Highlights:

 This Week in PNAS 
Highlights from the recent edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the Academy's scientific journal

  2009 President's Address to Members
Read NAS President Ralph Cicerone's annual address to members

  President Obama Addresses Academy at 2009 Annual Meeting
Watch the video and view photos of the April 27 speech to NAS members

  NAS InterViews Podcasts
Listen to audio interviews in which members talk about their research, why they became scientists, and other aspects of their research and careers.  

News:

  New Initiative Needed to Improve Early Childhood Math Education
July 2, 2009: To ensure that all children enter elementary school with the foundation they need for success, a major national initiative is needed to improve early childhood mathematics education. Opportunities for preschoolers to learn mathematics are currently inadequate, particularly for low-income groups.

  DHS Should Not Yet Acquire New Detectors for Nuclear, Radiological Material in Cargo
June 24, 2009: A cost-benefit analysis is needed to reveal the security advantages of deploying new detector systems to screen cargo for nuclear and radiological materials. Further procurement should not proceed until the deficiencies in testing the new detector systems are fixed to help determine if they will consistently outperform the current ones and a cost-benefit analysis is completed.

  Letters from U.S., Russian Presidents Mark 50 Years of Cooperation Between Academies
June 18, 2009: U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent letters to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy of Sciences, marking 50 years of interacademy cooperation on arms control and other issues. Officials from the academies are meeting in Moscow this week to celebrate the anniversary and discuss future cooperation on energy and climate change, biomedicine, and international security.

  Challenges Remain for Large-Scale Renewable Energy Technology Deployment
June 15, 2009: Renewable energy resources in the U.S. are sufficient to meet a significant portion of the nation's electricity needs and could offer significant employment and economic opportunities. However, fully taking advantage of these potential low CO2-emitting sources for generating electricity will call for enhanced technologies, increased deployment, financial investments, and implementation of policies to drive increased adoption of renewable electricity.

  Science Academies Urge Faster Response to Climate Change
June 11, 2009: In a joint statement, the science academies of the G8 countries, plus Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa, called on their leaders to "seize all opportunities" to address global climate change that "is happening even faster than previously estimated." The signers, which include NAS President Ralph J. Cicerone, urged nations at the upcoming Copenhagen climate talks to adopt goals aimed at reducing global emissions by 50 percent by 2050. The academies also urged the G8+5 governments, meeting in Italy next month, to "lead the transition to an energy efficient and low carbon economy, and foster innovation and research and development for both mitigation and adaptation technologies."

  Academies, Other Organizations Urge Streamlining of Visa Process
June 10, 2009: The presidents of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine today joined other scientific and educational organizations in issuing a statement urging federal agencies to streamline visa processing for scholars and scientists visiting the U.S. The government should convene a high-level panel to review all visa-related procedures put into place after 9/11, for example, and reduce repetitive processing of visa applications for researchers who regularly visit the U.S.

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