Online

Attorneys litigating suits involving everything from vaccines to the safety of the air on jetliners, or those who simply need scientific information about research and policies, can visit www.national-academies.org, the Web site for the National Academies of Science and Engineering, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council. Areas covered on the site include: biology, chemistry, engineering, environmental issues, behavioral and social science, education, health and medicine, and business and economics.

If you click on health and medicine, for instance, you will find information on food and nutrition, vaccine safety, toxicology, environmental studies, national cancer policy and radiation effects. The link to Environmental Issues leads to current projects and selected reports, which can be purchased from the Web site. One of the selected reports of the Board of Environmental Studies and Toxicology was a 2001 study about airliner cabin environment, and the health of the passengers and crew.

The Policy and Research section has links to different studies by various boards and committees, such as:

• The Board on Science, Technology and Economic Policy, which integrates an understanding of scientific, technological and economic elements in the formulation of national policies affecting the economic well-being of the United States.
• The Board on Health Sciences Policy, which ensures that there is adequate attention to the science base underlying health and health care, as national and international needs evolve and change.
• The Office on Public Understanding of Science, which fosters the mutual responsibility of scientists and the media to communicate to the public, with accuracy and balance, the nature of science and its processes as well as its results.
• The Committee on Law and Justice, which reviews, synthesizes and proposes research related to law enforcement and the administration of justice. The committee also provides an intellectual resource for federal agencies and private groups.
• The Committee on National Statistics, which contributes to a better understanding of important national issues by working to improve the statistical methods and information on which public policy decisions are based.
• The Board on Higher Education and Workforce, which conducts studies, evaluations and surveys of specific human resource issues to provide recommendations for both private and public organizations.

The site is updated daily except for weekends. In addition to studies and research, the site offers top news stories, interviews with members of the National Academies of Sciences, and special publications on topics such as the U.S. space shuttle program and International Space Station.