Science Education & Policy

I've never been a shark guy, I will confess that to you.   Actually, I have never been an animal guy of any kind.   When I was a wee scientist / media guru / journalist / game show host,…

OK, I agree lectures aren't the best format, but Google and Wikipedia aren't a substitute: The old-style lecture, with the professor standing at the podium in front of a large group of students, is…

The NY Times recently criticized cancer funding policies as being too risk-averse. The Director of the National Cancer Institute has responded, but his response helps prove the point that funding is…

The biomedical community has become too risk-averse, according to a recent NY Times piece. I agree, although I don't agree with the dramatic presentation (it's not some dirty scientific secret - it's…

Drosophila can't catch a break.  Even Nature, which never runs a press release about one of its studies without putting 'prestigious' in front of its name, fell prey to a glaring error regarding…

The first U.S. charter school opened in 1992. Since then the number of charters has grown to more than 4,000 in 40 states, serving 1.2 million students, according to RAND, a nonprofit research…

I largely agree with this (subscription required for full text): The media not only influence public perceptions but also shape and reflect the policy debate. Few decisions are made by policymakers…

A study of patients and members of the public has shown that most lack even basic knowledge of human anatomy. The research, featured in the journal BMC Family Practice, found that people were…

This study on "Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science" is now old news, but it hasn't answered many of the questions we're interested in about women in academic science…

Both boys and girls have issues but boys are  getting a raw deal, according to Judith Kleinfeld, professor of psychology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the US. It's commonplace to…