The National Academies stand ready to convene America’s best minds in research, government, medicine, and private industry to marshal evidence-based insights and advice for confronting today’s pandemic and future crises.

More than 9.6 million children — or 13 percent of all children in the U.S. — live in families with annual incomes below the poverty line, according to data from 2015. As closures and restrictions related to COVID-19 begin to impact the U.S. economy, it’s clear many more families will be receiving fewer paychecks and less income in the coming months, putting more children at risk of falling below the poverty line.

The recently formed National Academies Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21st Century Health Threats, assembled at the request of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, has been providing rapid expert consultations on several topics, such as social distancing and severe illness in young adults.

A new rapid expert consultation from a standing committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine responds to questions from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) regarding survival of the COVID-19 virus in relation to temperature and humidity and potential for seasonal reduction and resurgence of cases.

A new rapid expert consultation from a standing committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

A new rapid expert consultation from a standing committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine responds to questions from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) regarding the effectiveness of homemade fabric masks to protect others from the viral spread of COVID-19 from potentially contagious asymptomatic or presymptomatic individuals.

At colleges and universities around the nation, scientists and graduate students are seeking out ways to bring their knowledge, skills, and resources to bear in the struggle against COVID-19.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the National Science Foundation announced today the formation of a Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN) to connect social and behavioral science researchers with decision-makers who are leading the response to COVID-19. SEAN will respond to the most pressing social, behavioral, and economic questions that are being asked by federal, state, and local officials by working with appropriate experts to quickly provide actionable answers.

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.

To continue earth sciences’ rapid pace of discovery, the National Science Foundation’s Division of Earth Science (EAR) should invest in new initiatives, partnerships, and infrastructure to answer priority research questions in the next decade, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Alison Purvis has been promoted to chief development officer, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced today.

Federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), should better coordinate their activities in plasma science research if the United States is to remain a leader in plasma science and engineering (PSE), says a new decadal report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced today that, following a national search, Tina Bahadori will join the organization as the new executive director of its Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences on June 22, 2020.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine began a study this week to provide states and school districts with guidance about whether and how to safely reopen schools.

The recently formed National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN), which connects social and behavioral science researchers with decision-makers leading the response to COVID-19, today released a rapid expert consultation to guide leaders using COVID-19 measurements like hospitalizations and reported confirmed cases to understand the spread of the disease in their communities.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced today that, following a national search, Elizabeth Eide has been named executive director of its Division on Earth and Life Studies (DELS).

The Transportation Research Board’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) has selected winners for its annual University Design Competition for Addressing Airport Needs.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine says using laboratory dogs in research at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is scientifically necessary for only a few areas of current biomedical research.

While the world waits for a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 infection, international and multigenerational teams of engineers have come together through the National Academy of Engineering’s COVID-19 Call for Engineering Action to find creative solutions to problems caused by the pandemic.

Weighing the health risks of reopening K-12 schools in fall 2020 against the educational risks of providing no in-person instruction, school districts should prioritize reopening schools full time, especially for grades K-5 and students with special needs, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

In response to a request from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) have formed a committee that will develop an overarching framework to assist policymakers in the U.S. and global health communities in planning for equitable allocation of vaccines against COVID-19. The committee will hold its first meeting on July 24.

A new rapid expert consultation from a standing committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine outlines considerations for clinical staffing needs during the implementation of Crisis Standards of Care (CSC), including adjusting staff responsibilities, providing “hazard pay” to staff, ensuring adequate time off, offering child care and other benefits, and leveraging health care coalitions to ensure appropriate transfer of patients between hospitals.

To better measure the changing nature of employment, independent contracting and freelance work, and jobs with unstable hours, a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) add questions to the Contingent Worker Supplement (CWS) about work done by people who may not be steadily employed, details about secondary jobs, and work scheduling practices.

The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today announced the nine recipients of its 2020 Science Policy Fellowships.

The Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today announced the 20 recipients of its 2020 Early-Career Research Fellowships.

Adolescents need to be heard to ensure that health programs that serve them are reaching them effectively, according to Promoting Positive Adolescent Health Behaviors and Outcomes, a report released last December by the National Academies.

While progress toward developing a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 infection continues to dominate conversations about the pandemic, international and multigenerational teams of engineers have come together once again through the National Academy of Engineering’s COVID-19 Call for Engineering Action to find creative solutions to myriad pandemic-related problems. Their ideas aim to combat misinformation, help people most at risk, and prevent the spread of the virus.

As Hurricane Laura bears down on parts of Louisiana and Texas, officials are dealing with the challenge of evacuating and sheltering people in the middle of a pandemic. A recent workshop examined how disaster preparedness teams must adapt to new realities as hurricanes, wildfires, and other extreme weather events coincide with COVID-19.

A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee tasked with developing an overarching framework to assist policymakers in planning for equitable allocation of a vaccine against COVID-19 will issue a discussion draft of the preliminary framework for public comment on Sept. 1.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today released for public comment a discussion draft of a preliminary framework to assist policymakers in planning for equitable allocation of a vaccine against COVID-19.

Human embryos whose genomes have been edited should not be used to create a pregnancy until it is established that precise genomic changes can be made reliably without introducing undesired changes — a criterion that has not yet been met by any genome editing technology, says a new report by an international commission of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.K.’s Royal Society.

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) has selected three outstanding health professionals for the class of 2020 NAM Fellowships.

To more accurately quantify disaster-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies supporting disaster response should adopt a uniform national framework of data collection approaches and methods for distinguishing direct from indirect disaster deaths, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine started work on a new study last month that will provide advice to policymakers, corrections officials, and public health officials on best practices for mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in correctional facilities through large-scale release and decarceration efforts.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine provides a blueprint and eight overarching strategies for improving health care for the approximately 100,000 people in the United States living with sickle cell disease (SCD).

The National Academy of Medicine today announced Stephen P. Hinshaw is the recipient of the 2020 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health, for basic and applied research on individuals with externalizing disorders, and for efforts to reduce mental illness stigma through youth-based programs and the promotion of humanization.

For his role as a leader of federal research and policy on infectious diseases and, in particular, for his deft, scientifically grounded leadership in shaping an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Academy of Medicine today announced Anthony S. Fauci is the recipient of the 2020 Gustav O. Lienhard Award for Advancement of Health Care.

Susan Shaheen and Nathaniel Ford have been appointed as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the 2021 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Executive Committee by Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences and chair of the National Research Council. Their terms will begin in January 2021 during the virtual TRB Annual Meeting.

The Transportation Research Board’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) today announced winners of its annual Graduate Research Awards.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today released the final report of a consensus study recommending a four-phased equitable allocation framework that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) authorities should adopt in the development of national and local guidelines for COVID-19 vaccine allocation.

Maria T. Zuber, John C. Gannon, and Richard A. Meserve will serve as co-chairs of a newly launched National Science, Technology, and Security Roundtable convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Where needed to adhere to public health guidelines and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, authorities should use their discretion to minimize incarceration in prisons and jails — and facilitate testing, quarantine, social supports, and individualized reentry plans for those released, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

LabX, a creative engagement outreach program of the National Academy of Sciences, announced the winners of a competition to create games designed to help build public understanding of COVID-19.

A new rapid expert consultation from a standing committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examines four topics related to the use and interpretation of COVID-19 diagnostic tests.

The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today announced grant awards totaling $5.27 million for six new projects. These projects, planned to span two to three years, aim to improve understanding of how natural processes and human activities interact to affect coastal ecosystems in the U.S. Gulf Coast region.

To help decision-makers navigate through this ongoing crisis and take actions toward a strong and sustained recovery, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have launched a new strategic science initiative to provide rapid, scenario-based analyses aimed at protecting critical societal functions, avoiding worst outcomes, and building upon potential opportunities.

As unmanned systems (UxS) continue to develop and be used by military services and federal agencies, the U.S. Coast Guard should proceed more aggressively and deliberately in taking advantage of UxS advancements, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Age-related hearing loss is common in the United States, with two-thirds of adults over age 70 experiencing a clinically significant hearing loss. However, that doesn’t mean that hearing loss should be something we learn to live with.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a harsh light on the consequences of chronic underinvestment in public health, and the limited recognition of its role. Unless there is a crisis, it is not always obvious that public health is “always on,” working quietly in the background on chronic disease prevention, vital statistics, sanitation, safe water, safe food, occupational diseases and injury, and infection control.