World / Politics
Slate of the Union
Week in Review / by / January 29, 2010
A few hours after Steve Jobs announced the iPad, President Obama delivered a slightly more important speech. What he said—and didn’t say—about the future of science funding and NASA.
Now In Politics
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The One that Got Away
A dead fish has caused a stink over false positives in fMRI studies, and while gloom and doom reign at UN climate talks, renting a movie you actually like has never been easier.
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Czar Wars
As a TV pundit takes down one of President Obama’s green “czars,” the US figures out how to pay its way back to the Moon and beyond, plus a nerd-rock band declares “Science is Real.”
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Loggerheads at Bloggingheads
A falling out over creationism at a popular videoblogging site and muddled reactions to a report on geoengineering illustrate what’s at stake in the “framing wars.”
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Pluto, David Bowie, and the Flu
The president's science advisers tackle swine flu's resurgence while Pluto’s defenders mourn its "demotion," and a researcher writes the perfect Bowie song.
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Death and the Rumor Mill
With healthcare reform on the table, rumors about end of life care were greatly exaggerated. Plus a carnivorous plant is hyped and DNA evidence is faked.
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Counting Green Cars
While Cash for Clunkers is topped off with an extra $2 billion, science journalists do the math on its environmental impact. Plus, two diseases traced back to their primate origins.
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Roboethics Redux
After Fox News misrepresents a military robot’s dietary habits, the world muses over what ethical behavior means for intelligent programs and machines.
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Full Moon, Half Measures
As the world turned its attention to the moon, politicians tried to figure out how much it will cost to save the Earth and who is responsible for footing the bill.
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New York’s Stem Cell Coup
Now that new national stem cell guidelines are in place, New York’s recent policy shift could make it the stem cell capital of the country.
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The New Ambassadors of Science
Francis Collins and Regina Benjamin are tapped, SpaceX races NASA into orbit, a Pew Poll on the public perception of science, and Microsoft releases Feynman lectures.
Europe
Spotlight on Science Diplomacy
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband recently made the case for research as a political bridge. How the UK is building a foundation for a new kind of international policy.
Week in Review
Works in Progress
Whether it is climate change or life on Mars, revealing the hairy—and human—underbelly of how science is done means controversy for the public at large.
Week in Review
Sad Sacks
As a UK adviser is fired over politically unpalatable advice and an English teacher is suspended over an article about animal sexuality, the fate of facts is on the line.
Week in Review
Pushing a Power Portfolio
As alternative energy funding plans are rolled out, a long-running debate over nuclear rages on Earth and in space.
Now on SEEDMAGAZINE.COM
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World
Press Gang
With New York City about to let bloggers qualify for press passes, a look at what breaking down the walls between old and new media means for science reporting.
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Culture
The Ancient, Distant, and Dead
Artist Katie Paterson captures signals and noises from a faraway melting glacier, long-dead stars, and the initial moments of the universe.
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Ideas
A Sober Assessment
Alcohol is an important part of life in many cultures throughout the world, but there are many misperceptions about this common social lubricant.
