News Release

Burroughs Wellcome Fund Continues Support Of EurekAlert!

Grant and Award Announcement

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

WASHINGTON, DC -- January 9, 1998 -- EurekAlert!, (www.eurekalert.org), an Internet site designed to disseminate the latest research news, today received a $120,000 grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

The two-year grant will be used to enhance and expand the core activities of EurekAlert!. Burroughs Wellcome Fund's renewed commitment to EurekAlert! will allow for the development of new resource sections and enable the integration of new technologies into the site. The grant will develop new content areas of the site--as well as enhance existing ones--through the addition of peer-reviewed journals and "Science by Country," a section devoted to describing how science is conducted around the world.

"This generous commitment to EurekAlert! and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund makes possible the continued expansion of what has become an important service to the scientific community," said Richard S. Nicholson, Executive Officer of the AAAS, which publishes EurekAlert!. "We are proud that Burroughs Wellcome Fund has embraced the vision of furthering the understanding and information exchange between the communities of science and journalism."

EurekAlert! is an Internet service that offers the latest news about science, medical, health and technology free of charge to thousands of users around the world. EurekAlert! uses the power of the Internet to keep reporters up-to-date on breaking science news by posting the latest research findings from the world's most respected peer-reviewed journals, research institutions, and scientific organizations.

"The Burroughs Wellcome Fund believes that helping to keep the public informed about science and medicine is of great importance," says BWF President Enriqueta C. Bond, Ph.D. "Working with the media toward that goal ultimately will benefit both individual citizens and the research enterprise."

The Fund, based in Durham, North Carolina, is an independent private foundation established to advance the medical sciences by supporting research and other scientific and educational activities.

EurekAlert! offers secured online access for science, medical, health, and technology reporters to pre-publication versions of articles to appear in peer-reviewed journals such as Science, JAMA, and The Lancet. Specially focused pages allow for "one-stop shopping" for the latest science news--with links to embargoed news, experts, scientific meetings, press conferences, and more.

An average of 19 news releases are posted each day on EurekAlert!, and all are archived and fully searchable. Since EurekAlert!'s debut, more than 3,000 releases have been posted on topics ranging from AIDS to zoology.

EurekAlert! was launched in May 1996 as a public service project of the nonprofit AAAS. The site provides a forum for individual universities and research organizations to raise the level of awareness and visibility about key science, health, medical, and technology issues and to distribute embargoed information safely via the Internet.

Since EurekAlert!'s debut, more than 1,400 reporters and 750 public information officers from around the world have registered to use the site. EurekAlert! is endorsed by the International Association of Science Writers, the National Association of Science Writers, the Union of European Science Journalism Associations, and the Canadian Science Writers' Association.

The creation of EurekAlert! was made possible by the support of AAAS, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Genentech, Monsanto, and subscriber fees. AAAS, the publisher of the weekly journal Science, is the world's largest federation of scientists with more than 142,000 individual members and nearly 300 affiliated scientific and engineering societies. The Association will celebrate its 150th anniversary this year.

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Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.