Tag Archives: health

DNA Testing: From the Doctor’s Office to the Drugstore

The Human Genome Project, completed in 2003, identified the genes that make up human DNA. Major advances in genomic technologies in the early 21st century have helped to increase dramatically the number of genes identified as playing a role in a variety of common disorders. Genetic or genomic testing can be used to guide medical decision-making and treatment, ranging from personalized drug therapy to assessing an individual’s risk of developing common chronic diseases.

New reports from the Institute of Medicine discuss various possibilities for the future and potential issues that could arise from our ever-expanding knowledge of our genetic makeup. The Value of Genetic and Genomic Technologies: Workshop Summary explores the concept of value in regards to genomics and genetics and how that concept affects the ways decisions are made about using tests and technologies. This book brings together diverse perspectives on the value of genetic testing and discusses its use in clinical practice.

Advances in our understanding of genomics, combined with significant reductions in the cost of genetic tests, have spawned new business models in which companies market genetic tests and personalized genetic profiles directly to consumers. For example, it is now possible to purchase a home DNA paternity test at many pharmacies in the United States. Special DNA test kits allow anyone to trace their ancestry. Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing: Summary of a Workshop discusses the scientific and ethical foundations for commercial genetic testing, personal and social issues, research and medical issues, and the impact on health care and public health.

These books and others from the Institute of Medicine explore the possibilities and directions for the future for both researchers and private industry.

	The Value of Genetic and Genomic Technologies: Workshop Summary Knowing one’s genetic disposition to a variety of diseases, including common chronic diseases, can benefit both the individual and society at large. The IOM’s Roundtable on Translating Genomic-Based Research for Health held a workshop on March 22, 2010, to…
	Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing: Summary of a Workshop Today, scores of companies, primarily in the United States and Europe, are offering whole genome scanning services directly to the public. The proliferation of these companies and the services they offer demonstrate a public appetite for this information and…
	Establishing Precompetitive Collaborations to Stimulate Genomics-Driven Drug Development: Workshop Summary Despite the many basic research discoveries in genetics, relatively few gene-based treatments, drugs, or preventative measures have been developed. One way to bridge this gap may be for industry, academia, and government to develop partnerships that share…
	Systems for Research and Evaluation for Translating Genome-Based Discoveries for Health: Workshop Summary With the advent of genome-wide association studies, numerous associations between specific gene loci and complex diseases have been identified–for breast cancer, coronary artery disease, and asthma, for example. This rapidly advancing field of genomics has…
	Innovations in Service Delivery in the Age of Genomics: Workshop Summary New discoveries in genomics–that is, the study of the entire human genome–are changing how we diagnose and treat diseases. As the trend shifts from genetic testing largely being undertaken for rare genetic disorders to, increasingly, individuals being…
	Diffusion and Use of Genomic Innovations in Health and Medicine: Workshop Summary Until fairly recently, genetic information was used primarily in the diagnosis of relatively rare genetic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and Huntington’s Disease, but a transformation in the use of genetic and genomic information is underway. While…

Understanding Baby Boomers and the Medicare Crunch

The year 2011 marks a milestone for the Baby Boom generation, as they begin turning 65. Boomers will be qualifying for Medicare at a rate of one every eight seconds; a record 2.8 million will qualify in 2011. In all, the government expects 76 million Boomers will age on to Medicare. The rapid escalation of beneficiaries along with health care cost increases that are outpacing inflation present a huge challenge to the Medicare system.

A recent report from the National Research Council, Improving Health Care Cost Projections for the Medicare Population: Summary of a Workshop, focuses on areas of research needed to improve health care cost projections for the Medicare population and on the strengths and weaknesses of competing frameworks for projecting health care expenditures for the elderly.

Another recently released report, Accounting for Health and Health Care: Approaches to Measuring the Sources and Costs of Their Improvement, provides guidance about what data are needed to measure the output produced by the medical care sector. Without this kind of information it is impossible to credibly assess whether the nation spends too much or too little on medical care relative to, say, public health measures, and, perhaps more important, whether we purchase something close to the right mix of medical care goods and services for a given level of resources expended.

These books and others can provide information and direction for health care cost research and decision making.

	Improving Health Care Cost Projections for the Medicare Population: Summary of a Workshop Developing credible short-term and long-term projections of Medicare health care costs is critical for public- and private-sector policy planning, but faces challenges and uncertainties. There is uncertainty not only in the underlying economic and demographic…
	Accounting for Health and Health Care: Approaches to Measuring the Sources and Costs of Their Improvement It has become trite to observe that increases in health care costs have become unsustainable. How best for policy to address these increases, however, depends in part on the degree to which they represent increases in the real quantity of medical services as…
	The Healthcare Imperative: Lowering Costs and Improving Outcomes: Workshop Series Summary The United States has the highest per capita spending on health care of any industrialized nation but continually lags behind other nations in health care outcomes including life expectancy and infant mortality. National health expenditures are projected to…
	Value in Health Care: Accounting for Cost, Quality, Safety, Outcomes, and Innovations: Workshop Summary The United States has the highest per capita spending on health care of any industrialized nation. Yet despite the unprecedented levels of spending, harmful medical errors abound, uncoordinated care continues to frustrate patients and providers, and U.S….
	Rewarding Provider Performance: Aligning Incentives in Medicare (Pathways to Quality Health Care Series) The third installment in the Pathways to Quality Health Care series, Rewarding Provider Performance: Aligning Incentives in Medicare, continues to address the timely topic of the quality of health care in America. Each volume in the series…
	Medicare’s Quality Improvement Organization Program: Maximizing Potential (Series: Pathways to Quality Health Care) Medicares Quality Improvement Organization Program is the second book in the new Pathways to Quality Health Care series. Focusing on performance improvement, it considers the history, role, and effectiveness of the Quality Improvement…
	Performance Measurement: Accelerating Improvement (Pathways to Quality Health Care Series) Performance Measurement is the first in a new series of an ongoing effort by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to improve health care quality. Performance Measurement offers a comprehensive review of available measures and introduces a new framework to…

Take 5: Top 5 Books on Public Health and Nutrition

The scientists on your list may not always be the easiest people to shop for during the holidays. It should come as no surprise that we have recommendations. Take five and finish your holiday shopping with our most-recommended books for the health professional in your life.

	Women’s Health Research: Progress, Pitfalls, and Promise Even though slightly over half of the U.S. population is female, medical research historically has neglected the health needs of women. However, over the past two decades, there have been major changes in government support of women’s health research…
	Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and PossibilitiesMental health and substance use disorders among children, youth, and young adults are major threats to the health and well-being of younger populations which often carryover into adulthood. The costs of treatment…
	Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce As the first of the nation’s 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. Retooling for an Aging America calls for…
	Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance Children’s health has made tremendous strides over the past century. In general, life expectancy has increased by more than thirty years since 1900 and much of this improvement is due to the reduction of infant and early childhood mortality. Given this…
	Dietary Reference Intakes: The Essential Guide to Nutrient RequirementsWidely regarded as the classic reference work for the nutrition, dietetic, and allied health professions since its introduction in 1943, Recommended Dietary Allowances has been the accepted source in nutrient allowances for healthy people. Responding to the expansion of scientific …

The Global HIV/AIDS Crisis: Resources to Inform Decision Making

In 2008, more than 33 million people across the globe had HIV/AIDS, 67 percent of whom were in Africa. In addition, more than 90 percent of the 2.7 million new infections reported that year occurred in Africa, and only half of Africans who should have received antiretroviral therapy (ART) according to World Health Organization guidelines then in place were treated. By 2020, the number of infected people in Africa is estimated to grow to over 30 million, with just 7 million of the approximately 12 million who should be treated under current guidelines likely able to receive ART, according to a new report released by the Institute of Medicine.

Preparing for the Future of HIV/AIDS in Africa: A Shared Responsibility says that the number of people infected with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to far outstrip available resources for treatment by the end of the decade, forcing African nations to make difficult choices about how to allocate inadequate supplies of lifesaving ART. The report calls for a renewed emphasis on reducing the rate of new infections, promoting more efficient models of care, and encouraging shared responsibility between African nations and the U.S. for treatment and prevention efforts, which could greatly improve prospects for the future.

The global AIDS pandemic calls for action beyond Africa, too. There are many countries in Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and Asia where the sharing of contaminated injecting equipment is the primary mode of HIV transmission. In some cases, HIV is spreading rapidly from injecting drug users to their partners through sexual transmission, and from injecting drug users and their partners to newborns. Preventing HIV Infection among Injecting Drug Users in High Risk Countries: An Assessment of the Evidence finds that several key approaches can reduce HIV related risk behavior among injecting drug users. The report urges high-risk transitional and developing countries to take immediate steps to make these techniques widely available.

These reports and others from the Institute of Medicine can inform and guide discussion of the HIV/AIDS crisis both internationally and here in the United States, where according to the Centers for Disease Control there were 56,000 newly infected Americans and 15,000 AIDS-related deaths in 2008.

	Preparing for the Future of HIV/AIDS in Africa: A Shared Responsibility HIV/AIDS is a catastrophe globally but nowhere more so than in sub-Saharan Africa, which in 2008 accounted for 67 percent of cases worldwide and 91 percent of new infections. The IOM recommends that the United States and African nations move toward a strategy…
	Preventing HIV Infection among Injecting Drug Users in High Risk Countries: An Assessment of the Evidence
	The U.S. Commitment to Global Health: Recommendations for the Public and Private Sectors Health is a highly valued, visible, and concrete investment that has the power to both save lives and enhance the credibility of the United States in the eyes of the world. While the United States has made a major commitment to global health, there remains a…
	HIV and Disability: Updating the Social Security Listings The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a screening tool called the Listing of Impairments to identify claimants who are so severely impaired that they cannot work at all and thus qualify for disability benefits. In this report, the Institute of…
	HIV Screening and Access to Care: Exploring Barriers and Facilitators to Expanded HIV Testing More than 200,000 people in the United States living with HIV/AIDS do not know they are infected. The Institute of Medicine’s Committee on HIV Screening and Access to Care held a workshop and reviewed literature to explore barriers and facilitators to more…
	PEPFAR Implementation: Progress and Promise In 2003 Congress passed the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act, which established a 5-year, $15 billion initiative to help countries around the world respond to their AIDS epidemics. The initiative is generally referred to…
	Healers Abroad: Americans Responding to the Human Resource Crisis in HIV/AIDS Healers Abroad: Americans Responding to the Human Resource Crisis in HIV/AIDS calls for the federal government to create and fund the United States Global Health Service (GHS) to mobilize the nations best health care professionals and other…
	Public Financing and Delivery of HIV/AIDS Care: Securing the Legacy of Ryan White Each year it is estimated that approximately 40,000 people in the U.S. are newly infected with HIV. In the late 1990s, the number of deaths from AIDS dropped 43% as a result of highly active antiretroviral therapy. Unfortunately, the complex system…

Free from NAP: Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited; The Future of Nursing; and more

The National Academy of Sciences is committed to making its headquarters, built on the National Mall in 1924, more energy efficient and environmentally advanced. Learn more about this major restoration project.

	Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5 In the face of so many daunting near-term challenges, U.S. government and industry are letting the crucial strategic issues of U.S. competitiveness slip below the surface. Five years ago, the National Academies prepared Rising Above the Gathering…
	The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health Prepublication Available The Future of Nursing explores how nurses’ roles, responsibilities, and education should change significantly to meet the increased demand for care that will be created by health care reform and to advance improvements in America’s increasingly…
	Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads Prepublication Available In order for the United States to maintain the global leadership and competitiveness in science and technology that are critical to achieving national goals, we must invest in research, encourage innovation, and grow a strong and talented science and…
	Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Research and Development on Urban Systems More than half of the world’s people now live in cities. In the U.S., the figure is 80 percent. It is worthwhile to consider how this trend of increased urbanization, if inevitable, could be made more sustainable. One fundamental shortcoming of urban research…
	New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics Driven by discoveries, and enabled by leaps in technology and imagination, our understanding of the universe has changed dramatically over the course of the last few decades. The fields of astronomy and astrophysics are making new connections to physics…

	Assessing the Effects of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill on Human Health: A Summary of the June 2010 Workshop From the origin of the leak, to the amount of oil released into the environment, to the spill’s duration, the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill poses unique challenges to human health. The risks associated with extensive, prolonged use of dispersants, with oil…
	Biometric Recognition: Challenges and Opportunities Forthcoming Biometric recognition–the automated recognition of individuals based on their behavioral and biological characteristic–is promoted as a way to help identify terrorists, provide better control of access to physical facilities and financial accounts…
	Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010 Prepublication Available As the second decade of the 21st century begins, the challenge of how to feed a growing world population and provide sustainable, affordable energy to fulfill daily needs, while also improving human health and protecting the environment, is clear and urgent…
	Antibiotic Resistance: Implications for Global Health and Novel Intervention Strategies: Workshop Summary Prepublication Available Years of using, misusing, and overusing antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs has led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant ‘superbugs.’ The IOM’s Forum on Microbial Threats held a public workshop April 6-7 to discuss the nature and sources of…
	Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Third Biennial Review–2010 Prepublication Available Although the progress of environmental restoration projects in the Florida Everglades remains slow overall, there have been improvements in the pace of restoration and in the relationship between the federal and state partners over the last two years….
	Assessment of Sea-Turtle Status and Trends: Integrating Demography and Abundance All six species of sea turtles found in U.S. waters are listed as endangered or threatened, but the exact population sizes of these species are unknown due to a lack of key information regarding birth and survival rates. The U.S. Endangered Species Act…
	Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles evaluates various technologies and methods that could improve the fuel economy of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, such as tractor-trailers, transit…
	Modeling the Economics of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation: Summary of a Workshop Prepublication Available Models are fundamental for estimating the possible costs and effectiveness of different policies for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. There is a wide array of models to perform such analysis, differing in the level of technological detail, treatment…
	S&T Strategies of Six Countries: Implications for the United States An increase in global access to goods and knowledge is transforming world-class science and technology (S&T) by bringing it within the capability of an unprecedented number of global parties who must compete for resources, markets, and talent. In…

Watch compelling videos from the National Academies on YouTube

	A New Biology for the 21st Century
	Sustaining Global Surveillance and Response to Emerging Zoonotic Diseases
	America’s Climate Choices: Advancing the Science of Climate Change

Engineering Innovation Podcast and Radio Series

The National Academy of Engineering works with the Washington, DC region’s only all-news radio station, WTOP Radio, and the nation’s only all-news radio station for federal employees, WFED 1500 AM, to provide weekly features highlighting engineering innovations and stories that add technical context to issues in the news.

Interviews from NAS

InterViews provides first-person accounts of the lives and work of National Academy of Sciences members. In this series of one-on-one conversations, scientists talk about what inspired them to pursue the careers they chose and describe some of the most fascinating aspects of their research.

Science Sessions from PNAS

Listen to 5-minute, nontechnical conversations with cutting-edge researchers, Academy members, and policy makers as they discuss topics relevant to today’s scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in PNAS, plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Featured Podcast

Meeting the Psychosocial Needs of Women with Breast Cancer

In this podcast the National Cancer Policy Board of the Institute of Medicine examines the psychosocial consequences of the cancer experience, specifically on breast cancer in women because this group has the largest survivor population (over 2 million) and this disease is the most extensively studied cancer from the standpoint of psychosocial effects.

Read this report online for free
Visit the IOM report page

Listen to Podcast

The National Academy of Sciences’ neoclassical building is a symbol of the important role of science in our nation’s history. The restoration project includes sustainable designs and green technologies, including the use of some solar power and green construction materials. These efforts will reduce the building’s energy use by an estimated 40 percent. Workers will also recycle materials removed from the building during construction.

Restoration of the Historic National Academy of Sciences Building

	Constitution Ave. side of the NAS building covered in scaffolding
	The Lecture Room under construction
	Deinstalling Albert Herter’s mural, Prometheus Bound, from the north wall of the Great Hall
	Deinstallition of Albert Herter’s mural, Prometheus Bound, continues
	Deinstalling Albert Herter’s mural, Founders of the Academy, from the Lincoln Board Room

Learn more about the restoration project.

Five New Books: Weather Science, Drug Safety, and more

Our usual collection of the new publications to NAP.edu this week includes a number of books on health and medicine, as well as a prepublication on weather. Four of the five new books this week have Free PDFs available to download.

All New Publications This Week

When Weather Matters: Science and Service to Meet Critical Societal Needs (prepublication)

Ethical Issues in Studying the Safety of Approved Drugs: A Letter Report (final)

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Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa: Reducing the Treatment Gap, Improving Quality of Care: Workshop Summary (prepublication)

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Strategic Approach to the Evaluation of Programs Implemented Under the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008 (prepublication)

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A National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century: Reinvigorating the NCI Cooperative Group Program (final)

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16 New Books: Greenhouse Gases, Gulf War and Health, Helium Reserve, and more

I hope that those of you in the U.S. had a happy and relaxing Independence Day weekend. We welcome you back to the working week with one of the biggest lists of new books that we’ve had since we’ve started posting them once a week here on Notes From NAP. There’s sixteen of them, the vast majority of which have free PDFs available.

Because of the high number of new books this week, we’re going to present it here as a simple list. If you have any comments or questions about Notes From NAP, feel free to contact us through this form. We’d love to get any feedback you might have.

New Publications This Week

Persistent Forecasting of Disruptive Technologies–Report 2 (final)

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A Foundation for Evidence-Driven Practice: A Rapid Learning System for Cancer Care: Workshop Summary (final)

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Strengthening the National Institute of Justice (prepublication)

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Steps Toward Large-Scale Data Integration in the Sciences: Summary of a Workshop (final)

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Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report (prepublication)

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International Differences in Mortality at Older Ages: Dimensions and Sources (prepublication)

Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century (final)

Demographic Changes, a View from California: Implications for Framing Health Disparities: Workshop Summary (final)

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Selling the Nation’s Helium Reserve (final)

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Preparing Teachers: Building Evidence for Sound Policy (final)

Verifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Methods to Support International Climate Agreements (final)

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Certifiably Sustainable?: The Role of Third-Party Certification Systems: Report of a Workshop (final)

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Promoting Cardiovascular Health in the Developing World: A Critical Challenge to Achieve Global Health (final)

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Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States (final)

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Gulf War and Health: Volume 8: Update of Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War (final)

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Envisioning the 2020 Census (final)

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PDFs, Video, and Podcasts on Nutrition and Health

The research concerning what foods to eat and how much is not new. So why are Americans still indulging in unhealthy habits? What can be done to help the general public understand and act on the findings of researchers and nutritionists?

We’ve put together a collection of free resources to address these questions.

Free PDFs

School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children Ensuring that the food provided to children in schools is consistent with current dietary recommendations is an important national focus. Various laws and regulations govern the operation of school meal programs. In 1995, Nutrition Standards and Meal Requirements were put…

Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity The prevalence of childhood obesity is so high in the United States that it may reduce the life expectancy of today’s generation of children. While parents and other adult caregivers play a fundamental role in teaching children about healthy behaviors…

Childhood Obesity Prevention in Texas: Workshop Summary Childhood Obesity Prevention in Texas summarizes the information gathered at a workshop held February 5-6, 2009, in Austin, Texas. At this workshop, committee members met with Texas lawmakers, public officials, and community leaders to exchange ideas and to view first-hand…

Joint U.S.-Mexico Workshop on Preventing Obesity in Children and Youth of Mexican Origin: Summary The Joint U.S.-Mexico Workshop on Preventing Obesity in Children and Youth of Mexican Origin was initiated by a desire to share experiences regarding the problem of obesity in children and youth of Mexican…

Adequacy of Evidence for Physical Activity Guidelines Development: Workshop Summary Is there a sufficient evidence base for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a comprehensive set of physical activity guidelines for Americans? To address this question, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) held a workshop titled…

Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines As women of childbearing age have become heavier, the trade-off between maternal and child health created by variation in gestational weight gain has become more difficult to reconcile. Weight Gain During Pregnancy responds to the need for a reexamination of…

The Public Health Effects of Food Deserts: Workshop Summary In the United States, people living in low-income neighborhoods frequently do not have access to affordable healthy food venues, such as supermarkets. Instead, those living in “food deserts” must rely on convenience stores and small neighborhood stores that offer few…

Free Video

Public Policy in Nutrition: Where Does Science Fit in? Discover the science behind public policy in nutrition from the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) to the Dietary Guidelines to green “smart” checkmarks and health claims on food packaging. How science-based are the recommendations and who makes the decisions?
Presenter: Joanne Lupton (IOM), Texas A&M University

Test Your Tongue: The Science of Taste A leading expert in taste and a popular food writer look at our understanding of the science of taste and the chemical underpinnings of flavors and foods. Learn about your own tastebuds by sampling miracle fruit, artichokes, fruit strips, and more!
Presenters: Linda Bartoshuk, University of Florida and Harold McGee, New York Times

Elixir of Life: Wine and Health
Wine grapes are one of the major human food crops, and there is now overwhelming evidence that drinking wine in moderation is beneficial to human health. But why did only one particular species of Vitis become used for wine-making — out of more than 30 existing species? The DNA sequence of a Pinot Noir variety of Vitis vinifera was published in 2007 and a comparison with other varieties is under way. Will we soon be drinking genetically-engineered “designer” wines?
Presenter: Francisco Ayala, University of California, Irvine

The Future of Chocolate on Earth
Explore the science of chocolate, from the role of cocoa in protecting tropical rainforests, to its surprising potential to improve cardiovascular health. Learn how food technology manipulates cocoa to create the sensory experience of some of your favorite chocolate brands during a tasting at the dessert reception.
Presenter: Harold Schmitz

Free Audio

School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children[audio:http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/podcasts/soundsofscience/~3/4yQ3ENSpzTY/nax96schoolmeals.mp3]Download This Episode
This podcast provides a historical overview of the emergence of school meal programs and provides recommendations to update the nutrition standard and the meal requirements for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. The recommendations reflect new developments in nutrition science, increase the availability of key food groups in the school meal programs, and allow these programs to better meet the nutritional needs of children, foster healthy eating habits, and safeguard children’s health. Visit the IOM report page.

Weight Gain During Pregnancy: How Much is Too Much?[audio:http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/podcasts/soundsofscience/~3/TgH1FO2EmTs/nax90weightgain.mp3]Download This Episode

As women of childbearing age have become heavier, the trade-off between maternal and child health created by variation in gestational weight gain has become more difficult to reconcile. The Weight Gain During Pregnancy podcast looks at some of the key findings and recommendations from the Institute of Medicine report. Visit the IOM report page.

A Salmon A Day: Balancing the Benefits and Risks of Seafood[audio:http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/podcasts/soundsofscience/~3/TtqdJ5LRrNU/nax23seafoodcho.mp3]Download This Episode

The fragmented information that consumers receive about the nutritional value and health risks associated with fish and shellfish can result in confusion or misperceptions about these food sources. This episode looks at the available research and provides listeners with tips and guidelines when choosing seafood. Read the report online and visit the IOM report page.

Eight New Books: Health Care, Mental Health Counseling, and more…

Another Monday brings us another roundup of the new books on the NAP website in the past week. As always, any books that have Free PDFs are labeled as such below.

As a side note, we set up a simple contact form here on Notes From NAP. If you have any suggestions or feedback, we’d love to hear it at notes.nap.edu/contact. Are these lists of the new publications on our site useful to you? Are there other features you’d like to see? Fill out the form and let us know!

Featured Publication

Accounting for Health and Health Care: Approaches to Measuring the Sources and Costs of Their Improvement (prepublication)

It has become trite to observe that increases in health care costs have become unsustainable. How best for policy to address these increases, however, depends in part on the degree to which they represent increases in the real quantity of medical services as opposed to increased unit prices of existing services. And an even more fundamental question is the degree to which the increased spending actually has purchased improved health.

Accounting for Health and Health Care addresses both these issues. The government agencies responsible for measuring unit prices for medical services have taken steps in recent years that have greatly improved the accuracy of those measures. Nonetheless, this book has several recommendations aimed at further improving the price indices.

All New Publications This Week

Conducting Biosocial Surveys: Collecting, Storing, Accessing, and Protecting Biospecimens and Biodata (prepublication)

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Waste Forms Technology and Performance: Interim Report (final)

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Provision of Mental Health Counseling Services Under TRICARE (final)

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Defending Planet Earth: Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies: Final Report (final)

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Understanding the Changing Planet: Strategic Directions for the Geographical Sciences (final)

NOAA’s Education Program: Review and Critique (final)

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Evaluation of Biomarkers and Surrogate Endpoints in Chronic Disease (final)

Sounds of Science Podcast: Reducing the Sodium Intake in the United States

The Sounds of Science podcast There’s a new episode available of our podcast, The Sounds of Science. This week’s episode is on sodium intake and is based on our report Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake in the United States. You can listen to this episode below, and you can subscribe to the podcast to get all the episodes delivered to you when they’re published.

Reducing the Sodium Intake in the Untied States
[audio:http://feeds.nap.edu/~r/podcasts/soundsofscience/~5/R1ZYoK_5HJc/nax109sodiuminta.mp3]
Reducing the intake of sodium is an important public health goal for Americans. Since the 1970s, an array of public health interventions and national dietary guidelines has sought to reduce sodium intake. However, the U.S. population still consumes more sodium than is recommended, placing individuals at risk for diseases related to elevated blood pressure.