EurekAlert! News by Subject: Policy & Ethics - News by Subject: Policy & Ethics

Policy & Ethics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 28-Jun-2025 11:10 ET (28-Jun-2025 15:10 GMT/UTC)

Seagrass meadows as natural climate protectors

Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR)
Grant and Award Announcement

24.January 2025/Kiel. How can seagrass help combat climate change? This question is the focus of the new research project ZOBLUC (“Zostera marina as a Blue Carbon Sink in the Baltic Sea”), which now starts under the leadership of the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. The project aims to investigate the role of seagrass meadows as carbon sinks and to develop recommendations for their protection. Funded with around €6 million as part of the Natural Climate Protection Action Programme (ANK) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV) and the Ministry for Energy Conversion, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature of the State of Schleswig-Holstein (MEKUN), the project will run until September 2030.

Funder: German Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV), Ministry for Energy Conversion, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature of the State of Schleswig-Holstein (MEKUN)

In a landmark study, an NYBG scientist and colleagues find that reforestation stands out among plant-based climate-mitigation strategies as most beneficial for wildlife biodiversity

The New York Botanical Garden
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study by a New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) scientist and her colleagues published in this week's Science finds that, of the three large-scale, plant-based climate mitigation strategies, reforestation stands out as most beneficial for biodiversity. Well-intended strategies such as afforestation and bioenergy cropping could have unforeseen impacts on biodiversity. The team, including scientists at Princeton University and The Nature Conservancy in addition to NYBG, modeled the impact of these mitigation strategies on over 14,000 invertebrate species. They argue that policy makers and conservation officials should consider impacts on biodiversity when evaluating the most effective tools to mitigate climate change.

Journal: Science

The ISSCR announces new Lawrence Goldstein Science Policy Fellows

International Society for Stem Cell Research
Business Announcement

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has appointed three new Goldstein Science Policy Fellows, Lizhong Liu, Ph.D., Westlake University, China, Kate MacDuffie, Ph.D., Seattle Children’s Research Institute, U.S.A., and Mubeen Goolam, Ph.D., University of Cape Town, South Africa. The fellows each have extensive interest in science policy and regulatory issues affecting stem cell science and will serve for three years beginning in June 2025.

Opioid overdose deaths throughout Midwest most strongly linked to a lack of economic upward mobility, Boston College study finds

The unprecedented increase in drug overdose deaths in the U.S., long believed to be driven by access to legal and illegal opioids, is most closely tied to an equally dramatic decline in upward income mobility, according to a new analysis by Boston College researchers published in the International Journal of Drug Policy.

Journal: International Journal of Drug Policy

Bacteria found to eat forever chemicals — and even some of their toxic byproducts

University at Buffalo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A University at Buffalo-led team has identified a strain of bacteria that can break down and transform at least three types of PFAS, and, perhaps even more crucially, some of the toxic byproducts of the bond-breaking process.

Journal: Science of The Total Environment
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health

AI judged to be more compassionate than expert crisis responders: Study

University of Toronto
Peer-Reviewed Publication

According to new U of T Scarborough research, artificial intelligence (AI) can create empathetic responses more reliably and consistently than humans, even when compared to professionals whose job relies on empathizing with those in need.

Journal: Communications Psychology

FAU secures $21M Promise Neighborhoods grant for Broward UP underserved communities

Florida Atlantic University
Grant and Award Announcement

South Florida faces significant challenges, including more than 6,000 homeless children in Broward County and issues like absenteeism, mental health struggles, poor nutrition, and limited early learning programs. These factors hinder social mobility and education. To address these issues, FAU received a $21 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Promise Neighborhoods program. The "Broward Unlimited Potential Promise Neighborhood" (Broward UP) initiative aims to provide children with access to quality education and strong community support, ensuring successful transitions to college or careers.

Funder: U.S. Department of Education