| Letters: Putting Babies at Risk (1 Letter) Letters to the editor. feeds.nytimes.com |
Brain region linked to introspection By LAURAN NEERGAARD 2010-09-16T18:03:58ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- Just how confident are you that you made the right decision? New research has uncovered a part of the brain that's larger in people who seem particularly introspective.... hosted.ap.org |
Letters: Loss of science base will hurt economy The spectre of scientists abandoning the UK for better-funded jobs abroad (Scientists quit Britain in new brain drain, 1 October) should be of huge concern to everyone. Success starts with talent, and an exodus of researchers would jeopardise both scientific endeavour and the chance to create a sustainable economic recovery driven by knowledge-based industries such as bioscience. James Dyson has outlined a viable way forward, focused on improving the way we commercialise research through measures such as extending R&D tax credits. This is the type of strategy we need from the government – one that invests intelligently in our talent base, together with initiatives such as the "patent box" tax incentive, which would show that Britain can still be a world leader in science, despite the challenging times, by encouraging companies to exploit intellectual property in the UK.Britain boasts four out of 10 of the top universities in the world – a huge feat given our relative size as a country. Indeed, there are so many reasons to be optimistic about the future of science in the UK. Ultimately, it is people that are our greatest asset, and that means both industry collaboration, such as the upcoming BIA and ABPI joint conference on the UK's R&D strengths, and government support for sustained investment, which ensures the UK continues to shine on the world stage.Nigel GaymondChief executive, BioIndustry Association • People living with severe and progressive muscle disease fear cuts will bring research into these conditions to a near standstill. Since it was founded in 1959, we have has invested more than £50m into research and it is only in the last few years that scientists have expressed cautious optimism that the first treatments will be available in the near future. But the transfer of promising technology from the laboratory into the clinic is costly and cannot be achieved without government support. This is a crucial time. The conditions we support are rare and only a small number of scientists dedicate their work to research in this field. We are in danger of losing the benefit of all the investment made so far, if world renowned scientists move abroad.The suggested cuts will bring the budget down to less than £2.6bn. In 2007-08 the total science budget was £3.5bn, which is less than 0.25% of the UK's total output. Research into rare conditions only represents a tiny fraction of this budget. We urge the government not to make short-term expenditure reductions that could jeopardise the longer-term development of life-saving treatments for the 70,000 children and adults with muscle disease, who have a right to have the same quality of life as everybody else.Dr Marita PohlschmidtDirector of research, Muscular Dystrophy CampaignScience funding crisisResearch fundingBiosciencesTax and spendingMedical researchguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
UN Space expert denies being alien ambassador A Malaysian astrophysicist, Mazlan Othman, has denied British media reports that she is the United Nations (UN) ambassador for space aliens. abc.net.au |
Mystery Bird: Madagascar Paradise Flycatcher, Terpsiphone mutata This lovely bird is a male: parents share incubation duties, as you see in this photograph of a male sitting in his nestMadagascar paradise flycatcher, Terpsiphone mutata, photographed at Ankarana National Park, Antsiranana (Diego Suarez), Madagascar. Image: courtesy of a reader, Matthew Greenall, December 2005. [with binoculars]. Olympus Mju digital camera.Question: There's a few really interesting things to learn from this bird species, but I'll let you tell me about what those are, instead of trying to dream up a question for you. But can you tell me if you think this bird is a male or a female? Response: This is a male Madagascar paradise flycatcher, Terpsiphone mutata, as you can tell by this individual's long, showy tail feathers. (It is assumed that females choose their mates based on their long tail feathers.) In addition to the long tail feathers and the fact that the female is quite brilliantly colored in her own right, this species is sexually dichromatic. Interestingly, males of the Madagascar paradise flycatcher have two colour morphs: white and chestnut (DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-048X.2002.02888.x). It is not known why this species has two distinct colour morphs in adult males. If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and appreciate audience, feel free to email them to me for consideration.GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |