Archive by category | Science communication

European Research Council funds arXiv — a taste of changes to come

European Research Council funds arXiv — a taste of changes to come

The European Research Council (ERC) announced today that it has joined the list of more than 170 institutions to financially support arXiv, the major online repository for pre-print papers operated by Cornell University Library in Ithaca, New York.  Read more

Strapped Texas cancer centre built pricey office suite for president’s wife — UPDATED

Strapped Texas cancer centre built pricey office suite for president's wife — UPDATED

The financially stressed MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston appears to have invested at least US$1.5 million in capital funds in a new ‘corporate’ office suite that will be home to Lynda Chin, the wife of MD Anderson president Ronald DePinho.  The revelations come in an article in The Cancer Letter, published today.  Read more

Gairdner Foundation honours two of three prizewinners for hepatitis C research

As they sipped an Ontario sauvignon blanc and munched on Canadian lobster and tuna tartar, guests gathered last night at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC for the presentation of the prestigious Canada Gairdner Awards. But one key guest was missing.  Read more

FDA lowers age for over-the-counter access to morning-after pill

The controversial emergency contraceptive Plan B One-Step will be made available without a doctor’s prescription to girls aged 15 and 16, who currently need a doctor’s order, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced yesterday. The agency also said it would move the pill (levonorgestrel) from behind the pharmacy counter to drugstore shelves. That means that, on weekends and after work hours, older women will no longer need to seek a pharmacy with a working pharmacist to obtain the pill, which becomes less effective the longer after sexual intercourse it is taken. Under the new regime, girls under 15 will continue to need a doctor’s prescription and older females will still need to show proof of age.  Read more

Society for Neuroscience quashing dissent on BRAIN Initiative, critic complains

NIH Director Francis Collins and President Barack Obama announce the "BRAIN" initiative at the White House on 2 April.

Fresh from attending President Barack Obama’s announcement of the BRAIN Initiative at the White House on April 2nd, Society for Neuroscience president Larry Swanson, a neurobiologist at the University of Southern California, composed this letter to SFN’s nearly 42,000 members.  Read more