What Science Can Do
Every issue explores cutting-edge developments in technology, medicine, education, climate change, and much more. Articles provide in-depth analyses of science and technology’s impact on public policy, the economy, and society—bringing today’s best minds to bear on tomorrow’s most critical topics.
Editor's Journal
Five-Year Plans
The comically ambitious and perennially unrealized five-year plans that were a hallmark of the dysfunctional Soviet political system throughout the middle of the 20th century have discouraged serious thinkers from using the… Read More
From the Hill
From the Hill – Summer 2009
Climate change legislation advances In a major step forward for advocates of climate change action, the House Energy and Commerce Committee on May 21 passed a bill that would create a national… Read More
Features
Restoring Science to Science Education
I love biology, and nothing in my four decades as a professional biological scientist has given as much satisfaction as seeing that spark of passion for the subject ignited in a young… Read MoreArchives – Summer 2009
Charles Darwin In honor of the contributions made by Charles Darwin, the National Academy of Sciences commissioned a bronze replica of a bust of Darwin created by Virginia sculptor William Couper (1853-1942).… Read MoreA Focused Approach to Society’s Grand Challenges
The United States faces a number of “grand challenges”: technically complex societal problems that have stubbornly defied solution. At or near the top of any list is the need to develop new… Read MoreElectronic Health Records: Their Time Has Come
In 1991, when portable computers were the size of sewing machines and the World Wide Web was aborning, the Institute of Medicine proposed a plan for how emerging technologies could be used… Read MoreTo Teach Science, Tell Stories
Charles Darwin turned 200 in 2009, and his myriad admirers marked the occasion at events throughout the Western world. Some of the speakers examined the man himself, whereas others focused on what… Read MoreThe Sustainability Transition
One of the greatest challenges confronting humanity in the 21st century is sustainability: how to meet the basic needs of people for food, energy, water, and shelter without degrading the planet’s life… Read MoreThe Cloud, the Crowd, and Public Policy
The Internet is entering a new phase that represents a fundamental shift in how computing is done. This phase, called Cloud computing, includes activities such as Web 2.0, Web services, the Grid,… Read MoreWhat Science Can Do
It is a great privilege to address the distinguished members of the National Academy of Sciences, as well as the leaders of the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine… Read MoreFrom Human Genome Research to Personalized Health Care
“Big Science” in the life sciences was launched in 1986 with a bold plan to develop the technologies to determine the sequence of the 3 billion nucleotide base pairs (letters of DNA… Read MoreAlternative Energy for Transportation
Science and technology (S&T) has brought economic growth and contributed to enhancing living standards. In recent years, S&T has progressed very rapidly and brought tremendous benefits to our lives. For example, the… Read MoreA Future for U.S. Fisheries
For the fishing industry in the United States, and for the fishery resources on which the industry depends, there is good news and bad news. Bad news still predominates, as many commercial… Read MoreThe Rightful Place of Science
I stood with the throngs on the Washington Mall on January 20, 2009, watching a young new president (well, truth be told, watching him on a Jumbotron) announce to a discouraged nation… Read MoreAbolishing Hunger
The first of the Millennium Development Goals, which were adopted by the world’s leaders at the United Nations in 2000, was a promise to fight poverty and reduce the number of the… Read MoreU.S. Energy Policy: The Need for Radical Departures
Five years may be an entire era in politics, and as the recent global economic upheavals have shown, it is also a span long enough to hurl nations from complacent prosperity to… Read MoreAfter the Motor Fuel Tax: Reshaping Transportation Financing
Congress will soon begin considering a new transportation bill that is expected to carry a price tag of $500 billion to $600 billion to support a huge number of projects nationwide. Public… Read MoreHigh-Performance Computing for All
The United States faces a global competitive landscape undergoing radical change, transformed by the digital revolution, globalization, the entry of emerging economies into global commerce, and the growth of global businesses. Many… Read More