EurekAlert! News by Subject: Policy & Ethics

Policy & Ethics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 16-May-2026 20:15 ET (17-May-2026 00:15 GMT/UTC)

28-Jan-2026

Restoring ecosystem function can reverse desertification in Europe’s drylands

Pensoft Publishers
Reports and Proceedings

Desertification is accelerating across Europe’s drylands under climate change, reducing biodiversity, ecosystem services, and rural livelihoods. A new eLTER policy brief shows that functional restoration — restoring key ecosystem functions such as water regulation and soil stability — can reverse degradation even where full ecological recovery is no longer possible. Long-term research demonstrates that rebuilding water-retaining structures restores ecosystem resilience and services. The approach supports major EU and global policy frameworks and offers a scalable solution for climate-resilient land management.

Funder: Horizon Europe

28-Jan-2026

Institut Pasteur statement on U.S. administration's attacks against biomedical research, global public health action and vaccination

Institut Pasteur
Business Announcement

For several months now, the current U.S. administration has consistently attacked and endeavored to weaken biomedical research and public health action in the United States and worldwide with unparalleled vigor. This situation has many consequences – both ethical and economic – but above all it is a grave attack on healthcare protection, and an unprecedented assault on the systems and institutions responsible for protecting lives.

28-Jan-2026

First national survey shows Timor-Leste eating more fish than ever before

WorldFish
Reports and Proceedings

Timor-Leste is eating more fish than ever before. The country’s first national survey on fish consumption shows people now eat an average of 8.7 kilograms per person per year, up from an estimated 6.1 kilograms *in 2011. The findings show strong progress toward the government’s goal of 10 kilograms per capita, per year, and are already informing budget planning and fisheries policy.

27-Jan-2026

Stanford research teams tackle environmental impacts of U.S. policy

Stanford University
Grant and Award Announcement

Grants support research on global sustainability challenges, with a focus on how U.S. policy shifts affect environmental and human outcomes. Funded projects examine climate and clean-energy policy impacts on communities, ecosystems, and public trust, generating insights to build more resilient and equitable environmental outcomes.

Funder: Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

27-Jan-2026

The ISSCR addresses access and affordability in cell and gene therapies; convenes summit on 20 March 2026

International Society for Stem Cell Research
Meeting Announcement

Bringing the promise of cell and gene therapies to patients is one of the greatest defining opportunities in, and responsibilities of, modern medicine. To that end, The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), in collaboration with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center, will host the Summit on Access and Affordability in Cell and Gene Therapies on 20 March 2026.

The summit convenes global leaders to confront scientific, economic, and systematic barriers that may limit patient access to potentially curative cellular medicines. Experts in research, clinical care, policy, market access, economics and patient advocacy will engage in cross-sector dialogue to explore pricing, manufacturing, regulation, and reimbursement strategies.

27-Jan-2026

How the university turns royalties into a self-funding engine for innovation

Rutgers University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Unique patent policy, co-funding, and industry mentorship help move discoveries at Rutgers across the “valley of death.”

Journal: Nature Biotechnology

27-Jan-2026

2026 Joseph W. St Geme, Jr Award recipient announced

Boston University School of Medicine
Grant and Award Announcement

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The Federation of Pediatric Organizations (FOPO) is pleased to announce that Robert (Bob) Vinci, MD, has been named the recipient of the 2026 FOPO Joseph W. St. Geme, Jr. Leadership Award.

This prestigious honor recognizes Vinci’s visionary leadership as a clinician, educator, mentor and institutional builder whose sustained system-level contributions have reshaped pediatric education, pediatric workforce policy and access to care for vulnerable populations. Vinci, professor of pediatrics at Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine and a member of the Department of Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center (BMC), is widely recognized as an innovative leader, educator and mentor who has guided hundreds of trainees over his over four-decade career.