This document provides information on current/planned activities related to the safety of manufactured nanomaterials in OECD member and non-member countries that attended at the 10th meeting of OECD’s Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (Paris France, 27-29 June 2012).

The webinar will specifically be looking at recent developments in alternatives to long chain PFCs. Per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) have been in use since the 1950s as ingredients or intermediates of surfactants and surface protectors for assorted industrial and consumer applications.

The OECD Advisory Group on Endocrine Disrupters Testing and Assessment met on 16-17 October 2014 in Paris to discuss the development and update of Test Guidelines and related documents for endocrine disrupters testing and assessment.

This document provides background information on activities related to manufactured nanomaterials, as well as other activities on nanotechnologies at the international level. The information provided in this document captures OECD activities between February and December 2013.

Participants from 15 countries attended the Workshop on Developmental Neurotoxicity: The use of non-animal test methods for regulatory purposes” on 18 October 2016, in Belgium. The event, co-organised by the OECD and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), focused on opportunities and challenges related to alternative methods for testing and assessing the DNT potential of chemicals.

Now that the early days of the UPA government are behind us, we must begin to judge the administration not by its responsiveness to advocacy alone. Even when governments listen, deeper gaps in the policy arena can thwart progress, and the challenge is to overcome these as well. The India Together editorial.

Possibly, but perhaps not alone. There are plenty of obstacles within our unjust and deeply hierarchical civil society outside of the media. Still, an important connection exists between journalism and the strengthening of civil society: citizenship. The India Together editorial.

Policies of privatisation and globalisation are changing not only economies but societies and cultures. At their core is the fight of ideas, and these will be expressed in words. What these words are, and what they mean, therefore, matters greatly, writes Shripad Dharmadhikary.

In India, other states look at Kerala's record of firsts with envy. Dr Amartya Sen, the Nobel laureate, has hailed it as a model. But Kerala, caught in a web of paradoxes, is not what it seems, writes Ramesh Menon.

Politicians would like us to believe that tackling the Maoists now is urgent, while development is only possible in the long run. Not true, writes Ashwin Mahesh.

Frederick Noronha reports on the success of World Comics India, which has created successful material, especially for the regional press.

Ministry of Science and Technology's Department of Biotechnology (DBT) Dr Renu Swarup says that based on the latest WHO consensus, Covid-19 as a 'lab release' theory is likely to be false.

COVID-19 is currently the biggest, health and economic threat to the world. Researchers and scientists across the world are constantly making efforts to find its treatment and develop a vaccine to combat it. The biggest challenge in developing the vaccine

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Possibilities in auxiliary technique combinations with small- and wide-angle X ray scattering are described, as well as more complicated sample environments used in X-ray and neutron scattering.

This article presents an overview of the development of two basic software libraries for image manipulation and data visualization in cryo-EM: emcore and emvis.

Diffraction (X-ray, neutron and electron) and electron cryo-microscopy are powerful methods to determine three-dimensional macromolecular structures, which are required to understand biological processes and to develop new therapeutics against diseases. The overall structure-solution workflow is similar for these techniques, but nuances exist because the properties of the reduced experimental data are different. Software tools for structure determination should therefore be tailored for each method. Phenix is a comprehensive software package for macromolecular structure determination that handles data from any of these techniques. Tasks performed with Phenix include data-quality assessment, map improvement, model building, the validation/rebuilding/refinement cycle and deposition. Each tool caters to the type of experimental data. The design of Phenix emphasizes the automation of procedures, where possible, to minimize repetitive and time-consuming manual tasks, while default parameters are chosen to encourage best practice. A graphical user interface provides access to many command-line features of Phenix and streamlines the transition between programs, project tracking and re-running of previous tasks.

Reducing the sample-exchange time is a crucial issue in maximizing the throughput of macromolecular crystallography (MX) beamlines because the diffraction data collection itself is completed within a minute in the era of pixel-array detectors. To this end, an upgraded sample changer, SPACE-II, has been developed on the basis of the previous model, SPACE (SPring-8 Precise Automatic Cryo-sample Exchanger), at the BL41XU beamline at SPring-8. SPACE-II achieves one sample-exchange step within 16 s, of which its action accounts for only 11 s, because of three features: (i) the implementation of twin arms that enable samples to be exchanged in one cycle of mount-arm action, (ii) the implementation of long-stroke mount arms that allow samples to be exchanged without withdrawal of the detector and (iii) the use of a fast-moving translation and rotation stage for the mount arms. By pre-holding the next sample prior to the sample-exchange sequence, the time was further decreased to 11 s in the case of automatic data collection, of which the action of SPACE-II accounted for 8 s. Moreover, the sample capacity was expanded from four to eight Uni-Pucks. The performance of SPACE-II has been demonstrated in over two years of operation at BL41XU; the average number of samples mounted on the diffractometer in one day was increased from 132 to 185, with an error rate of 0.089%, which counted incidents in which users could not continue with an experiment without recovery work by entering the experimental hutch. On the basis of these results, SPACE-II has been installed at three other MX beamlines at SPring-8 as of July 2019. The fast and highly reliable SPACE-II is now one of the most important pieces of infrastructure for the MX beamlines at SPring-8, providing users with the opportunity to fully make use of limited beamtime with brilliant X-rays.

Image-processing software has always been an integral part of structure determination by cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Recent advances in hardware and software are recognized as one of the key factors in the so-called cryo-EM resolution revolution. Increasing computational power has opened many possibilities to consider more demanding algorithms, which in turn allow more complex biological problems to be tackled. Moreover, data processing has become more accessible to many experimental groups, with computations that used to last for many days at supercomputing facilities now being performed in hours on personal workstations. All of these advances, together with the rapid expansion of the community, continue to pose challenges and new demands on the software-development side. In this article, the development of emcore and emvis, two basic software libraries for image manipulation and data visualization in cryo-EM, is presented. The main goal is to provide basic functionality organized in modular components that other developers can reuse to implement new algorithms or build graphical applications. An additional aim is to showcase the importance of following established practices in software engineering, with the hope that this could be a first step towards a more standardized way of developing and distributing software in the field.

Electron diffraction tomography (EDT) has gained increasing interest, starting with the development of automated electron diffraction tomography (ADT) which enables the collection of three-dimensional electron diffraction data from nano-sized crystals suitable for ab initio structure analysis. A basic description of the ADT method, nowadays recognized as a reliable and established method, as well as its special features and general applicability to different transmission electron microscopes is provided. In addition, the usability of ADT for crystal structure analysis of single nano-sized crystals with and without special crystallographic features, such as twinning, modulations and disorder is demonstrated.

A scanning soft X-ray spectromicroscope was recently developed based mainly on the photon-in/photon-out measurement scheme for the investigation of local electronic structures on the surfaces and interfaces of advanced materials under conditions ranging from low vacuum to helium atmosphere. The apparatus was installed at the soft X-ray beamline (BL17SU) at SPring-8. The characteristic features of the apparatus are described in detail. The feasibility of this spectromicroscope was demonstrated using soft X-ray undulator radiation. Here, based on these results, element-specific two-dimensional mapping and micro-XAFS (X-ray absorption fine structure) measurements are reported, as well as the observation of magnetic domain structures from using a reference sample of permalloy micro-dot patterns fabricated on a silicon substrate, with modest spatial resolution (e.g. ∼500 nm). Then, the X-ray radiation dose for Nafion® near the fluorine K-edge is discussed as a typical example of material that is not radiation hardened against a focused X-ray beam, for near future experiments.

A dedicated X-ray imaging detector for 200 keV high-energy X-ray microtomography was developed to realize high-efficiency high-resolution imaging while keeping the field of view wide.

The Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD) is the world's largest database of fully evaluated and published crystal structure data, mostly obtained from experimental results. However, the purely experimental approach is no longer the only route to discover new compounds and structures. In the past few decades, numerous computational methods for simulating and predicting structures of inorganic solids have emerged, creating large numbers of theoretical crystal data. In order to take account of these new developments the scope of the ICSD was extended in 2017 to include theoretical structures which are published in peer-reviewed journals. Each theoretical structure has been carefully evaluated, and the resulting CIF has been extended and standardized. Furthermore, a first classification of theoretical data in the ICSD is presented, including additional categories used for comparison of experimental and theoretical information.

Should global warming cause sea levels to rise as predicted in coming decades, thousands of archaeological sites in coastal areas around the world will be lost to erosion. With no hope of saving all of these sites, three archaeologists—Leslie Reeder of Southern Methodist University, Jon Erlandson of the University of Oregon and Torben Rick from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History—have issued a call to action for scientists to assess the sites most at risk around the world.

The post Scientists issue call to action for archaeological sites threatened by rising seas, urban development appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Despite the general perception of exurban development as environmentally preferable to urban sprawl, this is not necessarily correct. Housing development is detrimental for natural bird communities even at low housing levels.

The post Exurban development is changing communities of birds in Eastern Forests appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In a new paper, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics astronomer Hagai Perets studies the role of binary planetesimals--clumps that orbit each other and jointly mature via three basic processes.

The post New study examines how planetesimals influence the development of a planetary system appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

As a coastal archaeologist and expert in prehistoric and historic settlement sites in the Chesapeake Bay region, Darrin Lowery of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and University of Deleware, is carefully watching the effects of coastal erosion and rising sea levels on coastal archaeological sites.

The post Rising seas, development are altering prehistoric artifacts in the Chesapeake’s tidal zone appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

When most people look at a forest, they see walking trails, deer yards, or firewood for next winter. But scientists at the Harvard Forest and […]

The post Development will reduce carbon stored in forests, Smithsonian & Harvard scientists predict appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Marmosets on track for obesity appeared to be more efficient in their feeding behavior. “Although all animals consumed the same amount of liquid, the ones […]

The post Obese marmosets are more developmentally advanced as infants, study shows appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Meet Rachel Collin, a staff scientist and director of the Bocas Research Station at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Rachel studies the evolution of marine gastropods (snails) and oversees multiple disciplines of marine biology at the Collin Lab in Bocas del Toro.

The post Meet Our Scientist: Rachel Collin, an expert in the evolution and development of snails who is working in Panama appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Samuel P. Langley, Secretary of the Smithsonian, and his development of the ill-fated Aerodrome A appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Marijuanas active components are potentially effective in treating pain, nausea, the anorexia of AIDS wasting, and other symptoms, and should be tested rigorously in clinical trials.

The environmental effects of oil and gas exploration and production on Alaska s North Slope have been accumulating for more than three decades, says a new report from the National Academies National Research Council.

Legal responses to juvenile offending should be grounded in scientific knowledge about adolescent development and tailored to an individual offenders needs and social environment, says a new report from the National Research Council.

Young adults ages 18-26 should be viewed as a separate subpopulation in policy and research, because they are in a critical period of development when successes or failures could strongly affect the trajectories of their lives, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council.

Bullying is a serious public health problem, with significant short- and long-term psychological consequences for both the targets and perpetrators of such behavior, and requires a commitment to developing preventive and interventional policies and practices that could make a tangible difference in the lives of many children, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The U.S. Agency for International Development should speed its transformation into a global leader and catalyst in applying science, technology and innovation to the challenges facing developing countries, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The U.S. Department of Energy should place a higher priority on developing an accurate and actionable inventory of agency-owned or managed properties that can be leased or sold for energy development, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.