http://www.nsta.org Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the National Science Teachers Association is a member-driven organization, 55,000-strong. We publish books and journals for science teachers from kindergarten through college. Each year we hold four conferences on science education: four regional events in the fall and a national gathering in the spring. We provide ways for science teachers to connect with one another. We inform Congress and the public on vital questions affecting science literacy and a well-educated workforce. And with your help, we can do even more. http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/summary.aspx?id=56773 As the U.S. Department of Education prepares final rules for the $650 million Investing in Innovation Fund, officials face strong concerns from school districts and philanthropies that requiring matching funds from the private sector is unworkable and would turn foundations into the gatekeepers for these federal grants. http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/summary.aspx?id=56774 A television feature about growing diamonds in the lab, and a radio story that dramatizes some strange coincidences in a discussion of randomness and probability won recognition earlier this month in the 2009 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards. http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/summary.aspx?id=56775 Nicole Yana Davis won a fellowship through the National Science Teachers Association's New Science Teacher Academy. http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/summary.aspx?id=56772 Gov. Chris Gregoire said Thursday she opposes state schools chief Randy Dorn's proposal to delay the requirement for students to pass math and science tests to graduate, because the state's economy depends on Washington students leaving high school well trained in both subjects. http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/summary.aspx?id=56771 Three school districts and a coalition of charter schools have agreed to be test kitchens for some radical ideas for improving teacher qualityand#8212;from paying new teachers to spend another year practicing before getting their own class to letting student test scores affect teacher pay. In exchange, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is handing them the biggest pile of cash it has spent on education reform in about a decade. http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/summary.aspx?id=56763 Teaching is more than lecturing: It is helping students experience their education, say the four 2009 U.S. Professors of the Year, who are being recognized today by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/summary.aspx?id=56764 Increasing the levels of a message-carrying chemical in the brain may help prevent some of the memory deficits in Down syndrome that hinder learning and make it hard for the brain to develop normally, according to researchers. http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/summary.aspx?id=56765 A new report on Innovation for Development out of the European Business School ranks countries' ability to propel innovation in ways that advance societies. (The U.S. comes in third, behind Sweden and Finland.) http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/summary.aspx?id=56766 Computer products are popular among older Americans searching for ways to stay mentally sharp. Researchers, however, have yet to determine whether these brain games deliver what they promise. http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/summary.aspx?id=56767 Adolescents' needs have been overlooked by researchers and policymakers intent on boosting parental engagement, a new book concludes. http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/summary.aspx?id=56768 The stars that are just right to support life might be dimmer and longer-lived than the Sun. http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/summary.aspx?id=56758 Scientists have repaired the world's largest atom smasher and plan by this weekend to restart the machine. http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/summary.aspx?id=56757 To learn from colleagues abroad, a delegation of U.S. education technology leaders from the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) visited Scotland and the Netherlands last week to learn more about the world's first national intranet for education, international approaches to online safety, and more. http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/story.aspx?id=56745 NSTA Dates to Remember http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/summary.aspx?id=56761 Top public and private universities teamed up with members of Congress to launch a new website and related efforts to highlight the role of the multibillion-dollar economic-stimulus legislation in fostering research both on and off campus.