News & Views Index
December
2010

 

 

Science Plays 20-Questions with President Obama's Scientific Advisor.    29/12/10

    "I don't like to get into the business of invidious comparisons with the previous Administration if I can help it." [More]  

 

Are the Difficulties of Finding Qualified Individuals for Peer Review Overstated?    29/12/10 [More]

 

HECS Architect Decries Green's Preoccupation with Abolition of University Fees.    29/12/10

    "It is a very regressive use of taxpayers' money to have graduates contribute nothing." [More

 

The Australian Science Media Centre's Top Ten Science Discoveries in 2010.    23/12/10

    The Australian Science Media Centre has put together lists of what it considers to be the top ten science discoveries and the ten weirdest science stories in 2010. [More]

 

Reactions to OSTP's 4-Page Set of Guidelines for Scientific Integrity Policy.    22/12/10

    James Hanson: The use of political appointees to run public-affairs offices, and the requirement that the White House screen testimonies that scientists make to Congress have not been addressed. [More]

 

What Percent of University R&D Funding is Awarded Competitively Through Peer Review?    20/12/10 [More]

 

US Supreme Court to Rule if Power Companies May Be Sued to Curb Their Greenhouse Gas Emissions.    19/12/10

    Five power companies have challenged a federal appeals court's ruling that they may be sued to curb their greenhouse gas emissions. [More]

 

Consultation Paper on Higher Education Base Funding Review Released.    18/12/10

    Universities and the higher education sector asked to contribute their views about the future of higher education funding by 31/3/11. [More]

 

John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Releases Scientific Integrity Memorandum.    18/12/10

    "I am confident that today’s Memorandum will help ensure that science and technology continue to be brought to bear by this Administration with the greatest effectiveness and integrity..." [More

 

PCAST -- First Meeting for 2011. 17/12/10

    The first meeting of the US President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology at the beginning of the second decade of this millennium is scheduled for January 7, 2011. [More]

 

18 Months Late and Counting But US Scientific Integrity Guidelines Promised By Year's End.    15/12/10

    In March of 2009 President Obama laid out the basic principles and  instructed John Holdren, to create guidelines for federal agencies within 90 days. [More]

 

Female US Doctorates in Science and Engineering Continue to Climb.    14/12/10 [More]

 

The Climate Will Not Be Saved At Cancún, But the United Nations Negotiations Have Been.    13/12/10

    TFW has been reminded of an utterance by Lord Lloyd spoken in Britain's House of Lords less than nine months before the beginning of World War II. [More]

 

The Performance of Scientific Peer Reviewers.    13/12/10

    As reviewers age does the quality of their reviews slowly diminish? [More]  

 

Let's Hear It For the Youngsters.    11/12/10

    A decade ago two German academies "recognized that nurturing young scientists would be the key to rebuilding a strong and competitive scientific environment". [More

 

Union of Concerned Scientists Releases 3 Climate Comments.    10/12/10

    Come January, climate deniers—backed by big oil, the coal industry, and electric utilities—will descend on [the US] Congress... [More

 

Update on the Bacterium That May Be Able to Use Interchangeably Phosphorus and Arsenic.    08/12/10

     "The arsenate ion said to replace phosphate in the bacterium's DNA forms bonds that are orders of magnitude less stable." [More]

 

Data From the 2009 Edition of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).    08/12/10

    PISA focuses on young people’s ability to use their knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges. [More

 

Comments From Cancún Week One at the 16th Annual Meeting of Members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Carry the Stench of Death.    06/12/10 [More]

 

An Intellectual Black Hole.    06/12/10

    Regarding news items on climate change -- three views. [More]

 

Baseload Power and a Supergrid.    04/12/10

    Pumped-storage hydroelectric dams can store electricity at more than 85% efficiency. [More

 

Food Security and Australian Agriculture.    04/12/10

    At the moment there would seem to be something of a disconnect between PMSEIC and Professor Scott on the one hand and the Chair Group of Eight , Professor Greenfield on the other. [More

 

A Bacterium That May Be Able to Use Interchangeably Phosphorus and Arsenic.    03/12/10

   [The] next step has to be to demonstrate that specific molecules purified from the cells, have arsenic replacing phosphorus and that they are still active. [More]

 

Melbourne's Vice-Chancellor Emails All-Staff Regarding Universities' Lack of Popularity.   01/12/10 [More]

 

Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council Releases Expert Reports on Energy Challenges and Food Security.    01/12/10

    We charged the cross-disciplinary, expert groups that authored these reports to take a holistic approach... [More