Recent developments in neuroscience bring scientists closer to fundamental human questions and thus into shared research fields with social sciences and the humanities. Thus, acquiring the necessary skills for interdisciplinary discussions becomes increasingly important to realize collaborative projects, but also for debates at the university or in the public sphere. For this purpose, the exchange with philosophers appears very promising, because of shared interests but complementary expertise.  

Read full text at: https://www.austrian-neuroscience.at/resources/Documents/Neuroscience_and_Philosophy.pdf

On his one-day trip to Israel, BK Sebastian Kurz recently proposed a 50 Mio € foundation (with Denmark and Israel) to foster research and production of Sars-CoV-2 vaccines.  Read how Sigismund Huck comments the ideas in a "Presse" commentary on Thursday, March 11, 2021.
 

In its amendment of the UOG (§109UG), the Austrian Government plans to generally limit temporary employments to 8 years. Read the rebuke by the ÖGMBT president Lukas Huber. This is just one unacceptable change proposed by this legislation.

For many years, the Österreichische Nationalbank has supported Research and Technology via the Nationalstiftung with an annual contribution of 100 million €. The FWF has received a large part from this money, meaning that this contribution will also be missing in its budget unless a substitute for the termination is granted by the Austrian government. I encourage all our members to sign a petition in support of generating a replacement for the loss on the homepage of the Austrian Parliament: https://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XXVII/PET/PET_00047/index.shtml

At the end of 2020, Klement Tockner will leave the FWF to become General Director of the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research. The FWF is now searching for his successor. Since May 2016, Klement Tockner has played a key role as President in shaping the fate of the FWF. His unexpected departure comes at a time when a strong FWF is urgently needed. Though a new “Forschungsfinanzierungsgesetz” has recently passed the Austrian Parliament, it contains no information on budgeting.

Given the current European debate about the next EU budget, cuts in Horizon Europe, the future European research and innovation program, are threatening. This may also have a negative impact on the budget of the European Research Council (ERC). For this reason, a Europe-wide petition urges the heads of state and government of the European Union to secure funding for the ERC.

Here you can sign the petition: https://www.change.org/p/council-of-the-european-union-protect-the-european-research-council-in-the-eu-budget

I find the virtual meeting in Glasgow ingenious!

• No parallel session to be missed
• Going back to slides or parts of the presentation not understood initially (I often take advantage of this option)
  
• Finish session if not up to my expectations
• Ample opportunity to interact, even with presenters of plenaries

AND great presentations. I really enjoyed:

• Carla Shatz (great and understandable)
  
• Erin Schuman (gigantic)
• Hailan Hu (wonderful)
• Sheela Josselyn (a bit more demanding)

Will be hard for male colleagues to catch up with these fantastic female scientists (so far: 4:0)

How to communicate neuroscientific insights and reach the general public? Neuroscientist and ANA member Dr. Florian Grössl launched a video blog in which he conveys crucial findings in a highly accessible way.

Vlog-Topics:
FLO-G1:Neurobiologie

FLO-G2: Belohnungssystem

FLO-G3: Drogen und das Gehirn

FLO-G4: Macht uns das Handy süchtig?

Have a look at Florian´s YouTube channel and enjoy the short movies!

While being confined to our homes amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, scientists all over the world have found ways to continue doing research, connecting virtually, and supporting each other in these challenging times. FENS contributes to this endeavour of solidarity and provides excellent neuroscience online resources. A great initiative for neuroscientists and neuroscience students to deepen understanding in a particular area and for venturing into new scientific realms. If you want to contribute to this initiative, please contact office@fens.org.

Currently available educational materials, online events, platforms, and other tools can be found here.   

My personal recommendation
"Early Life Stress: Impact on Brain and Psychopathology" 
Speakers: Gal Richter-Levin; Marian Joëls; Mathias V. Schmidt; and Nichola Brydges  

I just wonder how everbody manages the current situation. At the CBR we are allowed to work in teams of 2 (by watching "social distancing"). However, I have not been to the lab for more than 3 weeks, where our gifted PhD student Ilayda continues doing the experiments we discuss by distance. Lab meetings have gone virtual. Seems like life got virtual altogether.

You see me amongst others listening to Johannes