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The article focuses on the U.S. government's problem to fund and maintain its Earth monitoring satellites. It relates that turf battle among several government agencies as well as tight budgets, threaten the future of the country's Earth monitoring. The author remarks that one way to simplify things is to have a unified system for operational measurement of the variables of interest, like the National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) combines activities, which is previously carried out by the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) low-Earth-orbiting satellites with the defence department's weather-satellite programme.

The National Science Foundation's rules for reporting harassment by grant recipients are the strictest yet instituted by a US government science agency.The National Science Foundation's rules for reporting harassment by grant recipients are the strictest yet instituted by a US government science agency., Author(s): Alexandra WitzeAuthor Affiliations:Top US science agency unveils hotly anticipated harassment policy The National Science Foundation says institutions it supports must disclose when researchers are found to have violated policies [...]

The tool, called Google Dataset Search, should help researchers to find the data they need more easily.The new feature, called Google Dataset Search, locates open data repositories, and should help researchers to find the data they need more easily., Author(s): Davide CastelvecchiAuthor Affiliations:Google unveils search engine for open data Credit: Robert Gumpert/Redux/eyevine [see PDF for image]Google has unveiled a search engine to help researchers locate online data that are [...]

Critics outraged over changes to chemical-safety review guidelines.Critics outraged over changes to chemical-safety review guidelines., Author(s): Jeff TollefsonAuthor Affiliations:Industry trumps peer-reviewed science at US environment agency A chemical produced in a Louisiana plant is the subject of a challenge to a US government chemical-safety programme. [...]

The authors reflect on the need for space agencies and ecologists to develop a global biodiversity monitoring strategy. They state that satellite remote sensing is essential for long-term global coverage and could quickly reveal where biodiversity losses can be reversed on a wide range of scales. They talk about the measurement of forest degradation from space and arguments on what constitutes degradation or the definition of forests, and consider how to improve interdisciplinary cooperation.

Women recounted their experiences at a meeting organized by the National Institutes of Health. Women recounted their experiences at a meeting organized by the National Institutes of Health., Author(s): Sara Reardon Author Affiliations: Harassment survivors demand stronger action by US biomedical agency The US National Institutes of Health says it is re-evaluating its policies related to sexual harassment [...]

The article discusses the need to develop shared tools for optimizing discovery related to data science. It is stated that various programmes to meet challenges related to storing and handling data have been initiated by funding agencies like the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S. It is stated that new breed of "data scientist" having skills in both science and computing are needed to handle data challenges.

Like tobacco lobbyists and climate-change deniers, the US Environmental Protection Agency is co-opting scientific trappings to sow doubt, warns Naomi Oreskes.Like tobacco lobbyists and climate-change deniers, the US Environmental Protection Agency is co-opting scientific trappings to sow doubt, warns Naomi Oreskes., Author(s): Naomi OreskesAuthor Affiliations:Beware: transparency rule is a Trojan Horse Last month, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new rule to 'ensure that the regulatory science underlying Agency [...]

The article examines the tenure of Elias Zerhouni, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Zerhouni is criticized for leading the NIH in the wrong direction according to an angry editorial published in the "Journal of Clinical Investigation." It is argued that Zerhouni is streamlining the agency's management but distracting the funding of basic research.

Reports on the need for a more coordinated approach from several government agencies responsible in reviewing the ocean policies in the U.S. Decrease in the population of some species due to overfishing and pollution; Decline in Florida's barrier-reef system; Two commissions that will integrate land issues into the ocean-management process.

The article focuses on protests by scientists of the Australian science agency Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) across the Australia in the wake of 16 percent budget cut of 108 million U.S. dollars for the CSIRO by the Australian government for the next four years from 2014. It also mentions that the budget is pending for the Australian Senate to pass and also includes closures and reduced funding for other scientific organizations in the country.

The article offers science news briefs as of April 5 to 11, 2013. Suzanne Legault, information commissioner in Canada is to investigate the claims that scientists are prevented to talk in seven federal agencies. Statistics shows the slow increase in the proportion of female scientist at the European Union. The European Space Agency (ESA) recommends the funding of biomass project on satellite initiatives that would tracked atmospheric composition and global snow cover.

The article reports on the declaration made by the White House that government-funded research in the U.S. would be made accessible for the public by 12 months after publication, rather than kept behind paywalls. It notes that federal agencies have been give until August 22, 2013 to produce plans for making the data and papers from the research they fund more accessible to all. Open-access advocacy group Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition called the memorandum a landmark.

The author focuses on the efforts of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) for the harmonization of the global research initiatives among science-funding agencies. The author says that the Global Research Council (GRC) which brings together leaders of key science-funding organizations was established in May 2012 at the NSF to support the effort. He adds that an effort to democratize the field by establishing national observatories was led by the NSF in 1950.

The article comments on the policies of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is argued that the FDA needs to be more independent. It is commented that the FDA is plagued by threats to its power and stability. The author presents a point in case when the agency was overruled by Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

The article offers science-related world news briefs as of February 16, 2012. It mentions the proposed additional funding for most major science agencies by U.S. President Barack Obama in his 2013 budget request. It says that the number of researchers who have signed an online petition against Amsterdam, Massachusetts-based Elsevier BV has already reached 5,847. It adds that Chinese physicist Xie Jialin has won his top science and technology award worth five million renminbi.

The article reports on the release of the guidelines for science integrity in U.S. government departments and agencies on December 17, 2010 initiated by John Holdren, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The document includes a prohibition on political interference in scientific processes and the expansion of assurances of transparency. It also follows the memorandum on scientific integrity issued by U.S. President Barack Obama in March 2009.

The article focuses on the plan of the British government to terminate or unite its scientific advisory and regulatory bodies. It says that the abolishment of Great Britain regulatory bodies could compromise independent scientific guidance. It says that Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) has provided independent advice since 1970 but will be abolished in March 2011. According to Susan Owens, RCEP has tremendous contribution in the development of environmental policy.

The article offers news briefs related to science as of March 25, 2010. It reports the launch of Great Britain's national space agency designed to coordinate its civilian space activities. It announces the public online database of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). It notes that Royal Institution of Great Britain wanted to expel its council.

The article reports on the plan of 15 members of the National Council for Research and Development to resign once the research funding legislation will not be approved in Israel. They will step down from their position in January 2010 if the government failed to increase research and university funding. According to Meir Sheetrit, chairman of the science and technology committee in Knesset, their decision came about when the legislation to change the council's status to government-run corporation and with separate budgets has been rejected. Moreover, council director Rony Dayan blames Daniel Hershkowitz for its rejection believing that the law submitted was inappropriate.

The article reports on the findings of the study about the geometrical measurrement of earthquake, conducted by a team led by Zheng-Kang Shen of the China Earthquake Administration in Beijing, China. The results of the study led the researchers to pin down the geometry of the fault that ruptured in Sichuan province in May 2008 in China that killed at 70,000 people. The study also found out that maximum slip happened at the intersections of different fault segments in the different areas of the said province.

In this article, the author discusses the outcome of the higher-education system reform in Pakistan in 2002. He asserts that the revamp has resulted more research papers and greater visibility for Pakistani research. He notes that it also resulted the absence of external peer evaluation. He points out that the strongest criticism of the initiative was the authority given to Higher Education Commission to become the initiator, implementer and evaluator, which makes accountability problematic.

The article discusses the announcement by U.S. president Barack Obama of a complete review of U.S. food safety in the wake of the 2009 Salmonella outbreak at the company Peanut Corporation of America. Topics include an overview of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) responsibilities, its ongoing problems regarding food safety, and the 2009 Senate hearings involving Peanut Corporation of America's tainted peanut products.

The article discusses the European Commission's (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) and the crucial, yet unloved, role. The JRC is comprised of seven institutes ranging from energy and environmental agencies to health and security agencies. Topics include the annual budget and the responsibilities of the JRC, its reputation throughout the 1980s and 1990s and its changing priorities, and the King report by former British science adviser David King, praising JRC's budget efficiency.

The article discusses how U.S. scientists are trying to secure proposed funds for science and technology by the U.S. House of Representatives, as part of the $825-billion economic stimulus bill. Topics include examples of agencies receiving funds including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Energy's Office of Science. Also discussed is the time frame in which the stimulus spending would extend and some criticism of the plan.

The article highlights the European Research Council (ERC), a semi-autonomous agency launched by the European Commission that would award its grants based, not on political goals, but on the quality of scientific proposals as judged by an international group of peer-reviewers. The ERC was created in February 2007 as part of the European Union's (EU)Seventh Framework Programme. The ERC's total budget for 2007-2013 period is €7.5 billion. The ERC's operations are overseen partly by a scientific council independent of the EU itself.

The article reports on the obesity policy in Great Britain which highlights three challenges for scientists and politicians. It is stated that individual government departments are fighting with multi-faceted problems, political lifetimes are short compared with interventions that need several decades to have an impact and problems confounded by uncertainty can be marginalized by policy-makers eager for certainty. It is said that about 60% of men, 50% of women and 25% of children will be obese by the year 2050 in the region which is associated chronic health problems and is projected to cost the society an additional $93 million a year.