"Climate and Global Change at the National Academies" is a new monthly update highlighting activities related to climate and associated global changes from throughout the National Academies. Additional information on these and other activities is also available at http://dels.nas.edu/ccgc/. Click on the link below to subscribe to the monthly e-update.
At two Senate hearings this week, National Academy of Sciences President Ralph J. Cicerone discussed the current state of scientific understanding on climate change based largely on findings of recent studies by the National Academies. The US Food and Drug Administration lacks effective procedures to monitor safety studies that manufacturers are sometimes required to undertake when they put medical devices on the market, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine that specifically examines FDA's surveillance of medical devices used with children. Congress should ensure that the agency establishes a reliable system to track these postmarket studies and that key information about these studies is made public. The US health care industry has neglected engineering strategies and technologies that have revolutionized quality, productivity, and performance in many other industries, says a new report from the National Academy of Engineering and Institute of Medicine. Health care professionals and engineers should work more closely together to address serious challenges in health care issues, such as the nearly 100,000 preventable deaths every year and high costs and rates of uninsurance. IPR-NEWS is a quarterly e-newsletter featuring information on intellectual property rights-related events, reports, and projects at the National Academies. Previous issues and subscription information are posted at the accompanying link.
The US needs to better coordinate the currently fragmented framework for confronting new and emerging animal-borne diseases like mad cow disease, avian flu, and West Nile virus, says a new report from the National Research Council. In a related study, the Research Council also cites the growing shortage of veterinary research scientists as a major weakness in the effort to ensure animal as well as public health. Over the coming decade, NASA should develop and implement new measures to detect and eliminate microorganisms on robotic spacecraft sent to Mars to prevent possible contamination of the planet, says a new report from the National Research Council. If microbes aboard a spacecraft were to survive the trip to Mars and grow there, they could interfere with scientific investigations to detect any life that might be native to Mars. Ralph J. Cicerone began his 6-year term as the new president of the National Academy of Sciences on July 1st. Cicerone is an atmospheric chemist and former chancellor of the University of California's Irvine campus. Outgoing president, Bruce Alberts, a cell biologist on the faculty of the University of California, San Francisco, is profiled in PNAS. The National Academy of Sciences presents several awards to recognize outstanding achievements in science. Awards in 2006 will be given in fields including computational science, chemistry, environmental science, and geology and paleontology. In addition, awards for young investigators will be given in molecular biology and psychology. Nominations will be accepted through September 6, 2005; details are available online.
Environmental Issues
Health and Medicine
Engineering
Policy and Research Issues
Space
New at the National Academies
Events and Open Meetings
Environmental Issues
Climate and Global Change at the National Academies
Health and Medicine
FDA Needs System to Monitor Safety of Medical Devices on the Market
Engineering
Engineers, Health Professionals Should Work to Improve Health Care
Policy and Research Issues
National Academies IPR e-Newsletter
Space
New Measures Needed to Keep NASA Spacecraft From Contaminating Mars
New at the National Academies
New NAS President
Events and Open Meetings
Nominations for 2006 NAS Awards
