Stimulus Funds Used for Peruvian Genetic Research

another great waste of my tax dollars

Sad to see such strong opposition to the funding of science research.It employs educated people and gives us a chance to keep all those merit scholars in state. It would be nice to be known for something besides the musical, football, and blind opposition to progress.9990

Sounds like Senator Randy Brogdon knows our Constitution!!!(Unlike some other office holders)

The report offered here about the stimulus money funding science projects in Peru is incomplete. While the research and the training will be invaluable in the future, the short term results directly and indirectly impact Oklahoma and the United States. The full time and eight part time jobs employ people living and working in Oklahoma. They spend money in the local economy every day. The research also requires the purchase of materials and services in the community which allows other companies to maintain employees and continue in business. $650,000 dollars over five years is only a fraction of the amount of money currently being given in bonuses or salaries to bank executives and will provide a far greater benefit to the community than private bonuses. The infusion of money for scientific research has allowed the funding of many worthy projects which will benefit both individual Americans and the country as a whole in the weeks, months and years to follow

It is amazing that you would even pose this question to Oklahomans. I'll bet 80% of Oklahomans do not even know where Peru is located. You are asking for their ignorance to shed light on an education grant? That'sirony. Of course the people of Oklahoma are not going to vote for an educational grant provided from stimulus money, there is way to many people in Oklahoma waiting for a handout. Come on, do the right thing for our future, and let the scientist from OU at least try to help our children by possibly finding solutions to challenges that we fce every day.

Don, the environment is different in certain places right here in our own country. That is why we have so many idoits right here in Oklahoma. How is this real research, just because someone said it was? Where are the jobs for that amount of money?

As I understand it, the stimulus funds are not granted for new unfunded projects but are supplements to existing grants from the NSF or NIH. So the grants discussed in this forum have been going on before the stimulus funds. In my 40 years working at various universities, I found that it is common for researchers to receive funding for projects that require travel to another area. It is the ultimate free lunch concept. If one wants to spend his summers in his favorite locale, he gets funding for a problem in that area. I could name many I know of, here are just 3: a scientist at a college in Alabama spends his summers in Alaska studying whales; one at a Boston college studies hurricanes and spends his summers in New Orleans; another in Colorado studies snakes in Costa Rica. Obviously, it would be cheaper and better to have these projects conducted by folks at universities in the local area. But that would ruin the fun of being a research professor. Unfortunately, most research is a scam of public funds and never benefits the general public. Who makes the decisions to fund these projects? Panels of scientists who have a vested interest in perpetuating the status quo.

This project will benefit Oklahomans in many ways. As has been pointed out, it is funding researchers here in OK who are putting money into the OK economy. Some of these researchers are students who use the money to further their education and will be part of a high-tech OK economy in the future. The prestige of the CAREER award (for you football fans, this is like winning your conference championship) will help the professor, OU, and Oklahoma to bring in more money, more students, etc. to help in the long term. A large portion of the money is also going to education (these are both researchers and educators), which will help those individual Oklahomans who get the education and the state as a whole with the good jobs they'll be able to get here in OK as the prof and OU build up this enterprise.

This is a win, win, win, win,... for OK. Too bad the "reporter" for this "news" station decided that they would get more viewers by trying to put a negative spin on the story, rather than an honest spin on it. It is also too bad that they chose to use it to promote State Sen Randy Brogdon (well known for hanging out with white supremacists) who apparently likes to bash science and has no clue how science funding works.

I am from a state that ranks around 46th in intelligence, health, child deaths and level of education. You are asking people from my state to comprehend genetics. Nice try. They (fellow Oklahomans) will never be able to realize how much their children will benefit through genetic studies- which they will need to survive based on the given statistics.

In January, hundreds of state employees will be facing furloughs which for some, will mean they can't make their mortgage payments. They will be facing forclosures and bankruptcies that will further hurt Oklahoma's economy. Those stimulus dollars could have been used to shore up the budget and done some real good for the state. Instead, it's being used to study DNA in Peru. Obama is responsible for issuing stimulus money without guidelines as to its use and Governor Henry is responsible for squandering ours. If they're going to study DNA, maybe they should take a look at Brad Henry's. I'm sure they could easily locate the Jackass gene.

Sorry. I meant to say the gene of the Democratic Party representative, the "donkey."

DNA isn't real. These people makin stuff up. I knows it, I looked.

Dee - Although Oklahoma's environment is variable across the state, we don't have the genetically isolated populations that make it possible to link environment and genetics. The results of this research have potential medical benefits down the road that the reporters unfortunately felt were not worthy of airtime.

Professoremeritus - NSF is not using funds to supplement already-funded projects. It's using a portion (not all) of its stimulus funding to support research projects that were judged worthy of support but there wasn't enough money in the regular NSF budget to support them. Regular funding levels at NSF in many areas are only able to support the top 10-20% of proposals, so it's not like the stimulus money is going to support weak projects. If it's weak, it won't make it through the review process and get recommended for funding - take it from someone who has sat on review panels and listened to many a harsh criticism of various proposals. The process is rigorous and the reviewers take seriously their responsibility to recommend only the best science. Quite a contrast to Wall Street executives getting bonuses for driving their corporations into the ground!

The two fellows you interviewed and the majority of the previous comments are perfect examples of THE greatest problem our country is experiencing - that of not possessing discernment. As a nation, we have quit thinking of government as being the populace - it is now percieved as an endless source of funding for our enjoyment, if we can just "shake the tree" hard enough. Since this shift is a change in perception, we still have to pay for things like this and countless other inefficient money pits. If a study were done, there would likely be a direct ratio between a lack of questioning what our legislators, as a whole, are doing to us and taxation increases. Not near enough citizens consider the total amount of taxes they pay each year, versus what they get for their money. The people that want stimulus dollars wouldn't be so giving with their hard-earned money if they had to hand the cash to the people reciving the "benefits". It is unconstitutional!

Todd in Moore wrote:

It is amazing that you would even pose this question to Oklahomans. I'll bet 80% of Oklahomans do not even know where Peru is located. You are asking for their ignorance to shed light on an education grant? That'sirony. Of course the people of Oklahoma are not going to vote for an educational grant provided from stimulus money, there is way to many people in Oklahoma waiting for a handout. Come on, do the right thing for our future, and let the scientist from OU at least try to help our children by possibly finding solutions to challenges that we fce every day.

The people of Oklahoma are ignorant and YOU can't spell face!! OK..........

The "Peru" aspect is a strawman for pointless debate. As the researcher said, the Peru money is to bring samples to the US, and it is students and researchers in the US that conduct the research. Most important, the grant they discussed is focused on education and training, the goal is to keep this country we love, the United States of America, on top when it comes to skilled workers. Students who will get jobs, as early as next year, in these fields. In this case, geneticists and health professionals. If that's not a good investment, then maybe you should have your next physical conducted by your dry cleaner, because in the world you want to create, nobody else will be able to do it in Oklahoma (maybe in China). The stimulus money needs to have well rounded capacity building for the present and our future, which includes professional training in science.

You did not let Dr. Lewis talk about the effects of the study on Oklahoma's economy and the outreach component of his research.

I am appalled at the incredible waste going on in our nation at this time! I think it is repulsive that educators in my city are "seizing the day" with money that my children are going to have to pay! This grant and the one at OSU to study grandparents in Alaska are just the tip of the iceberg on the shocking abuse of taxpayers by our government at this time. Senator Brogden, you will have my support in the upcoming election!

Isabella wrote:

I am from a state that ranks around 46th in intelligence, health, child deaths and level of education. You are asking people from my state to comprehend genetics. Nice try. They (fellow Oklahomans) will never be able to realize how much their children will benefit through genetic studies- which they will need to survive based on the given statistics.

If you don't like our state --move!! I would much rather have seen the stimulus dollars going to improve all of the areas you mentioned. However, studying how the atmosphere in Peru affects their DNA will improve none of those things you mentioned. Not all of us are ignorant hicks willing to let our government do whatever it wants because they "know what's best for us" poor stupid people.

I'm struck by the allegations of abuse by the government. People talk about it as if it is a new thing. These types of bizarre funding have been going on for the past 9 years. The prior 8 years included giving government money to companies like Blackwater and huge wartime contracts to big businesses that have since caused the downfall of the financial system in the United States. I think that awarding money to stimulate knowledge and skills for future taxpayers is a better use of money than paying for private armies to go overseas on our behalf.