[Nhcoll-l] FW: Science Policy News from AIBS

Mon Jan 11 15:28:44 EST 2016

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AIBS Public Policy Report

AIBS Public Policy Report, Volume 17, Issue 1, January 11, 2016

  *   Science Policy: A Preview of 2016
  *   Tune in for the State of the Union
  *   New Research Initiative Aims to Improve Toxicity Testing
  *   NASA to Start CORAL Reef Expedition in 2016
  *   Nominations Sought for USGS Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science
  *   From the Federal Register
  *   Become an Advocate for Science: Join the AIBS Legislative Action Center

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The AIBS Public Policy Report is distributed broadly by email every two weeks to the AIBS membership. Any interested party may self-subscribe to receive these free reports by email or RSS news feed, by going to www.aibs.org/public-policy-reports<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__aibs.us1.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Da2886d199362c2554974f78af-26id-3D214838c651-26e-3D6708ed45cf&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=G8YpNGCu-wQc4RB8RGGEqz6qaUa_gDVoGx6f3UcHqKo&e= >.

With proper attribution to AIBS, all material from these reports may be reproduced or forwarded. AIBS staff appreciates receiving copies of materials used. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact the AIBS Director of Public Policy, Robert Gropp, at 202-628-1500 x 250.

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Science Policy: A Preview of 2016

It is not too late to register for an AIBS science policy webinar on 12 January 2016. This free event previews science policy issues that are likely to arise in Congress and the executive branch in 2016. The webinar will be presented by Julie Palakovich Carr, AIBS public policy manger. Register at https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.aibs.org_events_leadership_science-2Dpolicy-2Da-2Dpreview-2Dof-2D2016.html&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=-aafIE-ltzBFAag2ppTod9aQtpGBXaRPBjM11nBQonU&e= <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__aibs.us1.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Da2886d199362c2554974f78af-26id-3D0ce0de5c20-26e-3D6708ed45cf&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=fSjYNEavIHp6uZbrVjpZpZtRbXZyUqi-8_gz8veeDps&e= >.

Tune in for the State of the Union

On Tuesday, January 12th, President Obama will deliver his final State of the Union address to Congress and the nation. The White House says that the address will be a departure from past speeches. "Instead of laying out a laundry list of policy proposals for 2016, he'll look beyond the next election and instead talk about some of the most important issues that will shape our country for generations to come," according to blog post on WhiteHouse.gov<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__aibs.us1.list-2Dmanage1.com_track_click-3Fu-3Da2886d199362c2554974f78af-26id-3D9e2875081c-26e-3D6708ed45cf&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=JF3YlVKnDZQ0BJ1b-d_qkAlhnq-IkPOhChOFwqL0uZU&e= >.

Among the guests who will join First Lady Michelle Obama to watch the address are two advocates for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The inclusion of these people on the guest list may be an indicator that the president's remarks will include science.

New Research Initiative Aims to Improve Toxicity Testing

The Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institutes of Health are offering $1 million to researchers who create a new way to more accurately screen chemicals. Such toxicity screening allows the government to determine the safety of products.

Current technology allows for thousands of chemicals to be tested in an automated process, but fails to identify compounds that may become more toxic once metabolized by the body.

The competition will provide two stages of funding for finalists and $400,000 for the winning proposal. Submissions for the first stage are due on 8 April 2016.

Learn more at https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__transformtoxtesting.com_&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=SwbR59EOdqjmhilHQfbuLBv5wTy67siyLvNAOuTSuIU&e= <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__aibs.us1.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Da2886d199362c2554974f78af-26id-3Dbdcc427149-26e-3D6708ed45cf&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=TvrwE-o85vllAu68oLus_7jJomzO2PgnAU81zokp3gA&e= >.

NASA to Start CORAL Reef Expedition in 2016

NASA will start a new three-year long field expedition in 2016 called the Coral Reef Airborne Laboratory (CORAL) to survey the condition of coral reefs around the world.

Previous studies and surveys of coral reefs have relied on costly and labor-intensive diving expeditions and have been confined to very few dive sites when assessing the status of this threatened ecosystem.

The CORAL campaign aims to create a database of uniform scale and quality with detailed information from reef areas that have not been previously surveyed.

Reefs all over the world are threatened by climate change. Eric Hochberg, CORAL principal investigator, stated that, "We've seen the reefs of Jamaica and Florida deteriorate and we think we know what is happening there. However, reefs respond in complex ways to environmental stresses such as sea level change, rising ocean temperatures and pollution. The available data were not collected at the appropriate spatial scale and density to allow us to develop an overarching, quantitative model that describes why and how reefs change in response to environmental changes. We need accurate data across many whole reef ecosystems to do that."

The expedition will use advanced instruments on aircrafts and under water to study the conditions of reefs. An airborne instrument called the Portable Remote Imaging Spectrometer (PRISM) will be used to record light reflected upwards from the ocean surface. This will allow researchers to measure unique spectral signatures of corals and algae and determine the health of these ecosystems.

CORAL will significantly increase the amount of data currently available on reef health, but will only cover 3-4 percent of earth's reefs. "Ideally, in a decade or so we'll have a satellite that can frequently and accurately observe all of the world's reefs, and we can push the science and most importantly our understanding even further," said Hochberg.

CORAL is funded through NASA's Earth Venture Program. To learn more about it go to: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__science.nasa.gov_missions_coral_&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=26BmSBsn5GXBmvi7Vew72212mC4zv2kdMumZKG5YFsk&e= <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__aibs.us1.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Da2886d199362c2554974f78af-26id-3Df3639e591e-26e-3D6708ed45cf&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=HIY6FEPOZAQjbpmTXf11nW4PaYpAiK7-ZwhuSvteElI&e= >.

Nominations Sought for USGS Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science

The Department of the Interior is currently soliciting nominations for the Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science.

The committee was chartered in 2013 and advises the Secretary of the Interior on the operations of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center and the Department of the Interior Climate Science Centers. It consists of 25 members who represent the interests of state and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, American Indian tribes and other Native American entities, academia, landowners and businesses.

Nominations should include a resume describing the nominee's detailed qualifications. Self-nominations will be accepted. Nominations can be sent by mail to Robin O'Malley, NCCWSC, USGS, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Mail Stop 516, Reston, VA 20192 or by email to nccwsc at usgs.gov. The deadline for sending in nominations is 15 January 2016.

For further details, read the federal register entry at: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.federalregister.gov_articles_2015_10_19_2015-2D26432_opening-2Dof-2Dnomination-2Dperiod-2Dfor-2Dmembers-2Dof-2Dthe-2Dadvisory-2Dcommittee-2Don-2Dclimate-2Dchange-2Dand-2Dnatural&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=_h0rPrEZN9sftIkK0qLVtnHwNIXa2FDKdIG92sjIfps&e= <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__aibs.us1.list-2Dmanage1.com_track_click-3Fu-3Da2886d199362c2554974f78af-26id-3Db64a8089b1-26e-3D6708ed45cf&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=3rb584KehHNspaKbkOkng68c44hr_HClz6EkuMZA82Y&e= >.

>From the Federal Register

The following items appeared in the Federal Register from 28 December 2015 to 8 January 2016. For more information on these or other recent items, please visit the AIBS Federal Register Resource at www.aibs.org/federal-register-resource/index.html<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__aibs.us1.list-2Dmanage1.com_track_click-3Fu-3Da2886d199362c2554974f78af-26id-3Ddd79973fcd-26e-3D6708ed45cf&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=YWkJ7e6EYSjPw52XABLii2s9ZcK48zG2H9p4pTLwFlM&e= >.

Week Ending 8 January 2016

Commerce

  *   Genome in a Bottle Consortium--Progress and Planning Workshop
  *   Interagency Working Group on the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act
  *   Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC); Public Meeting
  *   Science Advisory Board
Environmental Protection Agency

  *   Notification of a Public Meeting of the Great Lakes Advisory Board
Environmental Protection Agency

  *   Health and Human Services
  *   Meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS
  *   Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting
National Science Foundation

  *   Sunshine Act Meeting; National Science Board
Week Ending 1 January 2016

Environmental Protection Agency

  *   Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; BEACH Act Grants (Renewal)
  *   Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; National Pretreatment Program (Renewal)
  *   Notification of Teleconferences of the Science Advisory Board; Hydraulic Fracturing Research Advisory Panel
Health and Human Services

  *   Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services; Meeting
National Science Foundation

  *   Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request

Become an Advocate for Science: Join the AIBS Legislative Action Center

Quick, free, easy, effective, impactful! Join the AIBS Legislative Action Center<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__aibs.us1.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Da2886d199362c2554974f78af-26id-3Ddb25b96bd1-26e-3D6708ed45cf&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=tewe3vMg4FGSMOovE5cw-egvd4Ji4r81NUhltVaxfbI&e= >.  The Legislative Action Center is a one-stop shop for learning about and influencing science policy. Through the website, users can contact elected officials and sign-up to interact with lawmakers.  The website offers tools and resources to inform researchers about recent policy developments. The site also announces opportunities to serve on federal advisory boards and to comment on federal regulations.

This new tool is made possible through contributions from the Society for the Study of Evolution, Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, and the Botanical Society of America.  AIBS and our partner organizations invite scientists and science educators to become policy advocates today. Simply go to policy.aibs.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__aibs.us1.list-2Dmanage2.com_track_click-3Fu-3Da2886d199362c2554974f78af-26id-3D96fa7ea1f2-26e-3D6708ed45cf&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=zyJyjly9Pv9Nx_WE0fAzm-mlFce2FkxWkR0AbaHcqLY&e= > to get started.

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  *   Become an AIBS Individual Member and lend your voice to a national effort to advance the biological sciences through public policy, education, and science programs. Visit https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.access.aibs.org_-3Fpage-3DIndMem&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=pCXX0BkYQIBfuMH-UB9DvnylYuZMhATc2ssGRVKZLiY&e= <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__aibs.us1.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Da2886d199362c2554974f78af-26id-3D4b60463ff1-26e-3D6708ed45cf&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=PgoTTuOP7-XLoxH8p2NbjVL6wm9toY4J6KWA5CQtLO8&e= > to join AIBS.

  *   Become an advocate for science, visit the AIBS Legislative Action Center at https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__policy.aibs.org&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=p2kxzMDeesABvD_GI4j_zhWb22yrSr-Mgg4n3HLZMUY&e= <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__aibs.us1.list-2Dmanage1.com_track_click-3Fu-3Da2886d199362c2554974f78af-26id-3D979294b186-26e-3D6708ed45cf&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=O6QeyAvKL0FtzqMuFyhwhFFrgR2A8bBYfuZ4570tYAY&s=rOAQ2I6a-vUlXvXutV1DJUkKXnPO9OoWjHnS6dfEdzU&e= >.

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The American Institute of Biological Sciences is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) scientific association dedicated to advancing biological research and education for the welfare of society. AIBS works to ensure that the public, legislators, funders, and the community of biologists have access to and use information that will guide them in making informed decisions about matters that require biological knowledge. The organization does this through informing decisions by providing peer-reviewed or vetted information about the biology field and profession and by catalyzing action through building the capacity and the leadership of the community to address matters of common concern.

Founded in 1947 as a part of the National Academy of Sciences, AIBS became an independent, member-governed organization in the 1950s. Today, AIBS has over 140 member organizations and is headquartered in Reston, VA, with a Public Policy Office in Washington, DC. Its staff members work to achieve its mission by publishing the peer-reviewed journal BioScience and the education Web site ActionBioscience.org, by providing scientific peer-review and advisory services to government agencies and other clients, and by collaborating with scientific organizations to advance public policy, education, and the public understanding of science.

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