Taking effect November 21:
A landmark antidiscrimination law — the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act — will take effect in the nation’s workplaces next weekend, prohibiting employers from requesting genetic testing or considering someone’s genetic background in hiring, firing or promotions.
About time. Go read the full story at the NYTimes…
Carl Zimmer has won the 2009 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award for Large Newspapers! I just love his quote on the website:
“I sometimes feel a little embarrassed that I like to write articles about the kinds of basic questions my kids ask me,” Zimmer said. “For the three stories I submitted, the questions were, ‘What’s a virus?’ ‘What’s a gene?’ and ‘Why do fireflies flash?’ I had a marvelous time talking with scientists about the complex answers to those simple questions, and now, thanks to this award, I don’t have to feel at all embarrassed.”
Carl brings so many wondrous science topics to life for readers around the world and we’re thrilled he’s being recognized by AAAS! Congratulations to all the winners, and especially, to our extremely talented colleague here at the Discover Blogs! Read more about the awards and this year’s recipients here.
Last week, this article from the Chronicle of Higher Education hit my inbox from a reader named ‘Basma’. And then from ‘Jessica’ followed by ‘Cheyanne’. The link continued trickling in over the weekend… Apparently readers are aware I occasionally have something to say about gender bias in academia (and out and somewhere in the space between). My friends ’round these tangled series of tubes don’t put up with that sort of riffraff either. The piece begins like this:
As a female professor, are you called rude and abrasive while your male colleagues who make similar statements are simply labeled assertive? Has your department head discouraged you from taking an assignment, saying that because you have children you might not be able to handle it?
If things like that have happened to you, yell: “Bingo!”
The Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law is unveiling a new online game on Thursday called Gender Bias Bingo. The game is intended for women, although men who have overheard biased statements or have faced bias because they are fathers can also play.
Clicking the link led me to:
Visitors to this site are asked to choose a square and submit a representative story or quote from their experiences. The goal is to teach more of us to recognize gender bias while demonstrating the ways it can push women away from an academic career path. Director Joan C. Williams also explains the noteworthy economic angle:
“It does not make economic sense, particularly in these economic conditions, to keep recruiting women and then keep driving them out,” says Ms. Williams, who points out that a start-up package for a research scientist can cost as much as $1-million. “There had never been built, as far as I could tell, a clear explanation of why it’s cheaper to keep her.”
While it’s too early to tell how the mission of Gender Bias Bingo will play out, it’s certainly a unique new initiative. Not only does the game highlight the myriad of struggles facing women in the ivory towers, but it serves as a kind of tangible record–a visible means to display the ugly marks left across academia by such behavior. In a small way, this might reflect that gender bias is less acceptable than ever. At least, I hope so.
What do readers think?
The borg just gained a lot more balance! We’re looking forward to reading David Sloan Wilson’s Evolution For Everyone. Go check out his introductory post. Here’s an excerpt:
As someone who is seriously committed to studying religion from a scientific and evolutionary perspective, I’m here to say that the new atheists can’t bring themselves to accept the facts about religion as a human construction. Read my six-part series on “Atheism as a Stealth Religion”, now archived on my ScienceBlog site, for more. Even better, start acquainting yourself with the emerging field of evolutionary religious studies, whose members are more serious about holding each other accountable for what they say about religion.
The 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak for their work on “how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.” (Check out this 1996 article in Scientific American by Greider and Blackburn).
According to Abel, just eight of the 192 individuals awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine are women. As he writes:
To have Blackburn and Grieder win the prize is an incredible accomplishment for any scientist, but one that I think will pay huge dividends in helping our young women (and the mini-women that some of us Dads have) in appreciating that they too can be a world-class scientist.
I couldn’t agree more. Congratulations to Blackburn, Greider, and Szostak!
Now that schools are back into full swing, we’re asking our loyal readers to join us in support of Donors Choose, which you can now see is also linked in our sidebar. Donors Choose provides a way to make direct contributions to classrooms and we’ll be asking for your help throughout October.
The nation’s schools are hurting and teachers often cannot afford to purchase the equipment and supplies they need. Your tax deductible gift matters tremendously during these difficult economic times. Donations support primary and secondary school projects that are described in detail on our page, so you get to decide how your money will be used. We love this charity because Donor’s Choose promotes scientific literacy with clear and meaningful results.
When you contribute to Donors Choose, students send personal handwritten thank you notes so you can find out exactly who has benefited from the gift. Support our schools, our children, our future.
As Sean has reminded readers at Cosmic Variance, the polls are open to nominate your favorite posts for the 2009 edition of Open Lab, an annual anthology of the best science blogging. Bora runs the show and this year’s special editor is Scicurious. So go submit your favorite posts from around the web here.
On Sunday I did a live hour long interview with the famed media critic Bob McChesney on his show “Media Matters.” A lot of stuff came up–not just concerning the decline of science in the media, though that was a key them–and you can listen to the full thing here.
This Wednesday, meanwhile, I am giving a talk right in my new neighborhood–Cambridge, MA, at Porter Square Books. These are the details:
Wednesday, September 16
7:00 PM–8:00 PM
Porter Square Books
25 White St
Cambridge, MA 02140
And here is the link for more info. The talk is being cosponsored by the Harvard chapter of Scientists and Engineers for America, and the head of the MIT Knight Fellowship Program, distinguished journalist Phil Hilts, will be introducing me. Hope to see some of you there….
Last month I posted Shine A Light, and now Clifford Johnson’s second short film, Laser, has debuted on the interwebs! Take a look and watch for the Monty Python moment:
In his own words:
For this [National Science Foundation-supported film] to be a success, your help is needed. It needs to be seen. Tell your family and friends, colleagues and students, local teachers, etc., about it. Forward it on to people you know. Blog it, tweet it, facebook share it, etc. Crucially, remember that it is designed to be not just for people who already know they have an interest in science, but others too, so make no assumptions about who might like it… just please send it. Thanks.
