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Back in August of 2011, the New York Times published an interactive feature titled If I Were President. The Times ran the opinions of 12 respondents in total, including astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson — director of the Hayden Planetarium and one of the most compelling science communicators of our time. More »
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The White House has called for draconian cuts to NASA's budget, forcing the Agency to shelve undertakings that run the gamut from ambitious planetary missions to educational outreach. More »
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Every year, the government funnels tens of billions of dollars toward scientific research — research that you help pay for with your taxes. These government-funded investigations give rise to an average of 65,000 peer-reviewed papers a year. Many of these papers, however, remain inaccessible to you unless you happen to subscribe to the journal in which they're published, and some of these journals are pretty expensive. More »
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When some people find themselves gifted with powers beyond those of mere mortals, they often ditch the wage slave life and turn to a life of crime. But what are some of the legal ways you can use those awesome powers to get rich quick? More »
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Yesterday, President Obama hosted over 100 students at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the second annual White House Science Fair. Young scientists of all ages showed off projects in subjects ranging from robots, to rocketry, to energy conservation. Fourteen-year-old Joey Hudy even brought an air cannon capable of launching marshmallows upwards of 175 feet. More »
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This is devastating news. The BBC is reporting that ExoMars — a joint program between NASA and the European Space Agency with Martian missions scheduled for 2016 and 2018 — is on the ropes, owing to America's budgetary woes. More »
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Seriously. This map suggests that unless you live in California, a smattering of states out East, or a small handfull of other states sprinkled across the country, you're looking at a very grave problem when it comes to scientific illiteracy in your community's youth (and, presumably, its population in general). Come to think of it, this map should really concern you, no matter where you live. More »
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If you want to win over your political adversaries, first make sure you look like a giant baby. According to a slightly bizarre new psychological study, we're way more open to opposing ideas if they come from a baby-faced person. More »
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The United States has long been recognized as one of the most scientifically productive countries on Earth. But when you're discussing progress, where you've been is not nearly as important as More »
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The United Kingdom's science minister, David Willetts, thinks that private and international investments can help establish the UK as a world leader in scientific and technological research. But is Willett's plan really feasible? And if it is, is it one the United States could utilize as well? More »
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One of the most important duties of a peer-reviewed research journal is to not only feature discoveries at the frontiers of science, but to provide other researchers with the information necessary to build upon said discoveries in a meaningful way. Now, the development of two highly virulent strains of H5N1 — the deadly bird flu virus — is revealing the more subtle complexities of this duty in an unprecedented fashion. More »
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The levels of support received by any government-funded program are expected to fluctuate in kind with a country's budgetary fortunes, but the history of federally funded science in the United States has been especially strained by the ongoing transformation of the nation's budget. More »
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Randy Sarafan, who loves to recycle old pieces of technology for new uses, has created the awesome OCCU(PI) Bot, to help the 99% in their quest to protest. Sarafan writes: More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5862451&view=rss&microfeed=true The congressional supercommittee failed to come up with a budget for the United States, so dramatic cuts will hit every sector — including government-funded science, which has already taken a budget hit two years in a row. Congress has said not to worry because when government money for endeavors like space exploration and environmental science are cut, private companies will step up to fund them. More »
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The congressional supercommittee responsible for trimming 1.5 trillion dollars from the US federal budget has failed to deliver, triggering a decade-long, 1.2-trillion-dollar budget-slash set to begin in 2013. More »
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Congress is expected to approve three spending bills by week's end that would grant the National Science Foundation a 2.5% bump in it's 2012 budget. More »
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Over at Foreign Policy this month, there's a terrific, smart collection of articles about the future of the world, from tomorrow's economic trends to what the next great war could be. More »
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Liberals and conservatives have different ways of looking at other people - literally. Scientists say that conservatives tend to ignore what other people look at, while liberals always follow other people's gazes to see what they're seeing. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5710972&view=rss&microfeed=true An article in New Scientist explores the U.S. government's war on science, and speculates about which presidential candidate is most likely to end it. [via New Scientist] More »
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Want to know what presidential candidate Barack Obama will do to make the U.S. a great nation for science again? Among other changes, he promises to create a position of "chief technology officer" for the country, and to recreate a space advisory council that reports directly to the president. In addition, he claims the rDNA Advisory Committee will have his administration's ear. Obama discussed his science policies in detail for Science Debate 2008, a group of thousands of scientists, engineers, and science-oriented groups like the AAAS, who are working to keep the public educated about presidential candidates' science policies. Here are the highlights. More »
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Forget Hilary or Barack. The one politician that you're waiting to get a pre-recorded phone call from, asking for your support, is Gotham City's Assistant District Attorney, Harvey Dent. And as of last Friday, he's making those calls. That's right; the viral marketing campaign for this summer's The Dark Knight movie has abandoned the Joker to focus on the villain played by an actor who's still alive, and also moved from the virtual world to a cell phone near you. More »
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