January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Every day in the United States, children and adolescents are victims of commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. Despite the serious and long-term consequences for victims as well as their families, communities, and society, efforts to prevent, identify, and respond to these crimes are largely under supported, inefficient, uncoordinated, and unevaluated.

A nation that is unaware of these problems or disengaged from solutions unwittingly contributes to the ongoing abuse of minors. Our report, Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States, examines commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States under age 18. If acted upon in a coordinated and comprehensive manner, the recommendations of Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States can help advance and strengthen the nation's emerging efforts to prevent, identify, and respond to commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States.

Watch this video on the report: http://buff.ly/2jyNJ7g

Learn more and read the report for free here: http://buff.ly/2jyHnVm

According to the World Health Organization, vaccines prevent more than 2.5 million deaths each year. In the United States, immunization programs have resulted in the eradication of smallpox, the elimination of polio, and the control and near elimination of once-common, often debilitating and potentially life-threatening diseases, including measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and Haemophilus influenzae type b. Ironically, the successes of vaccine coverage in the United States have made it more difficult for the public to weigh the benefits and complications of vaccines because the now-controlled diseases and their often-serious risks are no longer familiar. Our 2001 publication Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism states, “ . . the committee concludes that the evidence favors rejection of a causal relationship at the population level between MMR vaccine and autistic spectrum disorders (ASD)” http://buff.ly/2j6jfcs

Vaccines are among the most effective and safe public health interventions available to prevent serious disease and death. Our resources examine vaccine safety and communicate the science of vaccination and public health. All are free to download: http://buff.ly/2j6gWWF.

The Justice Department is issuing new guidance to federal agents on how to secure eyewitness identifications. The memo "adopts the recommendations of the 2014 National Academy of Sciences report (Identifying The Culprit). And it sends an important message that accuracy matters in criminal cases." http://buff.ly/2jcqBb0

Related: we put together an interactive infographic for Identifying The Culprit: http://buff.ly/2jczyBr

A brand new infographic shows a timeline of the major changes to the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) food packages. See more: http://buff.ly/2hVgHOO

"The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, administers supplemental foods that provide specific nutrients, breastfeeding support, nutrition education, and health and social service referrals to approximately 8 million people in the United States."

A major new report is now available! Communicating Science Effectively offers a research agenda for science communicators and researchers seeking to fill gaps in knowledge about how to communicate effectively about science, focusing in particular on issues that are contentious in the public sphere. To inform this research agenda, this publication identifies important influences – psychological, economic, political, social, cultural, and media-related – on how science related to such issues is understood, perceived, and used.

Earlier this month, the Antarctic research group Project MIDAS reported that a colossal crack in the Larsen C ice shelf abruptly grew by 18 kilometers during the second half of December 2016 and is now only about 20 kilometers away from reaching Larsen C’s edge and snapping off a hunk of ice the size of Delaware. According to our publication Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change: Anticipating Surprises (http://buff.ly/2iKNYen) thinning or loss of ice shelves reduces friction, allows faster flow of the non-floating ice feeding the shelves, and thus contributes to sea-level rise. What is the state of the science on warming temperatures and sea-level rise? What are the possible impacts, and how can we respond?

Our collection of publications on climate change now includes the new release Valuing Climate Damages: Updating Estimation of the Social Cost of Carbon Dioxide. These valuable resources that seek to communicate climate science are all free to download. http://buff.ly/2iKEJed

Image: Mario Tama/Getty Images

TODAY! At 11:00 AM Eastern time, join us for the public discussion of our new report, Communicating Science Effectively, webcast live.

Know a college undergrad interested in space? Our Space Studies Board is hiring an intern:

The #Pakistan-U.S. Science & Technology Cooperation Program has put out a call for proposals and the deadline of January 13th is fast approaching. Apply now!

In 2016, we released 376 new publications from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on NAP.edu. And in keeping with our annual tradition, we broke our record of PDF downloads from last year with over 1.7 million downloads from 233 countries. Explore the list of our most dowloaded titles in 2016. http://buff.ly/2hNW2w2

What are the options for retaliation when the US is faced with threats to cybersecurity? Our newest Notes from NAP post explores the cybersecurity issues surrounding the 2016 Presidential Election. Our resources examine the foundational characteristics of cyberattacks and strategies for countering them.

The Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is making available up to $10 million in grants for a new funding opportunity—Preventing the next spill: Understanding systemic risk in the offshore oil and gas environment.

This grant opportunity is designed to fund basic scientific and technological research that can help reduce or better understand systemic risk leading to uncontrolled hydrocarbon release during offshore oil and gas drilling, production, or decommissioning activities. Proposed projects should address scientific and/or technological research gaps identified in literature, by industry, or by regulatory agencies. Learn more at http://buff.ly/2hdDEvI and submit a letter of intent by 5pm ET on February 1, 2017.