Latest and Breaking Science Policy News

Minister announces £250M strategic investment in UK bioscience
24 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, will today announce substantial funding that will ensure the UK's bioscience research base remains globally competitive and at the forefront of meeting the grand challenges faced by society in the coming decades. The announcement will be made by the Minister during a visit to the Babraham Research Campus, near Cambridge, and highlighted again during a major speech at the University of East Anglia in Norwich.

Docs slower to drop 'black box' drugs, adopt new therapies, when access to drug reps is restricted
23 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Temple University) After years of reducing their contact with pharmaceutical sales representatives, physicians now risk an unintended consequence: Doctors who rarely meet with pharmaceutical sales representatives -- or who do not meet with them -- are much slower to drop medicines with the Food and Drug Administration's "black box" warnings and to adopt first-in-class therapies.

PETA, feds team up for lifesaving new toxicity test
23 May 2012, 4:00 am
(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) PETA works with industry and government scientists to spare lives of tens of thousands of animals through new shellfish toxicity test.

Days of '1-size-fits-all' cloud contracts are numbered, report finds
23 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Queen Mary, University of London) Combined legal and market factors may force online companies to offer more flexible contract terms, suggests new research from Queen Mary, University of London.

Wearing 2 different hats: Moral decisions may depend on the situation
23 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Oregon State University) An individual's sense of right or wrong may change depending on their activities at the time -- and they may not be aware of their own shifting moral integrity -- according to a new study looking at why people make ethical or unethical decisions.

Who pays for personalized medicine?
23 May 2012, 4:00 am
(University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) In a new Perspective piece published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers delve into a series of high profile court cases testing the limits of patent protection.

Landmark textbook on health care and the US legal system released
23 May 2012, 4:00 am
(George Washington University) The second edition of 'Law and the American Health Care System' was released by Foundation Press on May 15, 2012. Building on its 1997 predecessor, the second edition textbook offers a comprehensive vision and analysis of the intersection of law and the US health care system. Law and the American Health Care System arrives at a time of unprecedented change in how health care is organized, financed, and delivered.

Internists challenge Congress to work with physicians to develop better payment models
23 May 2012, 4:00 am
(American College of Physicians) The American College of Physicians today urged the House Ways and Means Committee to report legislation to repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate and transition to better payment models, building on the extensive work being done in the public and private sectors by physicians, government, consumers and other stakeholders to develop new models aligned with high-value patient care.

Viewers' family background affects how they react to MTV shows 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom
22 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Indiana University) Two popular MTV programs about teenage pregnancy -- "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom" -- were met with national debate. Critics said the shows glamorized teenage pregnancy, while supporters said they discouraged it. A new study by an Indiana University professor suggests they're both right.

Internet politics, policies have rapidly become integral to US international affairs
22 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Rice University) Internet governance policy has rapidly risen from a relatively marginal issue for the United States' foreign policy establishment to a significant component of the country's international affairs and national security strategy, according to a new paper from Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.