Message to Members: Scientific Collaborations from China to Europe
AAAS in Action : News to Note
AAAS at Work: Programs at the Forefront
AAAS Announcements: Items of Interest
Read On, Online: Science Sites


This month's Advances is sponsored by Drug Discovery Technology® & Development

Join more than 5,000 bench scientists, scientific leaders, and industry experts from around the globe at the World Congress, 9-11 August, Boston, Massachusetts. For details and your free exhibit hall and keynote pass go to http://www.drugdisc.com/pass.



Message to Members
SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATIONS FROM CHINA TO EUROPE

Dear AAAS Member,

In June, a delegation from AAAS traveled to Beijing for a six-day visit hosted by our counterpart, the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST). We are working to build new cooperative ties with science and engineering interests on a wide array of programs including science education, and the role of science in society and how to engage the public in scientific issues. As our collaboration with the People's Republic of China progresses, we will report to you on new developments in our common purpose to advance science and technology for a sustainable future.

In another international initiative, AAAS Director of Science and Policy Albert H. Teich gave the keynote address at a forum in Oslo, Norway. "Euro-American Scientific Relations in the Wake of September 11" focused on the problems affecting international scientific collaboration caused by U.S. visa policy after 9/11 and also the opportunities for European-U.S. projects fostered by ambitious homeland security programs. Read more about these efforts: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/0628china.shtmland http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/0606oslo.shtml.

With the support of our members, AAAS continues a leadership role in international scientific cooperation and global goodwill. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Alan I. Leshner, CEO, AAAS

P.S. Access remarks from our 7 July three-hour scientific session on the future directions for science, "An Examination of Unknowns that Will Drive Science in the Future" at http://www.aaas.org/news/press_room/125/video.shtml. You can also read and send comments celebrating the 125th anniversary of Science at http://www.sciencemag.org/125/.


AAAS in Action
NEWS TO NOTE

U.S. House Rejects Stem Cell Measure Opposed by AAAS
On 16 June, a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives defeated a proposal that would have withheld all National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding from institutions involved in research on stem cells derived from cloned embryos. In a letter to committee members before the vote, AAAS CEO Alan I. Leshner urged defeat of the measure as it would harm cutting-edge fields such as molecular biology and cancer research. Read more, including the full text of the AAAS letter which was quoted in a news story in The Washington Post :
http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/0617letter.shtml.

Louisiana Sponsors Popular AAAS After-School Program
In the first expansion of Kinetic City into a state department of education, Louisiana will sponsor the web-based after-school game for children ages 8 through 11 in some 30 schools, churches, and community centers. The combination of online activities with hands-on science, now available in 160 locations around the U.S., makes learning basic science principles fun and entertaining. Read more about the program: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/0616kineticcity.shtml. Access the web portion of Kinetic City : http://www.kineticcity.com/.

AAAS Presents Vivid Accounts of the Tsunami
The quake literally caused the whole planet to shake, according to seismologist David Simpson in his dramatic account of the audio data collected from the 26 December Indonesian earthquake and tsunami. Also presenting was AAAS/EPA Environmental Fellow Jeff Albert who described how, within days of the tsunami, he was training NGO staffers in water purification processes and meeting the challenge of introducing a technological innovation during a disaster. Read more about the recent presentation: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/0603tsunami.shtml.

New Report: Strengthening Computer Science
Since 2000, the number of undergraduates seeking computer science degrees has dropped sharply. To counter this trend and keep the U.S. work force strong, a new AAAS study urges the recruitment of nontraditional students, including women, minorities, and others working fulltime and seeking new skills. Access the full report, "Preparing Women and Minorities for the IT Workforce: The Role of Nontraditional Educational Pathways," at http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/0624itw.shtml.


AAAS at Work
PROGRAMS AT THE FOREFRONT

Supporting the Science of Evolution
On 10 June, AAAS joined 55 other science organizations in a friend-of-the-court brief urging a Georgia appeals court to uphold a U.S. District Court ruling. This previous ruling barred as unconstitutional the actions of the Cobb County, Georgia, school board in affixing stickers to biology textbooks which said that evolution is a theory, not a fact. The amicus brief supported the ruling, saying that the sticker misleads the reader about the scientific use of these terms, deprecates evolution, and confuses students.

AAAS is playing a prominent role in countering attempts in several states to compromise the teaching of evolution. Read more and access our special website, "Evolution on the Front Line," at http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/0610georgia.shtml.

A Major Prize for Science Update
AAAS's 90-second radio feature received a bronze medal in Science and Technology Programming at this year's New York Festivals, standing out in a field of more than 500 entries from 32 countries. The media competition selected the intriguing reports about the secret of the world's most expensive coffee, new technology for digitizing old recordings, and restoring a rare 18th century instrument. Read about the program, heard across the U.S., at http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/0628sciupdate.shtml.


AAAS Announcements
ITEMS OF INTEREST

Historic Milestone of the Month: Computers
As part of the 2005 celebration of the 125th anniversary of Science, last December's Voice Your Opinion Poll asked AAAS members to name the leading scientific breakthrough since 1880. Their top choices have been selected for a monthly free-access reprint from the archives of the journal Science, courtesy of Jstor.org. Read "Evolution of Computers and Computing" (Science, 18 March 1977) by Ruth M. Davis at
http://promo.aaas.org/kn_marketing/pdfs/EvoutionofComputers.pdf and "Digital Electronic Computers in Biomedical Science" (Science, 6 November 1959) by Robert S. Ledley at http://promo.aaas.org/kn_marketing/pdfs/DigitalElectronicComputers.pdf .

Screen Entries for AAAS Science Journalism Awards
The prestigious science journalism awards program is looking for scientist volunteers who will be in the Washington, D.C. area between mid August and mid September to review print, radio, and television entries for scientific accuracy prior to judging. If you would like to volunteer as a screener, contact Earl Lane (202-326-6431; mailto:elane@aaas.org) or Lonnie Shekhtman (202-326-6434; mailto:lshekhtm@aaas.org) at the AAAS Office of Public Programs. For more information on the awards, go to http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/0615sja.shtml.

Award Nominations Face August Deadline
Each year, AAAS and Science recognize scientists, engineers, journalists and public servants for contributing to the public understanding of science and to scientific progress.

A deadline of 1 August looms for nominations for most of the AAAS awards, including the Philip Hauge Abelson Prize, which honors either a public servant or a scientist or engineer for their exceptional contributions; the Award for International Scientific Cooperation; and the AAAS Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology. The deadline for nominations for the AAAS Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement is 31 July. More information is available at http://www.aaas.org/about/awards.

Take a Look at 2033
Nearly three dozen top thinkers in science and technology policy participated in a panel a year ago to celebrate the 30 th anniversary of AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships and to contemplate the world three decades hence. Their views come together in the new book, Vision 2033: Linking Science and Policy for Tomorrow's World, which discusses how scientists, engineers, and policymakers can begin now to tame future threats. Read more about their perspectives and order a copy of the book: http://fellowships.aaas.org/06_News_Events/06_30th/Vision_2033.shtml.

Attend IBC's Pharma Awards in Boston
AAAS is among the sponsors of an event in Boston, Massachusetts, on 8 August to announce the winners of the Fourth Annual Pharmaceutical Achievement Awards. Judah Folkman, M.D., a Harvard Medical School professor and AAAS member, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. For a list of finalists and tickets to the awards, to be held during IBC's Drug Discovery Technology® & Development World Congress, go to http://www.pharmawards.com/.

Join a Career Fair in Boston
On 10 August, ScienceCareers.org invites job seekers to a free career fair during the Drug Discovery Technology® conference. Meet recruiters and scientists from industry, academia, and government, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in room 253, Boston Convention Center . For information, go to http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/feature/fair/boston0805.shl. To exhibit, contact Daryl Anderson, mailto:danderso@aaas.org.


Meet Up at Upcoming Events
Stop by the AAAS booth to pick up your member pin.

American Society of Plant Biologists Annual Meeting, 16-20 July, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. Information: http://www.aspb.org/meetings/pb-2005/.

The Biochemical Society BioScience 2005 , 17-21 July, Glasgow, U.K. Information: http://www.bioscience2005.org/.

Drug Discovery Technology® & Development World Congress , 9-11 August, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Information: http://www.drugdisc.com/section.asp.

American Chemical Society Meeting & Exposition , 28 August - 1 September, Washington, DC, U.S.A. Information: http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/acsdisplay.html?DOC=meetings%5cwashington2005%5chome.html.


READ ON, ONLINE

AAAS News & Notes appears in Science in the last issue of each month. Or access http://www.aaas.org/or http://www.scienceonline.org/.