Upcoming: BU Conference on Sustainability Research » Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future | Boston University

in 2016, News

April 20th, 2016

Please join us for the BU Conference on Sustainability Research on Monday, May 9 from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm at the Boston University Photonics Building at 8 St. Mary’s Street, 9th floor.

This one-day conference will feature presentations by Boston University faculty from six schools and colleges on their research related to sustainability issues around the world. The four sessions will focus on measuring sustainability, modeling sustainability, human dimensions of sustainability, and future sustainability (see the full agenda below).

The BU Conference on Sustainability Research is co-sponsored by The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Earth and Environment, the Pardee School of Global Studies, and the Institute for Sustainable Energy.

Click here to register

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Zika virus: 2.2 billion people in ‘at risk’ areas – BBC News

By James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News website

More than two billion people live in parts of the world where the Zika virus can spread, detailed maps published in the journal eLife show.

The Zika virus, which is spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, triggered a global health emergency this year.

Last week the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that the virus causes severe birth defects.

The latest research showed mapping Zika was more complex than simply defining where the mosquito can survive.

One of the researchers, Dr Oliver Brady from the University of Oxford, told the BBC: “These are the first maps to come out that really use the data we have for Zika – earlier maps were based on Zika being like dengue or chikungunya.

…(read more).

Global Climate Change
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Public Health

Bioterror fears halt research on mutant bird flu – BBC News

• 20 January 2012

Image caption Almost all H5N1 human cases have been contracted through contact with live or dead poultry

Scientists who created a potentially more deadly bird flu strain have temporarily stopped their research amid fears it could be used by terrorists.

In a letter published in Science and Nature, the teams call for an “international forum” to debate the risks and value of the studies.

US authorities last month asked the authors of the research to redact key details in forthcoming publications.

A government advisory panel suggested the data could be used by terrorists.

Biosecurity experts fear an altered, more contagious form of the virus could spark a pandemic deadlier than the 1918-19 Spanish flu outbreak that killed up to 40 million people.

‘Right step’

The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) recommended key details be omitted from publication of the research, which sparked international furore.

“I would have preferred if this hadn’t caused so much controversy, but it has happened and we can’t change that,” Ron Fouchier, a researcher from Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, told Science Insider.

…(read more).

Global Climate Change
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Expecting the Unexpected: Abrupt Climate Change

YaleClimateConnections

Published on Feb 13, 2014

Senior Scientists discuss the potential for sudden disruptions of human and natural systems as a consequence of climate change.

Global Climate Change
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Hong Kong culls chicken to prevent bird flu

Al Jazeera English

Uploaded on Dec 21, 2011

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ealth officials in Hong Kong have begun culling more than 17,000 chickens to prevent the spread of bird flu. Thousands more in other areas have also been culled.

The government has also suspend imports of live chickens from mainland China for 21 days to prevent any spread of avian flu, which passes easily among birds and can spread to humans.

The H5N1 avian virus was found in a chicken carcass in the city’s biggest wholsesale poultry market.

Hazem Sika reports.

At Al Jazeera English, we focus on people and events that affect people’s lives. We bring topics to light that often go under-reported, listening to all sides of the story and giving a ‘voice to the voiceless.’
Reaching more than 270 million households in over 140 countries across the globe, our viewers trust Al Jazeera English to keep them informed, inspired, and entertained.
Our impartial, fact-based reporting wins worldwide praise and respect. It is our unique brand of journalism that the world has come to rely on.
We are reshaping global media and constantly working to strengthen our reputation as one of the world’s most respected news and current affairs channels.

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Scientists keep bird flu strain secret

Al Jazeera English

Uploaded on Dec 21, 2011

Scientists funded by the US government have created a deadly new strain of bird flu. And now a government panel has asked them not to make the details of the disease public.Al Jazeera’s John Hendren explains why.

Global Climate Change
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Documentary – “Super Flu – Race Against A Killer”

Meredith Watson Jeffrey

Published on Jun 19, 2013

A documentary made by Electric Pictures, in collaboration with National Geographic, about the possibility of a Bird Flu pandemic.

Global Climate Change
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