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2009 SCWIST Fundraising Gala - May 28, 2009
Quickly approaching – the event of the season!
Spark: An Evening of Art and Science, with special guest Maria Klawe
SCWIST will be holding a silent auction gala fundraiser featuring a keynote speech by renowned Canadian academic Maria Klawe as well as the auction of two of her original paintings. Come to network, mingle and bid on art and other great items. Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be served with chamber music from the Delta Youth Orchestra.
Time and Date: 7:00 – 9:30 pm on May 28th 2009
Location: Floral Room at VanDusen Botanical Gardens – 5251 Oak Street in Vancouver (37th & Oak St.)
Tickets: $60 each or $500 for a group of ten – available here.
Semiformal attire requested. Payment for all successful bids will be accepted via cheque at the event.
If you are interested in donating auction items, door prizes or in-kind gifts please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to meet Maria, buy some art and support SCWIST!
Engineer to CEO - Dr. Aimee Chan - May 28, 2009
SCWIST and WIE are pleased to present Dr. Aimee Chan – “Engineer to CEO”
Date: Thursday, May 28th, 2009
Time: 6:30-9:30pm, presentation starts at 7pm
Place: Little Nest Cafe, 1716 Charles St, Vancouver, BC
Cost: $8
Please register here.
Aimee Chan is the CEO of Norsat International Inc, holds three US patents on satellite technologies, has a PhD in Electrical Engineering, and is a mother of two. In addition, she is a member of the Vancouver Board of Trade, volunteers with ms infinity, is spearheading the Western Canada branch of WIDS – Woman in Defense and Security and plays hockey.
Full bio for Aimee: http://www.wievr.ca/nextevent.html
A grounded candidate with heavenly ambition
UBC zoologist and rugby player bids to join Canada’s astronauts and, perhaps, fly into space
By Pete McMartin, Vancouver Sun March 20, 2009
Of all her attributes and accomplishments we talked about—the scholarships and degrees, her doctoral work at UBC, her travel—the most affecting was the fact that Allyson Hindle, all of 30 years old and Canada’s only female candidate hoping to become an astronaut, plays rugby.
There’s something reassuring about a stellar resume and heavenly ambition being grounded in the muck of a rugby field.
“I started playing in high school,” Hindle said. “I’d say it’s my primary adult sport now, and I played most recently at Texas A & M.”
It was in Texas she completed her PhD in wildlife and fisheries science, to complement her bachelor’s and master’s of science degrees in zoology from the University of Manitoba. Her next trip to Texas could take her into space.
Of 5,351 applicants, Hindle is one of 16 finalists announced earlier this week in the Canadian Space Agency’s national astronaut recruitment campaign. She is the only female among them. Of those 16 finalists, two will be selected in May, and those two will then report to Houston in August for further training. From there, the future could hold a flight on the space shuttle.
“Truly, at this point, being involved in a launch is so far away it’s hard to think of it being a reality.”
In the history of the Canadian space program, only two astronauts have been women. Hindle was asked if she thought the gender odds helped or hindered her in this case.
“To be very honest, I’d have to say it’s neither. In the eye of the selection committee, it has no bearing. The CAS wants candidates who have shown an aptitude for problem-solving, for teamwork, for being good in crisis situations . . . . They’re looking for people with life experiences.”
That, she has. There is her education, most of it paid through scholarships. In her short life, she has also managed to travel to all seven continents, including Antarctica, where she did research on Weddell seals. Hindle now works as a post-doctoral fellow at UBC’s Marine Mammal Research Unit, where she is studying the diving habits of the Steller sea lion and its population decline in the Pacific. Her research focuses on the physiology of wild species that have adapted to extreme environments.
“I’ve always been interested in the idea of animals who seem particularly well-adapted to extreme environments, And I thought that was something I might be able to bring to the space program, there being no more extreme environment than space.”
She first learned of the recruitment campaign in May of last year. She was in her car on the way to work when she heard a story about it on the radio.
“I heard the announcement and I thought, ‘I think I can really do that.’
“For me, going into space was something I had thought about when I was young, and in that, I don’t think I’m unique. But in Canada, the opportunities for it are so infrequent, becoming an astronaut is not something you seriously pursue. So like the other candidates, I followed my interests in my own field and felt that, when the opportunity did come along, it was something I might have a chance to take part in.”
She has endured an unending series of tests to measure her physical and mental readiness. During our interview, she was wearing a halter monitor: it would record her heart rate while she slept. She has had MRIs, X-rays, echocardiograms and blood work. She has had lung-capacity tests. She has undergone exercise stress testing. With the rest of the finalists, she was flown to the Canadian Forces Naval Engineering School in Halifax and Survival Systems Training Ltd. in Dartmouth, N.S., and there they got to do things such as suppress real fires, stop a room from flooding and escape from a helicopter sinking underwater.
“I feel like that was an undiscovered skill for me,” Hindle said of the underwater escape. “I held my own.”
Is there a sense of competition between the candidates, of being voted off the island?
“Of course, it’s a bit of a joke that this would make a good reality show. But the truth of it is, we’ve all become fast friends. And that’s part of the game, too . . . . You have nothing to gain by being competitive or hostile with the other candidates. It wouldn’t serve you well in space.”
She is asked about the fear of going into space, of the danger of launches and re-entries that have sometimes gone fatally wrong.
“Yes, there is a risk, but it’s something that comes with the territory, and by this time we’ve all made peace with that.”
And if she isn’t selected?
She has her research to come back to, she said, and she is engaged to be married.
Scientists still wary after science minister confirms belief in evolution
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 CBC News
Canadian scientists say they are somewhat comforted that the minister of state for science and technology, Gary Goodyear, has clarified that he believes in evolution, but his recent comments still raised some concerns and questions.
John Smol, a biology professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., said in an email Wednesday he found the clarification “reassuring.”
Goodyear had said in a television interview late Tuesday that he believes in evolution.
In a newspaper article published earlier that day, Goodyear had refused to say whether he believes in the evolution, adding that he was a Christian and questions about his religion were inappropriate.
But, when pressed on the question during an interview on CTV’s Power Play late that afternoon, he responded: “Well, of course, I do, but it’s an irrelevant question … We are evolving every year, every decade.”
Goodyear went on to give some examples from his experience as a chiropractor.
“That’s a fact, whether it’s to the intensity of the sun, whether it’s to … walking on cement versus anything else, whether it’s running shoes or high heels, of course we are evolving to our environment, but that’s not relevant and that’s why I refused to answer the question.”
On Wednesday, following a speech at the Economic Club of Toronto outlining the government’s incentives and funding for science and technology, Goodyear refused to clarify further, insisting his personal views aren’t important.
When asked whether there was a conflict with someone with his portfolio being a creationist, he responded: “Absolutely not. How ridiculous. It’s absolutely ridiculous. That’s why I didn’t answer the question — because it has no relevance.”
He added that decisions about what areas of science should be funded are mostly made by scientists themselves through organizations such as granting councils, not by him.
While Smol was relieved to hear the initial clarification about Goodyear’s beliefs, he disagreed with Goodyear’s insistence that questions about them were not relevant.
“It is sort of relevant, of course, for a science minister should be able to assess science … just as the finance minister should be able to assess information from financial people,” Smol said, adding it would be worrisome if Goodyear could not follow the data.
Steven Carr, a biologist at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, said Goodyear’s approach the question has bigger implications.
“If the minister were asked if he accepts the theory of global warming — an evolutionary phenomenon that will have massive impact on plant and animal species in the coming decades — I hope he would not say that environmental change is irrelevant to his portfolio,” Carr remarked in an email.
A fundamental misunderstanding
Elizabeth Elle, a biology professor at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., said it’s good to hear the minister accepts the theory of evolution, but she was concerned about the example he provided.
“I think it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of how evolution by natural selection works,” she added.
The fundamental premise is that genetic variation among organisms results in differences in their “fitness” — a biological term referring to the number of offspring they have. That ultimately leads certain characteristics to become prevalent among their descendents. However, the types of characteristics that result in more offspring change over time as the environment changes.
Elle acknowledged that humans are evolving every day, being naturally selected for characteristics such as resistance to certain diseases, but not likely for the type of footwear they use.
Carr said Goodyear is confusing evolution with ordinary, day-to-day change.
“A suntan is not evolution, tired feet at the end of the day are not evolution,” he said, adding that the misunderstanding suggests that scientists need to do a better job of communicating the importance of biological evolution.
Elle said if Goodyear really doesn’t understand evolution, that’s a problem because the concept underpins scientists’ understanding of biology, from wildlife conservation to medicine.
“To the extent that his portfolio includes anything biological, he should understand it,” Elle said.
Goodyear might still be anti-evolutionist
Denis Lamoureux, a professor of science and religion at the St. Joseph’s College at the University of Alberta, said Goodyear’s comments don’t rule out the possibility that he could be a young Earth creationist who believes the world is only a few thousand years old instead of four billion years old.
Even such creationists believe change occurs on a small scale, allowing different breeds of dogs to arise, for example, Lamoureux said. That would still make him an anti-evolutionist.
In order to find out for sure, one would have to ask Goodyear more specific questions, Lamoureux added.
“Let’s say he is an anti-evolutionist … If that’s the case, then I think there would be some serious concern,” said Lamoureux, a former anti-evolutionist himself who now teaches about religion and evolution. “We’re in a downturn right now, so there’s going to be some shuffling of money.”
That’s Elle’s worry.
“I have some concerns about there being some prejudice against basic science that has evolution as a component of it,” she said.
When Goodyear was told by interviewer Jane Taber on CTV that the scientific community is concerned his views could “compromise you and the way you handle the portfolio as a science minister,” he responded, “I can assure them and assure everybody else that it does not.”
Goodyear said he is “passionate about science and technology,” and fully supports a government agenda to increase funding to the science and technology community.
“They should not have any worries about that at all,” he said.
Lamoureux said he doesn’t think Goodyear’s views would translate into science policy even if he does prove to be an anti-evolutionist.
Scientists watching closely
Both Smol and Elle said they are watching to see what Goodyear’s actions prove to be.
“My concern is more to what the future science policy is in this country, which of course is in Dr. Goodyear’s portfolio and sphere of influence,” Smol said.
Elle said she was somewhat reassured by Goodyear’s verbal commitment to funding science and technology.
“It is good that he’s saying that he’s going to be open and he’s going to support science,” she said.
For now, she’s giving him the benefit of the doubt.
“Nobody should be vilified for one … group of comments forever,” she said. “Now we have to see what his future actions are. And I think scientists will be watching him carefully because of this.”
UBC scientist sets sights on space
Marine mammal researcher shortlisted as Canadian Space Agency astronaut recruit
Vancouver Sun March 18, 2009
University of B.C. marine mammal researcher Allyson Hindle has been shortlisted for the Canadian Space Agency’s National Astronaut Recruitment Campaign.
Hindle has worked since 2008 in a joint research program on the magnitude of the population decline of Steller sea lions. The program is a partnership between the Vancouver Aquarium and UBC’s Marine Mammal Research Unit, according to a Vancouver Aquarium news release.
Hindle is studying the diving behaviour of Steller sea lions at the Open Water Research Station near Port Moody. Her expertise in the physiology of animals living in extreme environments may inform the study of the physiology of space travel.
“I’ll definitely miss the sea lions, especially Sitka,” said Hindle, who is the only woman among the 16 candidates shortlisted. “But if it all works out there will be a little bit of Sitka coming with me into space.”
The top two candidates will join Canada’s Astronaut Corps in May.
Canadians Like Their Comfort Foods
Researchers at UBC and Dalhousie University have found that Canadian families, regardless of ethnicity, take comfort in traditional foods. Their findings also suggest that despite the comfort, some food choices may lead to above-average risk for heart disease and diabetes.
UBC Nutrition Prof. Gwen Chapman and co-authors interviewed Canadians of European, Punjabi and African descents in British Columbia and Nova Scotia. Their three-year study is the first to explore the layered meanings of food choices in ethnic communities and will contribute to better health promotion and nutrition education.
The researchers found that most Nova Scotians of African descent value “black ways of eating,” choosing hot and spicy dishes or “soul food” as a way of asserting their cultural heritage.
In B.C., Punjabi families, especially new immigrants, routinely prepare two separate meals to accommodate elders who need dishes like roti, dahl and subjee to feel satisfied and younger family members who prefer to balance Indian and “Canadian” foods.
For families of European descent, “meat and potatoes” meals represent a source of comfort. However, they also place higher value than other communities on “healthy foods” as defined by nutritional
science.
reachout newsletter – UBC’s Faculty of Land and Food Systems Issue 11 Spring 2009
Scientists read minds with brain scanner
Thursday, March 12, 2009
CBC News
Scientists have found they can pinpoint the location of a person within a virtual room by reading his mind with a brain imaging device.
“Remarkably … we could tell where they were just by looking at the patterns of activity,” said researcher Eleanor Maguire at a news conference prior to the release of the results Thursday in the latest issue of Current Biology.
The researchers scanned the brains of volunteers using a technique called functional magnetic resonance (fMRI), which measures changes in blood flow within the brain, showing which areas are more active.
However, Demis Hassabis, who co-authored the paper with Maguire and several others, said scientists are at least 10 years away from being able to use the technique to determine whether someone is lying about where they have been.
It’s going to require a leap of technology advancement,” he said.
Maguire agreed, noting that the technique relies on the co-operation of the subject to train a computer to get familiar with their brain patterns.
“It’s quite an involved process that’s at a very early stage,” she said. “It’s probably quite … far away from having social and ethical and probably forensic implications.”
The results of the study do open up new avenues for understanding how other memories are coded in the brain, said Maguire, a professor at University College London. In the long term, that could help researchers understand how diseases such as Alzheimer’s erode memory and lead to new ways to help patients, she added.
In the study, Maguire and her colleagues asked four male, right-handed volunteers to navigate as quickly as possible 14 times between four positions in a virtual room while they were monitored with an fMRI scanner.
All subjects showed activity in the same area of the hippocampus, the area of the brain known to encode spatial memory.
Most trials for each location were used to “train” a computer. Based on the training, the computer was able to recognize the pattern for specific locations, allowing the researchers to predict where the volunteer was on the “non-training” runs.
Similar techniques had been used in vision neuroscience before, but not to study memory, Maguire said.
Previously, spatial memory had mostly been studied by looking at just a few neurons at a time in the hippocampi of rats.
Maguire said the fMRI doesn’t have very high spatial resolution, so the fact that it could pick out the patterns for different locations suggests that spatial memory is actually encoded over a far larger area than just a few neurons.
The study was funded by the Wellcome Trust, a medical research funding charity.
What is fMRI?
Functional magnetic resonance imaging is a technique that shows what parts of the brain are active by detecting changes in blood flow and the amount of oxygen consumed in different areas. Areas that are more active use more oxygen and therefore require more blood flow.
The scanner contains a strong magnet that causes particles inside the core atoms to line up in a certain way, producing a signal that is different for different kinds of atoms. In the case of MRI, the signal from hydrogen atoms in water is measured. The signal varies in different parts of the head, so that some parts appear darker than others.
An additional signal is detected in fMRI. Hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen in the blood, produces a slightly different signal when it is bound to oxygen, versus when it is not.
Female computing pioneer wins Turing Prize
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Associated Press
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Prof. Barbara Liskov has won the $250,000 Turing Award, one of the most prestigious honours in computing, for helping to make computer programs more reliable, secure and easy to use.
Only the second woman to win the prize, Liskov was honoured Tuesday for pioneering new designs in computer languages that gird everyday digital applications.
“Her exceptional achievements have leapt from the halls of academia to transform daily life around the world,” MIT Provost Rafael Reif said.
“Every time you exchange email with a friend, check your bank statement online or run a Google search, you are riding the momentum of her research.”
The Association for Computing Machinery, which awards the Turing, said Liskov revolutionized the programming field after she was the first U.S. woman to be awarded a PhD in computer science, which she earned at Stanford University in 1968.
Liskov has been an MIT professor since 1972.
Liskov’s early work in software design has been incorporated into major programming languages for more than three decades. Her innovations in data abstraction — a way of organizing complex programs — has helped make software easier to write, modify and maintain.
In an interview, Liskov explained that her work “has to do with ‘modularity,’ taking complex systems and breaking them into small pieces to keep them simple.”
The Turing award, to be presented June 27 in San Diego, is named for the late British mathematician Alan Turing. Past winners include internet pioneers Vint Cerf and Robert Kahn.
The prize money comes from Google Inc. and Intel Corp.
In 2007, former IBM computer scientist Frances Allen became the first woman to win the Turing Award. She won for her techniques in optimizing the performance of compilers, the programs that translate one computer language into another.
Memories of fear can be found and erased in mice, researchers show
Friday, March 13, 2009
The Canadian Press
In a scientific development that seems ripped from the script of the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Toronto researchers have shown they can find and selectively erase fear memories from the brains of mice.
The research is notable not just because the team managed to zap fear memories. Locating where the memories were stored in the first place is being hailed as a major accomplishment.
“This really then is a proof of principle that these are really the neurons that are involved in storing this kind of memory,” said Dr. Michael Salter, head of the program in neurosciences and mental health at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, where the research team is based.
The study, published Thursday in the journal Science, was led by Sheena Josselyn and Paul Frankland, partners in research and in life. The couple just had a baby and were unavailable for interviews, though Josselyn — the senior author — described the work in an interview that was podcast by Science.
She and others were quick to say that it remains to be seen if the mice findings can be translated into therapies for people suffering from crippling fears provoked by traumatic memories or from post traumatic stress disorder.
“Whether it works for other types of memory … or whether it would work in another type of mammal — say a human — we don’t know,” Josselyn said in the Science podcast.
Josselyn and her team had earlier reported that neurons in the lateral amygdala that produce high levels of a protein called CREB seem to be activated when fears triggered by sounds are imprinted on the brains of mice. The amygdala is known to be involved in the processing and storage of emotion memory.
The work was done using a classic training technique in which a mouse in a chamber hears a sound followed by a weak shock that comes through the chamber floor. From then onward, every time the mouse hears the tone, it will assume a crouch position that mice in the wild use to try to hide from predators.
In this study, the scientists identified the neurons that were over-producing CREB when the trained mice heard the tone, and zapped only those neurons using a diphtheria toxin. They then exposed the treated mice to the tone. The mice did not react, suggesting their memory linking it to fear of the shock was erased.
PTSD treatment a possible goal
The scientist whose work in reconsolidating memory — a term which means in essence reworking a memory — inspired Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind said Josselyn’s team has found “one of the Holy Grails” of memory work.
“The elegance in this one, which goes orders of magnitude beyond other studies, is that now they didn’t do something that was global to all neurons in the lateral nucleus,” said Karim Nader, a professor of neuroscience at McGill University in Montreal.
“They can kill only the neurons that they think express the memory. And it leaves all the other neurons intact.”
Nader said the work could eventually help scientists figure out how to assist people in overcoming pathological fears caused by the memory of a traumatic event.
But much remains to be done before that could happen. For instance, the technique Josselyn’s team used worked wonderfully in mice, but couldn’t be used in people.
“In humans, one wouldn’t want to kill these neurons. And certainly it’s not feasible to do it by this technology because you’re not going to inject diphtheria … viruses [into people],” said Salter, who is Josselyn’s department head but who was not involved in her work.
“So as a therapeutic strategy, this isn’t going to be it. But the idea is then to use this as a step forward and then to go on to come up with strategies that could then be used.”
Salter said it is conceivable that the storage system for fear-based memories that’s at work in a mouse brain is similar to the system by which fear memory is stored in human brains.
“Many of these biochemical pathways are conserved all the way from fruit flies up into humans,” he said. “So I think that’s the tack, is to try to find commonalities and take advantage of those commonalities.”
Salter said in building on this and other work, scientists may figure out a way to manipulate fear memories so that excessive fear is toned down, but the memory itself is not erased.
Are men too manly to seek help for their medical problems?
UBC researchers study effects of masculinity on men’s health choices
By Amy O’Brian, Vancouver Sun – March 13, 2009
It’s a well-known fact that men generally don’t like to admit weakness—that they don’t like going to the doctor or asking for help.
Such traits are commonly associated with the constructs of masculinity, which has led a group of researchers at the University of B.C. to examine men’s health within that context.
“We’re looking at men’s health in a new way, by trying to understand some of men’s health behaviour in relation to masculinity,” Joan Bottorff, a professor in UBC’s school of nursing, said Thursday in an interview.
“It provides a different way of looking at men’s health and therefore opens up some new avenues for promoting men’s health.”
Depression, heart health, smoking cessation and sexual health are four areas of research being examined at a forum this evening at Robson Square, as part of UBC’s Celebrate Research Week. The researchers all work at UBC’s school of nursing.
John Oliffe is investigating depression in men and the strategies men use to cope with it.
“The interesting piece around men’s depression is that men are diagnosed at half the rate of women,” Oliffe said. “But their suicide rate is four times that of women.”
Men tend to “self-manage” their depression with alcohol, drugs or violence, which is sometimes directed at their partner or spouse. Oliffe says many men are unwilling to take antidepressants, but there is an increasing willingness to talk about their depression.
“That’s new,” Oliffe says. “There seems to be an emerging interest, particularly among younger and middle-aged men, to be involved in talk therapy.
“We’re finding that there’s a real willingness to either talk with peers—other men who might be having issues—or professional counsellors.”
Bottorff has been studying smoking cessation among men, particularly those with infants or young children.
Part of the reason for the study is that 70 per cent of women who quit smoking while pregnant return to the bad habit within six months of giving birth. A key risk factor for those women is having a partner who smokes.
Bottorff says quitting cold turkey is one of the most popular smoking cessation methods among men, even though it has proven to be one of the most unsuccessful. Using a nicotine replacement such as the patch is proven to have a higher success rate, but Bottorff says men would rather focus on willpower and strength than relying on an “aid.”
Bottorff has no data regarding the most successful method of quitting, but says fathers who become heavily involved in caring for a baby are more likely to quit.
Other studies being pursued in the area of men’s health include an examination of how Punjabi men approach rehabilitation after having a heart attack, and another examining sexual health among men. Some of the studies are still recruiting subjects.
Background Tree Mortality Rates Increase in Old Forests
Lori Daniels, Ph.D., R.P.Bio.
Department of Geography, UBC-Vancouver
Tree death rates have more than doubled over the last few decades in old-growth forests of the western United States and southwestern British Columbia, and the most probable cause of the worrisome
trend is regional warming, according to a study published in Science on January 23, 2009.
Our study compares population changes in forests in southern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Colorado and Arizona. For the last 15 to 50 years my colleagues and I have monitored 76 permanent plots that include more than 58,736 trees. During that time,11,095 trees died and tree mortality rates have more than doubled in recent decades.
Tree death is a natural part of old-growth forest dynamics. Each year we expect a small number of trees to die. But our long-term monitoring of many types of old forests shows that tree mortality has
been increasing, but the establishment and growth of replacement trees has not. As a result, the forests are losing trees faster than they are gaining them.
Mortality rates, the rate at which trees die, have increased from just under 1% to almost 2% per year. These numbers may seem small, but tree death rates are like interest on a bank account – the
effects compound over time. So, a doubling of death rates eventually could reduce average tree age in a forest by half, thus reducing average tree size.
The increase in dying trees has been pervasive. Tree death rates have increased across a wide variety of forest types, at all elevations, in trees of all sizes, and in pines, firs, hemlocks, and other genera.
Ultimately increased mortality rates could lead to substantial changes in western forests. As trees die, they change the composition and structure of the forest, which can have cascading effects, such
as altering habitat for wildlife species. Additionally, increasing tree mortality rates mean that western forests could become net sources of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, further speeding up the pace of global warming.
Our study ruled out a number of possible sources of the increasing tree deaths, including air pollution, long-term effects of fire suppression, and forest dynamics associated with stand development such as self-thinning of even-aged stands. In contrast, increasing regional temperature was correlated with tree deaths.
Average temperature in western North America rose by over 1.0° C over the last few decades. While this change may sound modest, it was enough to reduce winter snowpack, cause earlier snowmelt, and lengthen the summer drought.
Changes in length of summer drought could be stressing trees, leading to higher death rates. Warmer temperatures also might favor insects and diseases that attack trees. For example the recent
outbreak of mountain pine beetle in British Columbia has already been linked to warming temperatures.
In some cases, increasing tree deaths could indicate forests vulnerable to sudden, extensive die-back, similar to forest die-back seen over the last few years in parts of the southwestern states, Colorado, and British Columbia. This is a major concern – the trend increased death rates indicate our forests are stressed and may be susceptible to bigger, more abrupt changes.
Complete findings appear in the article, Widespread increase of tree mortality rates in the western United States, by Phillip J. van Mantgem (USGS), Nathan L. Stephenson (USGS), John C. Byrne
(U.S. Forest Service), Lori D. Daniels (University of British Columbia), Jerry F. Franklin (University of Washington), Peter Z. Fulé (Northern Arizona University), Mark E. Harmon (Oregon State University), Andrew J. Larson (University of Washington), Jeremy M. Smith (University of Colorado), Alan H. Taylor (Pennsylvania State University), and Thomas T. Veblen (University of Colorado), published in Science (Volume 323: 521-524; DOI: 10.1126/science.1165000)
Association of Professional Biologists of British Columbia BIONews volume 19 number 1 pp 7-8
Commitment to science questioned
Critics say Ottawa offers inadequate vision, funding
By Mohammed Adam, Canwest News Service March 7, 2009
From their high perches in the world of Canadian research, former national science adviser Arthur Carty and McGill University neuroscientist David Colman see Canada at a crossroads in research and development.
Despite the energy, tremendous potential and growing cachet of Canadian research scientists, experts believe the country is drifting, both for lack of adequate funding and a coherent vision from the government.
Studies have shown that scientific research is much more than an academic exercise.
It is critical to a country’s economic well-being and that’s why many governments focus on it. Results of a 1999 study estimated that through its contribution to increased productivity, the benefits of university R&D amount to $15 billion, or about two per cent of Canada’s annual GDP. This translates into between 150,000 and 200,000 jobs—but today, the benefits could be higher.
Spending less
Yet Canada is now spending less and putting scientists out of work. This year, the three granting councils that fund the bulk of research in universities—the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research—received no extra money from the government, even in the recent big-spending stimulus budget.
Worse, under the guise of “strategic review,” the three councils have been asked to cut about $148 million over three years from their budgets—while similar bodies in the U.S. are getting billions from President Barack Obama’s massive stimulus package.
Today, “well below 20 per cent of grant applications” for academic research can be funded, says Jim Turk, who represents 65,000 academics and other staff in more than 120 colleges and universities across the country.
In comparison, Obama has made what New Scientist magazine calls “the biggest bet on science and technology in history,” putting about $25 billion into basic research. Billions of dollars more are going into energy renewal, new electricity grids, space projects and numerous other ventures.
Following Obama’s lead, Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown is vowing to “entrench investment in science as a national priority,” recession or no.
But in Canada, experts say the government appears hesitant and uncertain.
“A country as strong and sophisticated as Canada should have a direct and clear understanding of where it has to go to lead the world in terms of science. You have to look forward with vision,” says Colman, director of the Montreal Neurological Institute.
“The United States has a long-range plan and it never lets funding for the National Institutes of Health or National Science Foundation drop terribly. But here the [grants] agency funding is flat or worse. The priorities change and change dramatically every budget year. If, with every budget, you are going to change your view, you are not giving your country a chance to be the best in the world.”
Money into infrastructure
Carty, a former president of the National Research Council and national science adviser under prime ministers Paul Martin and Stephen Harper, agrees. He says the Conservative government has put a lot of money into science infrastructure but its overall approach to research is something of “a puzzle.”
“Things have not gone dramatically bad under the Conservative government, but there is a lack of understanding of how scientific research works,” says Carty, now the director of the Institute of Nanotechnology at the University of Waterloo, in southern Ontario. “We are getting mixed messages. On the one hand, the government is investing in infrastructure.
On the other hand, they are not investing in the research that people have to carry out in the labs … What message is the scientific community to take from that?”
Money for research
Gary Goodyear, the federal minister of state for science and technology, says the critics are wrong. He says the Conservative government has supported scientific research like no other. It has spent a lot of money on infrastructure for which it is very proud, he says, but it has also poured hundreds of millions of dollars into numerous research projects.
Under a 2007 blueprint, the government has not only supported the granting councils, it has given more money to the likes of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Automotive Innovation Fund and the centres of excellence for the commercialization of research, and has established scholarships to attract new talent to Canada.
Wed Feb 01
