Science investments in Obama's 2012 budget request endorsed by Earth and space scientists
2011-02-16
(Press-News.org) WASHINGTON -- The American Geophysical Union (AGU) today
endorses President Barack Obama's 2012 budget request, specifically
noting its recognition of the critical impact scientific research has on
economic competitiveness, national security and public health. AGU is the
world's largest organization of Earth and space scientists.
"While the need to reduce the national debt is real, support for scientific
research and engineering is absolutely critical to U.S. innovation and job
creation," said Michael J. McPhaden, AGU's President. "As we search for
the solutions that will advance our global competitiveness, investments in
scientific research and in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) education will be 'game changers'."
McPhaden cited "Rising above the Gathering Storm," a National Academy
of Sciences assessment of the science and technology enhancements that
can help the United States compete, prosper and be secure in the global
community of the 21st century. It offers a substantial body of evidence
that links innovation, largely driven by advances in science and
engineering, to job creation. According to the report, while scientists and
engineers represent only 4 percent of the nation's workforce, their work
creates jobs for the other 96 percent.
"AGU applauds the President's commitment to increasing support for the
National Science Foundation, the DOE Office of Science, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Institute of
Standards and Technology--as well as his dedication to improving STEM
education" said Christine McEntee, AGU's Executive Director. "As the
nation struggles to deal with impacts of climate change in everything from
agriculture to energy and transportation, increases for the Global Change
Research Program that support the new NOAA Climate Service and
Department of Interior Climate Centers will be especially critical."
INFORMATION:
The American Geophysical Union is a not-for-profit, professional,
scientific organization with more than 60,000 members representing over
148 countries. AGU advances the Earth and space sciences through its
scholarly publications, conferences, and outreach programs. It is
accessible on the Web at www.agu.org.
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-02-16
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, February 15, 2011 – Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers have developed techniques to manipulate root development functionality that can help plants better adapt to hostile growing environments.
In a recent paper published in the prestigious journal The Plant Cell, BGU researchers were able show that by manipulating a specific gene they could impact lateral root growth. Lateral root (LR) development is a highly regulated process that determines a plant's growth and ability to adapt to life in different environmental conditions.
The researchers ...
2011-02-16
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Physical Society (APS) agrees with President Obama's emphasis on science in his proposed Fiscal Year 2012 budget. His priorities keep the nation on a path of scientific advancement, technological innovation and economic growth.
APS is pleased that the President's budget maintains a doubling path for the three scientific agencies that are crucial to our nation's future competitiveness – the Department of Energy's Office of Science, the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Scientists, who receive ...
2011-02-16
More than a third of coral reef fish species are in jeopardy of local extinction from the impacts of climate change on coral reefs, a new scientific study has found.
(Local extinction refers to the loss of species from individual locations, while they continue to persist elsewhere across their range.)
A new predictive method developed by an international team of marine scientists has found that a third of reef fishes studied across the Indian Ocean are potentially vulnerable to increasing stresses on the reefs due to climate change.
The method also gives coral reef ...
2011-02-16
PORTLAND, Ore. — Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children's Hospital have defined the cell of origin for a kind of cancer called sarcoma. In a study published today as the Featured Article in the journal Cancer Cell, they report that childhood and adult sarcomas are linked in their biology, mutations and the cells from which these tumors first start. These findings may lead to non-chemotherapy medicines that can inhibit "molecular targets" such as growth factor receptors, thereby stopping or eradicating the disease.
Childhood muscle cancer, ...
2011-02-16
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders may be at higher risk for hemorrhagic stroke at a younger age and more likely to have diabetes compared to other ethnicities, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 63rd Annual Meeting in Honolulu April 9 to April 16, 2011.
"Racial differences in stroke risk factors have been well-studied in Hispanic and African-American populations, but this is the first study to address people of Native Hawaiian ethnicity," said study author Kazuma Nakagawa, MD, with ...
2011-02-16
Contact: Jonathan Covault, M.D., Ph.D.
jocovault@uchc.edu
860-679-7560
University of Connecticut School of Medicine
A. Leslie Morrow, Ph.D.
morrow@med.unc.edu
919-966-7682
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
How genetic variations in neuroactive steroid-producing enzymes may influence drinking habits
Alcohol dependence (AD) may develop through alcohol's effects on neural signaling.
Researchers have found that neuroactive steroids may mediate some of the effects of alcohol on γ-aminobutyric ...
2011-02-16
Contact: Richard J. Rose, Ph.D.
rose@indiana.edu
812-855-8770
Indiana University
Matt McGue, Ph.D.
mmcgue@tfs.psych.umn.edu
612-625-8305
University of Minnesota
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
Why problem drinking during adolescence is never a 'phase'
The Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI) is widely used to assess adolescent drinking-related problems.
Researchers used adolescent RAPI scores to
examine diagnoses of alcohol dependence during young adulthood.
More drinking-related problems experienced at age 18 were associated ...
2011-02-16
Contact: Katherine P. Theall, Ph.D.
ktheall@tulane.edu
504-988-4535
Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
Density of neighborhood liquor stores is especially risky for African-Americans who drink
Previous studies have shown a strong link between neighborhood alcohol environments and outcomes such as drunk driving and violence. This study investigated linkages between neighborhood liquor stores, on-premise outlets, convenience stores, and supermarket densities and at-risk drinking among African ...
2011-02-16
Contact: Ian Demsky
idemsky@umich.edu
734-764-2220
University of Michigan
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
Alcohol's disruptive effects on sleep may be more pronounced among women
Researchers have known for decades that alcohol can initially deepen sleep during the early part of the night but then disrupt sleep during the latter part of the night; this is called a "rebound effect." A new study of the influence of gender and family history of alcoholism on sleep has found that intoxication can increase feelings of sleepiness while at the same time ...
2011-02-16
A paper published in this week's issue of PLoS Medicine provides the most detailed assessment thus far of civilian deaths in the course of the recent Iraq war. Madelyn Hsiao-Rei Hicks from King's College London, UK and colleagues analyzed data from Iraq Body Count (IBC), a nongovernmental project that collates media reports of deaths of individual Iraqi civilians and cross-checks these reports with data from hospitals, morgues, nongovernmental organizations, and official figures.
The authors studied 92,614 Iraqi civilian direct deaths from the IBC database that occurred ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Science investments in Obama's 2012 budget request endorsed by Earth and space scientists
