A key obstacle to science-based policy is the reluctance of some researchers to communicate their findings to non-scientists, lest they may be perceived as “advocates,” rather than scientists, said Kit Batten of The Heinz Center.

On the 162nd anniversary of the founding of AAAS, radio icon Garrison Keillor paid tribute to the organization’s roots on his popular radio program, “The Writer’s Almanac.”

“It was on this day in 1848 that the American Association for the Advancement of Science was formed in Philadelphia, at the Academy of Natural Sciences,” Keillor reported 20 September. “Its stated purpose was to ‘procure for the labors of scientific men, increased facilities and a wider usefulness.’”