Scientists & Engineers for America Action Fund

Andy Grove says Plug in Your Car!

Posted by Michael Stebbins on July 7th at 12:25 pm

By Philip Meza

Here is the bottom line from a talk that Andy Grove (Intel former chairman, Time Magazine Man of the Year, 1997, etc.) gave on June 30th at the Stanford Business School on the strategic importance of using electricity for transportation. In a nutshell, plug in electric vehicles are the way to go. And do it now. (Retrofit gas guzzlers first.)

Slides from Grove’s talk at Stanford are available here (pdf).

Grove’s main point is electricity has various sources of inputs (oil, coal, nuclear, wind, etc.) whereas today the transportation sector is almost completely reliant on one source: oil.

With world demand for oil increasing, it seems likely that there will be greater competition for oil which will lead to higher prices and possible conflict. It has happened before. In Grove’s paraphrase (of a recent movie title), “There could be blood.”

Producing more oil in the US will not help because oil is sold on world markets. By contrast, electricity is “sticky” because it is inefficient to transport over oceans.

Grove thinks that more cars running on electricity will improve our strategic security and also help reduce pollution and CO2 emissions. This is because the bad stuff will be centralized at the power plants, where they are subject to current and future industrial emission reductions solutions, and not at the millions of tailpipes of the nations cars.

Sound right to you? Sound wrong? Grove has a piece coming out in The American this month that will be highlighted here. In the mean time, take a look at the slides (pdf).

Philip Meza is the author of Coming Attractions: Hollywood, High Tech and the Future of Entertainment and the co-author of Strategic Dynamics: Concepts and Cases.

Filed under Energy, Views From The Experts
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Hard Data: National Policies Limit Stem Cell Research Output

Posted by Michael Stebbins on July 7th at 11:33 am

From our partners at ScienceProgress

According to a recent study published in the journal Cell, federal policy has a measurable impact on the amount of human embryonic stem cell research conducted in different countries. Countries that exceed expectations for hESC research output tend to have permissive policy environments for the work, whereas under-performing countries often have “protracted policy debates” and strong feelings of uncertainty about the science at hand.

The study, conducted by Aaron D. Levine of Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Public Policy, compares data on the number of hESC-related publications appearing in peer-reviewed journals and concludes that the United States is lagging in the production of hESC-related research publications. Although still the largest single producer of hESC-related research publications, the United States is still the largest underperformer following the metric used by the analysts. One explanation is the fact that Bush Administration policy dictates that federal funds may only be used for hESC research only on cell lines derived before August 9, 2001.

According to the study, scientists in the United States produced 36 percent of worldwide hESC-related research, compared with 47 percent of RNAi-related research. Research involving RNA interference, a method used to inhibit gene expression, is much less controversial than hESC research. According to the study, “Scientists in the United States produced 36% of hESC-related research compared with 47% of RNAi-related research and 46% of research in the control set.” Thus, it is numerically apparent that America’s contribution to RNAi research publications fell more closely in line with the standard than hESC research. This is why RNAi research output becomes a suitable control with which to compare with work on hESC.

The comparison data demonstrates that the share of research from different countries related to hESC differs more from the control set than do their shares of research related to RNAi:

Country output of hESC and RNAi research

National polices also render France an underperforming country, despite having temporarily relaxed its laws. This makes a key component of the study clear: countries which have long histories of relentless support for hESC research are those countries which are currently over-performing.

Four top overperforming countries were identified: the United Kingdom, Israel, China, and Singapore. While there was no clear relationship between underperformance and the policy environment, countries categorized as underperforming in hESC-related research lacked permissive policies, complementary government support, or both. The study also provides an interesting insight into the relationship between hESC and RNAi performance. As the figure below demonstrates, only the United Kingdom and China demonstrate a slight significant RNAi overperformance. None of the hESC overperforming countries have underperformed in the number of published papers on RNAi research:

Comparison of country output of hESC and RNAi research

Filed under Science Funding, Science Progress
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Bush FDA makes history

Posted by Michael Stebbins on July 7th at 11:14 am

From our friends at Effect Measure.

Three food safety stories in the news this Fourth of July weekend. All three are worrisome but the third is the most worrisome of all. What are the first two?

You know them. The first is the largest produce associated multistate Salmonella outbreak on record (now over 900 cases in 40 states) rages on. Have they found the contaminated tomatoes? No. But now they think the tomatoes might be jalapeno peppers. Or maybe cilantro:

Investigators are seeing more signs that the salmonella outbreak blamed on tomatoes might have been caused by tainted jalapeno peppers and have begun collecting samples from restaurants and from the homes of those who have been sickened, according to health officials involved in the probe.New interviews with those who became infected found that many had eaten jalapeno peppers, often in salsa served with Mexican food, according to two state health officials. So far, none of the jalapenos taken from restaurants and from the homes of those who became ill have tested positive for Salmonella saintpaul.

Echoing federal officials, who said this week that tomatoes remain the prime suspect, the health officials said that tomatoes cannot be ruled out as the cause of the outbreak. Investigators have been collecting samples of another possible suspect, cilantro, though the herb is less likely to be the source, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing. (John Rockoff, Baltimore Sun)

According to the Baltimore Sun article, their biggest worry is that now epidemiology will be impugned as a tool for food safety prevention. Enraged tomato growers think the FDA should have found evidence of contaminated tomatoes before pulling the warning trigger. I understand their anger, but I won’t fault FDA for taking a precautionary approach here. But it also sounds like maybe they didn’t do such a good job of outbreak investigation and traceback and should have included other foodstuffs in the investigation. That’s lack of experienced fieldstaff. Now they’ve got a huge mess on their hands and their ability to use one of the most important tools in their arsenal, epidemiology, may be compromised. Heck of job, FDA (CDC hasn’t helped, either). Worrisome.

Second story: a recall of 5 million pounds of beef with suspected E. coli contamination.

Omaha-based Nebraska Beef Ltd. launched a recall Monday, about a month after consumers in Michigan and Ohio became ill after eating ground beef purchased at Kroger grocery stores. The meat was traced back to the Nebraska meat processor, which initially recalled about 531,707 pounds of beef. The recall was expanded to more than 5 million pounds on Thursday.Even before the recall’s expansion, it sent grocers scrambling to pull the potentially tainted product off store shelves, just as consumers were stocking up for the holiday weekend. (Dallas Morning News)

More tainted beef from a huge midwestern meatpacker, distributing nationwide. That’s worrisome, too, especially as it seems to keep happening.

(more…)

Filed under Centers for Disease Control, FDA, ScienceBlogs
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5 more candidates for Congress answer questions on science

Posted by Michael Stebbins on July 7th at 8:44 am

Over the weekend 5 more candidates for congress answered our 7 questions on science. If you have not asked your candidates the questions, take the time to do it today! Here are the latest candidates who answered the questions.

Debbie Cook (D CA-46)
http://sharp.sefora.org/people/house/debbie-cook/

Michael Hargadon (R MD-7)
http://sharp.sefora.org/people/house/michael-hargadon/

Marina Kats (R PA-13)
http://sharp.sefora.org/legislation/house/marina-kats/

Rep. Doris Matsui (D CA-5)
http://sharp.sefora.org/people/house/doris-matsui/

John Roberts (R CA-43)
http://sharp.sefora.org/people/house/john-roberts/

Filed under Election News, SHARP Update!, Take Action!
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Today’s Science Policy News for July, 7th 2008

Posted by Michael Stebbins on July 7th at 8:39 am

A look at today’s science and health policy news:

Americans Prefer Candidates Strong On Science

Daily Kos–A new poll conducted by Scientists and Engineers for America indicates an overwhelming majority of voters prefer candidates who support research into science and technology, with emphasis on the three E’s: education, environment, and energy.

McCain’s health plan: A threat to employer plans?

Washington Post–There’s a great unknown about Sen. John McCain’s health plan: How many employers would drop insurance coverage for their workers because of his tax policies?

$3 million ad targets Obama on energy

Politico–An independent-expenditure arm of the Republican National Committee has begun a 10-day, $3 million ad campaign in swing states attacking Sen. Barack Obama as “just the party line.”

Doctors Press Senate to Undo Medicare Cuts

N.Y. Times–Congress returns to work this week with Medicare high on the agenda.

Audit Finds Abuse of Education Dept. Credit Cards

Washington Post–DOE employees inappropriately used government credit cards to purchase $49,500 worth of goods.

Proposal to euthanize wild horses spurs debate

A.P.–Animal rights activists and ranchers are clashing over a federal proposal to euthanize wild horses as a way to deal with their surplus numbers.

Catching up on CAFE standards

Politico–A consumer group added fuel to the fight over rising gas prices when it recently criticized the Bush administration’s flawed response to the 2007 Energy Act.

EU, greens urge Bush to back 2050 emissions target

Reuters–The European Union and green groups piled pressure on the United States on Monday to agree to a target to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.

DNA gives police a boost in property crimes

L.A. Times–Study finds that DNA evidence collected at residential and commercial burglary scenes dramatically raises arrests and prosecutions.

TSA takes steps toward speedier laptop X-rays

USA Today–Now the agency and case manufacturers are taking final steps toward one of the most visible changes to aviation security in years.

U.S. not prepared for possible asteroid strike, group says

L.A. Times–On the 100th anniversary of the devastating Tunguska event in Siberia, scientists and an Orange County congressman urge the government to take further defensive measures against near-Earth objects.

American Energy Policy, Asleep at the Spigot

N.Y. Times–As gasoline prices climb beyond $4 a gallon, Americans are rethinking what they drive and how and where they live.

Climate Scorecard ranks U.S. last among largest economies

A.P.–The U.S. has done the least among the world’s eight biggest economies to address global warming, a study released Thursday found.

‘Invasive’ humans threaten U.S. coral reefs

USA Today–Half of all U.S. coral reefs, the center of marine life in the Pacific and Caribbean oceans, are either in poor or fair condition, a federal agency warns today.

Google Told to Turn Over User Data of YouTube

N.Y. Times–A federal judge has ordered Google to turn over to Viacom its records of which users watched which videos on YouTube, the Web’s largest video site by far.

Technology reshapes America’s classrooms

Reuters–Technology is spreading in America’s classrooms, reducing the need for textbooks, notepads, paper and in some cases even the schools themselves.

Colleges, universities take the lead in building green

L.A. Times–Experts who follow building trends agree that in the last decade, as fears of global warming grew and examples of eco-innovation spread online, campus greening morphed from a fad into mainstream phenomenon.

Don’t recycle ‘e-waste’ with haste, activists warn

USA Today–Items collected at free events are sometimes destined for salvage yards in developing nations.

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