House committee debates role of basic science at DOE

During a March 25 hearing of the House Science and Technology Committee’s Energy and Environment subcommittee, members of Congress debated about the role of basic science research at the Department of Energy. As the committee considered initial sections of the 2010 America COMPETES Act, several members were concerned that changes to the DOE would jeopardize the basic science mission of the Office of Science.

“Evolutionary love story” celebrates Darwin’s legacy

On March 22, a new play celebrating Charles Darwin’s impact debuted at the Bethesda Theatre in Maryland. Performed by the Catalyst Collaborative@MIT, From Orchids to Octopi: An Evolutionary Love Story was commissioned by the National Institutes of Health as part of Evolution Revolution, a celebration of Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species.

MIT dean to be NSF director

Last week, ScienceInsider reported that Subra Suresh, dean of engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will be nominated to be the next director of the National Science Foundation.

Despite his membership in the National Academy of Engineering, Suresh is a Washington outsider and is not well known in the national science policy community.  Unlike previous directors who were no longer active scientists, Suresh maintains an active lab that studies nanobiomechanics, including the mechanobiology of malaria infected red blood cells.

Assuming he is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Suresh would replace current director Arden Bement, who will leave the NSF on June 1.

NIH institute director says breakthroughs require basic science

On March 5, Jeremy Berg, director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the National Institutes of Health, briefed congressional staffers on the importance of basic science for medical breakthroughs. In remarks that highlighted recent Nobel Prize-winning research, Berg detailed how basic science discoveries are leading to advances against diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

Former FASEB staffer to join NIH leadership

Pat White, the former director of legislative relations for the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, has been appointed associate director for legislative policy and analysis at the National Institutes of Health, said NIH Director Francis Collins in a statement Monday. His appointment was met with praise by many in the biomedical research community.