Researchers, university administrators, students and others across Canada rally in an unprecedented effort to ensure the government doesn’t ignore the report’s recommendations. Canada’s academic community has launched a full court press to encourage the government to adopt the recommendations of the report of Canada’s Fundamental Science Review panel, also known as the Naylor report. The report, requested […]
policy
Review of Canadian science calls for better oversight, coordination—and more money
To reinvigorate its science base, Canada needs to “reinvest” almost CAD$500 million in basic, investigator-led research over the next 4 years, according to a long-awaited review of the country’s science and innovation landscape released today. “A crucial shortcoming in the system is the level of support for independent investigator-initiated research,” David Naylor, a former president […]
US bill restricts use of science in environmental policymaking
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing a future in which its hands will be tied on making many policies if a new bill becomes law. Last week the US House of Representatives passed a bill, the HONEST Act, that would prevent the EPA from basing any of its regulations on science that is […]
Canada Foundation for Innovation awards $18 million to Amundsen
CFI aims to secure ongoing operation and maintenance funds for research facilities including Canada’s only research icebreaker. Laval University has received more than $18 million for the research icebreaker CCGS Amundsen in the latest round of funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s Major Science Initiatives Fund. Over the next five years, the funding will […]
Canada’s government scientists get anti-muzzling clause in contract
Scientists working for the Canadian government have successfully negotiated a clause in their new contract that guarantees their right to speak to the public and the media about science and their research, without needing approval from their managers. “Employees shall have the right to express themselves on science and their research, while respecting the Values […]
Is This the Year Governments Protect Antarctica’s Seas?
The odds world governments will finally agree to establish marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean are looking better than ever. The Southern Ocean around Antarctica is one of the most diverse, fragile, and poorly studied ocean ecosystems on Earth. But as far as marine protection goes, it’s the Wild West. That could soon change, […]
Building better borders in Latin America
Illegal trading and the violence that can accompany it is a scourge along Latin America’s borders, but researchers from across the region are working together to find ways to combat the problem. Throughout much of Latin America, borders can be dangerous places. Smuggling, drug running and human trafficking are lucrative businesses — the United Nations […]
Trump’s border-wall pledge threatens delicate desert ecosystems
Ecologists fear plan to seal off the United States from Mexico would put wildlife at risk. With Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talking about walling off the United States from Mexico, ecologists fear for the future of the delicate and surprisingly diverse ecosystems that span Mexico’s border with the southwestern United States. “The southwestern US […]
Israel’s botanical gardens face funding crisis
Israel’s 11 botanical gardens are scrambling to cope with deep cuts in funding from the government’s agricultural ministry. Government spending on the gardens, which host research and education programs and are often associated with universities, is down by more than 50% this year. That’s a reprieve from a 98% cut that the ministry announced last […]
Brexit Vote Will Likely Cause Problems for UK Fishers
Fishers were part of the “Leave” push, but it may not work out as they’d hoped. The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union in last week’s “Brexit” referendum will have profound effects on how fisheries are managed in both the UK and the EU. For now, it’s unclear exactly what those effects will […]