Cancer research is at an “inflection point” where scientists must adapt to new ways of sharing data and putting patients at the center of care, said former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. at the 2018 AAAS Annual Meeting.

Synthetic biology promises to revolutionize cancer care by offering permanent cures to patients with historically untreatable malignancies. Yet policy and regulation must keep pace with rapidly advancing research to allow new treatments to be made available worldwide, said Carl June during the plenary address at Science Diplomacy 2017, the third annual conference by AAAS’ Center for Science Diplomacy. The conference was held on March 29 at AAAS headquarters in Washington.

Children who develop cancer in the United States have a much better chance of surviving than they did in decades past—about 80% on average now, up from 10% in the 1960s. But even though new drugs have helped achieve that, most patients still receive the same basic treatment: chemotherapy and radiation. Soon, however, children with cancer may receive therapies that manipulate a tumor cell’s function to strangle it or train a patient’s immune system to identify and kill cancer cells, researchers said at AAAS.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Brain-controlled telepresence robots, “smart” artificial limbs, bioprinting strategies for regenerative medicine, the next generation of batteries, and the search for other Earths are just a few of the topics to be explored during America’s largest general scientific conference, 17-21 February in Washington, D.C.

Not so long ago, Jim Head would put in a full day at the Raytheon Co. plant in Tucson, then go out to teach night classes in astronomy at the local community college. Much of his work at Raytheon was focused on civil space programs—space travel was a passion dating to his youth. But it seemed vitally important to work with young people, to share with them the mysteries and mission of space exploration and the thrill of science itself.