Reporter's Notebook: AAAS Annual Meeting

The American Association for the Advancement of Science returned to Boston, the city of its birth, for an annual meeting held February 11-16 that drew 5,000 scientists and students, plus more than 700 reporters. The meeting, which seemed to touch upon the entire breadth of science, featured appearances by such science luminaries as Harvard University pop-paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould and cosmologist George Smoot of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, who led the group that, in his words, "discover

Written byScott Veggeberg
| 5 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
5:00
Share

Following, from this reporter's notes, is a sampling of interesting--sometimes surprising--moments that colored the proceedings:

More than 10,000 scientists are expected to attend ACS's 205th national meeting in Denver March 28-April 2. Approximately 4,800 papers and more than 650 technical sessions are scheduled. Meeting Highlights Presidential Event, "Health Awareness Fair." Featured will be aerobics instruction, gym equipment, diagnostic testing, and healthful snacks. (Sunday, March 28, 7 P.M., Convention Center) Media Relations Training Session. Program will guide scientists in handling media interviews. (Sunday, March 28, time to be announced, Gold Room/Cripple Creek Room, Brown Palace Hotel) But despite this outrageous record--which he said "would not pass muster with Congress" today--Geison contended that Pasteur, who spearheaded so many advances in science, should be forgiven. Bringing the Pasteur record into the modern context of AIDS researcher Robert Gallo, who has been accused of stealing the credit for discovering the human immunodeficiency virus, ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Published In

Share
February 2026

A Stubborn Gene, a Failed Experiment, and a New Path

When experiments refuse to cooperate, you try again and again. For Rafael Najmanovich, the setbacks ultimately pushed him in a new direction.

View this Issue
Human-Relevant In Vitro Models Enable Predictive Drug Discovery

Advancing Drug Discovery with Complex Human In Vitro Models

Stemcell Technologies
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Beckman Coulter Logo
Conceptual multicolored vector image of cancer research, depicting various biomedical approaches to cancer therapy

Maximizing Cancer Research Model Systems

bioxcell

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Pioneers Life Sciences Innovation with High-Quality Bioreagents on Inside Business Today with Bill and Guiliana Rancic

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Expands Research Reagent Portfolio to Support Global Nipah Virus Vaccine and Diagnostic Development

Beckman Coulter

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Partners with Automata to Accelerate AI-Ready Laboratory Automation

Refeyn logo

Refeyn named in the Sunday Times 100 Tech list of the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies