The Sounds of Science from the National Academies

Responding to a new sense of urgency about the nation's energy future and drawing on its principal strengths and reputation, the National Academies has launched an ambitious new effort designed to provide an authoritative analysis. Last week the National Academies hosted a two-day summit to provide an overview of recent influential energy studies and initiatives. This podcasts briefly looks at the importance of that event and finding new sources of energy to secure our energy future.

In this podcast we are introduced to the International Visitors Office of the National Academies - a special office designed to help foreign Scientists and Students navigate the sometimes difficult visa process to come to the United States.

There is currently heightened interest in optimizing health care through the generation of new knowledge on the effectiveness of health care services. This podcast looks at some of the basic findings of the IOM report.

The rapid pace at which digital printing is advancing is posing a very serious challenge to the U.S. Department of the Treasury s Bureau of Printing (BEP). The BEP needs to stay ahead of the evolving counterfeiting threats to U.S. currency. This podcast explores both the history of counterfeiting and the threat it poses today.

This podcast offers a timely look at issues that are increasingly important in an interconnected world. It discusses the importance of foreign languages and cultural knowledge on national security and global competitiveness and it describes the challenges faced by the U.S. educational system and the federal government in trying to address those needs.

In the last century alone, many great engineering achievements became so commonplace that we now take them mostly for granted. As remarkable as these engineering achievements are, certainly just as many more great challenges and opportunities remain to be realized. While some seem clear, many others are indistinct and many more surely lie beyond most of our imaginations. On February 15, we begin engineering a path to the future.

Because of a strong U.S. national interest in greater energy independence, biofuels have become important liquid transportation fuels and are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. This report explores the reality of biofuels, including their effect on our water supply.

Since September 11, 2001, the United States has been more mindful of the potential risks to the security of our nation. This podcast is the last in a series of four fact sheets produced to inform the media and public about the different types, potential impact, and how to protect themselves from these risks.

Racial and ethnic disparities in health care are known to reflect access to care and other issues that arise from differing socioeconomic conditions. The podcast provides a brief glimpse at how disparities in treatment may arise in health care systems and looks at aspects of the clinical encounter that may contribute to such disparities.

This past week, the Transportation Research Board, a division of the National Research Council, held it's annual meeting. With more than 10,000 people expected, the TRB Annual Meeting is a multi-national, multi-modal meeting of transportation minds. In this week's podcast we learn about TRB.

Science, Evolution, and Creationism explains the fundamental methods of science, documents the overwhelming evidence in support of biological evolution, and evaluates the alternative perspectives offered by advocates of various kinds of creationism, including "intelligent design." The podcast gives a brief over the report, released January 4th.

On Being a Scientist is one of the most popular reports published by the National Academies. No in it's second edition and written for beginning researchers, it's subtitled "Responsible Conduct in Research" and seeks to describe the ethical foundations of the scientific practices. As the final podcast of 2007, this topic seemed to touch everyone involved in or concerned with the scientific enterprise. Read the report free.

Since September 11, 2001, the United States has been more mindful of the potential risks to the security of our nation. This podcast is third in a series of four fact sheets produced to inform the media and public about the different types, potential impact, and how to protect themselves from these risks.

Observations of the cosmos have the potential to extend our basic physical laws beyond where 20th century research left them. NASA's Beyond Einstein program pushes our understanding to its limits and perhaps beyond.

The tragedy of September 11, 2001, the subsequent anthrax attacks, and ongoing terror threats internationally have markedly changed national and international security and information sharing. While, the success of U.S. science and engineering has been built on a system of information sharing and open communication, not only among U.S. institutions, but also with the international science and technology communities. This podcast explores how these two important endeavors must be balanced for the future of our country.