The US Department of Education should adopt new performance levels and passing scores when it reports the results of its latest assessment of adults' English literacy skills, says a new National Academies report. The report recommends specific changes that would improve public understanding of the test results.
The US Department of Health and Human Services should establish a new National Cord Blood Policy Board to set rules for the banking and use of life-saving stem cells derived from donated umbilical cord blood, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. The department's Health Resources and Services Administration also should call for proposals to identify an organization that would manage daily operations of cord blood banking and allocation nationwide. Changes should be made to the WIC nutrition assistance program to encourage participants to consume more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, as well as to promote breast-feeding and other goals, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. If implemented, these revisions would be the most substantial changes to the mix of foods offered through WIC since the supplemental nutrition program was launched in 1974. The federal government should create an organization called the United States Global Health Service to mobilize highly skilled health care professionals and other experts to help combat HIV/AIDS in hard-hit African, Caribbean, and Southeast Asian countries, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. A nuclear weapon that is exploded underground can destroy a deeply buried bunker efficiently and requires significantly less power to do so than would a nuclear weapon detonated on the surface, says a new report from the National Research Council. However, such "earth-penetrating" nuclear weapons cannot go deep enough to avoid massive casualties at ground level. In the United States and many other countries, policymakers are working to minimize the proliferation of nuclear weapons, prevent terrorists from acquiring them, and reduce the risks posed by existing nuclear arsenals. A new report from the National Academies outlines technical and collaborative approaches that could help leaders meet these goals. To ensure that human embryonic stem cell research is conducted responsibly and in an ethical manner, the National Academies have developed guidelines for such research. The new report says that institutions conducting stem cell research should establish oversight committees to make sure the guidelines will be followed. Congress should establish new scientific criteria for decisions about awarding federal compensation to people who developed certain cancers or other specific diseases as a result of exposure to radioactive fallout from US nuclear weapons tests, says a new report from the
National Research Council. Because fallout from the tests covered a wide geographic area, the new approach should consider people in all parts of the United States and its territories. A new report from the National Research Council assesses the scientific and societal value of NASA's earth science missions and addresses urgent, near-term issues in the federal budgets for fiscal years 2006 and 2007, such as restoring delayed or cancelled missions and strengthening NASA's investment in research and technology.
Education
Health and Medicine
National Security
Policy and Research Issues
Space
Education
New Measures Needed for Adult Literacy Assessment
Health and Medicine
New Structure Proposed for Coordinating Cord Blood Banks
National Security
'Bunker Busters' Not Deep Enough to Avoid Ground Casualties
Policy and Research Issues
Guidelines Recommended for Research Involving Embryonic Stem Cells
Space
Future of Earth Science Space Missions
