Protein Data Bank Deposits Are Life’s Building Blocks
A four-decade project to catalog the basic structures used to build life pays dividends for everything from new drugs to Bjork’s performances.
If LSU Cuts Football, Academia Can Panic
Regarding the crisis in American research universities, Louisiana State University System President John V. Lombardi argues that when athletics are on the cutting block, he'll see that as a sign of disaster.
Innovation Must Get in Line for Academic Funding
In a Q&A session, computer scientist Francine Berman, vice president for research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, explains how funding decisions made in Washington help or hinder innovation at universities.
States Prove Weak Link in Supporting Research Universities
In a Q&A, historian Robert M. Berdahl, president of the Association of American Universities, (since retired) describes how fiscal pressures at the state level undermine research universities already battered by the recession.
Retaining Excellence in U.S. Research Universities
In a series of upcoming Q&A sessions, academics and other observers will review the fiscal and competitive challenges facing U.S. research institutions and what might solve them.
When Bad Things Happen to Good Rogues
A century and a half after defective mules prompted a law on false claims, the federal government is still working kinks out of the process.
Solving the World’s Problems With a Joystick
The people behind the burgeoning field of serious games aim both to get people to care about solving world problems while learning that all answers have their consequences.
Pakistan, Captain America’s On the Phone
The United States has dumped billions of dollars into Pakistan as it has sailed closer than ever to becoming a nuclear-armed failed state. Where do both nations go from here?
Re-Arranging Pakistan’s Deck Chairs
As U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits India, we look at its neighbor and enemy Pakistan, America's oldest friend in the Subcontinent. The United States has dumped billions of dollars into Pakistan as it has sailed closer than ever to becoming a nuclear-armed failed state. Where does it go from here, our Ken Stier asks in the first of a two-part analysis.
A Flower Grows in West Africa
Are Liberia's new steel and rubber concessions a sign of reform — or the exception that proves corruption still rules in resource-rich countries?