I find this type of "Let 'em starve" approach quite horrific from a humanitarian view. It also makes no sense scientifically.

I am traveling this week with plenty of time to pay attention to strangers, not that I have much of a choice. In the airport, men have cell phones pressed to their ears relaying critical information to their business partners such as "HI! I JUST LEFT YOU AN EMAIL AND A VOICE MAIL ABOUT THE DEAL THAT I HOPE TO DO IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS. I HOPE YOU GOT MY MESSAGE, I WILL CALL AGAIN BEFORE THE PLANE LEAVES AND AGAIN WHEN IT LANDS TO BE SURE YOU GOT MY MESSAGE."

And today in an elegant, quiet restaurant where everyone is conversing in hushed tones and his table mate is fussing with the newspaper, clearly uncomfortable. "MY PLANE WAS CANCELLED AND SO I AM SITTING HERE WONDERING WHERE I CAN WATCH THE SUPER BOWL. WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING TO EAT? THAT OAXCAN GUACAMOLE WAS REALLY GOOD LAST YEAR I THINK YOU SHOULD SERVE IT AGAIN. AND IF YOU DO, WOULD YOU SAVE SOME FOR ME? LIKE I SAID I AM STUCK IN WASHINGTON AND AM WONDERING WHERE I CAN WATCH THE SUPER BOWL."

I could go on. But wont. I will just say that the only woman I saw use her cell phone in a public place this entire trip, whispered so quietly and quickly that I, sitting right next to her, heard nothing.

So here is a question for you:

Are men more ill-mannered than women when it comes to cell phone use?

And if so, why?

The L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science awards were the first international scientific awards dedicated to women and have become an international reference of scientific distinction - with two of the 2008 winners, Professor Ada Yonath and Professor Elizabeth Blackburn, going on to win Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and Medicine respectively (2009).

If you are interested in hearing more about the awards, here is the video of last year's event.

John Tierney does not think so. Read his opinion piece

What does Beachy's appoinment mean for researchers, farmers and consumers?

Larger, longer grants with more money for education or extension, so the knowledge can reach from the lab to the food to the fork; a stonger focus on sustinable approaches; and a regulatory stucture that is science based

We need to build enhanced capacity in the US to address urgent agricultural challenges such as sustainable food production and nutrition, readiness for climate aberrations that will impact productivity and developing renewable options like biofuels and industrial and pharmaceutical materials. To address these challenges, Beachy will create sub-institutional structures within NIFA. One of the institutes would address biofuels, climate and environment; another would address food safety and nutrition; a third would address food production and sustainability; and a fourth institute would focus on youth, families and communities.

In terms of biotech crops, Bechy says, "I think it's important that we stop talking only about risks and talk more about risk-benefit analyses."

Wendell Berry

At a time when our nation and our planet face unprecedented challenges, the sciences have a more important role to play in society than ever before. Yet today surprisingly few working scientists and researchers become visible, actively engaged public leaders.

This lack of visible scientific leaders has real consequences. Without them, science's influence is diminished in public debate. Well-funded special interests can create the appearance of facts where they do not exist, and controversy where there is little or no actual debate. The truth can become politicized, and public action on vital issues stalled. And scientists themselves can miss out on opportunities to form new kinds of interdisciplinary collaborations and relationships that can enrich their work and ideas.

The reasons for the science leadership gap are complex: few scientists receive formal communications, public engagement and leadership training; an 'anti-popularizer' bias in many academic departments discourages scientists from engaging the public; and most working scientists lack a network of relationships with the media and peers who can help them overcome obstacles, and who can support them in becoming public advocates for their fields.

The PopTech Science and Public Leadership Fellows Program aims to address these issues by developing a corps of highly visible and socially engaged scientific leaders who embody science as an essential way of thinking, discovering, understanding and deciding.

Many of the speakers offered a simple solution to feeding the world in the face of a population that is expected to grow to 9.2 billion by the year 2050: Eat local.

But how much impact will the "locavore" movement really have on sustainable food production?

Reuter's reports that DuPont submitted an 18-page report to the U.S. departments of justice and agriculture last Friday, alleging that Monsanto is unfairly using monopoly powers to drive up prices and defeat the competition. DuPont is asking U.S. regulators to force Monsanto to "rein in" its activities.

Make a prediction or challenge a prediction.