A 2004 USA Today article said that the professional science masters (PSM) degree promised to be the hot degree no one seems to have heard ofyet. Six years later, 96 institutions now offer recognized PSM programs and approximately 2,700 students have earned this degree.

For a laboratory to be able to survive in a difficult economic environment, it is crucial that the scientific and financial sides of the business be in sync.

The NIH recently published its annual report on funding levels for various research, condition, and disease categories. Since the NIH is a government institution, it should come as no surprise that the biggest changes came in areas that have been the subject of fierce political debate, the most volatile area of which being stem cell research.

While the green movement is receiving less attention now than it has in recent years, it was able to take root with regulators who have become less tolerant of practices found to harm the environment. Many lab managers believe that adjusting their processes now may be more economically efficient and less disruptive to their work than racing to meet regulatory deadlines in the future.

Our second annual confidence survey reveals a growing optimism about the future and indicates that companies and organizations now have a better understanding of where they are and what they need to accomplish to begin moving forward again.

There is hardly a company in the world that hasn't been affected by the global economic downturn. In an economy such as ours, management should help alleviate the stress put on employees worrying about job security. Communication is key, and when staff members are aware of an organization's goals, productivity and motivation improve.

So far, nearly 5,000 grants totalling over $1 billion have been awarded by NIH. Most have been awarded to research labs at large universities and small colleges, while some have been awarded to small, privately owned research and product development companies.