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Disclosure: I don’t believe that we are in as bad a shape as some would have us believe. Nonetheless, in a recent survey conducted by Research!America more than half of likely voters doubt that the United States will be the No. 1 world leader in science, technology and health care by the year 2020.
Significant findings include:
57% are upset by cuts in federal spending for medical and health research
54% think that federal spending for medical and health research should be exempt from across-the-board cuts outlined in the Budget Control Act of 2011
58% of Americans do not believe the United States will be a world leader in science and technology in 2020
53% of Americans do not believe the United States will be a world leader in health care in 2020
65% of Americans say it’s important that the U.S. is a leader in medical and health research
85% of likely voters are concerned about the impact of a decreased federal investment in research, including the possibility of scientists leaving their profession or moving abroad to countries with a stronger investment in research
66% of likely voters believe government investment in medical and health research will have an impact on the future of the United States
Nearly 70% of Americans believe science and math education will have an impact on the future of the United States
There is, of course, an upside to all of these negative findings, and that is that more than half of likely voters (64%) say they would be more likely to vote for a presidential candidate who supports increased government funding for medical and health research. We are fortunate to live in a strong democracy. We have the power to change the future!
A 2008 study by James H. Fowler and Christopher T. Dawes of the University of California, San Diego claimed that two genes predict voter turnout. These results, however, were recently called into question by Evan Charney, of Duke University in an American Political Science Review paper published earlier this month called “Candidate Genes and Political Behavior.” In her paper, Charney demonstrates that when certain errors in the original study are corrected — errors common to many gene association studies — there is no longer any association between these genes and voter turnout.
Did we really need another paper to prove that the first study was wrong? Would any reasonable person, let alone a biologist, actually have believed data that shows a connection between genetics and voting behavior? I guess if the data was presented by a good politician anything is believable!
The cure for cancer comes down to this: video games.
In a research lab at Wake Forest University, biophysicist and computer scientist Samuel Cho uses graphics processing units (GPUs), the technology that makes video game images so realistic, to simulate the inner workings of human cells.
“If it wasn’t for gamers who kept buying these GPUs, the prices wouldn’t have dropped, and we couldn’t have used them for science,” Cho says.
Now he can see exactly how the cells live, divide and die.
In a very interesting study on Principle Investigator demographics, Dr. Sally Rockey, Director of Extramural Research at the NIH, found that over the last 32 years the average age distribution of NIH principle investigators has increased significantly. Watch the video below to see a shocking visual representation of the data. As a note to our PI population, although hearing loss is common in the elderly, your inability to hear what’s being said in this video is not a sign of aging. The video does not have any sound!
Sit back and relax with some popcorn as you watch this interesting talk by Professor Bonnie Bassler of Princeton University talk about the social world of bacteria. And you thought that only human’s had Facebook!
If you don’t have enough patience (or popcorn) to watch the 50 minute version of her talk, checkout her 20 minute 2009 TED talk on the same subject below.
