NASW news

by Rachel Carr

Charles Darwin received ample tribute at the AAAS meeting in Chicago, which opened 200 years after the scientist's birth and 150 years after the publication of his watershed work On the Origin of Species. One speaker took the talk of origins back to a more primal stage, spotlighting the formation of the first organic molecules in the dusty neighborhoods of young stars.

In a 13 February symposium on "The Cosmic Cradle of Life," Anthony Remijan of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) unveiled a new resource that may help astrochemists trace the genesis of the ingredients for life on Earth -- and possibly life elsewhere in the universe.

• read more

by Danielle C. Bartolo

Scientists need to look beyond their laboratories to include not just microscopes and beakers but lawmakers on Capitol Hill, said a panel of professors and policy experts on 14 February at the AAAS meeting in Chicago.

Across the country, institutions of higher learning are implementing science policy courses for undergraduate and graduate students. Despite this trend, more programs of study are needed. Together, the panelists encouraged science students, and their institutions, to supplement biological, chemical, or physical science preparation with exploration into the process of policymaking, drafting legislation, and lobbying for a cause.

• read more

BY SONIYA TAMBE

Civilizations throughout Earth's history have been powerless to prevent floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. Today, we can foresee "stealth disasters" of our own making -- and we must respond, said geologist Susan Keiffer of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on 14 February at the AAAS meeting in Chicago.

• read more

By Evan Pellegrino

It's time to expect the unexpected. Leading environmental researchers issued that warning on 13 February at the AAAS meeting in Chicago, during a symposium to address how Earth's ecology is responding to climate change. According to the scientists, the debate on why the world is warming has ended. Now that researchers have established that humans are at least partially responsible, they said, it's critical to focus on how climate change might affect life in the 21st century and what can be done to manage the impacts.

• read more

By Brent Ardaugh

Biomedical researchers are getting personal. That, at least, is the trend foreseen by geneticist T. Conrad Gilliam of the University of Chicago, who spoke on 13 February at the AAAS meeting in Chicago. In a provocative address titled "Human Genetics, Genomics, and the Future of Medicine," Gilliam explored personalized medicine — and his efforts to trace some diseases to many sets of interacting genes.

• read more

by Myles Gough

Despite long-standing suspicions between the governments of the United States and North Korea, a progressive group of American intellectuals is calling for increased scientific cooperation between the two countries. Speaking at the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Chicago on 13 February, members of the U.S - D.P.R.K. Scientific Engagement Consortium pointed to science as a tool for bridging the political gap.

• read more

by Christina Harview

Climate change, one of the leading science and society stories of the past decade, remained a hot ticket for both scientists and journalists at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago. Attendees packed a session titled "Hot and Hotter: Media Coverage of Climate-Change Impacts, Policies, and Politics" on 13 February.

• read more

by Justin Chakma

Africa's reputation as a scientific backwater has deep roots. Political instability, malnutrition, disease, and poverty have loomed as far more serious issues than tinkering with science. But in recent years, biotechnology research and development has emerged in many African countries. Researchers there now have the potential to tackle the AIDS epidemic, water pollution, and other major problems through local and national initiatives, said speakers on 13 February at the AAAS meeting in Chicago.

• read more