PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Scientific Grand Challenges identified to address global sustainability

2010-11-12
(Press-News.org) Paris, France—The international scientific community has identified five Grand Challenges that, if addressed in the next decade, will deliver knowledge to enable sustainable development, poverty eradication, and environmental protection in the face of global change. The Grand Challenges for Earth system science, published today, are the result of broad consultation as part of a visioning process spearheaded by the International Council for Science (ICSU) in cooperation with the International Social Science Council (ISSC).

The consultation highlighted the need for research that integrates our understanding of the functioning of the Earth system—and its critical thresholds—with global environmental change and socio-economic development.

The five Grand Challenges are: 1. Forecasting—Improve the usefulness of forecasts of future environmental conditions and their consequences for people. 2. Observing—Develop, enhance and integrate the observation systems needed to manage global and regional environmental change. 3. Confining—Determine how to anticipate, recognize, avoid and manage disruptive global environmental change. 4. Responding—Determine what institutional, economic and behavioural changes can enable effective steps toward global sustainability. 5. Innovating—Encourage innovation (coupled with sound mechanisms for evaluation) in developing technological, policy and social responses to achieve global sustainability.

'The challenges are a consensus list of the highest priorities for Earth system research and provide an overarching research framework. If we, the scientific community, successfully address these in the next decade, we will remove critical barriers impeding progress toward sustainable development,' said Dr Walt Reid, who chaired the Task Team overseeing the first step of the visioning process.

'Addressing these challenges will require new research capacity, especially the involvement of young scientists and scientists from developing countries, and a balanced mix of disciplinary and interdisciplinary research that actively involves stakeholders and decision makers,' Dr Reid continued.

'The existing global environmental change programmes—Diversitas, International Geosphere Biosphere Programme, International Human Dimensions Programme and the World Climate Research Programme—along with the Earth System Science Partnership have played an important role in our understanding of the Earth system,' explained Professor Johan Rockström, the current chair of the visioning Task Team.

'Their engagement has been an important part of the visioning process and the continued involvement of these global research networks is essential to the globally coordinated research effort needed to address the questions posed by the Grand Challenges,' Professor Rockström said.

Now that the research framework has been identified the next step has begun: determining the organizational structure required to implement this framework.

Professor Deliang Chen, ICSU Executive Director, said: 'A lot of integrated research is already happening but it does not constitute the concerted coordinated global effort that is needed to effectively respond to the Grand Challenges. ICSU, together with the ISSC and the Belmont Forum of funders, are consulting with the existing programmes and related initiatives to determine what new structure(s) will be required.'

'The new structure(s) will need to deliver the science to answer the Grand Challenges more rapidly and more effectively than is likely to happen with the current arrangements,' Professor Chen concluded.

INFORMATION: The full details of the Grand Challenges have been published in a report, which is available on the visioning website: www.icsu-visioning.org

A 'Policy forum' article on the Grand Challenges has been published in Science (Reid et al. Vol. 330, pp 916-917, 12 Nov 2010).

More information: Dr Walt Reid: wreid@packard.org, (mobile) +1 510 6979317, (office) +1 650 9177329. Professor Johan Rockström: johan.rockstrom@sei.se, +46 (0)8 6747200. Professor Deliang Chen: deliang.chen@icsu.org, +33 (0)1 45250329.

About ICSU

Founded in 1931, ICSU is a non-governmental organization with a global membership of national scientific bodies (121 Members, representing 141 countries) and International Scientific Unions (30 Members). ICSU is frequently called upon to speak on behalf of the global scientific community and to act as an advisor in matters ranging from the environment to the conduct of science. ICSU's activities focus on three areas: planning and coordinating research; science for policy; and strengthening the Universality of Science. www.icsu.org

About the Visioning Process

The Visioning Process is spearheaded by ICSU in cooperation with the International Social Science Council (ISSC). It is a three-step consultation process, engaging the scientific community to explore options and propose implementation steps for a holistic strategy on Earth system research that will encourage scientific innovation and address policy needs. Step 1 focuses on identifying the urgent scientific questions, while step 2 focuses on the institutional frameworks needed to support the research strategy. The final step will examine how to make the transition from the current approach to the needed approach. The visioning process began in February 2009 and is guided by a Task Team. 'Earth System Science for Global Sustainability: The Grand Challenges' is the result of step 1 and represents input from many individuals and institutions. www.icsu-visioning.org



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Consensus on TBI and PTSD will accelerate future research and improve patient care

2010-11-12
St. Louis, MO, November 11, 2010 – The November 2010 issue of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Official Journal of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, has published a set of 9 articles on traumatic brain injury (TBI) that will accelerate future research in the field by establishing common language for the degree of injury, how it is measured and classified, treatment and potential outcomes. It provides the first set of recommendations intended to promote greater consistency and collaboration among researchers on TBI and psychological health ...

How diving leatherback turtles regulate buoyancy

2010-11-12
Leatherback turtles are remarkably versatile divers. Routinely diving to depths of several hundred meters, leatherbacks are occasionally known to plunge as deep as 1250m. The animals probably plumb the depths to avoid predators, search for prey and avoid heat in the tropics. However it wasn't clear how these mammoth reptiles regulate their buoyancy as they plunge down. Sabrina Fossette from Swansea University explains that no one knew how the turtles descended so far: do they swim down or become negatively buoyant and plummet like a stone? Curious to find out how nesting ...

New equation calculates cost of walking for first time

2010-11-12
Any parent that takes their kid out for a walk knows that children tire more quickly than adults, but why is that? Do kids and small adults walk differently from taller people or do they tire faster for some other reason? Peter Weyand from Southern Methodist University, USA, is fascinated by the effect that body size has on physiological function. 'This goes back to Max Kleiber's work on resting metabolic rates for different sized animals. He found that the bigger you are the slower each gram of tissue uses energy,' explains Weyand, who adds, 'It's interesting to know how ...

Tracking $40 billion in commitments for maternal and child health

2010-11-12
This year, governments, foundations, businesses, multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations and health care professional associations publicly pledged more than $ 40 billion* to improve maternal and child health and save million of lives. How do you ensure that they will live up to these commitments? One way is to bring all of the stakeholders together -- from government to civil society to academia to health professionals to the UN -- to develop concrete strategies for action on financing, policies and service delivery. This is the goal of a "Pledges ...

Jane Out of the Box Article Reveals How Culture and Religion Can Affect Business Partnership

2010-11-12
A business owner's culture and religion can play a role in the way she runs a business. So when she is considering creating a partnership with another business owner, the two must discuss how these deeply-rooted characteristics will fit in - and whether they will allow the partnership to work. Cultural and Religious Differences in a Business Partnership is the latest article by entrepreneurial expert Michele DeKinder-Smith. The article discusses the importance of considering culture and religion when launching a business partnership. Based on continuing professional ...

World's Biggest Interactive Treasure Hunt Comes Home To Melbourne

2010-11-12
A team of young entrepreneurs have just announced the upcoming launch of their innovative "mobile treasure hunt" smartphone application in their home town of Melbourne, Australia, after successful U.S. trials earlier this year. The application is called DreamWalk and it allows people to hunt for and collect real treasure hidden around their city using the GPS built into their mobile phones. Treasures are contributed to the DreamWalk map by advertisers, who use DreamWalk as a marketing platform to promote their businesses, brands and products in an interactive and entertaining ...

Yellowfin unveils latest release of iPhone and iPad application

2010-11-12
Yellowfin's latest Business Intelligence (BI) application for the iPhone and iPad is now available from Apple's App Store. BI software analyzes and reports on a range of corporate data to generate actionable insights and support strategic organizational decision-making. The application gives users full access to the Melbourne based BI vendor's easy-to-use reporting and analytics solution straight from their iPhone or iPad, whenever and wherever they need it. Users have the ability to access all of Yellowfin's real-time reporting capabilities remotely. "Yellowfin's ...

Fashion News Live Takes Over The Pink Carpet at Victoria Secret 2010

2010-11-12
What happens on the pink carpet, stays on the pink carpet? I don't think so. It was no secret how fiery hot Wednesday night's event was in the city that never sleeps. It was a star-studded night as celebrity guests made their way through the pink carpet for the annual Victoria Secret show in New York City. As the press line set up, Fashion News Live got an exclusive sneak peak of behind the scenes set-up prior to the show. Stage managers walked Fashion News Live cameras through the glittery process of setting up the runway and backdrops. Have we mentioned that the night ...

Local Asheville Artist Diane English Expands Business to Europe

2010-11-12
Diane English, creator of The Great Cosmic Happy-Ass Card Company, in Weaverville, NC recently added a European distributor for her greeting cards. Her line is currently distributed to independent bookstores and galleries in the U.S. and Canada and also available on the Internet at http://www.greatcosmichappyass.com. "This is a wonderful opportunity to expand the reach of my cards." "Cards," she says with a smile, "that are purchased by brilliant, self aware and courageous people." Since 1996 Diane English has been creating her cards. As a one-woman shop, Diane has ...

Triangle Healthy Vending and iContact partner to provide healthy snacks

2010-11-12
Triangle Healthy Vending and iContact partner to provide healthy snacks Triangle Healthy Vending, a locally owned independent healthy vending business servicing the North Carolina Triangle, is pleased to announce a new partnership with iContact, an industry-leading email marketing software company and certified B Corporation based in Morrisville, NC. "Our goals really match up," says founder Marc Dewalle. "I started Triangle Healthy Vending to offer an alternative to snacks and drinks loaded with high fructose corn syrup and artificial additives. iContact is committed ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Participation of women in cardiovascular trials from 2017 to 2023

Semaglutide and tirzepatide in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Changes in biology of internal fat may be the leading cause of heart failure

Transcatheter or surgical treatment of patients with aortic stenosis at low to intermediate risk

Promising new drug for people with stubborn high blood pressure

One shot of RSV vaccine effective against hospitalization in older adults for two seasons

Bivalent RSV prefusion F protein–based vaccine for preventing cardiovascular hospitalizations in older adults

Clonal hematopoiesis and risk of new-onset myocarditis and pericarditis

Risk of myocarditis or pericarditis with high-dose vs standard-dose influenza vaccine

High-dose vs standard-dose influenza vaccine and cardiovascular outcomes in older adults

Prevalence, determinants, and time trends of cardiovascular health in the WHO African region

New study finds that, after a heart attack, women have worse prognosis when treated with beta-blockers

CNIC-led REBOOT clinical trial challenges 40-year-old standard of care for heart attack patients

Systolic blood pressure and microaxial flow pump–associated survival in infarct-related cardiogenic shock

Beta blockers, the standard treatment after a heart attack, may offer no benefit for heart attack patients and women can have worse outcomes

High Mountain Asia’s shrinking glaciers linked to monsoon changes

All DRII-ed up: How do plants recover after drought?

Research on stigma says to just ‘shake it off’

Scientists track lightning “pollution” in real time using NASA satellite

Millions of women rely on contraceptives, but new Rice study shows they may do more than just prevent pregnancy

Hot days make for icy weather, Philippine study finds

Roxana Mehran, MD, receives the most prestigious award given by the European Society of Cardiology

World's first clinical trial showing lubiprostone aids kidney function

Capturing language change through the genes

Public trust in elections increases with clear facts

Thawing permafrost raised carbon dioxide levels after the last ice age

New DNA test reveals plants’ hidden climate role

Retinitis pigmentosa mouse models reflect pathobiology of human RP59

Cell’s ‘antenna’ could be key to curing diseases

Tiny ocean partnership between algae and bacteria reveals secrets of evolution

[Press-News.org] Scientific Grand Challenges identified to address global sustainability