Biophysical Newsletter - September 2014

10

BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

2014

SEPTEMBER

Public Affairs

leaders of the US House of Representatives and the Senate’s Environmental and Public Works Committee on a piece of legislation passed June 24 by the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee entitled the Secret Science Reform Act. In late July eight Senators, including Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY), introduced a companion bill to the House bill. If it were to become law, the Secret Science Reform Act would prohibit the EPA from proposing, finalizing, or disseminating regu- lations or assessments unless all underlying data were made publicly available and reproducible. While the bill targets an agency not directly tied to biophysical research, the Society’s public affairs committee was concerned about the impact the legislation would have on individual scientists whose work may become drawn into the midst of political/legal battles and the precedent it would set for research conducted at other federal agencies. To read the letters go to http://www.biophysics. org/AboutUs/NewsRoom/tabid/2243/Default. aspx. America Competes Act Reauthorization Just before the Senate recessed for the month of August, Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller, IV , Chairman of the Senate Committee on Com- merce, Science, and Transportation, along with Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Ed Markey (D-MA), introduced the America COM- PETES Reauthorization Act of 2014. Rockefeller, a long- time supporter of research and develop- ment, STEM, and innovation related issues, is retiring at the end of the year. The America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2014 would authorize stable and sustained increas- es in federal research and development (R&D) funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and

Biophysics: Changing Our World

CONTEST WINNERS

In an effort to collect new stories showcasing how fundamental biophysics research can result in out- comes that make a positive impact on the world, the Biophysical Society solicited the community to submit one minute videos or one page essays highlighting one such advancement. Judges from the Society’s public affairs committee, which sponsored the contest, reviewed the entries and selected 4 winners. They are: Daniela Dalm , a member and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas, Medical Branch at Galveston, for her video on fighting cancer; Ryan Hoffman , Scripps Research Institute, for his video on fighting the flu; Rishabh Kumar , Carmel High School, working in the lab of BPS member Horia. Petrache, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, for his Keir Neuman , NHLBI, NIH, for his essay on a new treatment for toe nail fungus infections. View the winning entries by going to www.bio- physics.org and clicking 'Awards & Funding' and then 'Society Contests'. BPS Raises Concern over the Secret Science Reform Act The Biophysical Society joined 43 other science- minded organizations in sending a letter to the essay entitled Galvani’s Powerful Discovery; and