Table of Contents
Environmental Issues Health and Medicine International Issues Policy and Research Issues New at the National Academies Events and Open Meetings

Environmental Issues


Lessons Learned Between Hurricanes: From Hugo to Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne

This report summarizes a March 2005 workshop of the Disasters Roundtable that explored how strategies for countering the challenges presented by hurricanes have changed since Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Workshop participants examined the effectiveness of technological advances and efforts to apply knowledge gained from past hurricane events to the response efforts of the 2004 hurricane season. The workshop occurred prior to the 2005 hurricane season that produced Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but some of the speakers' statements may seem prescient.

Back to top

Health and Medicine


New System Needed to Measure and Report Health Care Performance

Improving the quality of health care in the United States requires a universally accepted system to measure and report on the performance of health care providers and organizations, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. Congress should establish a new board within HHS to coordinate the development of standardized performance measures and monitor the nation's progress toward a better health care system.

Back to top

Food Marketing Aimed at Kids Influences Poor Nutritional Choices

Food and beverage marketing targeted to children ages 12 and under leads them to request and consume high-calorie, low-nutrient products, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine. The report offers the most comprehensive review to date of the scientific evidence on the influence of food marketing on the diets of children and youth.

Back to top

International Issues


International Human Rights Day

December 10th marked the 57th annual celebration of International Human Rights Day, an occasion dedicated to honoring the fundamental rights and principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ratified by the UN General Assembly in 1948. In a statement, the presidents of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine emphasized "the importance of this remarkable document to people the world over, and to future generations." In 1976 the National Academy of Sciences created a Committee on Human Rights to fight in behalf of scientists, engineers, and health professionals around the world who are unjustly detained or imprisoned. The committee is also sponsored by the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine. It serves as the secretariat for the International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies.

Back to top

Policy and Research Issues


Scientists Must Help Prevent Misuse of Science and Technology

Biotechnology research has fueled great gains for health and the environment, but some of the underlying technology and knowledge also could be used to create biological weapons. In a new statement, the US National Academy of Sciences and 67 fellow members of the global InterAcademy Panel offer researchers principles of professional conduct to address "dual use" issues. Scientists have an obligation to do no harm, and should take appropriate individual and institutional steps toward that end, the statement says.

Back to top

New at the National Academies


New Web Site Features Women in Science for Middle School Students

The Web site iWASwondering.org is a project of the National Academy of Sciences intended to showcase the accomplishments of contemporary women in science and to highlight for young people the varied and intriguing careers of some of today's most prominent women scientists. The site draws from and accompanies the publication of a ten-volume series of biographies entitled Women's Adventures in Science (WAS), co-published by the Joseph Henry Press (an imprint of the National Academies Press) and Scholastic Library Publishing.

Back to top

Koshland Museum Receives NIH Award

The Marian Koshland Science Museum has received a 1.3 million-dollar National Institutes of Health Science Education Partnership Award. The museum will use the award to fund a new interactive exhibit based on 50 National Academies studies related to infectious diseases. In the exhibit, set to open in 2007, visitors will be able to explore how personal and national decisions could affect their health. This grant will enable the museum to significantly enhance its exhibit selection and outreach by funding this first in a series of major new exhibits.

Back to top

Kavli Frontiers of Science

A 5 million-dollar grant from the California-based Kavli Foundation will support the Frontiers of Science symposia for the next decade. In its 17-year history, this National Academy of Sciences initiative has helped 2,700 promising young researchers network and build collaborations with their peers from many other fields as well as provided opportunities to participate in seminars about the latest cutting-edge science. NAS President Ralph J. Cicerone thanked Fred Kavli and the Kavli Foundation for their "generosity and foresight in supporting the growth of some of our nation's most gifted young scientists."

Back to top

Events and Open Meetings


MEETING: Committee on Disability in America: A New Look

The Committee on Disability in America: A New Look will meet January 9-10 in Washington DC. Sessions open to the public will be held the afternoon of Monday the 9th, and will include statements from invited disability advocacy and consumer groups and professional organizations, as well as discussions with representatives of the Veterans Health Administration, Deparment of Health and Human Services, and Department of Justice. A draft agenda for these open sessions is posted at the accompanying link. If you would like to attend the open sessions on January 9th or need more information please contact Afrah Ali, by email at <aali@nas.edu> or by telephone at 202 334 2360.

Back to top

WORKSHOP: Green Healthcare Institutions: Health, Environment, and Economics

The Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine will host a workshop January 10-11 in Washington DC. This workshop is one of a series organized by the Roundtable in order to better understand environmental impacts on individual and societal health. A draft agenda is posted at the accompanying link along with registration information.

Back to top

SYMPOSIUM: 21st Century Innovation Systems for Japan and the United States

The Committee on Comparative Technology Policy: US and Foreign Technology Programs will co-host a symposium on "21st Century Innovation Systems for Japan and the United States: Lessons from a Decade of Change," to be held January 10-11 in Tokyo. A draft agenda for the symposium is posted at the accompanying link. If you would like to attend the sessions of this meeting that are open to the public or need more information please contact McAlister Clabaugh, by email at <mclabaugh@nas.edu> or by telephone at 202 334 1529.

Back to top

MEETING: Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity

The Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board has appointed a committee to assess Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity. The committee will meet January 11-12 in Washington DC. A draft agenda for the open sessions on Wednesday the 11th is posted at the accompanying link. If you would like to attend the sessions of this meeting that are open to the public or need more information please contact Jon Sanders, by email at <jsanders@nas.edu> or by telephone at 202 334 2911.

Back to top

Winter Wonderland: Penguins and Polar Bears

The National Academies' Polar Research Board will host a special presentation January 26 from 10:00am to 6:00pm at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington DC. Designed for visitors ages 13 and older, the free event will feature stunning visuals capturing the polar landscape and its inhabitants.

Back to top

MEETING: Committee to Review and Assess Health and Productivity Benefits of Green Schools

The Committee to Review and Assess Health and Productivity Benefits of Green Schools will meet January 30-31 in Washington DC. A draft agenda will be posted at the accompanying link. If you would like to attend the sessions of this meeting that are open to the public or need more information please contact the committee director, Lynda Stanley, by email at <lstanley@nas.edu> or by telephone at 202 334 3374.

Back to top