FABBS reports on items of interest to many communities – scientists, policymakers, and the public. In our news, you will see updates on science funding and policy, articles that translate research for policy, and descriptions of the research contributions of scientists at all stages of their research careers.
Studying the Bird Brains of Parents
May 9, 2019
Humans and pigeons have a lot more in common than a love of park benches and French fries—so much that Rebecca M. Calisi, Ph.D. has dedicated her career to studying bird brains.
She’s in a crowded field! While Calisi is focused on pigeons, other scientists
nationwide are studying the brains of a host of different birds to better
understand why we humans behave the way we do—and why we sometimes behave in
ways we’re not supposed to.
Calisi’s work has
read moreBRAIN Initiative Conference and Opportunity to Inform Next Phase of Funding
April 26, 2019
A Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative working group has released a draft report for public comment. This is an opportunity for the FABBS community to bring attention to important cognitive and behavioral research and potential contributions to the next phase of the BRAIN Initiative.
The draft document includes 8 priority areas, and feedback that the community provides will inform the final report to the Advisory
read moreBudget Update
April 26, 2019
On Monday, Members of Congress will return to Washington, DC after a two-week recess – expect to see a flurry of appropriations activity.
The Labor, Health and Human Services (Labor-H) House Appropriations Subcommittee, with jurisdiction of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Institute for Education Sciences (IES), will meet on April 30 to mark up the NIH and IES budgets for fiscal year (FY) 2020. The full Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the
read moreIs Social Science Really Experiencing a Crisis?
April 25, 2019
Mainstream media frequently cover findings from
psychological research, but until recently, the field itself was rarely the
subject of intense public scrutiny. That has changed in recent years amid a
so-called “replication crisis” – a pattern of researchers publishing findings
that turn out to be hard for others to confirm. This pattern is actually not
new, and calling it a crisis may be overblown, according to psychologists Joseph Lee Rodgers and Patrick Shrout.