The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) announces the appointment of May R. Berenbaum as Editor-in-Chief of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the official journal of the Academy. Berenbaum will begin the editorship on January 1, 2019.

Scientific research that involves nonscientists contributing to research processes – also known as ‘citizen science’ – supports participants’ learning, engages the public in science, contributes to community scientific literacy, and can serve as a valuable tool to facilitate larger scale research, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Over the next several decades as the global population grows, society will be faced with pressing challenges such as providing reliable supplies of food and water, diminishing climate change and adapting to its impacts, and building healthy, resilient cities.

Given the current state of quantum computing and the significant challenges that still need to be overcome, it is highly unlikely that a quantum computer that can compromise public-key cryptography – a basis for the security of most of today’s computers and networks – will be built within the next decade, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Half-facepiece reusable elastomeric respirators are an effective and viable option for protecting health care workers from exposure to airborne transmissible contaminants or infectious agents — for example, influenza virus — during day-to-day work or with a sudden or rapid influx of patients, such as during a public health emergency, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Most of the alternative technologies to open burning and open detonation (OB/OD) of conventional munitions designated for disposal are mature, including contained burn and contained detonation chambers with pollution control equipment, and many are permitted to replace OB/OD of waste munitions, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The future of the U.S. Interstate Highway System is threatened by a persistent and growing backlog of structural and operational deficiencies and by various looming challenges, such as the progress of automated vehicles, developments in electric vehicles, and vulnerabilities due to climate change.

To assess the effects of Venezuelas ongoing health crisis, CHR member Dr. Chris Beyrer organized and supported a team of public health and medical professionals from Johns Hopkins University that joined researchers from Human Rights Watch on a trip to Venezuelas borders.

NASA’s investment in new instruments to analyze extraterrestrial samples is insufficient to provide for replacement of existing instruments, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Renewed interest in exploration of the moon has the potential to benefit lunar science greatly and could evolve into a program facilitated by partnerships between commercial companies and NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD), say companion reports by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), proclaimed by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948, this year the Committee on Human Rights (CHR) will be sharing stories of scientists, engineers, and health professionals who have used their expertise to promote and protect human rights.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine offers guidance to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to inform the next revision of a permit program that requires industries to manage stormwater to minimize discharges of pollutants to the environment.

Medications to Treat Opioid Addiction Are Effective and Save Lives, But Barriers Prevent Broad Access and Use, Says New Report

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends steps U.S. communities can take to better measure their progress in building resilience to disasters, including measuring resilience around multiple dimensions of a community, and incentivizing the measurement of resilience.

International Day for the Right to Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims Today, on the International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims, we are sharing our interview with forensic anthropologist Mercedes Doretti, the Director of North and Central American Programs and Board Member of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF), which she also co-founded. Doretti and her colleagues collect and analyze physical evidence of human rights abuses (which often includes identifying the remains of victims of grave human rights abuses and returning them to their families), and they regularly present their findings to tribunals and legal mechanisms around the world to secure justice for those whose rights to life and personal security have been violated.

Current evidence supports the classification of the contemporary red wolf as a distinct species of wolf, although additional genomic evidence from historic wolf specimens could change that assessment, says Evaluating the Taxonomic Status of the Mexican Gray Wolf and the Red Wolf, a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

While computational reproducibility in scientific research is generally expected when the original data and code are available, lack of ability to replicate a previous study -- or obtain consistent results looking at the same scientific question but with different data -- is more nuanced and occasionally can aid in the process of scientific discovery, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

On World Malaria Day, we are highlighting Dr. Peter Agre, Director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute and former Chair of the CHR, and his work to develop innovative malaria treatments, as well as his efforts to ensure that such treatments are accessible to the communities most in need. Through such work, Dr. Agre is helping to further the right to health.

To celebrate the International Day of Families, we are featuring Dr. Mary-Claire Kings groundbreaking development of mitochondrial DNA sequencing to identify biological connections, which has led to the reunification of more than 100 families separated in Argentina in the mid-1970s and 1980s.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine offers guidance to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on how to conduct a hazard assessment of nonpolymeric, additive organohalogen flame retardants (OFRs), which are used in some consumer products.

It is estimated that 44,000 people are forced each day to flee their homes due to conflict and persecution. In December 2017, the CHR held a symposium, Protecting the Rights of Individuals Fleeing Conflict - The Role of Scientists, Engineers, and Health Professionals, to explore the various challenges faced by displaced individuals and the ways in which the scientific, engineering, and medical communities are working to help address these challenges.

Current cancer control efforts in the United States typically are fragmented and uncoordinated, but taking a systems approach to establish a U.S. National Cancer Control Plan would address the challenge more holistically, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The nation’s highways and roads connect almost 330 million Americans and are important to both commerce and national security. Two-thirds of total passenger travel in the country moves along this vast network of roads, as does 60 percent of the weight and almost three-quarters of the value of total U.S. freight transported.

July 18 marks Nelson Mandela Day, which honors the legacy of the late President of South Africa and recognizes the nearly three decades that he spent in prison during apartheid. In accordance with the Nelson Mandela Rules (revised Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners), adopted by the UN in 2015, this internationally recognized day is to be used to promote humane conditions of imprisonment and to raise awareness of prisoners as a continuous part of society.

The U.S. Department of Defense’s Military Family Readiness System (MFRS) — a network of agencies, programs, services, and individuals that promotes the well-being and quality of life of military service members and their families — lacks a comprehensive, coordinated framework to support well-being, resilience, and readiness, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

In celebration of World Humanitarian Day, we are highlighting efforts by volunteers with Engineers Without Borders USA to help create and sustain job opportunities in refugee communities. Through such efforts, the organization helps individuals from these communities exercise their right to work.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine calls for a comprehensive national agenda to improve mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) health in children and youth. Despite advances in research, rates of depression, suicide and self-harm among young people have been increasing.

In celebration of the International Day of Peace, we are spotlighting National Academy of Sciences member James Fearons research on civil conflict, which has far-reaching implications for the protection and promotion of human rights in conflict settings.

Whether a patient has a safe place to live or healthy food to eat has an important influence on their health, but such nonmedical social needs have not traditionally been addressed in routine health care visits.

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the CHR is sharing stories of scientists, engineers, and health professionals who use their expertise to promote and protect human rights.

U.S. colleges and universities should take a more intentional, inclusive, and evidence-based approach to mentoring students in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine) – a shift that could engage and help retain a broader group of students in these fields, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the CHR is sharing stories of scientists, engineers, and health professionals who use their expertise to promote and protect human rights.

When Sara Altschule took a 23andMe ancestry test, the results confirmed what she already suspected - She is 77 percent Ashkenazi Jewish.

Medicine regulatory authorities — including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — should strengthen cooperation with other countries’ regulators to ensure the quality, safety, and efficacy of medicines, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The first-ever Nobel Prize Summit, Our Planet, Our Future, will bring together Nobel Laureates and other world-renowned experts and leaders to advance new insights into global sustainable development and explore actions that need to be taken to ensure humanity’s future on a prosperous, stable, and resilient planet.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends ways to make supply chains -- the systems that provide populations with critical goods and services, such as food and water, gasoline, and pharmaceuticals and medical supplies – more resilient in the face of hurricanes and other disasters, drawing upon lessons learned from the 2017 hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

The goal of achieving universal health coverage by 2030 — one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals — necessitates that countries strengthen their food and drug regulatory systems as a whole, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The opioid epidemic in the U.S. is driving a simultaneous epidemic of infectious diseases — including HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and bacterial infections, and sexually transmitted infections — but workforce shortages, stigma, and financial and policy barriers are preventing the integration of opioid use disorder (OUD) and infectious disease services, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine finds that there is no risk-free setting for giving birth, whether at home, in a birth center, or in a hospital.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine finds new and innovative approaches to dust control are needed at Owens Lake, California, to improve air quality, reduce water use, and preserve habitats.

Seniors who are experiencing social isolation or loneliness may face a higher risk of mortality, heart disease, and depression, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Despite the profound health consequences — and the associated costs — the health care system remains an underused partner in preventing, identifying, and intervening for social isolation and loneliness among adults over age 50.

Although less invasive and more evidence-based approaches are available for temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) – a set of 30 disorders that cause pain or malfunction in the jaw joint and muscles of the jaw – some dentists continue to rely on aggressive or costly procedures as a first-line treatment, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

As the coronavirus outbreak has spread throughout the United States, social distancing measures have taken many forms — such as business and school closures, cancelled events, and everyone being urged to keep six feet apart.

It is critical for the U.S. to continue its funding for the World Health Organization in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic given the WHO’s lead role in coordinating an international response, especially in developing countries.

“Reports & Events” is a monthly tip sheet for the news media that highlights selected meetings of interest and reports from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s plan to dilute and dispose of 34 metric tons of surplus plutonium in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico is technically viable, provided that the plan’s implementation challenges and system vulnerabilities are resolved.

National Academy of Medicine President Victor J. Dzau will provide remarks on behalf of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board during a virtual event on May 4 to launch an online pledging effort, the Coronavirus Global Response.

While compounded topical pain creams have become an increasingly popular alternative to oral pain medications and opioids, there is a lack of scientific evidence to support their safety or effectiveness, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Research and funding priorities tend to shift from one disaster to the next, which has resulted in a sparse evidence base and hampers the nation’s ability to respond to public health emergencies in the most effective way, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

To better understand the evolution, transmission patterns, and disease progression of SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — genome sequence data should be integrated with patient clinical data and epidemiological data, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.