EurekAlert! - Policy and Ethics

SFU cell biologist Lynne Quarmby will address top-flight American high school science students at AAAS conference in Vancouver

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Simon Fraser University) Lynne Quarmby, a Simon Fraser University cell biologist with a passion for promoting science, will deliver a talk to 30-top flight American high school science students and their teachers about the importance of basic science. Quarmby will be the keynote speaker at the Feb. 16 AJAS meeting at SFU Burnaby. It strategically brings together the crème de la crème of young American science students during the AAAS meeting in Vancouver.

SFU health scientist joins governor general's roundtable at AAAS

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Simon Fraser University) Kate Tairyan, an SFU health scientist and director of public health at Next Generation University, will use a meeting with Canada's governor general at the AAAS conference to promote the world's first free university.

Sonic Cradle lands spot in TED exhibition

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Simon Fraser University) A Simon Fraser University graduate student project that melds music, meditation and modern technology has landed a rare spot as an exhibit at TEDActive 2012 in Palm Springs, Calif., this month.Jay Vidyarthi's project, Sonic Cradle, allows individuals to use their breathing to shape musical sounds while they sit suspended in a totally dark chamber. The experience is described as "meditation for the non-meditator."

New drugs schedule makes horse racing a sure thing

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Queensland University of Technology) QUT professor of biosciences, Martin Sillence, said the new research pinpointed the length of time it took for 18 of the most commonly used therapeutic drugs to work their way out of a horse's system, providing greater certainty for horse owners, trainers and vets."Because horses are prohibited from racing with any trace of drugs in their system, the administration of therapeutic drugs to horses in need of care has been a risky business," professor Sillence said.

Georgetown hosts forum to discuss government request of journals to redact scientific data

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Georgetown University Medical Center) Georgetown University hosts "Censoring Research on Contagious H5N1 Influenza in 2012? -- A Panel Discussion on Global Public Health, Legal, and Policy Controversies" on Wednesday, Feb. 15, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the New Research Building Auditorium on the campus of Georgetown University Medical Center. The panel is free and open to the public.

From virginity to Viagra

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Sociologists for Women in Society) Americans will spend more than $17 billion on Valentine's Day, but far less on programs like sex education for adolescents. The editors of the new book, "Sex for Life, From Virginity to Viagra, How Sexuality Changes Throughout Our Lives," argue that not only do our public policies on sex education need to be reevaluated, our entire concept of human sexuality needs to be broadened.

Maryland Commission recommends 'common sense' immigration policy

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(University of Maryland) Immigrants to Maryland contribute significantly to the state's economy, and were vital to its workforce expansion in both technical and less-skilled occupations from 2000 to 2010, concludes a new report by a Maryland state commission. During this period, immigrants mostly complemented rather than competed with US-born state residents for jobs, it adds. The Commission, a state panel coordinated by the University of Maryland, evaluated immigrants' economic contributions and the cost of government services for them.

Carnegie's Richard Meserve receives inaugural Garwin Award

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Carnegie Institution) The Federation of American Scientists presented Richard A. Meserve, the Carnegie Institution president, with the inaugural 2011 Richard L. Garwin Award on Feb. 8, for "his distinguished service and significant contributions to nuclear safety as chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and for more than 30 years of leadership in science policy." The award "reaffirms his work at the intersection of law, science, and technology."

Digital photos could put kids at risk

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Inderscience Publishers) A study published in the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics this month suggests that parents and carers could be putting children at risk if they upload digital photos that are automatically "geotagged" by their camera.

Potential for incorrect relationship identification in new forensic familial searching techniques

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Public Library of Science) In familial searching, a partial genetic profile match between a database entrant and a crime scene sample is used to implicate genetic relatives of the database entrant as potential sources of the sample. Unlike traditional forensic DNA identification, where all genetic markers must match exactly, in familial searching a portion of genetic markers need to match to suggest a biological relationship. This method can help identify suspects not currently included in databases, but is also prone to error.

Barriers to the use of fingerprint evidence in court is unlocked by statistical model

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Penn State) Fingerprints that are potential key pieces of evidence in court currently are not being considered due to shortcomings in the way this evidence is reported. Now, a statistical model has been developed that enables the weight of fingerprint evidence to be expressed in quantitative terms, paving the way for its full inclusion in the process of identifying criminals, according to a report that will be published in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society.

Some physicians do not agree with, uphold standards on communication with patients

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Massachusetts General Hospital) A significant minority of physicians responding to a national survey disagreed with or admitted not upholding accepted standards of professionalism for open and honest communication with patients.

Venter to give keynote speech at 2012 ARVO Annual Meeting

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology) The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology is pleased to welcome J. Craig Venter as the keynote speaker at the opening session of ARVO 2012 on Sunday, May 6 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Venter's presentation is entitled "From Reading to Writing the Genetic Code."

New crime-fighting tools aim to deter and nab terrorists

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(American Chemical Society) Fingerprints, ballistics, DNA analysis and other mainstays of the forensic science toolkit may get a powerful new crime-solving companion as scientists strive to develop technology for "fingerprinting" and tracing the origins of chemical substances that could be used in terrorist attacks and other criminal acts. That's the topic of the cover story in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

Video surveillance camera revolution revisited in 2-part special issue of Information Polity

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(IOS Press) A two-part special issue of the journal Information Polity (ISSN: 1570-1255) aims to revisit the 'surveillance camera revolution'. It presents contemporary thinking and research on the use of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV), and draws out issues relating to governance and public policy.

Statistical model unlocks barriers to use of fingerprint evidence in court

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Wiley-Blackwell) Potentially key fingerprint evidence is currently not being considered due to shortcomings in the way it is reported, according to a report published today in Significance, the magazine of the Royal Statistical Society and the American Statistical Association. Researchers involved in the study have devised a statistical model to enable the weight of fingerprint evidence to be quantified, paving the way for its full inclusion in the criminal identification process.

The governance of synthetic biology

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars/Science and Technology Innovation Program) The Synthetic Biology Project at the Woodrow Wilson Center is launching a new online scorecard to track efforts to better govern synthetic biology research and development.

Tackling financial exploitation of elderly people

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Economic & Social Research Council) Professionals who are in close contact with elderly people could soon be in a better position to spot if they are being financially exploited, for example through a lottery scam or by a deceitful relative draining the bank account, thanks to a pioneering new study funded by the UK Research Councils' New Dynamics of Aging program.

Justifying insurance coverage for orphan drugs

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(The Hastings Center) Can insurers justify spending hundreds of thousands of dollars per patient per year on "orphan drugs" - extremely expensive medications for rare conditions that are mostly chronic and life-threatening -- when this money could provide greater overall health benefits to many other patients? Those spending decisions reflect the "rule of rescue," the value that our society places on saving lives in immediate danger at any expense. Will the rule of rescue become more difficult to support?

Teenage pregnancy is not a racial issue

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(SAGE Publications) While researchers have long set to determine if there is a tie between race and teenage pregnancy, according to a new study, equating black teenagers with the problem of teenage pregnancy is a misrepresentation of today's reality. This new study is detailed in the article, "Black Teenage Pregnancy: A Dynamic Social Problem," published in SAGE Open.

Planet Under Pressure conference (London, UK, March 26-29)

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Earth System Science Partnership) More than 2,500 leading thinkers in a wide range of global change research areas will present new findings in climate change, environmental geo-engineering, international governance, the future of the oceans and biodiversity, global trade, development, poverty alleviation, food security and more. Authoritative perspectives on today's State of the Planet and recommendations will form a contribution to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 20-22.

Computer order entry systems reduce preventable adverse drug events

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(Brigham and Women's Hospital) New research from Brigham and Women's Hospital examined the impact of a vendor-developed CPOE in five community hospitals in Massachusetts and found that these CPOE systems are effective at reducing drug-related injury and harm. This research is published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Engineers boost computer processor performance by over 20 percent

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(North Carolina State University) Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique that allows graphics processing units and central processing units on a single chip to collaborate -- boosting processor performance by an average of more than 20 percent.

Big jolt to state economy with new tax on cigarettes

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(University of California - San Francisco) A new UCSF analysis has found that a state ballot initiative to increase the cigarette tax would create about 12,000 jobs and nearly $2 billion in new economic activity in California.

Domestic cats, and wild bobcats and pumas, living in same area have same diseases

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

(National Science Foundation) The joint National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases Program funded the study. Scientists at Colorado State University and other institutions conducted the research. It provides evidence that domestic cats and wild cats that share the same outdoor areas in urban environments also can share diseases such as Bartonellosis and Toxoplasmosis. Both can be spread from cats to people.