Table of Contents
Environmental Issues Health and Medicine Behavioral and Social Sciences National Security Events and Open Meetings

Environmental Issues


State Emissions Standards Scientifically Sound

California's emissions standards for vehicles and off-road equipment, which are generally tougher than those set by the federal government, are scientifically valid, says a new National Research Council report. Continuing its pioneering role in setting emissions standards will help California curb persistent pollution and remain a proving ground for new emissions-control technologies. The Environmental Protection Agency should play a role in other states' adoption of California's standards, the report adds.

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Dynamic Changes in Marine Ecosystems: Fishing, Food Webs, and Future Options

At the request of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Academies studied the collective evidence for fishery-induced changes to marine ecosystems and implications for US fisheries management. The report concludes that ecosystem-level effects of fishing are well supported in the scientific literature, including changes in food-web interactions and productivity of important fisheries, and that food-web interactions should be evaluated in future fisheries management decisions. The report recommends use of a modeling framework to examine ecosystem interactions and compare the possible outcomes of different fishery management actions. Decisions about management strategies should take into account the range of uses involved and their relative social, ecological, and economic values.

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Health and Medicine


Polio Antivirals Should Be Developed

A new workshop report from the National Research Council says that polio antiviral drugs may be useful in the final stages of polio eradication and recommends that planning for the development of such drugs be initiated now. The World Health Organization plans to stop using oral polio vaccine three years after the last transmission of wild polio virus is detected, and an antiviral drug may be needed to control potential outbreaks of the disease in the future.

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EPA Standard for Fluoride in Drinking Water Not Protective

Children exposed to drinking water containing 4 milligrams of fluoride per liter -- the Environmental Protection Agency's maximum allowable concentration -- risk developing severe tooth enamel fluorosis, says a new National Research Council report. About 200,000 Americans have drinking water with that much fluoride, which comes from both naturally occurring sources and pollution. A majority of the committee that wrote the report also said that people who consume water containing that much fluoride over a lifetime are likely at increased risk for bone fractures. The report does not examine artificially fluoridated water, which contains much less fluoride.

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Behavioral and Social Sciences


Investments in Education for US Hispanics Needed

Education and training are the linchpins that will give the nation's Hispanic workers and their children tools to contribute to and share in US prosperity, says a new National Research Council report. Targeted investments in these areas would benefit not only Hispanics but also the country as a whole by enhancing US productivity as baby boomers shift into retirement.

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National Security


National Academies Release Fact Sheets on Terrorist Attacks

Fact sheets that provide useful information on four types of potential terrorist attacks -- biological, chemical, nuclear, and radiological -- are now available to the public. These valuable resources were produced as part of a National Academy of Engineering-led project with the US Department of Homeland Security and the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation.

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Events and Open Meetings


MEETING: Vaccine Production: Potential Engineering Approaches to a Pandemic

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) have organized a Topical Meeting devoted to possible engineering responses to critical vaccine needs that might arise in the event of a worldwide viral pandemic. The meeting will take place April 10-11 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland OH. Further information about the project, including a draft agenda, and registration is posted at the accompanying link. For more information, please contact Arthur Heuer at Case Western, by email at <arthur.heuer@case.edu> or by telephone at 216 368 3869.

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MEETING: Populations at Risk

The Committee on the Effective Use of Data, Methodologies and Technologies to Estimate Sub-National Populations at Risk will meet April 20-21 in the Academies' Keck Center in Washington DC. Open sessions are scheduled the morning of April 20th; a draft agenda will be posted at the accompanying link closer to the meeting date. If you would like to attend the sessions of this meeting that are open to the public or need more information please contact Amanda Roberts, by email at <aroberts@nas.edu> or by telephone at 202 334 2744.

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National Academies Exhibit at COF Annual Meeting

The National Academies will have an exhibit at this year's annual meeting of the Council on Foundations, which will take place May 7-9 in Pittsburgh PA. The exhibit will feature the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) and the Academies' Office of Communications. DBASSE's major programs include education; behavior and development; and economic, governance, and international studies. The exhibit will feature recently released studies from DBASSE and other divisions as well as information about the National Academies. For more information about this exhibit, contact Cortney Riese at <criese@nas.edu>. Information about the National Academies and about DBASSE is available at the accompanying link.

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MEETING: A Leadership Summit to Effect Change in Teaching and Learning

The National Academies will conduct a study, including a major 2-day summit of educators, employers, and others, to explore opportunities for institutions of higher education to improve the learning experience of undergraduate students pursuing careers at the intersection of agriculture, environmental and life sciences, and their related disciplines. The summit will examine innovations in teaching, learning, and the curriculum that are adaptive to differences in student backgrounds, attitudes, and expectations, and that better equip graduates with knowledge and skills appropriate for multiple career paths and demands. The committee will hold a planning meeting May 8-9, 2006, at the National Academies building at 2101 C Street NW in Washington, DC. For more information, see the accompanying link or contact Karen Imhof, by e-mail at <kimhof@nas.edu> or by telephone at 202 334 3507.

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