Education Health and Medicine
- New Structure Proposed for Coordinating Cord Blood Banks
- Changes Proposed to Update Foods Offered Through WIC Program
- New Organization Needed to Build HIV/AIDS Work Force
- 'Bunker Busters' Not Deep Enough to Avoid Ground Casualties
- Monitoring Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear-Explosive
- Guidelines Recommended for Research Involving Embryonic Stem Cells
- Scientific Approach to Radiation Exposure Compensation
Education
New Measures Needed for Adult Literacy Assessment
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.
Health and Medicine
New Structure Proposed for Coordinating Cord Blood Banks
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 Proposed to Update Foods Offered Through WIC ProgramChanges 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.
New Organization Needed to Build HIV/AIDS Work ForceThe 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.
National Security
'Bunker Busters' Not Deep Enough to Avoid Ground Casualties
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.
Monitoring Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear-ExplosiveIn 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.
Policy and Research Issues
Guidelines Recommended for Research Involving Embryonic Stem Cells
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.
Scientific Approach to Radiation Exposure CompensationCongress 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.
Space
Future of Earth Science Space Missions
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.
