NewsBlog: How are you doing, Bruce Alberts? Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 20th December 2007 09:07 PM GMT] For Bruce Alberts, the week Science announced he would be the journal's new chief editor was, decidedly, "hectic." Already, "I've got a lot of people sending me advice on how Science magazine could be improved," he told me Wednesday (December 19). His response: Bring it on. "A thousand minds are better than ten," he said, so he's going to be collecting suggestions from all corners about... Click to continue View comment (1) | Comment on this blog NewsBlog: How we review peer review Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 20th December 2007 04:00 PM GMT] In case you have never attended an open house workshop at the NIH's Center for Scientific Review, in which people who participate in NIH peer review gather to discuss how the process is going and could improve, here's how it typically goes: Tuesday morning (December 18), about 80 stakeholders such as study section leaders in the Biomolecular group (about one-sixth of the entire CSR) gathered in a large auditorium of the Natcher Building on the NIH campus to consider two... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Alberts move to Science hailed Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 18th December 2007 04:13 AM GMT] Bruce Alberts' colleagues are -- not surprisingly -- celebrating his decision to be the 18th editor-in-chief of Science, which the journal announced Monday (December 17). "I don't think [the journal] could have picked a better person," Peter Walter, chairman of the department of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, told The Scientist. The announcement followed months of speculation, during which Alberts' name... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Bruce Alberts new Science chief Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 17th December 2007 03:13 PM GMT] I just received a call from Science - the new editor in chief is Bruce Alberts. The journal made him the offer, and he accepted over the weekend. Alberts will assume his duties March 1. Current editor-in-chief Don Kennedy will remain in the position until then. AAAS spokesperson Ginger Pinholster said I was the first call she made with the news. Alberts was one of many names that surfaced during the months of speculation over... Click to continue View comments (2) | Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Poetic justice for Watson? Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 11th December 2007 10:10 PM GMT] There's an interesting "P.S." to the story of James Watson's early retirement after public outcry when he told a UK newspaper that he believed people of African ancestry were less intelligent - he has 16 times more genes of African origin than the average Caucasian. The company deCODE Genetics performed the analysis using Watson's entire genome, which he released publicly this year. "This level is what you... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: And what about wet underwear? Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 6th December 2007 09:50 PM GMT] I absolutely cannot resist blogging about this - the web site "Oddee," which describes itself as a "blog on the oddities of our world," has listed the 10 most bizarre scientific papers. Obviously, some experiments make the list that could be termed "life science" - including, for example, a 1992 analysis of the effect of country music on suicide rates, detailed... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: NSF: No cures, please Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 4th December 2007 10:54 PM GMT] "I guess it must be two o'clock." NSF's Eve Barak was standing at a podium looking out at a large room that was only about one-fifth full. It was day 3 (December 3) of the American Society for Cell Biology's annual meeting, and Barak was here to outline what biologists need to do to receive an NSF grant. During the session (during which more scientists trickled in, making the room half-full), Barak, who has spent the last 20 years helping review biology grant applications... Click to continue View comments (2) | Comment on this blog NewsBlog: How to be an advocate Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 3rd December 2007 08:53 PM GMT] This morning, a group of panelists issued a call to action to a standing-room-only crowd at the American Society for Cell Biology's 47th Annual Meeting: Scientists must get involved in policy issues, and they have to start now. The session - which included scientists, a congressional staffer, and other advocates - focused on how scientists can become involved in advocating for federal dollars for embryonic stem cell... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Woes for Mass. biotech council Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 3rd December 2007 04:20 PM GMT] The $1 billion life sciences initiative posed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is dealing with some scrutiny lately. The new president of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council faces a state ethics investigation about his transition from the public to the private sector, and has declined to publicly discuss the bill. Massachusetts Biotechnology Council President Robert Coughlin has announced he will not publicly discuss the bill,... Click to continue Comment on this blog

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