Agricultural research in the US will require fresh investments and re-distribution of existing resources to address emerging challenges to the nation’s food supply, according to a report released on 7 December by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Read more
Just two months after rejecting a nearly identical immigration measure, members of the US House of Representatives passed a bill on 30 November to grant permanent residency for up to 55,000 foreign researchers with US degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Read more
US Republican leaders announced on 27 November their recommendation of Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas, as the new chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Smith’s nomination is expected to be ratified by the House Republican Conference on 28 November. Read more
As national science agencies brace for sweeping budget cuts in 2013, some experts warn that US research efforts in Antarctica are poised to suffer devastating damage. The 8% across-the-board reductions, set to take effect in January, would likely draw heavily from scientific research while sparing infrastructure and logistical operations that support experiments in the unforgiving polar environment. Read more
Research and recovery efforts linked to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill received a welcome boost on 15 November as part of a landmark settlement by the oil-and-gas giant BP plc. Read more
A California regulatory board has denied a key permit on 14 November for a proposed study of undersea faults near the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo County. The plant’s owners, San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), had designed the project to aid the state in re-evaluating earthquake risks to California’s two nuclear facilities following the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in March 2011. Read more
Farish Jenkins, a noted paleontologist and charismatic professor at Harvard University died on 11 November, after what friends say was a long struggle with cancer. He was 72. Read more
While the contest between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney was clearly the main event in US general elections on 6 November, when the dust finally settled voters across the country had also weighed in on dozens of ballot measures. Here is a rundown of some of the votes with relevance for science, health and environment policy. Read more
A public falling out between two prominent animal right activists has prompted a restraining order and an arrest, casting light on the volatile mix of personalities that may fuel extreme elements of the animal rights movement. Read more
Traumatic memories can be manipulated in sleeping mice to reduce their fearful responses during waking hours. The finding, announced by Stanford University researchers at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, suggests that sleep-based therapies could provide new options for treating conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Read more
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