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| The latest news from the Academies
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Jan. 28 -- The National Academy of Sciences will honor 18 individuals in 2009 for their extraordinary scientific achievements in the areas of biology, chemistry, geology, astronomy, social sciences, psychology, and application of science for the public good. An awards ceremony for the recipients will take place on April 26 during the NAS annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
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Jan. 23 -- Significant loss of life, destroyed property and businesses, and repairs to infrastructure could be avoided by replacing Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps with ones that contain high-accuracy and high-resolution land surface elevation data, says a new report from the National Research Council. The benefits of more accurate flood maps will outweigh the costs, mainly because insurance premiums and building restrictions would better match actual flood risks.
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Jan. 22 -- The National Academy of Sciences has selected Neal F. Lane to receive its most prestigious award, the Public Welfare Medal. Established in 1914, the medal is presented annually to honor extraordinary use of science for public good. The Academy chose Lane for serving the scientific community in many executive and leadership roles and for his continuing efforts to advance and promote science and technology in the United States.
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Jan. 14 -- Eliminating highly enriched uranium -- a key ingredient in nuclear weapons -- from the production of medical isotopes, which are used for medical imaging, is technically and economically feasible, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council. The conversion to low enriched uranium will take several years and could require additional research and development.
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| Breaking stories in science
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Jan. 26 -- This year marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of his most influential publication, The Origin of Species, in which he introduced evolution by natural selection. Darwin's ideas had a profound influence on 19th-century thought, and today evolution is a cornerstone of modern biology.
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Jan. 21 -- Late last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revoked the order prohibiting the extra label use of cephalosporins in food-producing animals, reversing a decision made this summer to ban the practice. The agency's initial decision to restrict some uses of this class of antibiotics stemmed from fears that excessive use in animals such as cows, swine, and chickens could promote drug resistance in strains of bacteria that also infect people.
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Dec. 31 -- Researchers performed a statistical analysis of children’s television viewing habits and found a link between the amount of time spent viewing fast food commercials and a risk of obesity. They suggest it is not the snacking done in front of the TV or the hours kids spend like couch potatoes, not exercising, that is making them fat. Rather, it is the suggestive messages in ads and the frequency of those messages that leads children to seek out not-so-good-for-you foods.
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Dec. 23 -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has picked six Academy members to serve in his administration, including Steven Chu for secretary of energy, John P. Holdren as chief science adviser, Jane Lubchenco as administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Lawrence Summers as national economic adviser. Harold Varmus and Eric Lander will serve as co-chairs on the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology along with Holdren.
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Dec. 16 -- Evidence from two surveys on the financial burden of vaccination, recently published in the journal Pediatrics, suggests that private insurance does not sufficiently cover the cost of immunization services, highlighting a possible growing problem in the U.S. health care system.
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