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Bragging Rights

Go ahead and brag about your abilities, writes Judy Giordan, managing principal at the venture development and investment firm ecosVC, at the Huffington Post. Women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related fields, she adds, are positioned to take on leadership roles in academia, industry, and government, and a little push from women themselves to sell their skills could go a long way.

"There is the assumption that bragging without REAMS of data to back it up is unheard of. You wouldn't talk about your research without substantiated data. Right? Isn't it better for women to be modest about our accomplishments and just 'let the work speak for itself' — or even better, let others brag about us? I say, NO," Giordan writes. "Bragging is not the problem. Not being comfortable doing it is the challenge."

Still, she suggests finding a way to brag that fits your personal style, and also offers examples of selling your abilities based on what you've done. (See, there is some data.)

When someone is asked if she could take on a certain project, "she could shout, 'I have every confidence that I can achieve that goal!' Or — she could pause, make eye contact with the interviewer, and say quietly and confidently, 'I'd be completely comfortable with that ... and here is why,'" Giordan adds.

The Scan

International Team Proposes Checklist for Returning Genomic Research Results

Researchers in the European Journal of Human Genetics present a checklist to guide the return of genomic research results to study participants.

Study Presents New Insights Into How Cancer Cells Overcome Telomere Shortening

Researchers report in Nucleic Acids Research that ATRX-deficient cancer cells have increased activity of the alternative lengthening of telomeres pathway.

Researchers Link Telomere Length With Alzheimer's Disease

Within UK Biobank participants, longer leukocyte telomere length is associated with a reduced risk of dementia, according to a new study in PLOS One.

Nucleotide Base Detected on Near-Earth Asteroid

Among other intriguing compounds, researchers find the nucleotide uracil, a component of RNA sequences, in samples collected from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu, as they report in Nature Communications.