Column

  1. Convergence solves problems that don’t fit in one field

    In January the American Association for the Advancement of Science hosted a panel in Washington, D.C., on the emerging field of convergence, which integrates engineering, the physical sciences and life sciences to solve problems in health care, energy and other sectors. Speakers described the movement as an integration of disciplines that will require changes to […]

    By Robert Langer

  2. Neuroscience exposes pernicious effects of poverty

    At the 2010 Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego, a group of scientists held a session on how poverty changes the brain. Neuroscientist Helen Neville of the University of Oregon in Eugene joined the discussion and described some of her group’s studies on the brains of 3- to 5-year-old children who grow up poor.