Table of Contents
Environmental Issues Health and Medicine International Issues Policy and Research Issues Events and Open Meetings

Environmental Issues


Regional Approach Needed to Manage Sheltered Coasts

Owners of property bordering sheltered coasts, such as those along bays and estuaries, often reinforce their shoreline with bulkheads and other structures to prevent erosion, but these constructions can alter the surrounding ecosystem. A new National Research Council report recommends that decision makers take a regional approach to assess wider environmental impacts before permitting structures to be built on sheltered shorelines, and that alternative erosion-control methods, such as planting of marshes, be given greater consideration.

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Some Pollinator Populations Declining

Population trends for some North American pollinators -- bees, birds, and other creatures that spread pollen so plant fertilization occurs -- are "demonstrably downward," a new National Research Council report says. It calls for better monitoring of pollinators and improved understanding of their taxonomy and ecology.

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Health and Medicine


Addressing Foodborne Threats to Health

Foodborne agents have been estimated to cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,200 deaths in the United States each year. The potential impact on human health of deliberate adulteration of food can be estimated from documented examples of unintentional outbreaks of foodborne disease, some of which have sickened hundreds of thousands of people and killed hundreds. The Institute of Medicine's Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a public workshop to examine issues critical to the protection of the nation's food supply, including existing knowledge and unanswered questions about the nature and extent of foodborne threats to health. This report is a summary of that workshop.

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Infections Linked to Long-Term Health Problems in Some Veterans

A comprehensive assessment of scientific literature shows that nine infectious diseases -- brucellosis, three diarrheal diseases, leishmaniasis, malaria, Q fever, tuberculosis, and West Nile virus infection -- diagnosed in US military personnel during the Persian Gulf War and current military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq are associated with long-term adverse health outcomes, says a new Institute of Medicine report.

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Consumers Need Better Guidance to Weigh Benefits and Risks of Seafood

The fragmented information that consumers receive about the nutritional value and health risks associated with seafood can result in confusion or misperceptions about this food source, says a new report by the Institute of Medicine. The report reviews the scientific evidence on seafood's benefits and risks and offers examples of how such information might be presented in a more coherent way to the public.

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International Issues


New Resource on Safe Drinking Water to Be Developed

The Marian Koshland Science Museum will develop a virtual, multimedia exhibit that explores solutions to the global shortage of safe drinking water. The project is made possible by a grant from the Global Health and Education Foundation.

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Policy and Research Issues


Federal Nanotechnology Initiative Successful, But More Research Needed

The National Nanotechnology Initiative -- a federal program created in 2000 to coordinate nanotechnology R&D efforts by several government agencies -- is successfully generating new technologies and fostering innovative interdisciplinary research, says a new National Research Council report. But the initiative's impact on the US economy is still unknown, and research on nanotechnology's possible effects on humans and the environment has been limited and inconclusive.

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More Data Needed on Firearms and Violence

Recent school shootings have raised questions about whether teens' access to guns can be curbed, why adult rampages happen, and why efforts to prevent school violence sometimes fail. However, many of these issues cannot be tackled with existing data. More comprehensive research is needed to investigate theories about the scope and nature of lethal school violence, and to pinpoint factors that can lead to better prevention policies and programs.

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Events and Open Meetings


FORUM & WORKSHOP on Adolescent Health Care

The Committee on Adolescent Health Care Services and Models of Care for Treatment, Prevention, and Healthy Development will host a forum and workshop on Adolescent Health Care on November 6th at the Academies' Keck Center in Washington. Presentations will address vulnerable populations, immigrants and refugees, and systems and provider perspectives. A draft agenda 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 April Higgins, by email at <ahiggins@nas.edu> or by telephone at 202 334 1232.

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PUBLIC SYMPOSIUM: Emerging Issues in Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research

The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee is hosting one in a series of periodic public symposia on developments in stem cell science and new or changing issues in ethics and policy. The next symposium will take place November 6-7 at the Academies' historic building in Washington. A draft agenda and registration information are posted at the accompanying link, along with a link to the project Web page. The project is sponsored by the Ellison Medical Foundation, the Greenwall Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

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Academies to Host Public Programs in California

Distinctive Voices@The Beckman Center will explore the far-reaching role of science, technology, and medicine in our lives with award-winning speakers and films. The evening programs will be held at the National Academies' Beckman Center in Irvine, California.

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