Event coverage

Coverage begins in 2006 for the ScienceWriters meeting and 2009 for the AAAS meeting. To see programs for past ScienceWriters meetings, go to the ScienceWriters meeting site.

Although humans are the most prominent victims, every vertebrate species is susceptible to lead poisoning. Birds, fish, reptiles, dogs, and cats are all at risk. During a February 16 symposium at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Boston, researchers agreed that lead is pervasive and poses significant threats to living things.

For decades, tobacco industries and lax standards of societal health kept the true cost of smoking hidden from the public. Today, the consequences of burning coal for energy are emerging—and the lessons could have a much faster impact, according to researchers speaking Feb. 19 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Vancouver.

European representatives from nuclear power, tobacco and genetically modified organism (GMO) industries pleaded for more transparency and public engagement from global policy makers on Feb. 18 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Vancouver.

Peer review has long been the standard for quality science, but recent concerns about fraud among authors, bias among reviewers, and possible hindrance of scientific progress has led some to question the effectiveness of a process that relies on anonymous experts and occurs behind closed doors.

We need more food, and we need it fast. But how do we continue to produce enough food for a burgeoning population and at the same time make sure we’re protecting Earth’s limited natural resources and using them wisely? Scientists and economists tackled that question Feb. 18 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Vancouver.