News by Subject Policy & Ethics

The way you get a cup of coffee, cook a meal at home and even purchase clothing is changing. Each consumer wants something completely unique, which has disrupted the entire supply chain and created the 'experiential supply chain,' says Michigan State University research.

A series of nanoscopic membranes made of water saturated by an enzyme naturally developed over millions of years to clear CO2 empties coal smoke of the greenhouse gas more cheaply and efficiently than any known.

PSU business school professor's research shows that companies that hire a more diverse set of employees are rewarded with a richer pipeline of innovative products and a stronger financial position.

A study led by academics at the University of Lincoln has found that UK GPs who declare dyslexia prior to taking the AKT are just as likely to pass the knowledge component of the licensing exam as their counterparts. Candidates who declared dyslexia after initially failing the exam were more likely to be minority ethnic candidates with a primary medical qualification outside of the UK.

Federally funded research contributed to the science underlying all new medicines approved by the FDA from 2010-2016, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The Bentley University study identified >600,000 research publications and >$100 billion in NIH funding related to 210 new medicines, with >90 percent of funding associated with basic science. This analysis demonstrates the importance of federal support for basic science in sustaining a pipeline of new cures.

Blockchain technology can help improve old models of data management and bring benefits to learners and educational institutions in the EU -- if policymakers are well prepared to embrace the change.

Restasis, a blockbuster drug sold by Allergan to treat chronic dry eye, has done $8.8 billion in US sales between 2009 and 2015, including over $2.9 billion in public monies through Medicare Part D. In an article in JAMA Internal Medicine, 'A Clear-Eyed View of Restasis and Chronic Dry Eye Disease,' Dartmouth physician-researchers Lisa Schwartz and Steven Woloshin argue that a more fundamental question we should be asking is: does Restasis even work?

Researchers in physics and mathematics have long used 'preprints' -- preliminary versions of their scientific findings published on internet servers for anyone to read. In 2013, similar services were launched for biology, but following a chance discovery, Matthew Cobb, a scientist and historian at the University of Manchester, has unearthed a long-forgotten experiment in biology preprints that took place in the 1960s. He has written about them in a study publishing Nov. 16 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.

Engineering education is chronically challenged by dynamics in information technology, work environments, and the public's perception of the engineer's role in society. Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands has risen to this challenge, redesigning its entire undergraduate program in an effort to meet the demands of the 21st century engineering profession. Rudi Bekkers and Gunter Bombaerts chronicle this journey and the lessons learned in the current issue of Technology and Innovation.

The current issue of Technology and Innovation, Journal of the National Academy of Inventors ® (19.2) examines innovation from the university perspective, highlighting what the most innovative institutions and educators worldwide are doing to prepare future engineers and industry leaders to effectively manage IP to grow their companies and the global economy as a whole.