AAAS

Spent several days in Tokyo & Kyoto. The people here are always so warm. We had fantastic conversations on researcher-first public access policies, strategies for building trust in science, approaches for translating curiosity-driven research into society-serving applications, and science in America right now. I loved meeting early-career researchers, veteran researchers, Japanese funders, press officers, and folks working on academia-industry collaboration. Thanks to all who said "hello." Takeaways I'm bringing home include: ? It's important to articulate that public access policies should consider not just the reader, but also the researcher. ? Curiosity-driven research -- where there's less pressure to identify a *particular* outcome -- may be less likely to lead to research misconduct. ? When scientists in a country create "critical seeds" of innovation, those seeds can inspire development of important new disciplines at home and abroad in ways that persist even as funding declines. Focus on creating critical seeds! ? Scientists want peer review to be faster. One way to facilitate this could be for different disciplines to come together and reconsider what they ask of each other (i.e., more experiments) in the peer review they conduct. ? People the world over still struggle with work-life balance.

Way down at the bottom of the article at this link, you’ll find a review of the exhibit currently in the AAAS gallery. It’s a celebration of the last ten years of visuals in Science magazine. Scroll down and have a read. Then check out the exhibit when you’re in the AAAS building in Washington. Hope to see you there!

In an era of global competitiveness, it is critical that we leverage the work of universities rooted in community with national networks of scientists and engineers to shape the future of science and technology. The AAAS + ASU Collaborative aims to infuse the values of ASU’s community-based activities with AAAS’ national network to advance scientific excellence and enable a boldly inclusive scientific enterprise serving society. Sudip Parikh Michael Crow Arizona State University ASU Knowledge Enterprise

There's still time to register for "Engage with AAAS–Vision for American Science & Technology," a members-only event today at 12 p.m. ET. Discover how VAST can improve American competitiveness, build and empower the vital workforce that is at the heart of our nation’s success, and avoid counterproductive outcomes, such as unstable federal funding, that delay scientific progress. AAAS CEO Sudip Parikh and other task force members will talk about the recommendations and key avenues for action. Check your email or log into AAAS Member Community to register. https://lnkd.in/erAm--eJ

The U.S. has been a beacon of leadership for decades due in large part to a strong science and technology enterprise. But today, we are in an era of disruption and serious obstacles stand in the way of the S&T ecosystem reaching its fullest potential. Join us as distinguished members of the VAST Task Force discuss the Vision for American Science & Technology: a roadmap designed to ensure that the U.S. is able to unleash our scientific and technological power to maintain our competitive edge, protect our national security, address societal challenges, and nurture economic prosperity. Learn more about VAST at the next members-only Engage with AAAS webinar on Wednesday, March 19at 12 p.m. ET. Check your email or visit AAAS Member Community to register. https://lnkd.in/erAm--eJ

The story of science in the U.S. is still being written, AAAS CEO Sudip Parikh said on the Australian Broadcast Corporation’s segment The Science Show. And we must work to make sure that story gets written with science’s best interest in mind, that we are shoring up the scientists we have. https://ab.co/3FnbNWr

The drug Prialt, also known as ziconotide, is a non-opioid pain reliever with a surprising origin: The paralytic venom of a cone snail. When they began studying cone snails in the 1970s, Baldomero “Toto” Olivera and Lourdes “Luly” Cruz had no idea their research would underpin the discovery of a raw material for this pain reliever and become a powerful new tool for studying the central nervous system. In 2022, Olivera and Cruz, as well as their collaborators Craig T. Clark and J. Michael McIntosh, received the Golden Goose Award, which honors federally funded research that has ultimately benefitted society. Their work was supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.

With the federal funding deadline looming today, we looked at the impact of uncertainty or interruptions to funding sources on the STEMM workforce—especially to early career scientists. We explored publication rates, earnings, and even their interest in staying in the United States. Congress needs to make science a priority in the fiscal year 2025 budget. Here’s why: Read more: https://lnkd.in/eMUytJa8?

“Science seems to be collateral damage to these [downsizing] efforts that are almost random, by date of hire or date of promotion. It’s not strategic. It’s not based on the needs of the future, the needs of science.” - AAAS CEO Sudip Parikh

If it weren’t for an accidental laser injury, bladeless LASIK eye surgery, which has helped to improve the vision of more than 24 million people since 2002, may have never been developed. 30 years ago, a graduate student at the University of Michigan’s Center for Ultrafast Optical Science caught a stray laser beam in his eye that left exact and perfectly circular damage to his retina. This mishap led to a collaboration between the graduate student and a Nobel-prizing winning physicist, a research scientist and medical student, which resulted in a bladeless approach to corrective eye surgery. Bladeless LASIK has revolutionized the field by using a femtosecond laser, rather than a precision scalpel, to cut into the human cornea before it is reshaped to improve patients’ vision. In 2022, Detao Du, Gérard Mourou, Donna Strickland, Tibor Juhasz, and Ron Kurtz received the Golden Goose Award, which honors federally funded research that has ultimately benefitted society. Their work was supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.