sa

Longer-Term Weather and Environmental Forecasts Will Provide Enormous Benefit with More Research and Sustained Investment, New Report Says

Weather and environmental forecasts made several weeks to months in advance can someday be as widely used and essential as current predictions of tomorrow’s weather are, but first more research and sustained investment are needed, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

New Report Identifies Six Practices to Improve Health Care for Disadvantaged Populations

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine identifies six promising practices to improve health care for individuals with social risk factors for poor health care outcomes, such as people who are in a low socio-economic position, reside in disadvantaged neighborhoods, identify as a racial or ethnic minority, or possess limited health literacy.




sa

“G-Science” Academies Issue Statements on Strengthening Disaster Resilience, Protecting the Brain, and Nurturing Future Scientists

Today the science academies of the G7 countries and seven additional academies issued three joint statements to their respective governments to inform discussions during the G7 summit to be held in May in Japan, as well as ongoing policymaking.




sa

New Report Says Bullying is a ‘Serious Public Health Problem,’ Calls for Development of Interventional Policies & Practices to Prevent Bullying & its Harm

Bullying is a serious public health problem, with significant short- and long-term psychological consequences for both the targets and perpetrators of such behavior, and requires a commitment to developing preventive and interventional policies and practices that could make a tangible difference in the lives of many children, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

Sustaining Strong Safety Culture for Offshore Oil and Gas Operations Requires Collective Action Among Industry and Regulators

To transform the offshore oil and gas industry’s safety culture, operators, contractors, subcontractors, associations representing these groups, and federal regulators should collaborate to foster safety throughout all levels of the industry and confront challenges collectively, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

Possible to Account for Disadvantaged Populations in Medicare’s Value-Based Payment Programs and Improve Payment Status Quo, Says New Report

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine says that Medicare’s value-based payment programs could take into account social risk factors – such as low socio-economic position, residence in disadvantaged neighborhoods, or race and ethnicity – but any proposal to do so will entail both advantages and disadvantages that need to be carefully considered.




sa

General Support for Science Does Not Always Correlate With Attitudes Toward Specific Science Issues, Says New Report

U.S. adults perform comparably to adults in other economically developed countries on most measures of science knowledge and support science in general, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

New Report Outlines Steps to Address Public Health Concerns of Food Allergy Safety

Although there is widespread perception among the public and medical professionals that food allergy prevalence is on the rise, no study in the U.S. has been conducted with sufficient sample size and in various populations to determine the true prevalence of food allergies, and most studies likely overestimate the proportion of the population with this condition, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

Revisions to WIC Program Needed - Changes Would Save Money Over Time

A new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine proposes updated revisions to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to better align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and promote and support breast-feeding.




sa

USAID Should Speed Application of Science, Technology, and Innovation to Global Development Challenges

The U.S. Agency for International Development should speed its transformation into a global leader and catalyst in applying science, technology and innovation to the challenges facing developing countries, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

New Report Examines How Assistive Technologies Can Enhance Work Participation for People With Disabilities

Assistive products and technologies – such as wheelchairs, upper-limb prostheses, and hearing and speech devices – hold promise for partially or fully mitigating the effects of impairments and enabling people with disabilities to work, but in some cases environmental and personal factors create additional barriers to employment, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

National Academies Presidents Comment on Proposal for New Questions for Visa Applicants

In a letter to the U.S. Department of State, the presidents of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Medicine expressed concern that a proposal to add supplemental questions for visa applicants.




sa

ARPA-E Making Progress Toward Achieving Mission, Says New Assessment

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is making progress toward achieving its statutory mission and goals, says a new congressionally mandated report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

New Report Finds FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System to Be Conceptually Sound, Recommends Implementation Improvements

While the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Safety Measurement System (SMS) used to identify commercial motor vehicle carriers at high risk for future crashes is conceptually sound, several features of its implementation need improvement, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

New Report Recommends Construction of Four New Polar Icebreakers of the Same Design as the Lowest-Cost Strategy for Protecting U.S. Interests in Arctic and Antarctic

The U.S. lacks icebreaking capability in the Arctic and Antarctic and should build four polar icebreakers with heavy icebreaking capability to help minimize the life-cycle costs of icebreaker acquisition and operations, says a new congressionally mandated letter report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

Academic Biomedical Research Community Should Take Action to Build Resilience to Disasters

The academic biomedical research community should improve its ability to mitigate and recover from the impacts of disasters, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

NASA Should Continue its Large Strategic Missions to Maintain United States’ Global Leadership in Space

NASA’s large strategic missions like the Hubble Space Telescope, the Curiosity rover on Mars, and the Terra Earth observation satellite are essential to maintaining the United States’ global leadership in space exploration and should continue to be a primary component of a balanced space science program that includes large, medium, and smaller missions, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

Substantial Gap Exists Between Demand for Organ Transplants in U.S. and Number of Transplants Performed - New Report Offers Ethical, Regulatory, and Policy Framework for Research to Increase Quantity & Quality of Organs For Transplantation, Save Lives

The number of patients in the U.S. awaiting organ transplantation outpaces the amount of transplants performed in the U.S., and many donated organs are not transplanted each year due to several factors, such as poor organ function, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

Concerns Remain Over Safety of Rail to Transport Energy Liquids and Gases

With the sharp and largely unexpected increase in the long-distance movement of domestically produced crude oil, ethanol, and natural gas since 2005, a number of concerns have arisen about the safe transport of these hazardous materials, particularly in relation to railroad track defects, rural communities’ emergency response preparedness, and the older tank car designs that will continue to be used in multi-car unit trains, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

Public Safety During Severe Weather and Other Disasters Could Be Improved With Better Alert Systems and Improved Understanding of Social and Behavioral Factors

Our ability to observe and predict severe weather events and other disasters has improved markedly over recent decades, yet this progress does not always translate into similar advances in the systems used in such circumstances to protect lives.




sa

Consumer Access to Affordable Medicines Is a Public Health Imperative, Says New Report - Government Negotiation of Drug Prices, Prevention of ‘Pay-for-Delay’ Agreements, and Increased Financial Transparency Among Recommendations

Consumer access to effective and affordable medicines is an imperative for public health, social equity, and economic development, but this need is not being served adequately by the biopharmaceutical sector, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

NASA Should Develop U.S. Strategy for International Space Station Beyond 2024

Although NASA has made progress toward the overall space exploration science priorities recommended in a 2011 decadal survey by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the space agency should raise the priority of scientific research that addresses the risks and unknowns of human space exploration.




sa

Statement by NAS, NAE, and NAM Presidents on the Political Review of Scientific Proposals

The highest standards of scientific integrity, transparency, and accountability are critical to maintaining public confidence in our nation’s research enterprise and in the wise use of the public investment in research.




sa

Integration of a Wide Range of Safety Systems Is Needed to Develop an In-Time Aviation Safety Management System, New Report Says

A comprehensive aviation safety system as envisioned by NASA would require integration of a wide range of systems and practices, including building an in-time aviation safety management system (IASMS) that could detect and mitigate high-priority safety issues as they emerge and before they become hazards, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

New Report Examines Factors Used in Social Security’s Process for Determining Disability in Adults

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examines to what extent and in which ways health care utilization -- such as in-patient hospitalizations, emergency department use, and hospital readmission -- reflects disease severity, disability, and ability to perform gainful activity.




sa

The Quality of Abortion Care Depends on Where a Woman Lives, Says One of Most Comprehensive Reviews of Research on Safety and Quality of Abortion Care in the U.S.

While legal abortions in the U.S. are safe, the likelihood that women will receive the type of abortion services that best meet their needs varies considerably depending on where they live, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

Single Breakthrough Discovery for Citrus Greening Disease in Florida Unlikely, Says New Report

A single breakthrough discovery for managing citrus greening in Florida in the future is unlikely, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

EPA’s IRIS Program Has Made Substantial Progress, Says New Report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program has made “substantial progress” in implementing recommendations outlined in past reports by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, improving the program’s overall scientific and technical performance, says a new Academies report.




sa

New Report Says Programs and Services for Children With Disabilities Should Coordinate Care Across Service Sectors, Focus on Long-Term Goals

While a variety of services and programs exist to support the needs of children with disabilities and their families, a focus on achieving specific near- and long-term goals that help prepare for adulthood and coordination of care within and across service sectors are integral to encouraging healthy growth and development, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

EngineerGirl Announces 2018 Community Infrastructure Essay Contest Winners

The National Academy of Engineering today announced the winners of its 2018 EngineerGirl essay competition.




sa

Public Transit Agencies Should Not Have to Disclose Safety Planning Records in Court, Similar to Laws for State Highway Agencies and Passenger Railroads, Says New Report

To enable public transit agencies to engage in more rigorous and effective safety planning, their safety planning records should not be admissible as evidence in civil litigation, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

FAA Should Change Its Safety Risk Assessment Approach for Drones to Effectively Integrate Them Into the Nation’s Airspace

Introducing drone operations into the nation’s airspace can provide substantial benefits to society, such as preventing derailments, inspecting cell phone towers, delivering medical devices to patients in cardiac distress, and assisting firefighters, says a new congressionally mandated report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

If Misused, Synthetic Biology Could Expand the Possibility of Creating New Weapons - DOD Should Continue to Monitor Advances in the Field, New Report Says

Synthetic biology expands the possibilities for creating new weapons — including making existing bacteria and viruses more harmful — while decreasing the time required to engineer such organisms, concludes a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

To Increase Protection of Miners from Black Lung Disease, A Comprehensive Report on Underground Coal Mine Dust Exposure Says Monitoring and Sampling Should Go Beyond Regulatory Compliance

Black lung disease cases in coal miners have been increasing since 2000 for uncertain reasons.




sa

NASA Should Update Policies That Protect Planets and Other Solar System Bodies During Space Exploration Missions, New Report Says

The current process for planetary protection policy development is inadequate to respond to increasingly complex solar system exploration missions, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

New Report Says Individual Research Results Should Be Shared With Participants More Often - Recommends Framework for Decision-Making

When conducting research involving the testing of human biospecimens, investigators and their institutions should routinely consider whether and how to return individual research results on a study-specific basis through an informed decision-making process, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

A Domestic Electron Ion Collider Would Unlock Scientific Mysteries of Atomic Nuclei, Maintain U.S. Leadership in Accelerator Science, New Report Says

The science questions that could be answered by an electron ion collider (EIC) – a very large-scale particle accelerator – are significant to advancing our understanding of the atomic nuclei that make up all visible matter in the universe, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

NASA Makes Progress Toward Science Priorities Outlined in 2013-2022 Planetary Decadal Survey

Despite significant cuts to NASAs Planetary Science Division budget early in this decade, the space agency has made impressive progress in meeting goals outlined in the 2013-2022 planetary decadal survey by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, says a new midterm assessment from the National Academies.




sa

Up to 8 Million Deaths Occur in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Yearly Due to Poor-Quality Health Care, Says New Report

Recent gains against the burden of illness, injury, and disability and commitment to universal health coverage (UHC) are insufficient to close the enormous gaps that remain between what is achievable in human health and where global health stands today, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

NASA Should Lead a Large Direct Imaging Mission to Study Earth-Like Exoplanets, Says New Report

To answer significant questions about planetary systems, such as whether our solar system is a rare phenomenon or if life exists on planets other than Earth, NASA should lead a large direct imaging mission – an advanced space telescope – capable of studying Earth-like exoplanets orbiting stars similar to the sun, says a new congressionally mandated report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

U.S. Department of Transportation Should Revisit Federal Safety Regulations for Liquid Petroleum Gas Distribution Systems, Says New Report

Current federal safety regulations for small distribution systems used for propane and other liquefied petroleum gases (LPGs) should be improved for clarity, efficiency, enforceability, and applicability to risk, says a new reportfrom the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

New Report Assesses Coast Guard’s Vessel Stability Safety Regulations

The U.S. Coast Guard has safety regulatory oversight pertaining to vessel stability with standards that should respond to and improve with technological advances.




sa

Kenneth Wells Receives National Academy of Medicine’s Sarnat Award for Outstanding Achievements in Improving Mental Health

The National Academy of Medicine today announced Kenneth Wells is the recipient of the 2018 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health, for his work developing quality and outcomes approaches to psychiatry and mental health, fostering a generation of clinical investigators and mental health system leaders, and championing partnered, participatory research to advance equity for under-resourced populations.




sa

Learning Is a Complex and Active Process That Occurs Throughout the Life Span, New Report Says

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine highlights the dynamic process of learning throughout the life span and identifies frontiers in which more research is needed to pursue an even deeper understanding of human learning.




sa

NASA Should Expand the Search for Life in the Universe and Make Astrobiology an Integral Part of its Missions, Says New Report

To advance the search for life in the universe, NASA should support research on a broader range of biosignatures and environments, and incorporate the field of astrobiology into all stages of future exploratory missions, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

Technologies That Remove Carbon Dioxide From Air and Sequester It Need to Play a Large Role in Mitigating Climate Change, Says New Report

To achieve goals for climate and economic growth, “negative emissions technologies” (NETs) that remove and sequester carbon dioxide from the air will need to play a significant role in mitigating climate change, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

New Report Says ‘Citizen Science’ Can Support Both Science Learning and Research Goals

Scientific research that involves nonscientists contributing to research processes – also known as ‘citizen science’ – supports participants’ learning, engages the public in science, contributes to community scientific literacy, and can serve as a valuable tool to facilitate larger scale research, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

New Report Explores Science of Interventions to Save Coral Reefs

While the management of local and regional stressors threatening coral reefs is critical, these efforts on their own will not be enough in the face of global climate change, says a new interim report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

Independent Reviews, Environmental Assessments Needed to Build Trust and Inform DOE NNSA’s Plans if it Proceeds with the Dilution and Disposal Process of Surplus Plutonium

If the dilute and dispose approach for disposing of the surplus plutonium in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is fully implemented, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) should use two independent review teams to develop public trust in and improve its decisions, says a new interim report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




sa

Curbing Climate Change and Sustainably Supplying Food, Water, and Energy Among Top Challenges Environmental Engineering Can Help Address, New Report Says

Over the next several decades as the global population grows, society will be faced with pressing challenges such as providing reliable supplies of food and water, diminishing climate change and adapting to its impacts, and building healthy, resilient cities.