Harassment in science, extinct bird DNA, & Congress eyes CVS-Aetna deal

Lawmakers dig into sexual harassment in science

Kathryn Clancy has spent years studying the many ways sexual harassment pervades science. Today, she’ll call attention to the issue at a House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology hearing. I spoke with the University of Illinois anthropologist about the issue ahead of her testimony. Here’s a snippet of our conversation, which you can read in full here.

What impact does sexual harassment have on the careers of scientists?

Our research has shown that there are three main things that happen to women who are sexually harassed. One is that their career stalls in some way. One is that they take lateral moves to avoid their aggressor. They might try to stay in science, but they don’t necessarily get to advance in their careers. And the third is that they leave altogether.

Often, it’s a senior person or principal investigator in a lab who harasses a junior employee. How can that harm a scientist who is early in her career?

We go to certain universities so that we can have a particular degree but also work in a particular lab or for a particular person. So if there’s vertical abuse happening, or if the abuse is horizontal but is condoned by the [principal investigator], the person above you in the hierarchy is not a safe person to report to... Having one person that your entire career depends on creates a kind of susceptibility.

Exclusive: Scientists assemble the genome of an extinct bird

moa, moa on the range. (BRITISH LIBRARY/SCIENCE SOURCE)

Harvard scientists have assembled the first nearly-complete genome of the little bush moa, a flightless bird that went extinct soon after Polynesians settled New Zealand in the late 13th century. The advance moves the field of extinct genomes closer to the goal of bringing lost species back to life by slipping the genome into the egg of a living species, à la Jurassic Park. For the moa, whose DNA was reconstructed from the toe bone of a museum specimen, that might require a little more genetic tinkering and a one-pound egg from an emu. STAT's Sharon Begley has the scoop — read here.

Health research program ends amid sweeping changes at the EPA

The government is shutting down a federal environmental center that bolsters research on how exposure to chemicals can harm health. There’s a massive overhaul of the Environmental Protection Agency underway, and as part of the plan, the agency will shutter the National Center for Environmental Research, The Hill reports. The center has doled out millions of dollars in grants, including through its Science to Achieve Results program. The STAR program’s work funding research on the health risks of nanoparticles and climate change has scored praise among experts, and the new consolidation is sparking concern about how the changes might affect that work.

Study finds no link between birth control and depression

A new review of research finds there's no link between progestin-only birth control and depression. Doctors and patients have long lacked firm evidence on whether progestin-based birth control — which includes the hormonal implant and birth control injections — increases a woman's risk of depression. And while there have been lots of studies on the possible connection, it’s been difficult to come up with concrete evidence from a randomized clinical trial because women, understandably, don’t want to be randomly assigned to skip effective birth control. So researchers reviewed more than two dozen studies and concluded that, right now, there’s no solid evidence to suggest there’s an association.

Congress gives CVS-Aetna deal a closer look

House lawmakers are convening today to talk about CVS Health’s plans to buy insurance giant Aetna. The roughly $69 billion deal — which could help funnel more customers to CVS stores and further entrench them as one-stop-shops for health care — was announced in December. Today, the House judiciary committee is tackling thorny questions about how the proposed merger would affect competition in the pharma supply chain. Lawmakers will hear from lawyers for both companies, along with a panel of economic policy experts.

Watch as fat cells rush in to help heal wounds

fat cells, in green, push debris, in red, to the edges of a wound. (Franz et al. / Developmental Cell)

Scientists have captured a new video of how fruit flies' fat cells rush into wounds to help seal them up and stave off infection. Researchers at the University of Bristol were peering into a microscope to study fly immune cells when they spotted big shadows over the frame. They were fat cells, doing The Worm to wiggle toward wounds. Once the cells arrived, they helped to shuttle debris to the edges of the wound. And they’re big enough that just a few fat cells could seal up the wound. And once it healed, the cells left for home. Now, the researchers want to study whether fat cells lend a helping hand in wound healing in bigger animals and humans.

A new bid to get more people into nursing

Health leaders across the globe are launching a new campaign to raise awareness about the critical role nurses play in health care. The International Council of Nurses, the WHO, and other groups set up the three-year initiative, which aims to give nurses and midwives more of a voice in policymaking and bring more people into the profession. The WHO estimates that the world will need another 9 million nurses and midwives by 2030. And the effort is getting a royal boost — Kate Middleton and Princess Muna Al-Hussein of Jordan both joined launch events.