UCS Science Network

UCS

Through our Science Network, UCS collaborates with nearly 20,000 scientists and technical experts across the country, including physicists, ecologists, engineers, public health professionals, economists, and energy analysts. Science Network Voices gives Equation readers access to the depth of expertise and broad perspective on current issues that our Science Network members bring to UCS. The views expressed in Science Network posts are those of the author alone.

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UCS's Latest Posts

Photo: Bishnu Sarangi/Pixabay.

Science and Transparency: Harms to the Public Interest from Harassing Public Records Requests

Donald R. Smith

April 18, 2019 9:25 AM EDT

In my work as a professor and researcher in the Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, I investigate the basic mechanisms underlying how exposure to toxic metals contribute to cellular effects and disease. My lab explores how exposures to environmental toxins, such as lead, manganese, and arsenic can cause or contribute to the development of diseases in humans. For example, some neurobehavioral and neurodegenerative disorders, such as learning deficits and Parkinsonism have been linked to elevated lead and manganese exposures in children and manganese exposures in adults, respectively. Read more >

Photo: Gavin Emmons
Photo: Donald Smith
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Photo: Gage Skidmore

6 Ways to Make Your Science Advocacy Effective at the State and Local Levels

Cassandra Barrett, Ph.D.

April 5, 2019 9:12 AM EDT

I’m a huge believer in the idea that to make a difference, you should start where you’re already at. For me, that’s a graduate student studying bioengineering in Arizona. Many of us start graduate school with grand plans that inevitably are cut to size by our advisor. It takes time to learn the tools to make an impact, so we start small by learning to be the best scientists and community members we can be in our own labs. Ultimately these small steps help us to leave graduate school with the skills and confidence to make that big impact we wanted to when we first started.

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Photo: Gage Skidmore
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The Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics Continues to Weaken

Carlos M. De Leon-Rodriguez

March 18, 2019 3:50 PM EDT

During the past two years, the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics (PRIS) has faced a series of threats that have undermined its autonomy, credibility, and reputation. Read more >

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The Journal of Science Policy and Governance (JSPG): Engaging early career researchers in science policy

Adriana Bankston and Shalin R. Jyotishi

February 13, 2019 3:22 PM EDT

The Journal of Science Policy and Governance (JSPG) was established nearly ten years ago by a small cadre of students and science policy leaders who sought to create an open access, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed platform for early career researchers (ECRs) of all disciplines to publish well-developed policy assessments addressing the widest range of science, technology and innovation policy topics worldwide. Today, JSPG is a non-profit organization that has produced 15 volumes addressing a myriad of policy topics including health, the environment, space, energy, technology, STEM education, and defense, as well as science communications and diplomacy. Read more >

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People are the Purpose of Science

Mona Hanna-Attisha

February 11, 2019 4:54 PM EDT

Scientists like to talk about what they are “solving for” in their work. In classrooms all over the world, students are told that the purpose of science is “explaining and predicting our world.” Is that enough? Read more >

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