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

Statement on the handling of risk situations by scientists

2012-11-12
(Press-News.org) In late October, Italian scientists have been sentenced for supposedly not having warned sufficiently against the severe earthquake of L'Aquila 2009. On occasion of this verdict, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the French Académie des sciences publish a statement concerning the handling of risks situations by scientists. We forward the statement in the exact wording.

Joint Statement of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the French Académie des sciences, 12 November 2012

On the science-based communication of risks following the recent sentencing of Italian scientists

On 22 October 2012, a court in L'Aquila sentenced seven members of the Italian National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks to prison terms of several years. The verdict has sparked a worldwide discussion on the legal aspects of the accountability of scientists who advise government institutions. Scientists must participate in this discussion actively and as objectively as possible. The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the French Académie des sciences therefore expressly support the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the Italian National Academy of Sciences, in its endeavours to set up an independent expert commission of geologists and legal experts. The role of this commission will be to examine the scientific and legal aspects of the L'Aquila verdict.

Scientific research is substantially motivated by the aim of providing greater protection against natural disasters. In the case of uncontrollable events such as cyclones, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, scientific forecasting methods are becoming increasingly important. Scientists and representatives of state institutions must work together with mutual trust in order to inform the public responsibly, and on the basis of reliable data, about possible risks.

In their risk forecasts, scientists assess the probabilities of future events. Probability-based statements are per se fraught with uncertainty. At all times, scientists must communicate this fundamental fact as clearly as possible. This is no easy task when it involves communicating with public-sector decision-makers and concerned members of the public who expect clear forecasts. However, scientists cannot – and should not – absolve themselves of this responsibility.

It is very unfortunate when the trust between scientists, state institutions and the affected members of the public is profoundly damaged. This occurred as a result of the devastating earthquake in L'Aquila on 6 April 2009.

It is thus in the interests of all those involved that the events are reconstructed comprehensively, precisely and objectively. Only in this way is it possible to evaluate on a reliable basis whether the persons involved performed their duties appropriately in the situation in question.

The scientific community must also take an active part in the necessary examination process from the start. The decision of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei to set up an independent expert commission to examine the L'Aquila verdict is a clear and decisive signal in this regard.

### Contact at Leopoldina: PD Dr. Stefan Artmann , Senior Scientific Coordinator
Phone: +49 (0)345 / 472 39 – 863, E-mail: stefan.artmann@leopoldina.org Contact at Académie des sciences: Professor Bernard Meunier, Délégué à l'information scientifique et à la communication
Phone: +33 (0)1 44 41 45 51 /44 60, E-mail: marie-laure.moinet@academie-sciences.fr END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Mongolia and the Altai Mountains: Origins of genetic blending between Europeans and Asians

Mongolia and the Altai Mountains: Origins of genetic blending between Europeans and Asians
2012-11-12
A group of researchers led by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) has discovered the first scientific evidence of genetic blending between Europeans and Asians in the remains of ancient Scythian warriors living over 2,000 years ago in the Altai region of Mongolia. Contrary to what was believed until now, the results published in PLoS ONE indicate that this blending was not due to an eastward migration of Europeans, but to a demographic expansion of local Central Asian populations, thanks to the technological improvements the Scythian culture brought with them. The ...

Elsevier launches new journal: 'Health Care: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation'

2012-11-12
New York, November 12, 2012 – Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, is pleased to announce the launch of Health Care: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation. Health Care provides a vehicle for communicating important advances in the study of cutting edge research on innovation in health care delivery, including improvements in systems, processes, management, payment, and applied information technology. The United States health care system is undergoing unprecedented reform; Health Care builds ...

Call for global monitoring of infectious diseases in dogs and cats

2012-11-12
Most emerging infectious diseases of humans come from animals. International health agencies monitor these diseases, but they do so only for humans and livestock, not for companion dogs and cats. A new study recommends a global system is needed to monitor infectious diseases of companion dogs and cats. The study, led by Michael Day, Professor of Veterinary Pathology in the School of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Bristol and published online in Emerging Infectious Diseases, lists key infectious diseases that may be transmitted between dogs and cats and man ...

At least 6 major earthquakes on the Alhama de Murcia fault in the last 300,000 years

At least 6 major earthquakes on the Alhama de Murcia fault in the last 300,000 years
2012-11-12
Enjoying Spanish participation, an international group of researchers have analysed the most recent history of the Alhama de Murcia fault. They discovered that it has experienced six major earthquakes above 7 on the Richter scale. According to the scientists, this provides "convincing evidence" that the maximum earthquake magnitudes in the area are higher than originally thought. Since 2001, researchers from the Universities of Barcelona, Leon, Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Coimbra (Portugal), Aahus (Denmark) and the National Autonomous University of Mexico have been working ...

Scientists unravel the mystery of marine methane oxidation

Scientists unravel the mystery of marine methane oxidation
2012-11-12
This press release is available in German. Microbiologists and geochemists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, along with their colleagues from Vienna and Mainz, show that marine methane oxidation coupled to sulfate respiration can be performed by a single microorganism, a member of the ancient kingdom of the Archaea, and does not need to be carried out in collaboration with a bacterium, as previously thought. They published their discovery as an article in the renowned scientific journal Nature. Vast amounts of methane are stored under the ocean ...

Obesity epidemic threatens health of all social groups equally

2012-11-12
It is often assumed that those on low incomes and with low levels of education are overly represented in the major increase in obesity of recent decades. A new thesis from the Lund University School of Economics and Management, Sweden, shows that obesity is increasing across all social groups and that we need to look at factors other than socioeconomic status to understand and solve one of the major public health concerns of the Western world. Åsa Ljungvall, a researcher in economics at the Lund University School of Economics and Management, has studied the increase ...

Smart drug improves survival in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Smart drug improves survival in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia
2012-11-12
A new study has found Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) patients given a new type of 'smart drug' in addition to chemotherapy treatment are 22 per cent less likely to relapse and around 13 per cent less likely to die from their disease. The results are from a major phase III Cancer Research UK-funded trial led by Cardiff University. Of the 1,115 patients who took part in the trial, 68 per cent relapsed on the new treatment within three years, compared with 76 per cent of those who had the standard treatment. And 25 per cent were still alive after three years, compared with ...

Place in the sun carries risks for outdoor workers

2012-11-12
Those individuals who work outdoors with resultant sun exposure are at increased risk for non-melanoma skin cancers, such as squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. Manigé Fartasch shows that the connection between occupational UV exposure and squamous cell carcinoma is now well-established in her review article in issue 43 of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2012; 109(43): 715−20). The results are less clear for basal cell carcinoma, another form of non-melanoma skin cancer. Skin cancers caused by UV light have not yet been considered ...

The consequences of late preterm birth

2012-11-12
Delivery at any time before the 39th week of gestation increases the risk of postnatal problems and mortality. A team of authors headed by Christian F. Poets has analyzed mortality and morbidity data from epidemiological studies of infants born between two and six weeks preterm, comparing them with infants born at full term. They present their findings in issue 43 of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2012; 109(43): 721−6). As a rule, elective Cesarean sections are performed somewhat before full term, in order to prevent spontaneous delivery. However, ...

Ultrasound gel and infections: Researchers propose guidelines to reduce risk

2012-11-12
CHICAGO (November 12, 2012) – In the December issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, guidelines have been proposed by epidemiologists from Beaumont Health System to reduce the risk of infection from contaminated gels. The recommendations are based on the authors' own experiences with an outbreak traced to contaminated ultrasound transmission gel. In December 2011, researchers uncovered an unusual cluster of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a cardiovascular surgery intensive care unit during routine ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Breathable yet protective: Next-gen medical textiles with micro/nano networks

Frequency-engineered MXene supercapacitors enable efficient pulse charging in TENG–SC hybrid systems

Developed an AI-based classification system for facial pigmented lesions

Achieving 20% efficiency in halogen-free organic solar cells via isomeric additive-mediated sequential processing

New book Terraglossia reclaims language, Country and culture

The most effective diabetes drugs don't reach enough patients yet

Breast cancer risk in younger women may be influenced by hormone therapy

Strategies for staying smoke-free after rehab

Commentary questions the potential benefit of levothyroxine treatment of mild hypothyroidism during pregnancy

Study projects over 14 million preventable deaths by 2030 if USAID defunding continues

New study reveals 33% gap in transplant access for UK’s poorest children

Dysregulated epigenetic memory in early embryos offers new clues to the inheritance of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

IVF and IUI pregnancy rates remain stable across Europe, despite an increasing uptake of single embryo transfer

It takes a village: Chimpanzee babies do better when their moms have social connections

From lab to market: how renewable polymers could transform medicine

Striking increase in obesity observed among youth between 2011 and 2023

No evidence that medications trigger microscopic colitis in older adults

NYUAD researchers find link between brain growth and mental health disorders

Aging-related inflammation is not universal across human populations, new study finds

University of Oregon to create national children’s mental health center with $11 million federal grant

Rare achievement: UTA undergrad publishes research

Fact or fiction? The ADHD info dilemma

Genetic ancestry linked to risk of severe dengue

Genomes reveal the Norwegian lemming as one of the youngest mammal species

Early birds get the burn: Monash study finds early bedtimes associated with more physical activity

Groundbreaking analysis provides day-by-day insight into prehistoric plankton’s capacity for change

Southern Ocean saltier, hotter and losing ice fast as decades-long trend unexpectedly reverses

Human fishing reshaped Caribbean reef food webs, 7000-year old exposed fossilized reefs reveal

Killer whales, kind gestures: Orcas offer food to humans in the wild

Hurricane ecology research reveals critical vulnerabilities of coastal ecosystems

[Press-News.org] Statement on the handling of risk situations by scientists