You are here
NHM Science Strategy - All
-
Article on current approaches and possible ways forward. Stephen J. Ceci and Wendy M. Williams
Understanding current causes of women's underrepresentation in science. PNAS published ahead of print February 7, 2011, doi:10.1073/pnas.1014871108 -
Australia conducted the exercise Excellence in Research Australia in 2010 - results published on 31 January. Next exercise in 2012. The purpose is assessment of excellence in higher education research, informing funding allocations - similar to the UK.
-
A paper by Johnson et al. has been published arising from a project at the Natural History Museum, London, that examined the research potential of natural history collections and makes recommendations for strategic development to meet research needs and take advantage of the development of climate change work. Reference.../more
/...
-
A UK research strategy for global food security is published from government and various agencies - some references to the impact of agriculture on biodiversity, and the reliance on ecosystem services. Little bit on pests, but not much on genomes of wild related species.
-
The US-based Natural Science Collections Alliance has produced a couple of media/public friendly views on the importance of collections - with the USGS and the Smithsonian. More to follow, apparently.
-
Article in Nature on biocuration - curation of databases dealing with protein structures and similar initiatives. Two elements of interest - first the level of effort involved in creating the resource, and second the need for previous lab experience for the curators. More.../
/...
Katharine Sanderson 2011 Bioinformatics: Curation generation Nature 470, 295–296 (01 February 2011) doi:10.1038/nj7333-295a
-
The UK Ministry of Justice introduced an interpretation of law a couple of years ago that meant that human remains excavated under licence were expected to be reburied within 2 years. This has caused disquiet among archaeologists because it places constraints on retention for study in collections. There has been press interest, summarised in a Nature blog.
-
The UK BBSRC have published a review on next generation sequencing - context, developments and recommendations for the UK.
-
The UK Government agency for education standards, OFSTED, has released a summary report on geography in schools, suggesting signficant uneveness in standards. Fieldwork is highlighted as a particular incentive for children pursuing geography. Passing reference to the interface with other sciences.
-
The UN has launched the International Year of Forests. Will be a theme in environment and biodiversity events through the year - World Environment Day, World Biodiversity Day, conferences &c.