Category Archives: Policy

Neuroscience as a new national priority

Posted in At the scale of cells and synapses, At the scale of one or more individuals, At the scale of systems and functions, Grants, Methods and techniques, Neural development, Neural regeneration/neurogenesis, Policy by

President Obama: “Now, it’s time to get to work.”

NYT article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/science/obama-to-unveil-initiative-to-map-the-human-brain.html

 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/modules/wh_multimedia/EOP_OVP_player.swf

Society for Neuroscience goes Wiki!

Posted in Education, Internet and blogs, Policy by

Looks like the Society for Neuroscience is stepping into the 21st century with a formal call to its 38,000 members to help make neuroscience articles on Wikipedia better.

From the Neuroscience Wikipedia initiative:

SfN is calling upon members to harness the power of Wikipedia and support the Society’s mission of promoting public education about neuroscience.

Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia, has become one of the major sources of information used by the public.

SfN’s Public Education and Communication Committee (PECC) recently reviewed the main Wikipedia neuroscience overview section and entries on 10 major branches of neuroscience. Many of the entries were still under construction and incomplete.

SfN aims to improve and expand Wikipedia’s neuroscience content by encouraging members to edit and contribute.

Well done, SfN!

Varmus on the Daily Show

Posted in Policy by

Just heard about this nice interview from Monday night of Obama science advisor (and former NIH head and Nobel laureate) Harold Varmus with some details on what went wrong over the last few years:

http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:219520
Best line from Jon:

Does 8 years in the wilderness do real damage to science? You think about the Middle Ages.

Another interesting exchange, where Jon asks about skills needed to be a successful scientist:

Jon: I’ve never met a man of your stature as a scientist so well-versed in the bureacratic process. Is that part of being a scientist now? Do you have to also know how to navigate those waters?

Varmus: Look, I went to Washington as someone who had been a lab rat for 25 years […] and suddenly I had to run a big agency. You learn it. It’s like anything else.