UMass leader steps down
Jack Wilson is expected to announce today that he will retire as president of the University of Massachusetts in 2011. Over his nearly 8 year tenure, Wilson helped unify the five-campus system, and encouraged research collaboration between faculty at different schools. According to the Boston Globe, Wilson, a physicist by training, plans to begin "speaking more freely" about reforming higher education and teaching math and science.

Reduce red tape, please
More than 2,000 scientists have signed a petition asking the EU to reduce red tape and other bureaucracy in research. "We are not against rules. But we need to simplify," says a statement on Trust Researchers, where scientists can add their signatures. According to the Times Higher Education, most of the signatures come from scientists based in the UK.

Accused scientist dies
A researcher who was suspected of fabricating data, and who hired actors to lie at his misconduct trial in New York in 2004, was found dead last week. An autopsy failed to pinpoint a cause of death, the Buffalo News reports. Former University of Buffalo psychologist William Fals-Stewart was accused of fudging the number of volunteers in addiction studies, but was cleared of the charges following the actors' testimony in 2004, according to ScienceInsider. Fals-Stewart then sued the school for $4 million, claiming the suit damaged his reputation. As a result, the state attorney general investigated the case further, and discovered the false testimony last month.

Too many scientists? 2.0
Scientific American is tackling a question we asked in 2006: Are we training too many scientists? Sciam's approach: post a rough draft of an article about the state of science in the U.S., inviting readers to respond. Reminds me of articles we compiled based on reader feedback about tenure in 2007 (most of you wanted to get rid of it).

Bladder-building biotech builds its IPO
A biotech using autologous stem cells to build new bladders (which we profiled in 2007) is doing better than anticipated. Tengion, based in East Norriton, Pennsylvania, has raised the target for its IPO from $40.25 million to $46 million. The company has so far raised more than $140 million in venture capital funds.

RIP, Sheldon Gilgore
The doctor led both Pfizer and G.D. Searle during important decades in drug discovery, and was behind such drugs as Ambien and Celebrex, according to the New York Times.

Teach the children...stem cells?
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is launching an online stem cell course to help high school kids prepare to enter the biotech workforce, according to the San Francisco Business Times.

A close-up image of a dried, potent, Cannabis bud Image: Wikimedia Commons

And in other classroom news:

A PhD in pot
Want a career change? You can enroll in "cannabis college," geared to train people to grow weed to supply the burgeoning medical marijuana industry, as more states enact such laws. Read more in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Oh, and Amy Bishop, the University of Alabama in Huntsville professor who went on a shooting spree last month, has been suspended without pay, says WHNT news.


Related stories:

Does tenure need to change?
[September 2009]

Betting on better organs
[December 2007]

Are we training too many scientists?
[September 2006]