This message was sent to ##Email## April 29, 2020             Home  |   About  |   Membership  |   Meetings  |   Programs  |   Communities Subscribe  |   Archive  |   Advertise   ID: ##userid##  IN THIS ISSUE From the Leadership Sigma Xi News Members and Chapters News Meetings and Events Sigma Xi Publications Science, Education, and Government News Science News Renew Membership/ Affiliate Status Make a Gift to Sigma Xi Gift Subscription to American Scientist  FROM THE LEADERSHIP How Does Discipline Integration Help Research? Sigma Xi "We are in this together," people say about our collective distancing efforts to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. Just as the current physical distancing disrupts our natural state of work, higher education has been experiencing a longer period of distancing, one of discipline distancing. The arts, humanities, science, mathematics, and engineering studies have been more specialized and disconnected. Sigma Xi has devoted its 2020 Annual Meeting and Student Research Conference to symposia that illustrate the benefits of interdisciplinary research collaborations and share best practices for carrying them out.  READ MORE  SIGMA XI NEWS Submit Your STEM-Related Art or Film by July 31 Sigma Xi We're bringing back the STEM Art and Film Festival! After it's debut last year, the festival will continue to be the final event of our Annual Meeting and Student Research Conference and take place for the public on November 8 in Alexandria, Virginia. All scientists, artists, engineers, and filmmakers are invited to submit their work by July 31. Visual and performing arts related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) research and education are welcome.  READ MORE Know the Virus, Defeat the Virus Sigma Xi This Giving Tuesday Now—May 5, 2020—a new global day of giving and unity, Sigma Xi and Science Talk have partnered to raise $10,000 to provide evidence-based information that people need to stay safe, restore their sense of control, and slow the spread as we prepare for the next wave of challenges. When we know the virus, we can defeat the virus. Your gift will support a new virtual collaboration platform, #SciCommMake, that enjoins teams of scientists and artists/creators to develop innovative approaches to disseminating evidence-based messages about COVID-19. Please help us spread the word about our fundraiser on social media with #KnowItDefeatIt.  READ MORE New Videos in the COVID-19 Interview Series Sigma Xi What is the origin of the new coronavirus? We know it wasn’t bioengineered, but how exactly do scientists tell if a virus is bioengineered or if it has a natural origin? Sigma Xi and science communicator Brian Malow have teamed up for new videos in our COVID-19 series that interviews scientists. WATCH THE SERIES Are You Willing to Serve? Sigma Xi Would you like to bring about changes that affect science, research, education, knowledge and communication? Are you, or do you know someone who is, seeking leadership opportunities? You can help guide the future of the Society by nominating someone, or yourself, for a position in Sigma Xi leadership that will be open in the 2020 elections.  READ MORE Have You Renewed Your Dues? You represent Sigma Xi's principles of excellence and integrity in your community, and that is critical during this time of a public health crisis. Members, affiliates, and explorers can be ambassadors for science and research in their communities by sharing evidence-based resources, such as those from the Sigma Xi COVID-19 Preparedness Kit. Stay connected to Sigma Xi by renewing your dues. Thank you to those who already renewed.  RENEW NOW  MEMBERS AND CHAPTERS NEWS Members Receives PNAS Prize for Innovation PNAS More than 3,300 papers appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America in 2019 and six of those papers have been awarded the 2019 Cozzarelli Prize for exceptional scientific achievement, originality, and innovation in their fields. In the Behavioral and Social Sciences category, a research team that includes Sigma Xi members Clark Spencer Larsen, Marin A. Pilloud, Joshua W. Sadvari, and Barbara J. Betz won the prize for their paper, "Bioarchaeology of Neolithic Çatalhöyük reveals fundamental transitions in health, mobility, and lifestyle in early farmers."  READ MORE Welcome, New Members Sigma Xi Thirteen new members took the pledge via Zoom during our first virtual induction ceremony last week. Welcome, new members! Students at Fairfield University Share Research Virtually Sigma Xi "It certainly wasn't how I expected, but here's to my third Sigma Xi poster session and my final scientific presentation of undergrad!" tweeted Teresa Sauer of Fairfield University, a student who participated in the university’s virtual Innovative Research Symposium on April 23.  READ MORE  MEETINGS AND EVENTS Student Research Showcase Judging Begins Sigma Xi Students in high school through graduate school are presenting their research online through May 9 for the Sigma Xi Student Research Showcase. Let's give them support! Head to www.sigmaxi.org/srs to view the presentation websites and leave constructive feedback in the websites' discussion or comments sections. Each student has been asked to make a website that contains an abstract, a slideshow, and a video. Then, mark your calendars for May 15, when voting opens for the People's Choice Award to select the presenter who has the best video. Student Oral Research Presentation Abstracts Due May 1 Sigma Xi Students who wish to present their research as a talk during the Student Research Conference have through May 1 to submit their 250-word abstract for review. The conference will be held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting from November 6–7, 2020, in Alexandria, Virginia.  READ MORE  SIGMA XI PUBLICATIONS COVID-19 Models Demand an Abundance of Caution American Scientist Everyone wants answers right now, but the ones that epidemiological models offer are tricky to interpret.  READ MORE What's Next for COVID-19? American Scientist The novel coronavirus is unlikely to go away completely after its first outbreak. People are only beginning to grapple with what comes next.  READ MORE  SCIENCE, EDUCATION, AND GOVERNMENT NEWS Ethics of Cloning and Gene Editing DukeSciPol.org China has been the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they have also been a staging ground for another health issue: human gene editing. He Jiankui, a Chinese scientist, announced the birth of genetically engineered girls in 2018. At the end of 2019, he was jailed for illegal medical practices. His case raises the question: how should society approach genetic engineering?  READ MORE EPA Extends Public Comment Deadline for Controversial Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science Rule DukeSciPol.org EPA recently broadened the scope of the proposed rule, originally published in April 2018, and has extended the opportunity for public comment until May 18. If finalized, EPA would have to rely solely on publicly available data for its scientific research and decision-making.  READ MORE Direct-to-Consumer Testing During the COVID-19 Pandemic DukeSciPol.org Direct-to-consumer medical test kits from companies such as 23andMe have become a massive business. Meanwhile, a host of other companies offer consumers a range of tests, from food sensitivity to HIV, to monitor their health from the comfort of their home. As the healthcare community has taken an "all hands" approach to handling the COVID-19 pandemic, how have these at-home testing companies responded?  READ MORE  SCIENCE NEWS Skeletal Damage Hints Some Hunter-Gatherer Women Fought in Battles Science News Women's reputation as nurturing homebodies who left warfare to men in long-ago societies is under attack. Skeletal evidence from hunter-gatherers in what's now California and from herders in Mongolia suggests that women warriors once existed in those populations.  READ MORE Rising Carbon Dioxide Causes More Than a Climate Crisis; It May Directly Harm Our Ability To Think University of Colorado via ScienceDaily As the 21st century progresses, rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations will cause urban and indoor levels of the gas to increase, and that may significantly reduce our basic decision-making ability and complex strategic thinking, according to a new CU Boulder-led study. By the end of the century, people could be exposed to indoor CO2 levels up to 1400 parts per million -- more than three times today's outdoor levels, and well beyond what humans have ever experienced.  READ MORE Sigma Xi Newsletter Connect with Sigma Xi Recent Issues | Subscribe | Unsubscribe | Advertise | Web Version  Colby Horton, Vice President of Publishing, 469-420-2601 | Download media kit Damon Sayles, Senior Content Editor, 469-420-2662 | Contribute news Sigma Xi 3200 East NC Highway 54, Suite 300 | Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 | 800-243-6534 | Contact Us  Learn how to add us to your safe sender list so our emails get to your inbox. 7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063