Search

The article discusses the construction of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia, which is hoping that generous funding and great research facilities with attract the talent needed to make it a top-ranked institution. According to the author, scientists at KAUST’s Red Sea Science and Engineering Research Center plan on using the coral reefs of the Red Sea as the centerpiece in understanding aspects of the marine environment from genomics to ecosystems. Topics include a brief overview of the design and construction of KAUST, what will be necessary to amass the talent needed for success, and how research at KAUST will be funded.

The article offers world news briefs as of July 12, 2013. The Public Patent Foundation of New York City and U.S. nonprofit organization Consumer Watchdog are challenging a human embryonic stem cells patent awarded to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) in 2006. A consortium of British financiers has pledged to fund the establishment of the Farr Institute for health informatics research. Turkish scientists note increased anti-evolution bias in Turkey's government.

The article discusses a U.S. Senate investigation that is forcing federally funded medical institutions to reveal the amount they receive from U.S. companies. The focus of the article is psychiatrist Alan Schatzberg and colleagues, of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, who co-founded a company called Corcept Therapeutics to license technology for use in the clinical trials of mifepristone, which is a drug patented by Stanford. Topics include U.S. Senator Charles Grassley accusation that Schatzberg concealed from Stanford that he held stock in the company, the rule changes by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) from which Schatzberg received funding to perform a clinical study, and debate over the conflict of interests between corporations and academic researchers. INSET: SENATE PROBE OF RESEARCH PSYCHIATRISTS.

Discusses the impact of results from audits of 18 major research universities made to find indirect costs abuses. Audits done by General Accounting Office (GAO) and inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Evidence of persistent low-level abuse of indirect cost system by nearly all universities audited. Interpretation of results; Interim rules; Concerns; Tuition reimbursement issue. INSET: A tour through the indirect cost labyrinth, by D.P.H..

Reports on the National Science Foundation's (NSF) campaign efforts to use peer review to renovate campus research laboratories. NSF's reluctance to push for funding increases in research; Congress' approval of a measure that would give NSF $250 million for its infrastructure program in the fiscal year starting October 1, 1994; Reasons for the popularity of academic facilities program. INSET: NIH adds to the facilities boom, by J.M..

The article discusses problems facing The Cheerland-Watson Center for Life Sciences and Technology in Shenzhen, China. Topics include the relation of scientist James Watson to the project, the funding of the research center by the firm CheerLand Investment Group, and a comparison of the center to the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in New York state.

The article discusses the impacts of changes to Spanish government accounting rules on research institutes. Impacts on the Spanish Oceanography Institute (IEO) and the Solar Platform of Almería (PSA) are addressed. The relation of budget cuts to problems with recruited researchers is addressed. Issues with the funding of public research institutes (OPIs) are noted in the context of Spanish politics.

The article discusses whether president-elect of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Vladimir Fortov, can reform the institution. Topics include concerns regarding whether or not Fortov has sufficient power and resolve to carry RAS' mandate through, an overview of the tenure of former RAS president Yuri Osipov, Fortov's activities with the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR), which is a government body created as an alternative funding channel outside RAS, and the challenges Fortov faces in trying to convince Russia's science minister, Dmitry Livanov, to grant him additional time to reform RAS internally.

The article discusses the restoration of funding for a novel biomedical network, called the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation (AMRF), by billionaire and owner of the resort company Las Vegas Sands Corp., Sheldon Adelson. Topics include the unusual strategy of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) neurologist and AMRF director, Bruce Dobkin, to ensure funding for AMRF, the controversy surrounding Adelson's legal battles with business competitors and unions, and Adelson's decision to fund AMRF. Also discussed are the financial challenges of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. and its impact on funding for the AMRF.

The article discusses the conclusions by a blue-ribbon panel of business leaders, university presidents, and prominent scientists convened by the U.S. National Academies to create a list of the top ten steps necessary to maintain excellence in U.S. research education. Among the panel's conclusions was the need for more federal support, but with fewer rules attached. Reaction from higher education officials and those who requested the report, including members of the House of Representatives science committee, are presented. Also presented is a chart showing the amount of research dollars, in millions, given to research universities from 1990-2005 and one showing the amount given as a percent of the U.S. gross domestic product in the same time period.

The article discusses the creation of a panel composed of members of the U.S. National Academies to examine the health of U.S. research universities. According to the author, U.S. research universities are under increasing stress as a result of shrinking endowments, a decline in state support, and difficulty in complying with federal rules regarding bioweapons research. Topics include a brief history of the relationship between the academic community and the U.S. government following World War II (WW II), the approach by the panel's chairperson Charles Holliday to address various university issues, and an overview of a 2006 report titled "Rising Above the Gathering Storm," by the National Academies regarding the health of research universities.

The article reports on the debate about the Higher Education and Research bill in Great Britain which proposes to establish a body that will manage the country's research funding.

The article reports on the criticism regarding the proposed construction of research center Human Technopole Italy 2040 (HT) in Milan, Italy. Topics discussed include an overview of HT, the intended budget for HT, the science and technology in the country, and the development of research institutes and universities.

The article discusses the research projects at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which are approved and ready to go out for bids. The projects were part of a list that physicists and science lobbyists compiled for Congress and U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration. Within the DOE, similar project lists were being compiled, per order of the former head of the DOE’s Office of Science Patricia Dehmer, to take advantage of funding that was part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). DOE’s tight science budget created a backlog of projects such research improvements to national laboratories. An overview of where DOE allocated stimulus funding, including its research entity Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is presented.

The article focuses on the Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC). It states that former ASCC chief executive officer Stephen Livesey pushed a business model where ASCC commercialized products would sustain the center after public funding ended in 2011. It mentions that ASCC scientists are examining alternative funding sources and reviewing research plans while Australia's government is considering either endorsing a new business plan or withdrawing public funding and closing the ASCC down early.

The article reports that Texas voters' approval in the November 2008 elections to a measure would lead to $3 billion in grants to wage war against cancer. Governor Rick Perry has signed legislation that would create a cancer institute to manage the 10-year program, funded through state bonds. Voters are being asked to approve the sale of $3 billion in bonds to fund the institute. The plan is being endorsed by a coalition that includes the Austin-based foundation run by cycling champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. Some scientists are concerned about the fund's grants review committee as they are apprehensive about the panel's expertise, citing stipulations in the legislation.

The article offers information on the decision of Canadian government to award greater funding to scientific research institutions. The funds have come as a part of the 2007-08 budget unveiled by the government with an increase in overall spending by 5%. The budget also proposes setting up of Centers of Excellence for Commercialization and Research and has allocated more than $130 million to eight institutions working in the fields of brain research, stroke recovery, sustainable energy etc. Some scientists have also criticized the practice of funding without peer reviews which could channelize funds to undeserving institutions.

Reports that in July 1998 the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) awarded $60.5 million to seven centers across the United States to scale up their efforts to sequence the human genome. The field of centers working on the project in 1999; Pressure being felt to complete the mapping process of the human genome; What the centers will do with the additional funds; Names of the seven centers chosen.

The article reports that on October 31, 2014 the German federal government agreed on a research funding package through 2020, with the bulk of the money going to universities and research institutions, and to continue a competition for extra funding, called the Excellence Initiative.

In this article, the author reflects on the work of the Japanese version of National Institutes of Health (J-NIH). He informs that the medical and health strategies under the J-NIH will be developed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the J-NIH will include an incorporated administrative agency (IAA) for allocating funds to research institutions and universities. He mentions that concern among scientists in Japan are concerned that the J-NIH is associated with budget cuts for research.

The article reports the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois announced in December 2012 that it had to reduce its overall annual budget to $65 million in order to avoid a fiscal crisis. The Field Museum's president Richard Lariviere said the science departments will probably lose a total of $3 million from their budgets. The article notes factors contributing to the Field Museum's increasing imbalance between expenses and revenues. Topics include the Field Museum's $300 million endowment, the cost of maintaining the building, and the cost of servicing debt for projects.

Statistics are presented on the collective weight of the world's adult human population, the amount of federal funding needed by U.S. research universities in order to maintain its status as the best in the world, and the cash amount of the Wellcome Trust Screenwriting Prize.

Statistics are presented on the estimated number of global malaria deaths in 2010, the amount by which the British charity Cancer Research UK will cut its annual research budget, and the amount paid for a checklist used by U.S. astronaut James Lovell during the U.S. Apollo 13 space mission.

The article discusses the fate of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) in Santa Barbara, California, which faces an end to its core funding by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Topics include a brief overview of the foundation of NCEAS, which operates as a research institute, and the impact that the elimination of NSF funding will have on NCEAS research.

The article reports that the government of Singapore is changing the way it finances research and development (R&D). According to reports, Singapore's bioscience institutes under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) will have their budgets cut and will have to compete with Singapore's universities and colleges for grant money. An overview of the impetus for the change and the response of A*STAR members to the change is presented.

The authors opine on research in China and what they consider to be a slow pace of innovation that belies the growth rate in national research funds. The authors say funding and cultural problems are to blame for less-than optimum innovation. The authors describe a system of grant management that funnels research money to favored scientists with bureaucratic connections.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article “Aufbau Ost: Max Planck's East German Experiment,” by G. Vogel in the November 6, 2009 issue.

The article discusses the difficulties for grant recipients who must report how the money they receive from the U.S. government is spent, including its impact on scientific employment. Topics includes an overview of a federal pilot project whose goal it is to increase the accuracy of the count and reduce the burden on U.S. research universities. Statistics related to the number of science jobs created by recovery funds are also presented.

The article discusses a letter written by 100 Russian researchers who work abroad. The letter, which was published in the business newspaper “Vedomosti,” complains of the situation of Russian research and addresses the Russian president and prime minister directly, regarding the low level of funding for research. Topics include a brief overview of the reaction by Russian officials to the letter and ways in which scientists think Russia can attract world-scale scientific projects.

The article discusses the increase in 2009 budget for U.S. research agencies. It is mentioned that U.S. Senate passed the 2009 budget resolutions that would add $3 billion to President George W. Bush's budget request at National Institutes of Health. According to Dave Moore of the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington D.C., U.S. research agencies see positive signs of support. It is also mentioned that although budget increase for research agencies was endorsed, getting the additional money would be difficult.

The article reports on the qualified blessing given by a key European Parliament committee to the European Institute of Technology (EIT) which is proposed by the European Commission (EC). The EIT was not only approved by relevant European ministries, but the parliament's Industry Research and Energy panel has endorsed it. However, the committee has rejected to EC's plan to take the European Union's (E.U.) €308 million contribution to the EIT's €2.4 billion budget from existing innovation plans. Moreover , in line with this, the European Parliament is planning to debate on the plan.

The article reports on the decision of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana to join a network that would guide university biomedical inventions to the market in the United States. Alfred Mann institutes are designed to be governed by a board split between the university and the California-based Mann Foundation. Mann intends to finance at least ten more institutes. A prototype was set up in 1998 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and a second was created at Technion University in Israel.

The article reports that the 2007 finance bill of the Italian government led by Prime Minister Romano Prodi, would provide no growth for cash-starved universities and research centers. Researchers, students, university rectors, institute heads and eminent scientists, have all appealed for more funds. The development has led to discontent among scientists as Prodi had pledged in his election campaign to hike research spending from the current level of 1.1% of gross domestic product to 3% by 2010.

The article offers news briefs related to the U.S. Susan Solomon , a lawyer and Mary Elizabeth Bunzel, a journalist, both from New York, have started a stem cell foundation for the expansion of stem cell research. Recently, the Ludwig Fund for Cancer Research announced gifts of $20 million each to six universities in the U.S. for the establishment of cancer centers. Richard Murphy, president of Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, California has decided to retire from his post.

The article reports that the Italian government's new budget has cancelled its financial support for a $410 million Biomedical Research Center joint project in Palermo, Italy. The joint project was planned between the Italian government and the University of Pittsburgh Medical School for studies of regenerative medicine, medical imaging, and computational biology. Funding was promised by former prime minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi, who was defeated in the April 2006 National election. The cancellation represents a huge loss for Sicily, Italy. The medical school will look for other partners.

Presents a letter to the editor on the decision of the board of directors of the Chilean Millennium Science Initiative Program to discontinue funding for the Institute for Studies in Cell Biology and Biotechnology.

The article reports on computer scientist Nicholas Negroponte, chair of MIT's Media Lab comments over the announcement that the 5-year-old Dublin center was running out of money and would be closing. Negroponte reported that the Media Lab should not have been involved in managing the center. Lab officials indicated that they will not repeat the mistake in future international ventures including an upcoming offshoot in Taiwan.

Scientists in Europe got some holiday cheer last month from a report calling for the creation of a $2.5-billion-a-year basic research agency. Issued on December 19, 2003 by a group of experts assembled to advise research ministers, the report "is a major push" toward a European Research Council, says Enric Banda, the secretary-general of the European Science Foundation and a longtime supporter of the concept. Although national agencies fund basic research, many scientists have complained that a European Union-wide program is needed to complement the E.U.'s $25 billion, 5-year Framework program, which is devoted largely to applied research.

Reports the United States funding for the Basic Research and Higher Education (BRHE) Program in Russia. Aim of BRHE; Expansion of research centers across the country; Grants for center equipment and supplies purchasing; Background of the BRHE foundation; Emphasis on attracting young scientists in the centers.

Reports the European Union (EU) funding of the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI), the repository of DNA and protein sequence information in Cambridge, England. Projects needing financial assistance; Support provided by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory to EBI; Factors affecting the financing decision of EU.

Presents news items related to science in the United States as of March 30, 2001. Results of a study conducted by researcher Thomas Platts-Mills and colleagues from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, which found out that children living with cats are less likely than those in catless households to become allergic to the animals; U.S. National Institutes of Health's funding of research institutions in 2000.

Reports on the suspension of Duke University's Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina to do federally funded research. The Office for Protection from Research Risks' (OPRR) notice to federally funded United States research institutions; Defects in the U.S. system of protecting human research subjects; Comments by Ralph Snyderman, chancellor of health affairs.

Reports the opposition to a new set of rules drafted by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which would limit subsidies for research facilities. Response of university lobbyists and researchers; Details of proposed regulation; Protests from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), among others.