The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the lives and routines of people with disabilities in countless ways, said panelists during a recent National Academies webinar.

Black Americans are getting sick and dying from COVID-19 at higher rates than white Americans — the most recent manifestation of racial disparities in health that have long been evident in the United States.

Most U.S. colleges and universities are struggling to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Historically Black Colleges and Universities — known as HBCUs — are facing their own unique challenges.

In response to a request from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) have formed a committee that will develop an overarching framework to assist policymakers in the U.S. and global health communities in planning for equitable allocation of vaccines against COVID-19. The committee will hold its first meeting on July 24.

To better measure the changing nature of employment, independent contracting and freelance work, and jobs with unstable hours, a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) add questions to the Contingent Worker Supplement (CWS) about work done by people who may not be steadily employed, details about secondary jobs, and work scheduling practices.

The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today announced the nine recipients of its 2020 Science Policy Fellowships.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine identifies promising strategies for reducing consumer food waste nationwide, including a national campaign to change consumer behavior, federal standardization of food date labeling, and changes to retailer marketing and food service practices, among other measures.

To more accurately quantify disaster-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies supporting disaster response should adopt a uniform national framework of data collection approaches and methods for distinguishing direct from indirect disaster deaths, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The U.S.-based Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has formed a cooperative understanding with the Colombia-based Sociedad Panamericana de Investigación en Transporte y Logística (Pan-American Society of Transportation Research, PANAMSTR).

Disease surveillance, testing, and contact tracing are among the best public health tools available to protect ourselves and our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, said panelists during a recent COVID-19 Conversations webinar, hosted by the National Academy of Medicine and American Public Health Association.

As advisers to the nation on all matters of science, medicine, and public health, we are compelled to underscore the value of science-based decision-making at all levels of government.

The Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education, a group of over 60 colleges, universities, and research institutions working to prevent sexual harassment, has released a repository of information on their efforts, along with an annual report on the Action Collaborative’s activities.

A few years ago, Nikhil Shah and Hiep Nguyen were touring the German Aerospace Center after giving a presentation about the future of surgery. One of the in-house researchers showed off a model of an implantable heart, and they thought — Why can’t we do that with a kidney?

There are the telltale signs of aging — a few more wrinkles, graying hair, and changes in posture. Other changes are less obvious. Aging-related changes also occur within the gut microbiome — a collection of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live in your digestive tract.

To help decision-makers navigate through this ongoing crisis and take actions toward a strong and sustained recovery, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have launched a new strategic science initiative to provide rapid, scenario-based analyses aimed at protecting critical societal functions, avoiding worst outcomes, and building upon potential opportunities.

In the wake of this year’s record-breaking wildfire and hurricane season, efforts are ramping up to rebuild communities and natural ecosystems in places devastated by fire and storms. Restoring natural ecosystems requires replacing the trees, grasses, flowers, herbs, shrubs, and other plants that have evolved and occur naturally in a particular region.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a harsh light on the consequences of chronic underinvestment in public health, and the limited recognition of its role. Unless there is a crisis, it is not always obvious that public health is “always on,” working quietly in the background on chronic disease prevention, vital statistics, sanitation, safe water, safe food, occupational diseases and injury, and infection control.

Industry leaders, policymakers, administrators, and researchers from government, industry, and academia will gather online for the Transportation Research Board’s 100th Annual Meeting, taking place virtually throughout January 2021.

Survivors of childhood cancer have an increased risk of experiencing disabling conditions, both from the cancer itself and from the effects of treatment, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Industry leaders, policymakers, administrators, and researchers from government, industry, and academia will gather online for the Transportation Research Board’s 100th Annual Meeting, taking place virtually throughout January 2021.

If combined with public transit and increased in scale, shared modes of transportation, such as ride-hailing, scooter sharing, and bike sharing, can enhance mobility, equity, and sustainability in metropolitan areas, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

We congratulate President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on this historic day, and we are grateful for their lifelong dedication to serving the American people.

Research by Gulf Research Program Early-Career Research Fellow Amina Schartup Explores How Mercury Levels in Fish May Rise with Climate Change

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and private industry should invest now in order to have an operational fusion pilot plant in the 2035-2040 time frame, says Bringing Fusion to the U.S. Grid, a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) has established an international committee (IC) in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Global Affairs (OGA) to inform and facilitate efforts to advance global influenza pandemic preparedness.

As the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) pivots from planning to operations, a strong organizational foundation for science will be essential to inform management and future actions for the ecosystem, which remains vulnerable to continued degradation, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The first Nobel Prize Summit “Our Planet, Our Future” will bring together Nobel Prize laureates and other esteemed leaders in the sciences, policy, business, the youth movement, and the arts to explore actions that can be achieved this decade to put the world on a path to a more sustainable, more prosperous future for all.

In order to enhance the accessibility of trustworthy health information on its platform, YouTube asked the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) to identify preliminary definitions of “authoritative” sources of health information and the criteria by which these sources derive and maintain their authority.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) impose billions of dollars in medical costs in the U.S., but STI prevention and control is chronically underfunded, stigmatized, and siloed from efforts to promote overall health and well-being, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Given the urgency of the risks posed by climate change, the U.S. should pursue a research program for solar geoengineering — in coordination with other nations, subject to governance, and alongside a robust portfolio of climate mitigation and adaptation policies, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

As cochlear implant technology has significantly improved, the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) should use a more difficult test than the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) to make disability benefit determinations in adults and children after cochlear implant surgery, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

On the heels of President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate, the first Nobel Prize Summit “Our Planet, Our Future” will bring together Nobel Prize laureates and other esteemed leaders in the sciences, policy, business, the youth movement, and the arts to explore actions that can be achieved this decade to put the world on a path to a more sustainable, more prosperous future for all.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced today that Laura Castillo-Page will become its first chief diversity and inclusion officer, effective June 1.

This statement was inspired by the discussions at the 2021 Nobel Prize Summit, issued by the Steering Committee and co-signed by Nobel Laureates and experts.

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) has selected 10 professionals for the inaugural class of the NAM Scholars in Diagnostic Excellence program.

Ensuring access to high-quality primary care for all people in the United States will require reforming payment models, expanding telehealth services, and supporting integrated, team-based care, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

On November 15, 2020, after 4 months in large-scale Phase 3 clinical testing, Moderna received resounding proof that its new class of medicines based on messenger RNA encased in lipid nanoparticles could be safely deployed as a highly effective vaccine to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organizers of the recent Nobel Prize Summit shared a statement titled “Our Planet, Our Future - An Urgent Call for Action” — issued by the summit’s steering committee and co-signed by 126 Nobel laureates — with leaders of the G-7 countries and the U.N. secretary general, as well as other groups.

A recent discussion explored the possible risks and benefits and the need for more research

Cato T. Laurencin — a member of the National Academy of Sciences (2021), National Academy of Engineering (2011), and National Academy of Medicine (2004) — is being awarded the Springarn Medal from the NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization.

By 2060, nearly 14 million people in the U.S. will be living with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. A new report charts a course for the next 10 years of research in the behavioral and social sciences that can point to possible pathways for slowing or preventing dementia and easing its social and economic impacts.

A National Academies summit explored the structural inequalities and biases that lead to a lack of racial and ethnic diversity in STEMM fields, and examined approaches that can increase diversity, equity, and inclusion.​

To improve global preparedness for future pandemics, the science academies of the G20 nations issued a statement urging their governments to promote the creation of a global surveillance network that could detect the harbingers of a potential new pandemic.

For people who use wheelchairs, air travel comes with many hardships. A new report assesses the feasibility of securing travelers’ personal motorized wheelchairs in the cabin of an airplane as well as the safety and other considerations that must be analyzed.

The Gulf Research Program has launched its first undergraduate education initiative, the Gulf Scholars Program. The five-year, $12.7 million pilot program will prepare undergraduates to address the Gulf of Mexico’s most pressing environmental, health, resilience, and infrastructure challenges.

Safe, effective antimicrobial medicines are essential to modern medical procedures and pandemic preparedness. A new National Academies report recommends a range of policy, regulatory, and financial actions to tackle antimicrobial resistance, spanning human, animal, and environmental health.

A multidisciplinary committee representing 11 nations will plan the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing, to be held in London March 7-9, 2022. The NAS and NAM join other international partners in organizing the summit, which will build upon previous events held in Washington, D.C. and Hong Kong.

In many university departments, graduate students may be wholly dependent on their advisers for funding and academic support — a difference in power that raises the risk of sexual harassment. At a recent summit of the Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education, speakers explored how to diffuse those power differences.

The United States should create a national strategy by end of 2022 to reduce its outsized and increasing contribution to plastic waste in the world’s oceans.

The National Academy of Sciences is hosting celebrations for the winners of 2021 Nobel Prizes who are based in the United States, joining in ceremonies and events being held around the world this week to celebrate laureates unable to travel to Stockholm this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.