Science and Policy

Lewis Branscomb, a former IBM vice president, has given $1 million to the Union of Concerned Scientists to create a Center for Science and Democracy, reports the Nature News Blog. "We do not want to replicate what others are already doing well," says Kevin Knobloch, the president of UCS. "We'll be a hybrid between a university and a think tank, and more aggressively apply the scholarship." The center has raised $1.5 million and aims to reach an annual budget of $4 million. It plans to host talks on the role of science in government and forums on topics like FDA user fees and more, Nature adds. The center is to open later this month.