A good day at the polls for life science
The results of the Congressional elections on Tuesday have a little something to make everyone happy and a little something to make them sad. The life science research community in the United States should feel good about its position coming out of the election. The … Read more
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Opponents Try Fetal Tissue Research Ban Again
For the second year in a row, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are trying to prohibit the use of U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funds for research with fetal tissue. The first attempt was in 2017, during the preparation of the … Read more
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Big Presentation in Historic Location
The location of the meeting was in an out-of-the-way private office at the end of corridors not on the public tours of the Capitol. In fact, the Senate staff member serving as escort had never been to the room before and was not sure of … Read more
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NIGMS Redefines Graduate Training
During his interview with ASCB President Jodi Nunnari,1 Jon Lorsch, director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), gave her a hint of the upcoming changes to the NIGMS training program. In describing the changes, Lorsch said “We’re focused on improving the diversity … Read more
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A Good Bill with Bad Implications
Since 2011, Representative William Lacy Clay (D-MO) has introduced a bill in each Congress with a very noble goal: to require that appointments to federal agency advisory committees be made without consideration of political involvement or party membership. Unfortunately, the good intentions also could mean … Read more
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Mixed News on International Funding for Science
At the same time that the U.S. National Institutes of Health is benefiting from increases in its budget, the news in other nations is mixed. Researchers in Canada continue to see support from the Trudeau administration. Scientists at government labs in India are not as lucky. … Read more
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ASCB leadership “shocked and saddened” by Supreme Court travel decision
In a letter to ASCB members, Jodi Nunnari, ASCB President, Andrew Murray, President-Elect, and Pietro De Camilli, Past President, said the decision by the United States Supreme Court to uphold the Trump Administration ban on travel from seven countries (Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, North … Read more
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ASCB issues comments on Next Generation Researchers Initiative
Soon after the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the creation of the Grant Support Index (GSI) in May 2017, the ASCB Executive Committee asked the Public Policy Committee (PPC) to review the new proposal and provide them with a position paper. The GSI … Read more
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Two Former ASCB Presidents Win Breakthrough Prizes
Two past Presidents of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB), Don Cleveland and Peter Walter, are among the winners of the 2018 Breakthrough Prize in Biomedical Research. Cleveland, a researcher at the University of California, San Diego, was 2013 ASCB President and Walter, a … Read more
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Tax cut bill could raise taxes for graduate students
Congress is quickly working on a bill that, if passed, would make major changes to the U.S. tax system, including tax reductions that would reduce the amount of revenue coming into the federal government. The 400-page bill approved on Thursday afternoon by the House Ways … Read more