Happy National Teacher’s Day!
To celebrate National Education Week, we created a list of recommended books and resources to teach climate change. Check out these top titles from NAP, climate change videos, and information from the Division on Earth and Life Studies.
The Dual-Use Dilemma: Open Science vs. National Security
In late March, the National Institutes of Health announced the U.S. Government Policy for Oversight of Life Sciences Dual Use Research of Concern, which establishes regular review of federally-funded or conducted research with certain high-consequence pathogens and toxins with potential for dual use. This review is the latest in an ongoing effort to preserve the [...]
Sharing Water: Making Decisions About Sustainable Water Management
Water: we need it every day, and use it in countless ways. As the world enters the second decade of the 21st century, the human community finds itself searching for new paradigms for water supply and management in response to expanding populations, sprawling development, climate change, and the limits of existing conventional supplies. The following [...]
What Makes a Good School Good? Resources to Promote Quality Education
We all want our kids to attend the best schools, with great teachers who engage students, teach them well, and inspire them to do their best. The recent controversy about a “Parent Trigger” law, that permits parents to petition for control of low-performing schools, highlights concern for quality education. The National Research Council has a [...]
Inspire a Scientist: Twelve Resources to Promote Science
A new report from the Council on Foreign Relations reaffirms the importance of science education for the future of our nation. The National Academy of Sciences has developed resources to inspire future scientists and engineers, and expand the public’s interest in science in general . All of this media is free and is intended to [...]
Envisioning the Potential of IT to Enhance Health Care, Learning, and Crisis Communication
The National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine have produced a number of reports that address issues of the integration of information technology (IT) into health care, education, and emergency management products. These books explore the potential of IT to support delivery of high-quality health care, impact science education through games and simulations, and [...]
Exploring the Antarctic Environment: Science to Guide Research Directions
Exploration of Antarctica has been in the news recently, as a Russian team successfully drilled to reach Lake Vostok, the largest of the continent’s lakes, buried beneath 3.7 kilometers of ice. The United Kingdom and the United States also have plans to drill into Antarctic bodies of water. Researchers identified more than 145 subglacial lakes [...]
Preparing for the Worst: Science to Improve Disaster Resiliency
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association reports that the United States set a record in 2011 with 12 separate billion dollar weather/climate disasters. Our nation is particularly vulnerable due to its large populations living and working in high-risk areas: seismic zones, coastal and river flood plains, and dense urban population centers. Catastrophic events can and [...]
The Dual Use Dilemma: Biological Research and Security in an Age of Terrorism
The great achievements of molecular biology and genetics over the last 50 years have produced advances in agriculture and industrial processes and have revolutionized the practice of medicine. The very technologies that fueled these benefits to society, however, pose a potential risk as well—the possibility that these technologies could also be used to create the [...]
Science Research to Drive Space Exploration
It has been a banner week for space enthusiasts! Kepler-22b is the first planet discovered beyond our system to possibly be in a habitable zone, capable of supporting life. Scientists also announced the discovery of the biggest black holes yet. New pictures of the asteroid Vesta were released, adding greatly to our knowledge of asteroids. [...]
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