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Limited Data Suggest Possible Association Between Agent Orange Exposure And Ischemic Heart Disease And Parkinsons Disease In Vietnam Veterans

A new report from the Institute of Medicine finds suggestive but limited evidence that exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the Vietnam War is associated with an increased chance of developing ischemic heart disease and Parkinsons disease for Vietnam veterans.




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IOM Report Sets New Dietary Intake Levels for Calcium and Vitamin D To Maintain Health and Avoid Risks Associated With Excess

Most Americans and Canadians up to age 70 need no more than 600 international units (IUs) of vitamin D per day to maintain health, and those 71 and older may need as much as 800 IUs, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.




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Science Alone Does Not Establish Source of Anthrax Used in 2001 Mailings

A National Research Council committee asked to examine the scientific approaches used and conclusions reached by the Federal Bureau of Investigation during its investigation of the 2001 Bacillus anthracis mailings has determined that it is not possible to reach a definitive conclusion about the origins of the anthrax in letters mailed to New York City and Washington, D.C., based solely on the available scientific evidence.




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Daniel Kahnemans Thinking, Fast and Slow Wins Best Book Award From Academies - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Slate Magazine, and WGBH/NOVA Also Take Top Prizes in Awards 10th Year

Recipients of the 10th annual Communication Awards were announced today by the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine.




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Americans Have Worse Health Than People in Other High-Income Countries - Health Disadvantage Is Pervasive Across Age and Socio-Economic Groups

On average, Americans die sooner and experience higher rates of disease and injury than people in other high-income countries, says a new report from the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine.




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National Academy of Engineering Elects 67 Members and 11 Foreign Associates

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has elected 67 new members and 11 foreign associates, announced NAE President C.D. (Dan) Mote Jr. today. This brings the total U.S. membership to 2,250 and the number of foreign associates to 214.




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U.S. National Academy of Sciences, U.K. Royal Society Release Joint Publication on Climate Change

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society, the national science academy of the U.K., released a joint publication today in Washington, D.C., that explains the clear evidence that humans are causing the climate to change, and that addresses a variety of other key questions commonly asked about climate change science.




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U.S. Should Significantly Reduce Rate of Incarceration - Unprecedented Rise in Prison Population ‘Not Serving the Country Well,’ Says New Report

Given the minimal impact of long prison sentences on crime prevention and the negative social consequences and burdensome financial costs of U.S. incarceration rates, which have more than quadrupled in the last four decades, the nation should revise current criminal justice policies to significantly reduce imprisonment rates, says a new report from the National Research Council.




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Styrene Reasonably Anticipated to Be a Human Carcinogen, New Report Confirms

A new report from the National Research Council has upheld the listing of styrene as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” in the National Toxicology Program’s 12th Report on Carcinogens (RoC).




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Young Adults Ages 18 to 26 Should Be Viewed as Separate Subpopulation - In ‘Critical Development Period,’ They Face Economic and Social Challenges While Brain Is Still Maturing, Says New Report

Young adults ages 18-26 should be viewed as a separate subpopulation in policy and research, because they are in a critical period of development when successes or failures could strongly affect the trajectories of their lives, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council.




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Neil deGrasse Tyson to Receive Public Welfare Medal – Academys Most Prestigious Award

The National Academy of Sciences is presenting its 2015 Public Welfare Medal to astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson




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Analysis Used by Federal Agencies to Set Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Standards for U.S. Cars Was Generally of High Quality - Some Technologies and Issues Should Be Re-examined

The analysis used by federal agencies to set standards for fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions for new U.S. light-duty vehicles -- passenger cars and light trucks -- from 2017 to 2025 was thorough and of high caliber overall, says a new report from the National Research Council.




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Statement by the Co-Sponsoring Presidents of the Summit on Human Gene Editing

We thank the organizers of our International Summit on Human Gene Editing for their thoughtful concluding statement and welcome their call for us to continue to lead a global discussion on issues related to human gene editing.




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New Report Finds Near-Term Update to Social Cost of Carbon Unwarranted

There would not be sufficient benefit to updating estimates of the social cost of carbon (SCC) within a year based only on the revision of a specific climate parameter in the existing framework used by the government’s interagency group to measure the SCC, says a new interim report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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Increase in the Number of Children Who Receive Federal Disability Benefits for Speech and Language Disorders Similar to Trends in the General Population, Says New Report

The increase in the number of children from low-income families who are receiving federal disability benefits for speech and language disorders over the past decade parallels the rise in the prevalence of these disorders among all U.S. children, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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New Report Informs Social Security’s Process for Determining Whether Beneficiaries Are Capable of Managing Their Benefits

The best indicator of whether a disabled adult who receives Social Security benefits is capable of managing his or her benefits is evidence of real-world performance of meeting his or her own basic needs, rather than an office-based assessment of financial competence, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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New Report Calls for Coordinated, Multidecade National Effort to Reduce Negative Attitudes and Behavior Toward People With Mental and Substance Use Disorders

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should lead efforts among federal partners and stakeholders to design, implement, and evaluate a multipronged, evidence-based national strategy to reduce stigma toward people with mental and substance use disorders, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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Report Calls for Improved Methods to Assess Earthquake-Caused Soil Liquefaction

Several strong earthquakes around the world have resulted in a phenomenon called soil liquefaction, the seismic generation of excess porewater pressures and softening of granular soils, often to the point that they may not be able to support the foundations of buildings and other infrastructure.




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New Report Identifies Root Causes of Health Inequity in the U.S., Outlines Solutions for Communities to Advance Health Equity

The burdens of poor health and the benefits of good health and well-being are inequitably distributed in the U.S. due to factors that range from poverty and inadequate housing to structural racism and discrimination, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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Report Recommends New Framework for Estimating the Social Cost of Carbon

To estimate the social cost of carbon dioxide for use in regulatory impact analyses, the federal government should use a new framework that would strengthen the scientific basis, provide greater transparency, and improve characterization of the uncertainties of the estimates, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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New Report Calls for NSF to Develop Strategic Plan Specifying Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Research Priorities

The social, behavioral, and economic (SBE) sciences make significant contributions to the National Science Foundation’s mission to advance health, prosperity and welfare, national defense, and progress in science, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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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.




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Report Offers Guidance to Federal Government on Creating a New Statistics Entity to Combine Data From Multiple Sources While Protecting Privacy

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine offers detailed recommendations to guide federal statistical agencies in creating a new entity that would enable them to combine data from multiple sources in order to provide more relevant, timely, and detailed statistics – for example, on the unemployment rate or the rate of violent crime.




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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.




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New Report Calls for Greater Oversight of Precursor Chemicals Sold At the Retail Level to Reduce Threats from Improvised Explosive Devices

Policymakers’ efforts to reduce threats from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) should include greater oversight of precursor chemicals sold at the retail level – especially over the Internet – that terrorists, violent extremists, or criminals use to make homemade explosives, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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National Academies Announce Initiative on Climate Communication - Appoints Advisory Committee

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are launching a major initiative to more effectively enable their extensive body of work on climate science, impacts, and response options to inform the public and decision makers.




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National Academies Announce Initiative on Environmental Health - Appoint Advisory Committee

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are launching an Academies-wide initiative to transform how the nation addresses the complex issues associated with environmental health—a field that examines how the environment affects human health.




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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.




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Academy Elects New Members, Foreign Associates

The National Academy of Sciences elected 84 new members and 21 foreign associates in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.




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Eight Health Professionals Selected for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows Program at the National Academy of Medicine

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) today named the 2018-2019 class of RWJF Health Policy Fellows.




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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.




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National Academy of Medicine Launches Action Collaborative to Counter Opioid Epidemic -- Public-Private Partnership Will Coordinate Initiatives Across Sectors to Drive Collective Solutions

In recognition of the need for a national coordinated and collective response to the epidemic of opioid addiction in the U.S., the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), in partnership with the Aspen Institute, launched a public-private partnership made up of more than 35 organizations representing federal, state, and local governments, health systems, associations and provider groups, health education and accrediting institutions, pharmacies, payers, industry, nonprofits, and academia.




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John L. Anderson Nominated to be Next National Academy of Engineering President

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) 2019 nominating committee1 has recommended John L. Anderson, President Emeritus and distinguished professor of chemical engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech), to stand as the sole candidate2 for the NAE presidency.




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Reusable Respirators Are an Effective and Viable Option for Protecting Health Care Personnel During Routine Work and Public Health Emergency Response, Says New Report

Half-facepiece reusable elastomeric respirators are an effective and viable option for protecting health care workers from exposure to airborne transmissible contaminants or infectious agents — for example, influenza virus — during day-to-day work or with a sudden or rapid influx of patients, such as during a public health emergency, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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National Academies Keck Futures Initiative Publishes Program Summary Sharing Lessons from 15 Years of Igniting Innovation at the Intersections of Disciplines

The National Academies Keck Futures Initiative (NAKFI) is pleased to announce the publication of Collaborations of Consequence - NAKFI’s 15 Years of Igniting Innovation at the Intersections of Disciplines.




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Minority-Serving Colleges and Universities Are Positioned to Serve as a Greater Resource for Meeting U.S. STEM Workforce Needs, But Increased Attention and Investments Are Needed

Higher education leaders, policymakers, and the private sector should take a range of actions to strengthen STEM programs and degree attainment in the nation’s Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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Breakthrough Solutions and Technologies Needed to Speed Cleanup of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Sites

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends changes in the way that the U.S. Department of Energy manages science and technology (S&T) development in order to accelerate the cleanup of radioactive waste and contaminated soil, groundwater, and facilities at U.S. nuclear weapons sites.




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Sodium and Potassium Dietary Reference Intake Values Updated in New Report

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reviews current evidence and updates intake recommendations known as the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for sodium and potassium that were established in 2005.




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New Decadal Survey for the Social and Behavioral Sciences Presents Guidance to the Intelligence Community

The social and behavioral sciences (SBS) offer an essential contribution to the mission of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), a mission that requires an understanding of what human beings do, how, and why, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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Interview - John L. Anderson Discusses His New Role as the National Academy of Engineerings President

When John L. Anderson, president emeritus and distinguished professor of chemical engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology, was first elected to the National Academy of Engineering almost 30 years ago, he remembers being deeply honored and excited about how the recognition would help his career.




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Self-driving cars meet SNAP - National Academies forum examines role of tech and social innovation in the food system

Rev. Heber Brown III wants people to erase the term “food desert” from their vocabulary.




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The Next Decade of Nursing - NAM Town Halls Explore How New Roles, New Tech, and Social Needs Are Transforming the Field

You can find a nurse navigating city streets, on her way to a home visit. Or, maybe he is recording educational videos on preventing ear infections. She might even be running for city council.




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Human Rights in Age of Social Media, Big Data, and AI

In just a few years, digital technologies have allowed faster mobilization in response to humanitarian crises, better documentation of war crimes in conflict zones like Syria and Yemen, and more accessible platforms for organizing peaceful demonstrations around the world.




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Addressing Patients’ Social Needs Within Health Care Delivery Is Key to Improving Health Outcomes and Reducing Health Disparities, New Report Says

Whether a patient has a safe place to live or healthy food to eat has an important influence on their health, but such nonmedical social needs have not traditionally been addressed in routine health care visits.




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Summer Offers Opportunities for Social and Academic Growth, But Can Also Put Disadvantaged Children at Risk

Summer is a chance for children and youth to continue developing, but for those living in disadvantaged communities, summertime experiences can lead to worse health, social, emotional, academic, and safety outcomes, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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New Report Recommends Ways to Strengthen the Resilience of Supply Chains After Hurricanes, Based on Lessons Learned From Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends ways to make supply chains -- the systems that provide populations with critical goods and services, such as food and water, gasoline, and pharmaceuticals and medical supplies – more resilient in the face of hurricanes and other disasters, drawing upon lessons learned from the 2017 hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.




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Progress Made Toward Priorities Defined in 2013-2022 Solar and Space Physics Decadal Survey

NASA, NSF, and NOAA have made substantial progress in implementing the programs recommended in the 2013 decadal survey on solar and space physics (heliophysics) despite a challenging budgetary landscape, says a new midterm assessment from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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Health Care System Underused in Addressing Social Isolation, Loneliness Among Seniors, Says New Report

Seniors who are experiencing social isolation or loneliness may face a higher risk of mortality, heart disease, and depression, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Despite the profound health consequences — and the associated costs — the health care system remains an underused partner in preventing, identifying, and intervening for social isolation and loneliness among adults over age 50.




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Jaw Disorders Are Common, But Care Is Fragmented and Evidence-Based Approaches Are Needed, Says New Report

Although less invasive and more evidence-based approaches are available for temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) – a set of 30 disorders that cause pain or malfunction in the jaw joint and muscles of the jaw – some dentists continue to rely on aggressive or costly procedures as a first-line treatment, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases Provides Rapid Response to Government on Whether COVID-19 Could Also Be Spread by Conversation

The recently formed National Academies Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21st Century Health Threats, assembled at the request of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, has been providing rapid expert consultations on several topics, such as social distancing and severe illness in young adults.