As an undergraduate studying biophysics, Jon Levine didn’t see himself going into medicine. He trained as a neuroscientist, first earning a Ph.D. at Yale, and then beginning a postdoc at the University of California, Berkeley, on the genetics of flight in fruit flies. It was 1972, and on…
With epidemics and outbreaks of Ebola virus, Zika virus, West Nile virus and others posing serious threats, many virologists are scrambling to learn how to better fight these human pathogens. Luis Villarreal has studied viruses for nearly 50 years, and considers them much more than infectious agents. For…
Public Agenda this week released the first-ever comprehensive analysis of participatory budgeting in the U.S. and Canada. Participatory budgeting (PB) is one of the fastest-growing forms of public engagement in local governance. Public Agenda’s report is a great explainer on how communities are doing PB, who is participating…
Nerve cells in the spinal cord are known to be critical for processing and responding to touch and pain signals, but deciphering the precise mechanisms of these activities has been a challenge. A new miniaturized microscope allows researchers to see the activation of individual spinal cord neurons in real time…
When asked to describe her research, Titia de Lange says she has been “working on the same simple question for 25 years.” That’s a modest account of a dogged dedication that has revealed information critical to understanding both genome maintenance and cancer development. De Lange studies how cells…
While most sleep research is conducted using laboratory mice, David Prober studies the molecular basis of sleep in the zebrafish, a small freshwater tropical fish that populates many pet store aquariums. Zebrafish have several surprising advantages for understanding how sleep works. Unlike mice, which are nocturnal and sleep…
Exponent Philanthropy is showcasing words of wisdom from inspirational funders in its video series Philanthropy Lessons. They will —adding new videos every month through June 2016, and inviting the broader community to share lessons on its site. The videos and campaign are supported by the Fund…
Robert Weinberg, a 1976 Rita Allen Foundation Scholar and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor known for seminal findings on the origins and development of cancer, is one of two scientists to receive the 2016 Medal for Research Excellence awarded by the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La…
The Fund for Shared Insight has announced a second cohort of Listen for Good grantees, a group of 13 nonprofits working to advance community health, youth development, civic science and more. With support from Fund for Shared Insight and from nominating co-funders, these organizations will develop robust systems for collecting and…
Why do so many people reject broadly accepted scientific findings? What are the psychological, behavioral and cultural threads that tie together the fear of vaccinations with denial of climate change? And how can we apply the answers to these questions to improve the communication and understanding of science? Leading experts…