Figuring out the what, where and when of disease outbreaks By Nadine Lymn, ESA director of public affairs Plague, Lyme disease, Hantavirus, West Nile Virus—these bacteria and viruses are zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted to people from animals like ticks, mosquitoes and rodents and were the subject of a recent Ecological Society of America (ESA) congressional briefing. Disease transmission…
By Terence Houston, ESA science policy analyst and Nadine Lymn, ESA director of public affairs “The Congressman believes strongly in the value of fundamental research the National Science Foundation makes possible and will continue to support it.” “…the Senator is concerned that NSF funds some “silly research” such as a study on duck penises….” These are just a few examples…
Representatives Daniel Lipinski (D-Illinois) and Dave Reichert (R-Washington) are the recipients of the 2013 Biological and Ecological Sciences Coalition (BESC) Congressional Leadership Award. The award is given to recognize congressional leaders who have demonstrated a commitment to promoting public policy that advances the nation’s scientific research enterprise. “We are fortunate to have two such strong supporters of the natural sciences…
Is it time to define a new field? By Nadine Lymn, ESA public affairs director This is the first in a series of EcoTone posts on a recent TEDxDeExtinction event. You can watch the presentations, hosted by the National Geographic Society, here. The talks will be edited and posted to YouTube in a few weeks. NGS showcases de-extinction in the…
By Nadine Lymn, ESA director of public affairs Say you’re a plant biologist who wants to devise educational components for your research project but you’re not sure what might work well for high school students. Or say you’re a high school biology teacher looking to ramp up how you challenge your students with the latest research findings and tools. Enter…
By Nadine Lymn, ESA director of public affairs As someone who is mostly immersed in the world of science and environmental policy, either sharing ecological research related to climate change or tracking congressional efforts (or lack thereof) to develop policy to mitigate and adapt to global warming, it came as an eye-opening and pleasant change of pace to me this…
By Nadine Lymn, ESA director of public affairs “Just watch these students—watch for their names. They will continue to shine and you will keep coming across their names. Some are already taking leadership roles and after this meeting will be doing even more to help bring ecology alive.” Teresa Mourad is talking about the undergraduate students who will gather next…
By Nadine Lymn, ESA director of public affairs Threatened and endangered species, alternative energy, sustainable agriculture and fisheries, emerging diseases and climate change—these are all areas in which members of the Ecological Society of America work. Our members are researchers, educators, natural resource managers and students and work in academia, government and the private sector. This community of 10,000 shares…
By Nadine Lymn, ESA director of public affairs Earlier this afternoon, the National Science Foundation (NSF) celebrated the 60th anniversary of its Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), the nation’s oldest fellowship program directly supporting graduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Featuring high-level science luminaries such as Nobel prize-winner and Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, the program highlighted…
By Nadine Lymn, ESA director of public affairs In honor of our national holiday, here’s a look at some current and past blog posts on the subject. The Chicago Botanic Garden’s blog earlier this week offered a reminder of the three Sisters—the three crops grown together by the Iroquois: corn, beans and squash. According to the post, “the Iroquois called…
By Nadine Lymn, ESA director of public affairs As the reports began coming in about the approaching “superstorm” known as Hurricane Sandy, the chatter about how and if it was connected to global warming was not far behind. Indeed, it seemed that in the days following its devastating coastal landfall, attention on climate change was revived. In his Bloomberg view…
This post contributed by ESA member Sean Hoban, a post-doc in conservation genetics at the University of Ferrara, Italy. In the opening pages of his book, Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan quotes agrarian writer Wendell Berry in reminding us that, “Eating is an ecological act.” Simultaneously, eating is also a political act. Indeed, in the past year, headlines about local food…