Many animals, from birds to humans, learn complex behaviors by observing and mimicking their parents. Male zebra finches learn elaborate mating calls from their fathers, and this process has become a model system for exploring the mechanisms of learning and memory. Michael Long(Photo: NYU Langone Medical Center)…
The Fund for Shared Insight today announced it will award over $2.6M in 2016 to five existing grantees to continue their work improving philanthropy and to one new grantee for feedback research. The original round of grants was awarded to a group of 14 nonprofits in 2015 to strengthen feedback systems…
A new website aims to make scientific research on the causes and treatment of chronic pain more accessible to patients and the general public. RELIEF offers news, feature articles and interviews with leading experts, and will soon add podcasts and webinars. Chronic pain affects up to one-third of…
David Tuveson was born a naturalist. Growing up in Michigan, he says, “I was always outside—looking under a rock, going out on the water to observe and catch things and let them go…I’ve loved science ever since I was conscious.” David Tuveson(Photo: Courtesy of David…
A new multimedia, interactive resource provides practical tips, case studies and collaboration strategies for those seeking to help communities prepare for and recover from disasters. The Disaster Philanthropy Playbook is a joint project of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and the…
Thanks to the growing use of digital technologies, people everywhere now have access to a spectacular wealth of information. New technologies also hold untapped potential to broaden access to government, scientific research and other knowledge. Civic tech innovators are building tools to help open up policymaking, budgeting and voter information…
This month, the Council on Foundations blog features aQ&A with Elizabeth Good Christopherson, President and CEO of the Rita Allen Foundation. Here, Ms. Christopherson sums up our approach to investing in innovation: We look for promise, openness to collaboration, hunger for leadership—not proof that ideas will work.
The results are in: Of the 50 U.S. states, only three earned a D+ or better, and 11 states received failing grades. The scores were released on November 9 by the Center for Public Integrity’s State Integrity Investigation. This comprehensive assessment involved research by 50 state-based reporters…
Ajay Chawla delighted in exploring the mechanics of everyday objects from an early age. At first, he recalls, “I spent most of my time taking things apart and not putting them together.” This impulse served him well in school, where he was drawn to math and science,…
The ability to stimulate specific neurons using beams of light, a technique known as optogenetics, has led to great advances in neuroscience over the past decade, helping to establish critical links between brain and behavior. But this approach has its drawbacks. Notably, light is easily scattered by the body’s tissues,…