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| The latest news from the Academies
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Jul. 31 -- Current methods for estimating greenhouse gas emissions have limitations that make it difficult to monitor CO2 emissions and verify an international climate treaty, says a new report from the National Research Council. NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, which failed to launch in February, would have offered proof that these emissions could be monitored from space, as well as provided baseline data on CO2 emission trends from cities and power plants. NASA is expected to decide in the coming months whether to launch a replacement observatory.
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Aug. 3 -- The National Academy of Sciences has unveiled "The Rarest of the Rare: Stories Behind the Treasures at the Harvard Museum of Natural History," an exhibition of photographs by Mark Sloan that documents rare scientific specimens with fascinating histories. The exhibit will be on display from Aug. 3 through Jan. 7 at the National Academy of Sciences building. A public reception with the artist is planned for Oct. 4, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
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Jul. 28 -- With a sustained national commitment, the U.S. could obtain substantial energy-efficiency improvements, new sources of energy, and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through the accelerated deployment of existing and emerging energy technologies, according to a new report of the National Research Council, the operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering. Actions taken between now and 2020 to develop and demonstrate several key technologies will largely determine the nation's energy options for many decades to come.
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Jul. 24 -- A new report from the Institute of Medicine finds that exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the Vietnam War may be associated with an increased chance of developing ischemic heart disease and Parkinson's disease for Vietnam veterans. Evidence for these links is suggestive, though limited by shortcomings in the quality of the research base. The report is the latest in a biennial series that reviews evidence about the health effects of exposure to defoliants sprayed during the Vietnam War.
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| Breaking stories in science
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Aug. 3 -- President Obama last week named 16 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, including Janet Davison Rowley, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine, and Stephen Hawking, an NAS foreign associate. The medal, which will be awarded at a ceremony on Aug. 12, is the United States' highest civilian honor.
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Jul. 31 -- At a press conference on the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, surviving astronauts from NASA’s Apollo missions made a public statement indicating that they’d like the agency to work on taking humans to Mars, instead of focusing on a return to the moon. This return, and an eventual lunar base that would serve as a jumping-off point for further ventures into our solar system, are objectives of a space-exploration initiative established by George W. Bush.
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Jul. 23 -- In late June an advisory panel urged the Food and Drug Administration to lower the maximum over-the-counter dosage for acetaminophen. The recommendation came on the heels of an FDA report that found acetaminophen can cause severe liver damage when used in excess of recommended dosages.
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Jul. 14 -- President Barack Obama recently announced his nominees for National Institutes of Health director, surgeon general, and the director of the U.S. Geological Survey; all nominees are members of the National Academy of Sciences and/or the Institute of Medicine.
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Jul. 2 -- A recent study in the journal Toxicological Sciences reports that exposure of mice to dioxins during pregnancy can affect the development of mammary cells, which under normal conditions proliferate rapidly beginning early in pregnancy. The inhibition of growth has been reported to result in reduced breast-milk production.
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