There were a lot of moving photos of the last days in Arecibo

Family and Medical Leave Law: A Survey of Canadian Institutions and US Universities with Research-Intensity Payed Parental Leave Policies

For our database, we focused on around 30 Canadian institutions and 146 US universities classified as R1, or research-intensive, by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. We recorded data on the length of paid parental length across institutions, the academic job (such as graduate student, postdoc, faculty member or staff member), parent type (such as ‘birthing’ or ‘non-birthing’, adoptive parent or foster parent), and whether the institution was public or private. We looked at various restrictions on parental leave policies, such as requiring a certain amount of hours worked before being eligible or using vacation or sick leave.

By contrast, the United States has no federally mandated paid parental leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act requires companies with more than 50 employees to provide 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for specific reasons, including pregnancy. This law applies to all US universities in our database. Although 11 states and the District of Columbia have their own mandated paid leave policies, this is far from common. Within these constraints, US and Canadian universities have a lot of latitude to decide the type, amount and length of paid parental leave that they offer.

Towards Understanding the Parental Leave Law in Universities: A Multi-Analytic Analysis of a Study of Canada’s Pay-Performance Policies

Compiling this database required scouring universities’ websites and contacting human-resources representatives. With our young children and full-time work keeping us busy, we, ironically, did not have time to collect the data. Two undergrad research assistants are based in John Stinchcombe’s laboratory at the University of Toronto, Canada, and they were paid by their university.

Once we started looking at the policies, the first major determinant of the amount of paid leave at universities that jumped out was, unsurprisingly, country. Canada has a federal law that entitles the other parent to up to 35 weeks of parental leave and gives the parent 55 percent of their salary for up to 50 weeks. Parents can reduce their salary to get more weeks of leave. A married couple can take up to 40 weeks paid at 55% or 69 weeks paid at 32%. These rates are often topped up by the employer, usually for only a portion of the leave period.

But people in certain academic stages, such as undergraduate and graduate students, usually do not qualify for this federal leave, because they are not able to accrue enough eligible work hours. It is up to the individual university to have a policy in place that allows these groups to take paid leave.

We have only scratched the surface of analysing these data, so we are looking for collaborators interested in conducting more in-depth analyses, expanding the database beyond North America, and publishing findings.

Brain microscopy: a new tool for studying the last days of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, inspired by the work of Evelyn Boyd Granville

Trailblazing mathematician and computer scientist Evelyn Boyd Granville says that Black role models helped to inspire her ground-breaking career in the US space programme, early IBM software development and senior roles in academia. The 99-year-old Granville died. (Nature | 6 min read)

An innovative microscope allows scientists to peek at the brain’s long-range neuronal circuitry without having to reconstruct it from individual brain slices. The technique removes lipids to make the tissue transparent before it is embedded in a material that expands when water is added. At the heart of the method is a type of lens that is usually used to identify pixel-sized defects in flat-panel displays. The prototype microscope has the same resolution as high-resolution images using standard confocal microscopy. It’s also fast: it can image an entire mouse brain in less than a day.

The iconic Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico is out of funding after a devastating collapse three years ago. Russia’s moon mission means for science, and there is a database of parental- leave policies in the US and Canada.

Source: Daily briefing: See moving photos of the last days of Arecibo

People in China are as supportive of refugees as they were seven years ago: a multi-scalar survey on public opinion about the loudest voices in the political arena

People in Europe are as supportive of refugees now as they were seven years ago, found researchers who explored the effects of repeated humanitarian crises and possible biases towards Ukrainians over others. The data show that most people do not have the extreme negative views expressed by “the loudest voices” in the political arena, says public-policy researcher and co-author Dominik Hangartner. In 2016 and 2022, the respondents were more likely to favor younger refugees over elderly ones, women over men, and Christians over Muslims. Critics highlight that the findings deal with personal perceptions and might not reflect national attitudes or refugees’ own experiences.

ProMED, the e-mail alert system that has been key to reporting emerging outbreaks such as COVID-19 and Ebola, is in crisis. Staff members went on strike after the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID), which operates ProMED, introduced a paid subscription model without their knowledge. ISID told ProMED that their pay would be delayed. ProMED has a limited capacity and staff members are calling on ISID to share the system’s operation and financing with another entity and to ensure transparency and independent leadership.

Half of the large species of fish, mammals, birds, reptiles and cephalopods identified by researchers in China’s coastal habitats are on the international Red List. China has its own Red List of people who are not on it. Only 17 coastal animals that are very important to their environment are protected in the country. “You can see a lot of news about the giant panda, but you don’t see a lot of news about the megafauna in coastal areas in China.” said Qiang He, study co-author.

Source: Daily briefing: See moving photos of the last days of Arecibo

Landing of the Moon’s largest uncrewed spacecraft in 47 years: Estimates from Roscosmos on Luna 25

Russia has launched an uncrewed spacecraft to the Moon’s south pole — its first lunar mission in 47 years. If successful, it would be the first land landing in the region, and is anticipated to see a lot of activity in coming years due to the large amount of water ice. Luna 25 is scheduled to land on 21 August — but Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov described the mission as “high risk” and gave it a 70% chance of success.