On the surface, a gathering held for young research faculty last week at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory was a clear expression of determination by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to help them compete for grants. The agency fears that continued Congressional budget cuts, combined with the growing number of scientists who work later into…

These are interesting days in the scientific, social, and political debates about human embryonic stem cell research. Pluripotent stem cells--cells that can, in principle, give rise to the body's full range of cell types--were previously derivable only from human embryos that were destroyed in the process. Now, a variety of somatic cell types can…

New rules are coming for sanitizing conflicts of interest in research financed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), dispenser of the government's biggest budget for civilian science, some $31 billion this year. The conflicted need not fear. The draft rules, soon to be made final, continue the NIH's longtime practice of trust but don't…

Obtaining more federal funds is the expressed research goal in "Closing the Gaps by 2015." It states: By 2015, increase the level of federal science and engineering research and development obligations to Texas institutions to 6.5 percent of obligations to higher education institutions across the nation. In 2006, Texas institutions of…

The contributions of the families of John Kennedy and Robert Cooke to national policies on mental retardation research and services are explored. The course of federal funding from 1950-1985 for mental retardation and developmental disabilities is traced for six program categories: services, training, information/coordination, income maintenance,…

In the wake of a new Institute of Medicine report that shows a disproportionately low federal investment in cancer research among minorities, some researchers are demanding a change. The National Cancer Institute, the nation's largest funder of cancer research, is taking note of the report's recommendations, and has agreed to adjust some…

An autobiographical account by the army's chief logistical adviser to the surgeon general during World War II calls attention to the challenges of medical service planning and three postwar changes in medicine: demand for access to care; bigger federal biomedical research expenditures; and the rise of specialization. (Author/MSE)

The focus of the work of the Commission on Academic Medical Centers and the Economy of New England is the financing competitors strength and future development of academic centers and biomedical companies in New England. Among the findings and recommendations of the Commission are the following: (1) the New England region will require several…

This monograph presents an update to the strategic plan of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), focusing on recent accomplishments, program goals, strategies, and priorities in research opportunities in the areas of hearing/hearing impairment and voice/voice disorders. Specifically considered for the…