Better Late Than Never

Back in 2009, US President Barack Obama asked John Holdren, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, to issue guidances on policies for scientific integrity for federal agencies. "This has been a drawn out process mired in inaction and delays since President Obama made his request for the guidelines more than 2 years ago," says guest blogger Jamie Vernon at the Intersection. Now a bit behind schedule, the process is picking up, Nature's News Blog reports. Holdren has given federal agencies 90 days to submit draft policies after previously asking them for progress reports on the development those policies, Nature says, adding that six of the 31 agencies have draft policies in place. After attending a talk given by Holdren, Vernon was more hopeful about the process. "Although I continue to hold reservations about the tenacity with which the scientific integrity guidelines are being pursued, I now have more of a sense of the magnitude of the problem," he says.