News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
For years, scientists have believed frigid craters at the Moon’s poles hold water ice, which would be both a scientific boon and a potential resource for human missions. Now, researchers have discovered a reason why the ice has persisted on an otherwise bone-dry world: Some polar craters may be protected by ancient magnetic fields. “It’s … Read more
My family’s dog Teddy, a wide-eyed, brown and white spaniel, was a nervous wreck when a thunderstorm rolled in. To calm his shaking and panting, the vet prescribed him lorazepam, a benzodiazepine marketed as Ativan that’s also used to treat anxiety in humans. Lorazepam is just one of many drugs that dogs and humans take … Read more
It has been 1 month since Alondra Nelson became acting head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) following the 7 February resignation of Eric Lander, who admitted to “disrespectful and demeaning” treatment of employees at the low-profile policy shop. Nelson, a sociologist who has written extensively about the impact of … Read more
In 2020, German researchers began to collaborate with Ukrainian colleagues to survey bat parasites, mostly bloodsuckers such as ticks and fleas. They wanted to know what kinds of bacteria the bats in Ukraine harbored—a first step in identifying any potential threats to human health. Researchers at the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine in … Read more
All of Us, an ambitious health and genetics study aiming to enroll 1 million volunteers who represent the United States’ diversity, has reached a major milestone: the first release of nearly 100,000 whole genomes. The DNA sequences are tied to anonymized health records from the participants, allowing the study of how gene variants influence health. … Read more
A critical stage of the James Webb Space Telescope’s mirror alignment has been completed, keeping the state-of-the-art observatory on track to commence science observations in a few months. On March 11, the telescope completed its final round of fine phasing to correct alignment errors. No issues have been identified, and the Webb team is … Read more
Last week, Congress agreed to give roughly 5% more money to many federal science agencies when it passed a $1.5-trillion government budget for 2022. But what science advocates had hoped would be a banner funding year fell victim to a bipartisan push to spend much more on defense than President Joe Biden had requested—and to … Read more
In 2012, evolutionary biologist Catherine Sheard started an ambitious Ph.D. project: measuring the shape of every kind of passerine, or perching bird, in the world. “I thought, ‘This is about 6000 species, that almost seems doable,’” Sheard says. It was, and her project catalyzed an international effort to measure all the world’s birds. Now, a … Read more
President Joe Biden last week got his wish for a new agency to fund high-risk, cutting-edge biomedical research when Congress created the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) and gave it a $1 billion startup investment. That’s a fraction of the $6.5 billion Biden had proposed, but advocates say it’s plenty to launch ARPA-H. … Read more
In an unprecedented move, members of a confidential group that oversees animal research at the University of Washington (UW) have sued their own school to block the release of their names to an animal rights organization. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has been trying to obtain this information for more than a … Read more