• Gain-of-Function Studies Need Stricter Guidance: Researchers

    Researchers and biosecurity specialists are calling on the U.S. government to issue clearer guidance about experiments the government might fund which would make pathogens more transmissible or deadly.

  • As Science Evolves, Policy Framework Needs to as Well

    In late February, the NIH and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy asked the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity NSABB to make swift progress on its long-overdue review. The panel plans to draft a report outlining its recommendations by the end of the year.

  • Climate Change Could Spark the Next Pandemic

    As the Earth’s climate continues to warm, researchers predict wild animals will be forced to relocate their habitats — likely to regions with large human populations — dramatically increasing the risk of a viral jump to humans that could lead to the next pandemic.

  • Droughts Self-Propagate, Just Like Wildfires

    Unlike other weather extremes such as hurricanes or winter storms, droughts affect humans in most climatic zones around the world; from the arid steppes of the Sahel to the humid rainforests of Amazonia. Moreover, droughts are expected to intensify in many regions following global warming.

  • IBM, Historically Black Colleges Partner to Tackle Cybersecurity Talent Shortage

    In 2020, the talent shortage in the U.S. has more than tripled over ten years, with 69 percent of employers surveyed struggling to fill skilled positions. By September 2021, there were more than 1.2 million U.S. job vacancies postings in software-related professions. IBM joins with Historically Black Colleges & Universities to launch cybersecurity degree programs.

  • The Civil-Military Divide over Artificial Intelligence

    What factors influence how comfortable and uncomfortable software engineers feel with potential applications of AI for the U.S. military? Is there a correlation between the degree of trust that software engineers have in societal institutions—specifically, in DoD—and their perception of the acceptability of building AI applications for DoD? Do software engineers perceive the countries that DoD has identified as strategic competitors as a meaningful threat to the United States? What types of news media and other sources of information are software engineers relying on to inform them about events related to DoD?

  • AI and Policing: What a Queensland Case Study Tells Us

    Law enforcement agencies consider artificial intelligence a force multiplier because it can rapidly process more data than human brains and yield insights to help solve complex analytical problems. Our limited understanding of how AI algorithms make decisions and produce their insights, however, presents a significant challenge to ethically and safely implementing AI policing solutions.

  • Scientists Identify the Most Extreme Heatwaves Ever Recorded Globally

    Heatwaves are one of the most devastating extreme weather events. The western North America heatwave was the deadliest weather event ever in Canada, resulting in hundreds of fatalities. The associated raging wildfires also led to extensive infrastructure damage and loss of crops.

  • Encouraging Individuals to Take Action Against Truth Decay

    Facts and analysis are playing a diminishing role in American public life—a phenomenon called Truth Decay—so RAND is launching a public information campaign on social media to build understanding of Truth Decay and how individuals can tackle it by scrutinizing information they believe and share.

  • Fact Checks Effectively Counter COVID Misinformation

    New study finds that journalistic fact checks are a more effective counter to COVID-19 misinformation than the false news tags commonly used by social media outlets. “We find that more information may be an antidote to misinformation,” conclude the authors of the study.

  • Electric Flying Boat Could Transform Traveling

    A Norwegian company is now developing a small electric seaplane that can transform passenger traffic on a large scale. With this seaplane you will be able to take off from Trondheim Fjord or Flesland Airport in Bergen, Norway, and land in the Geiranger Fjord one hour later.

  • Emerging Hydrogen Storage Technology to Increase Energy Resilience

    With the rise in renewable energy as well as increasing uncertainty associated with outages due to power surges and extreme weather events, energy storage plays a key role in ensuring reliable power supply to critical infrastructure such as healthcare facilities, data centers, and telecommunications. New study assesses cost competitiveness of metal-organic framework materials to store hydrogen for large-scale backup power applications.

  • Cornell University Profs Call for School to Halt, Reverse Its Growing Academic, Business Ties with China

    An event at Cornell University, organized by three professors, which called for the university to halt, and then reverse, its growing academic and business ties with China, reflected a broader trend of calls for colleges and universities to cut ties with and divest from Chinese groups linked to human rights abuses.

  • Developing New Vaccine Against Three Biothreat Pathogens

    Scientists are seeking to develop a multi-pathogen vaccine that will protect against three bacterial biothreat pathogens.

  • The Future of Nuclear Waste: What’s the Plan and Can It Be Safe?

    The UK is planning to significantly expand its nuclear capability — from approximately 8 gigawatts (GW) today to 24GW by 2050, which would meet around 25% of the forecast UK energy demand — in an effort to decrease its reliance on carbon-based fossil fuels. New reactors will inevitably mean more radioactive waste. Above-ground nuclear waste storage isn’t a feasible long term plan. What are the alternatives?