1,721,021 research outputs found
Circular economy: a commentary from the perspectives of the natural and social sciences
Get PDFn May 2015, the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC) started a review of issues related to the ‘circular economy’. The circular economy involves many aspects of science, technology and social science but this commentary is intended to contribute to the debate between stakeholders on the principles and objectives of the European Commission’s policy. This has been compiled by a Working Group of scientists and economists nominated by member academies of EASACnonPeerReviewe
Combating the threat of zoonotic infections
Get PDFMost new human pathogens reported in the past 25 years, such as influenza and SARS, have zoonotic origins. The risk of zoonotic infection, that is any infection transmissible between vertebrate animals and humans, is predicted to continue to increase. The European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) today publishes a policy report giving evidence-based recommendations on how to combat the threat of zoonotic infections for man and animals
Direct-to-consumer genetic testing for health-related purposes in the European Union: the view from EASAC and FEAM
Get PDFUntil recently, human genetic testing was mainly confined to specialist medical genetic services, traditionally focusing on the relatively rare inherited disorders. However, the rapid pace of advance in DNA analysis has led to increasing interest in the development of genetic tests for determining susceptibility to the more common, complex disorders. Such tests are increasingly being offered by companies through the internet. These consumer genetic services raise scientific, regulatory and ethical questions. Various concerns have been expressed about the quality and validity of the direct-to-consumer genetic testing offered, the clinical usefulness of the information supplied and the implications for the consumer, their family and the public health services. These issues affect all of us and are of sufficient importance and relevance to warrant attention by all the national academies in the European Union (EU). Our Report represents the first joint project between the academies of science in EASAC (the European Academies Science Advisory Council) and of medicine in FEAM (the Federation of European Academies of Medicine); we decided to collaborate on this occasion and in this way to draw upon the widest possible expertise in the scientific disciplines and experience in the Member States
Opportunities and challenges for research on food and nutrition security and agriculture in Europe
Get PDFNational academies of science have a long tradition of engaging widely to strengthen the evidence base to underpin the delivery of enhanced food and nutrition security at regional and national levels. EASAC, the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council, has produced this report for European audiences as a contribution to a project worldwide initiated by IAP, the InterAcademy Partnership, the global network of science academies. The IAP work brings together regional perspectives in parallel from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe on the opportunities for the science–policy interface, identifying how research can contribute to resolving challenges for agriculture, food systems and nutrition
Ecosystem services and biodiversity in Europe
Get PDFThe life support systems that are provided by the environment ("ecosystem services") are undervalued by Europeans and must be protected by new legislation, warns a new report by the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC). The report identifies and assesses the essential and often irreplaceable benefits that Europeans get from their environment and shows that biodiversity is fundamental to sustaining them. Current threats to biodiversity, for example from climate change, intensive agriculture and urbanisation, will lead to loss of essential services, crucial to Europe's economy and society. Despite this, the full range of these services is currently not fully acknowledged, objectively valued or protected
Transforming Europe’s Electricity Supply: An Infrastructure Strategy for a Reliable, Renewable and Secure Power System
Get PDFEuropean energy policy seeks to achieve a substantially increased contribution from renewable sources of electricity, and the creation of a pan-European competitive electricity market. The existing infrastructure of the European electricity grid, and generally low levels of integration and co-ordination in the planning and operation of the grid, will not enable these goals to be achieved. The European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) has therefore examined the developments that are required in grid planning, operation and infrastructure to accommodate more renewable sources of electricity and to support a European electricity market. The study concludes that developments are required in planning a European grid to ensure that investments are made in the right places, in the way the grid is operated so that maximum benefi t is extracted from a given infrastructure, and in transmission technologies so that effective options are available for environmental, operational, energy efficiency and investment considerations. Specific recommendations are made in each of these areas
Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture: roles and research priorities in the European Union
Get PDFThe world faces major challenges of population growth, climate change, increasing social and economic instability and a continuing failure to achieve food security. The challenge of achieving food security is made greater by the recognition that it must be done in ways that are sustainable, avoid continuing loss of biodiversity, address the adverse impact of climate change and take account of changing food intake patterns that, in the European Union (EU), are leading to a rapidly growing public health burden of diseases associated with over-consumption. In the past decade, several academies of science in Europe have drawn attention to these diffi cult issues and to the role that the biosciences can play in enabling an innovative and resilient agriculture to contribute to resolving the multiple problems. In 2004, the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) emphasised some of the ways by which advances in genomics could provide a basis to develop more productive and environmentally sustainable crop systems: in essence a new era in plant breeding whereby the linkage of genes to traits allows more effi cient and predictable crop breeding approaches. Recently, the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Italy with the assistance of EASAC organised a survey and workshop to collect and analyse information on the current situation in the identification, conservation and use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture across the EU. This work confi rmed that there is much scientifi c excellence and a significant degree of commitment in many Member States and by the European institutions, but that there is also much more that can and should be done
Challenges and potential in regenerative medicine: a joint report from EASAC and FEAM
Get PDFRegenerative medicine comprises novel interdisciplinary approaches, including several based on cell and gene therapies, aimed at tissue regeneration and repair. All regenerative medicine strategies depend upon harnessing, stimulating, guiding or replacing endogenous developmental or repair processes. Regenerative medicine offers significant promise for treating intractable diseases but, so far, has proved itself in only a few specific clinical indications, for example for haematopoietic and skin disorders. Stem-cell-based medicine is now established and will undoubtedly advance towards treating a progressively larger spectrum of diseases, so it is essential to address some critical scientific issues for evidence-based implementation and regulation. The consequences of not doing this would be to waste investment, researcher activity and aspirations to cure, as well as to undermine patient protection. This report, from a project conducted by EASAC (European Academies’ Science Advisory Council) and FEAM (Federation of European Academies of Medicine), explores opportunities and challenges in this rapidly advancing field, discusses what principles should be offered for guidance in policy development and what the strategic priorities are in the European Union (EU) for products in the category of advanced therapy medicinal products, which includes those used for regenerative medicine
The imperative of climate action to protect human health in Europe: Opportunities for adaptation to reduce the impacts, and for mitigation to capitalise on the benefits of decarbonisation
Get PDFThe pace and extent of recent environmental change, in particular climate change, poses serious challenges to global health gains made over recent decades. In previous work, the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC) has covered several significant challenges relevant to climate change across Europe, for example in assessing the potential of negative emissions technologies in meeting emission targets, and monitoring trends in extreme weather events. In the present report, EASAC focuses on climate change and health. Although the European Union (EU) is very actively engaged in collective efforts to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions and to identify how best to adapt, the impacts of climate on health have been relatively neglected in EU policy. This must change. Our concern is motivated by the risks to health in the near future. In this report, EASAC advises on (1) using the available evidence to inform coherent health policy development for climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, and their connection to other policy initiatives; and (2) the priorities for filling knowledge gaps through transdisciplinary and intersectoral research
A sea of change: Europe's future in the Atlantic realm
Get PDFEASAC – the European Academies' Science Advisory Council – is formed by the national science academies of the
EU Member States to enable them to collaborate with each other in giving advice to European policy-makers. Through EASAC, the academies work together to provide independent, expert, evidence-based advice about the scientific aspects of public policy to those who make or influence policy within the European institutions.
In this report, we describe the underlying processes and trends in the Atlantic, and the ways in which the state of the ocean – currents, winds, waves and ocean mixing – impact Europe’s climate, marine environment and resources. The report describes the underlying processes and trends in the Atlantic, and the ways in which the state of the ocean – currents, winds, waves and ocean mixing – impact Europe’s climate, marine environment and resources. A dominant influence is the global thermohaline circulation which includes the Atlantic Ocean currents that transport heat and salt into northern latitudes via the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift, with colder and denser waters returning south at depth; this is the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Superimposed on this are patterns of variability in both the atmosphere (the North Atlantic Oscillation) and the ocean (the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability). Palaeoclimatic records show that changes in these basic processes may have substantial local and global effects on climate and on marine and coastal ecosystems
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