News

FEBS/EMBO 2010 Women in Science Award

To all FEBS Constituent Societies,

The Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) and The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) are pleased to announce the winner of the FEBS/EMBO WISE Award. Professor Ingrid Grummt receives the 2010 award for her outstanding contributions in the field of regulation of gene expression, including the very recent discoveries that link ageing and some inherited diseases with the silencing of genes required for cell growth. Each year, the FEBS/EMBO Women in Science Award recognizes and rewards the exceptional achievements of a female scientist in life science research. Winners of the award are role models who inspire future generations of female scientists.
The 2010 FEBS/EMBO Women in Science Award of 10,000 Euro will be presented to Ingrid Grummt on June 30, 2010 at the 35th FEBS Congress in Gothenburg, Sweden where she will present a special plenary lecture.
Please find attached the Press Release describing this year’s award. We would like to ask you to distribute it as widely as possible throughout your country. Placing it on your Society’s website would be greatly appreciated.
Additional information about the award can be found on (http://www.febs.org/women-award) external link . Please note that nominations for the 2011 FEBS/EMBO Women in Science Award should be received by October 15th , 2010. If you have any questions about the award, the winner or the procedure please do not hesitate to contact the FEBS secretarial office or me directly.

With best wishes,
Also on behalf of EMBO
Dr. Ruth H. Paulsen
Chairman of the FEBS Working group on "Women in Science" (WISE)

Press Release 10 February 2010

Darwin 2009 commemorations

The bicentenary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species are being celebrated by events and publications around the world. The “Darwin” exhibition, after opening at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City in 2006, was shown at the Museum of Science, Boston, the Field Museum in Chicago, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, then from 14 November 2008 to 19 April 2009 in the Natural History Museum, London, as part of the Darwin200 programme ext of events across the United Kingdom. The University of Cambridge features a festival in July 2009. His birthplace is celebrating with "Darwin's Shrewsbury 2009 Festival" events during the year.

In the United Kingdom a special commemorative issue of the two pound coin shows a portrait of Darwin facing an ape surrounded by the inscription 1809 DARWIN 2009, with the edge inscription ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES 1859. Collector versions of the coin will be released at a premium, and during the year the coins will be available from banks and post offices at face value.

In September 2008, the Church of England issued an article ext saying that the 200th anniversary of his birth was a fitting time to apologise to Darwin for "for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still".

Charles Darwin Online ext