The U.S. Coast Guard should issue a range of new guidelines and requirements to ensure the safety of passengers and crew on DUKWs or “duck boats”— those familiar amphibious vehicles often used for touring the streets and waters of many cities.

The National Academies are partnering with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to administer a new funding opportunity that aims to recognize and further the leadership and scientific accomplishments of excellent biomedical researchers who — through outreach, mentoring, and teaching — have a record of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in their fields.

Biodiversity — the rich variety of living things that support and sustain life on Earth — is facing grave threats. A new booklet provides an easy-to-read overview, examining the causes of biodiversity loss and presenting actions that can be taken to stop this decline.

As the omicron variant of the coronavirus sweeps through the U.S. and other parts of the world — and with the possibility of emerging new variants looming — building confidence in vaccines has become even more important. How can knowledge from the social sciences inform effective communication around vaccines?

The COVID-19 pandemic and more frequent wildfires have highlighted the need for respiratory protection for the public and all types of workers, including essential and gig economy workers. A new report recommends frameworks to ensure both groups receive timely access to appropriate respiratory protective devices and guidance on their effective use.

The world faces enormous challenges of unprecedented complexity—problems that intertwine in a dizzyingly interconnected, interdependent, and changing landscape. Few of them—especially those dealing with energy, environment, and social structures—admit clean solutions with clear endpoints.

“The Creative Mind” has spent the last decade bringing heightened visibility to the contributions and stories of trailblazing African Americans in science, engineering, and medicine — such as mathematical engineer Christine Darden, astronaut Mae Jemison, zoologist Shirley Malcom, and many others.

The National Academies’ Committee on Human Rights issued a statement expressing concern at reports of indiscriminate military attacks in Ukraine that have included health facilities, and supported global calls to respect and protect access to health care in Ukraine, and in all conflict setting

The presidents of the U.S. National Academies issued a statement condemning the “horrific and unprovoked” Russian invasion of Ukraine. “We stand in solidarity with the scientists, engineers, health care workers, and other colleagues in the research community of Ukraine, who like all Ukrainians, are doing their best to survive and resist.”

In 1998, the National Cancer Institute undertook a review of available knowledge about cigars. A new National Academies consensus study report provides a comprehensive update to the 1998 report. Steven Teutsch, the chair of the committee that wrote the report, shared some of the report’s key findings and research recommendations to move the field forward.

The emergence of biological physics as a field has had an impact on artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, the global response to COVID-19, and more. A new report outlines research directions and recommends ways federal agencies and universities can help strengthen the field’s future.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress — which produces the “Nation’s Report Card” and other critical education data — should make changes to understand and reduce its costs and open the door to innovation.

With a $1 million donation, the Breakthrough Prize Foundation joins a growing number of individuals and institutions that are supporting an NAS effort to help displaced Ukrainian researchers relocate, continue their work, and stay connected to the international scientific community.

Many scientists and researchers are among the millions of Ukrainians who have fled their country since the Russian invasion. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences has launched a new initiative to help these researchers and their families resettle in Poland.

The National Center for Education Statistics should make strategic changes to meet new education data needs by investing in a culture of innovation, new types of data, and expanded data access services, says the final report in a series written for the Institute of Education Sciences.

With a $500,000 donation, the American Chemical Society has joined the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in an effort to help researchers who are being forced to flee Ukraine because of Russia’s invasion.

Our new visual identity is here. Drawing on the rich history and visual heritage of the National Academies, our new identity supports the work of the scientists, engineers, and health care professionals who work with us to offer their best advice to the nation.

Automated research workflows — which integrate computation, laboratory automation, and tools from artificial intelligence — have the potential to increase the speed of research activities and accelerate scientific discovery. A new report recommends ways to advance their development.

The Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today announced grant awards totaling $8.6 million for 11 new projects supporting health equity and community resilience.

Lack of representation in research is compounding disparities in health outcomes, with serious consequences for underrepresented groups and the nation as a whole. Urgent actions are needed by NIH, FDA, and others to boost representation of racial and ethnic minority groups and other underrepresented populations in clinical trials and research.

At a recent event, acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Alondra Nelson discussed the urgent need to improve equity in science, and the role community engagement can play in tackling the problems that lay ahead.

Science academies from the G-7 nations issued statements urging their governments to take action on four global challenges — developing antiviral drugs to prepare for future pandemics, speeding progress on decarbonization, protecting the oceans and sea ice, and implementing a One Health approach to zoonotic disease and antimicrobial resistance.

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Polish Academy of Sciences brought together leaders from the National Academy of Sciences Ukraine and several other national academies for a meeting in Warsaw to identify concrete actions the international science community can take to support Ukrainian researchers and science capabilities.

The leaders of the national science academies of the United States, Ukraine, Poland, Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, and ALLEA have developed an action plan for the international science community to build a strong science, innovation, research, and training system in Ukraine.

The COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires, and other hazards have highlighted major gaps in the nation’s system for ensuring timely access to respirators and masks for the public and for many workers. A recent report and two webinars examined ways to fill these gaps.

EPA should conduct an ecological risk assessment of ultraviolet filters used in sunscreens, given the evidence that aquatic ecosystems in the U.S. and possibly endangered species are exposed to these UV filters, and given the importance of these ingredients in skin cancer prevention.

The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today announced $200,000 in planning grant awards for two historically Black universities as part of a partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to understand how data on social determinants of health can transform public health data systems in the Gulf of Mexico region.

Historic legislation has been enacted to boost U.S. competitiveness and security, spur innovation, and make real progress on climate change and human health, said the National Academies’ presidents in a statement. “The National Academies stand ready to mobilize the broader science, engineering, and medical and health communities to help inform and implement solutions.”

The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today announced awards totaling $1,090,463 to support six projects that engage underserved children and youth in place-based educational activities.

The radio frequency spectrum is a natural resource that underpins all wireless activity. A new report assesses the likelihood of harmful interference from operating a radio network near GPS frequency bands, and considers approaches for evaluating concerns.

Coeur d’Alene Lake in northern Idaho is beginning to recover from nearly a century of mining in its watershed. A new report finds metal concentrations are slowly declining and the lake is not currently at risk of anoxia.

Hurricane Ian has caused catastrophic damage to life, property, and infrastructure across Florida, and it is headed toward Georgia and the Carolinas. The National Academies have many resources aimed at better understanding hurricanes, how climate change may be affecting their intensity and frequency, and how communities can become more resilient to extreme events.

The EPA’s current framework for evaluating the scientific evidence used to set national air quality standards is effective, reliable, and scientifically defensible, according to a new National Academies report.

The Triennial Conference of the InterAcademy Partnership and the Worldwide Meeting of Young Academies will take place Nov. 1-3. The conference will convene the world’s senior and young science academies to explore how to make research structures and processes more inclusive, effective, and sustainable.

With a $3 million donation from the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, a high-level, international coordinating group of scientific organizations has been established to take concrete steps to support Ukraine’s scientists and research community with the aim of rebuilding a successful global science and innovation system in Ukraine.

Congress should take action to facilitate the participation of all land-grant colleges and universities in multistate research projects, says a new report. Funding disparities have prevented many historically Black and tribal colleges and universities from fully collaborating with other land-grant institutions.

Nearly 100 students, faculty, and other experts recently gathered online for the first-ever Fall Forum of the Gulf Scholars Program, a pilot program of the National Academies’ Gulf Research Program aimed at preparing undergraduate students to address environmental, health, energy, and infrastructure challenges in the Gulf of Mexico region.

Registration is now open for the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing, to be held March 6-8, 2023, in London. The three-day summit is being organized by the Royal Society and U.K. Academy of Medical Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine, and the World Academy of Sciences.

National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine for her “significant contributions to the development of science and international scientific collaboration.”

NAS and the Polish Academy of Sciences have launched a new grant program that would allow teams of Ukrainian scientists, engineers, and researchers to continue their work at Polish academic or research institutes. The program was established with the aim of sustaining and eventually rebuilding a healthy research system in Ukraine.

A new roundtable will hold its first public meeting on Jan. 23 to discuss challenges associated with incorporating climate change into the macroeconomic analyses used for federal policymaking. The roundtable’s activities will inform a new White House interagency working group.

The COVID-19 pandemic shined a spotlight on the continuing, decades-long problem of medical product supply chain disruptions. Drug and medical device shortages — life-threatening for some — also affect the entire U.S health care system, costing millions of dollars annually. New resources from the National Academies offer insights.

As the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine approaches, NAS President Marcia McNutt and the presidents of the national science academies of Poland and Ukraine urge the scientific community around the world to continue helping scientists from and in Ukraine, and to plan for the post-war recovery of science there.

National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt will deliver a lecture on the future of the research enterprise this week at the AAAS Annual Meeting. The meeting will also feature sessions and presentations focused on National Academies reports and projects.

Today the science academies of the G-7 nations released statements calling on their governments to address systemic risks and improve decision-making related to climate change, restore and recover ocean biodiversity, and deliver better health and well-being for aging populations.

Two remarkable women who made invaluable contributions to the work of the Committee on International Security and Arms Control (CISAC) died in recent months -- Catherine Kelleher and Jo Husbands. Their accomplishments and qualities have been described well by others, including especially Women in International Security (WIIS). We at CISAC want additionally to honor their work for us.

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry labels are often used in genomics and genetics research to describe human genetic differences, which is misleading and inaccurate. Researchers and scientists who utilize genetic and genomic data should rethink and justify how and why they use these descriptors in their work.

With a call for a concerted effort to build a more robust native seed supply and industry, a recent National Academies report helped spur important local, state, and federal action. The momentum continues as native seed stakeholders gather in Washington, D.C., for the 2023 National Native Seed Conference.

Most of the offshore oil and gas industry operating in the Gulf of Mexico has improved its management of systemic risk in recent years, according to a new report that also points out where uneven progress and critical gaps remain for industry and regulators to address.

The news article suggests that the donations from the Sacklers presented a conflict of interest for the National Academies’ studies on chronic pain, opioid use, and ways to combat the opioid epidemic. The Sackler funds were never used to support an advisory study on these issues.