Clinical trials for genome editing of the human germline – adding, removing, or replacing DNA base pairs in gametes or early embryos – could be permitted in the future, but only for serious conditions under stringent oversight, says a new report from the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.

While workers in the engineering technology (ET) field play an important role in supporting U.S. technical infrastructure and the country’s capacity for innovation, there is little awareness of ET as a field of study or category of employment in the U.S., says a new report from the National Academy of Engineering.

The National Academies Committee on Genetically Engineered Crops - Past Experiences and Future Prospects authored an almost 600-page landmark report, released in May 2016. It was perhaps the most comprehensive analysis of genetically engineered crops to date.

Good morning. Welcome to the release of the report Preparing for Future Products of Biotechnology, from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Mobilization of a rapid and robust clinical research program that explores whether investigational therapeutics and vaccines are safe and effective to combat the next infectious disease epidemic will depend on strengthening capacity in low-income countries for response and research, engaging people living in affected communities, and conducting safety trials before an epidemic hits, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Our ability to observe and predict severe weather events and other disasters has improved markedly over recent decades, yet this progress does not always translate into similar advances in the systems used in such circumstances to protect lives.

The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are now serving as the host for the InterAcademy Partnership for Research (IAP-R) secretariat.

The National Academy of Engineering announced today that the 2018 Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering will be awarded to Bjarne Stroustrup.

Despite progress in recent decades, more than 10,000 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities occur each year in the U.S. To address this persistent problem, stakeholders -- from transportation systems to alcohol retailers to law enforcement -- should work together to implement policies and systems to eliminate these preventable deaths, 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 identifies strategies for improving the reliability of bolts used in offshore oil and gas drilling rigs, thereby reducing the risk that a bolt failure could cause a spill of oil, drilling fluids, or natural gas into the environment.

Joint statements from the national science academies of the G7 nations were released today in advance of the G7 Summit to be held in La Malbaie, Canada, on June 8 and 9, 2018.

Sexual harassment in science, engineering, and medicine diminishes the integrity of the U.S. research enterprise.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends substantial changes to U.S. graduate education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in order to meet the evolving needs of students, the scientific enterprise, and the nation.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are launching the “New Voices in Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine” initiative to identify outstanding early-career science, engineering, and medicine (SEM) leaders.

Black lung disease cases in coal miners have been increasing since 2000 for uncertain reasons.

The current process for planetary protection policy development is inadequate to respond to increasingly complex solar system exploration missions, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

To protect the integrity and security of U.S. elections, all local, state, and federal elections should be conducted using human-readable paper ballots by the 2020 presidential election, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) 2019 nominating committee1 has recommended John L. Anderson, President Emeritus and distinguished professor of chemical engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech), to stand as the sole candidate2 for the NAE presidency.

On Sunday, Sept. 30, during its 2018 annual meeting, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) will present two awards for extraordinary impact on the engineering profession.

As new evidence about climate change and sea-level rise in South Florida continues to emerge, agencies responsible for the restoration of the Everglades should conduct a mid course assessment that rigorously analyzes scenarios of future change to the region’s ecosystem in its planning, says a new congressionally mandated report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Centering science instruction around investigation and design can improve learning in middle and high schools and help students make sense of phenomena in the world around them.

To help determine if the descendants of Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans are at risk for health effects resulting from the service members’ exposure to toxicants during deployment, a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends the creation of a health monitoring and research program (HMRP).

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.

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.

The National Academies Keck Futures Initiative (NAKFI) is pleased to announce the publication of Collaborations of Consequence - NAKFI’s 15 Years of Igniting Innovation at the Intersections of Disciplines.

More than 13,000 people – including industry leaders, policymakers, administrators, and researchers from government, industry, and academia – are expected to gather for the Transportation Research Board’s 98th Annual Meeting.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examines the effects and efficacy of using dispersants in marine oil spill response.

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) announced today that more than 100 organizations across the U.S. — including community organizations, hospital and medical systems, academia, nonprofits, and health professional societies — have joined NAM in declaring their commitment to reversing national trends in opioid misuse and overdose.

When John L. Anderson, president emeritus and distinguished professor of chemical engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology, was first elected to the National Academy of Engineering almost 30 years ago, he remembers being deeply honored and excited about how the recognition would help his career.

International thought leaders will join the next generation of engineers in London from Sept. 16 to 18 for the Global Grand Challenges Summit 2019. The summit aims to help inspire and equip future engineering leaders to address the rapidly evolving challenges of an unpredictable world.

A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine study that is now underway aims to identify best practices for collecting, recording, and reporting death and illness data during and immediately after large-scale weather disasters.

The National Academy of Medicine today announced Daniel Weinberger is the recipient of the 2019 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health, for his fundamental role in elucidating the biological origins and genetic expressions of schizophrenia, and for transforming how clinicians, researchers, and the public understand mental illness.

We tend to think of the process of seeing as fairly objective — that our eyes are similar to cameras, neutrally taking in light and turning it into pictures. But research has shown that biases buried beneath our awareness can powerfully shape how we see.

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.

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.

Nearly 14,000 people – including industry leaders, policymakers, administrators, and researchers from government, industry, and academia – are expected to gather for the Transportation Research Board’s 99th Annual Meeting, taking place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., from Jan. 12-16, 2020.

For decades, the Ford Foundation Fellowship programs have contributed to building a more equitable and diverse U.S. higher education system.

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.

Engineering is emerging as an important topic in K-12 education in the U.S., and is being incorporated into education standards, instructional materials, and assessments.

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.

As a novel coronavirus spreads throughout the world and the number of cases and deaths continues to rise, almost no country or community remains untouched by this rapidly evolving threat.

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.

Research by NAM Pharmacy Fellow Dima M. Qato has shed light on “pharmacy deserts” and closures that reduce people’s access to medications.

Though sector expert Michael Ballanger's focus is on the precious metals, given current market conditions he sees potential in oil as well.

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Using 3D modeling and simulations to target tumors

The Getty spent $65m (and change) for this late Manet masterpiece, "Spring."

A  132-year-old vision of springtime has landed permanently at the Getty Museum, smack in the middle of this California autumn: "Spring (Jeanne Demarsy)," one of Impressionist painter Edouard Manet’s  last completed pictures.

Here's what Getty Director Timothy Potts had to say about the artist:

Manet was the ultimate painter’s painter: totally committed to his craft, solidly grounded in the history of painting and yet determined to carve out a new path for himself and for modern art. ... Alone of his contemporaries (the only one who comes near is Degas), Manet achieved this almost impossible balancing act, absorbing and channeling the achievements of the past into a radically new vision of what painting could be.

"Spring" somehow manages to be the evocation of youth itself and all its hopes. The subject is 16-year-old actress Jeanne Demarsy, just then seeing her stage career ascend at the same time Manet neared the end of his own career. (He died at age 51 in 1883,  soon after the painting went on display.) 

For most of the years since its creation, the picture has been in private hands. It was recently on loan to the National Gallery.

Getty Assistant Curator Scott Allan said that the Getty worked hard to acquire "Spring" and was lucky to get her. According to news reports, the Christie's auction price paid was an eyebrow-lifting $65 million — about double the top previous sale price for a Manet. "We don’t discuss the price," Potts said.

At the Getty, "Spring (Jeanne Demarsy)" hangs next to an early Manet in the museum's Impressionist-Post Impressionist gallery. It was intended to be one of the "Four Seasons" by the late-19th century French master. The series was never completed (although "Autumn" hangs in a museum in France).

(More seasoning: Manet's "Autumn." Museum of Fine Arts of Nancy, France)

Allan said that, unlike many of Manet's early works, "Spring" was intended to hang in the Salon, the French art establishment’s showplace of traditional painting, which had rejected innovators like the Impressionists for decades. That led most of the Impressionists to disdain the Salon. But Allan said Manet was extremely pleased that his late work was accepted there. 

Here's Potts again:

So popular was it that "Spring" became the subject of one of the first color photographs of a work of art. Its acquisition by the Getty brings to Los Angeles the most important — and beautiful! — painting by this artist left in private hands and one of the great masterpieces of late-19th-century art. 

The painting depicts a lovely teenager, dressed in the peak of 1880s fashion in a blue-on-white printed dress; a flowered, fringed hat; and a parasol balanced on her left shoulder. The background features white rhododendrons, barely in blossom.

Mlle. Demarsy stares off to the left, the demure image of a confident young woman at the earliest spring of her adulthood, with an entire creative life before her, already immortalized before the world by one of the century’s greatest artists.

But Manet was himself at the peak of his accomplishments,  just before his sudden demise.
 
"Spring" became one of Manet’s most popular works, deeply appreciated by art lovers young and old and by critics of both the old guard and the avant garde. It was his last picture to hang in the Salon. Manet’s powers would soon decline, and he devoted much of his last few months to watercolors, said Allan.

(Getty director Timothy Potts looks at the Getty's new painting, Manet's "Spring." Getty Museum)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.