas’ standards. A change in the way Texas teaches its students could change the way other states look at the issue.
Rice University sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund, associate director of Rice’s Center on Race, Religion and Urban Life, directs the national study on religion and spirituality among scientists at top universities. Religion Among Academic Scientists is the first study in more than 20 years to systematically gather data on this topic. Ecklund recently conducted in-depth interviews with 300 scientists and completed a survey of nearly 1,700 scientists on their views on science and religion.
“This vote has monumental implications,” Ecklund said. “The connection between religion and science is at stake.” (more…)
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