Science & Society

In the past, we have seen how much it would cost to replace a housewife and how much it cost to raise a child. What about a child with special needs?  A recent literature review of U.S. and U.K. studies on patients with autism spectrum disorders and their families in 2013 came up with the economic impact.  Autism used to be rather specific but the modern range of autism spectrum disorders is really broad, so Ariane V.S. Buescher, M.Sc., of the London School of Economics and Political Science, and colleagues separate those with intellectual disabilities and those with just behavioral…

It's not surprising that in a trial, mothers participating in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) who received subsidized vouchers for fruits and vegetables at area farmers markets used them - and chose fruits or vegetables more often then they would at supermarkets.  But prices at local supermarkets are lower, notes a new University of Illinois study, so the question becomes how much should taxpayers spend in hopes that families will eat more vegetables, if they don't buy them at supermarkets. Should we mandate their behavior by giving them vouchers for farmer's markets rather than…

An analysis of the scientific production of more than 80 countries from 1996 to 2006 found that there are three major ‘clusters’ of countries, defined by the thematic areas they investigate and that their governments invest in most. Using this data, researchers from the University of Granada and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), belonging to the SCImago research group have designed the most comprehensive 'world map of research' to date. Using statistical techniques and multivariate analysis, they included over 15 million documents and scientific articles. Their clusters don't make…

Liberal critics have always panned 1965's "The Sound of Music" as conservative and schmaltzy, a throwback to the 1950s during a decade that claimed to be about revolution and progress. Yet the public loves it.  London academic Martin Gorsky has an explanation that critics seem to have missed: the film actually ‘helped constitute’ an understanding of society. Gorsky explains that the film’s treatment of two contemporary issues - the importance of play and emotion in childrearing, and post-war perspectives of Fascism – were fundamental to the widespread popularity of the film. Thus Maria’s…

Starting in July of 2012, smart people called the election of November for President Barack Obama, barring some nasty "October Surprise." Instead, the October Surprise was for the challenger, Mitt Romney. A hurricane hit the eastern coast of the US and by the time it reached the American media center of New York City, it was no longer a hurricane so they created a new category, a "superstorm" and proceeded to blame it on global warming. The overt message became, if you want more people to die in hurricanes, vote for the party that doesn't want cap and trade on CO2. Disasters are good for…

Feeding the world may not seem like an urgent need from the perspective of a rich society with an obesity epidemic. Technologies that make life easier and less risky for farmers may not seem compelling in a society with very few people have anything to do with crop production. Developing rice to prevent blindness and death in poor countries generates vehement opposition from some elements of our wealthy society. There are, however, some threats to the future of our lifestyles that might motivate consumers to take a second look at the debate around GMO crops. What if premium coffee…

Dr. Francis Collins, former head of the Human Genome Project and current Director of the National Institutes of Health, has a $30 billion problem. Taxpayers are spending that much money each year, primarily with scientists at very prominent universities like Johns Hopkins, and he isn't sure how much of it is actually resulting in science.  To be sure, it seems like science. It involves experiments and published papers and lab equipment. The people doing the real work are generally outstanding scientists, but in January he reported in Nature that up to two-thirds of the science they fund…

The good news is that science remains, for the most part, self-correcting. After peer review, numerous errors are uncovered and one site, Retraction Watch, is devoted to being an internal watch dog. Francis Collins, the head of the NIH, who manages $30 billion a year in government funding for science, has said that   "Factors include poor training of researchers in experimental design; increased emphasis on making provocative statements rather than presenting technical details; and publications that do not report basic elements of experimental design. PNAS is only one example of that.…

In a letter to the Annals of Internal Medicine, a group of nutritionists object to all of the studies finding supplements are well-marketed but unnecessary costs for most Americans.   Their rebuttal: they don't harm anyone, they are relatively cheap and science can't prove they don't work.  Hardly a great endorsement, but the nutritionists from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University and three other institutions can't really argue for the benefits of supplements, so they instead argue that the case is not 'closed', as an editorial in the same publication last…

Cosmos, hosted by Science 2.0 fave Dr. Neil Tyson, is wrapping up and it seems to have found its niche. Its 3,450,000 viewers yesterday is way down from its debut but it is nowhere near the crash-and-burn Seth MacFarlane has just experienced with A Million Ways to Die in the West. The good news is that, like with his western comedy, Cosmos did not have a high budget and people who stuck it out this long are going to buy the DVDs - but it has already made a lot of money. Religious people and any climate skeptics who didn't want to be told they are dumber than Tyson's dog stopped watching long…