Stories
Senior European Officials Visit IAEA Labs in Seibersdorf
Ambassadors and other diplomats of European Union (EU) countries, senior European Commission (EC) staff and Ambassador Györgyi Martin Martin Zanathy, the Head of the EU Delegation in Vienna, convened at the IAEA Laboratories in Seibersdorf, Austria, to receive in-depth briefings on the science conducted there and on the IAEA's plans for modernisation of the laboratories on 14 May 2013. Read More »
The Joint FAO-IAEA Division is supporting Member States to combat H7N9 avian influenza - a new avian influenza virus concern for Humans
Since 31 March 2013, an H7N9 avian influenza A virus has been detected in four provinces of eastern China, the first time this subtype has been found in humans. The Joint FAO-IAEA Division’s Animal Production and Health Laboratory (APHL) is investigating the use and adaptability of early and rapid molecular diagnostic technologies to identify poultry that are infected or that carry the H7N9 virus. Read More »
Saving Lives in Cuba with Nuclear Cardiology
Cardiac diseases are growing as the leading cause of death around the world. Cuba is no exception. Through a decade long cooperation with the IAEA, the National Institute of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery in Havana is working to combat heart disease in Cuba. Read More »
United Nations Secretary General Commends Work Done at IAEA Environmental Laboratories in Monaco
During an official visit to the Principality of Monaco, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, paid a visit to the IAEA’s Environment Laboratories. As the only marine laboratories in the UN system, these facilities play an important role in improving global understanding of marine processes, including ocean acidification. Read More »
Water Cooperation for Peace and Development: The International Celebration of World Water Day 2013
On the occasion of World Water Day, 22 March, the IAEA participated in the International Celebration of World Water Day 2013 On Water Cooperation, in The Hague, The Netherlands. The celebration provided an opportunity for experts from international organizations, NGOs, the private sector and academia to come together to identify and discuss solutions to the water challenges of the future. Read More »
GC 56 Comes to a Close
After five days of deliberations and side events, the 200 delegations to the IAEA’s 56th General Conference have departed the Vienna International Centre. The General Conference, held from 17 to 21 September, was attended by more than 3 000 representatives from Member States, observer countries, United Nations and specialized agencies, IGOs and NGOs, each seeking to learn more about the IAEA and its work in furthering the peaceful use of nuclear technology. Read More »
US Secretary of Energy visits Seibersdorf Labs
During his participation in the IAEA Scientific Forum “Food for the Future”, US Secretary of Energy and Nobel Laureate, Steven Chu, visited the IAEA’s nuclear applications laboratories in Seibersdorf. The visit, led by the Director of the IAEA Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences, took Mr Chu to eight of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications’ laboratories. The agenda incorporated many diverse areas relating to food and agriculture, environmental monitoring and assessment, physics and human health. Read More »
56th General Conference: Side Events Highlight the Importance of Nuclear Sciences and Applications
During the 56th IAEA General Conference, five side events were held to highlight the innovative work of the IAEA’s Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications. The events, on topics such as human health, cancer control, the Seibersdorf Laboratories, isotope hydrology and sustainable development informed Member States of the services provided by the Department and the new approaches and techniques being developed by IAEA scientists. Read More »
Side event at the GC56: ‘Nuclear Technology for a Sustainable Future’
On 20 September 2012, the IAEA Departments of Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Sciences and Applications and Technical Cooperation held a joint side event at the 56th IAEA General Conference, entitled Nuclear Technology for a Sustainable Future. The side event presented the role of science and technology in sustainable development and discussed the IAEA’s participation in the United Nations Rio+20 Conference, as well as its role in the post-Millennium Development Goals (MDG) agenda. In addition, the IAEA’s new Ocean Acidification Centre was presented as an example of how the IAEA is contributing to sustainable development through nuclear technology. Read More »
EXPO 2012: IAEA Raising Awareness to Preserve our Oceans for the Future
The world’s oceans, home to 80% of biodiversity on earth, are increasingly impacted by rising temperature and acidification, oxygen depletion, continued pollution and over-exploitation. Currently, heightened levels of CO₂ are causing the oceans to absorb an unbalanced amount of carbon, millions of tons of oil are reaching the sea each year and about 70% of the world’s fisheries are considered as “fully-“ or “over-exploited”. As coastal zones support approximately 60% of the global human population, the importance of maintaining healthy and prosperous oceans is paramount. Read More »
IAEA and FAO Strengthen Food Security Partnership
In a meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna on 15 August 2012, Yukiya Amano, IAEA Director General, and José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director General, agreed to further strengthen the long-standing IAEA/FAO partnership, which helps developing countries use nuclear techniques to improve food security. The Directors General agreed to support a joint proposal for the IAEA to become a member of the United Nations Secretary-General's High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis. Read More »
Director General Visits International Nuclear Fusion Project Headquarters
“Nuclear fusion holds the promise of an inexhaustible, clean and safe source of energy,” said the IAEA Director General, Yukiya Amano, during a 6 July 2012 visit to ITER Headquarters in Cadarache, France. The DG furthermore stressed that the IAEA “directly supports research through Coordinated Research Programmes and the provision of nuclear data”. ITER, a project shared by China, the European Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States, is constructing the world’s largest fusion reactor experiment in order to demonstrate fusion’s commercial viability. The IAEA has supported ITER as a collaborative research project since its inception in 1985, and the Agency continues to support worldwide fusion and plasma physics through the publication of a leading scientific journal and the organization of the biennial Fusion Energy Conference, which will next be held 8-13 October 2012 in San Diego, USA. Read More »
50th Anniversary of the IAEA’s Nuclear Sciences and Applications Laboratories in Seibersdorf
This year the IAEA’s nuclear sciences and applications laboratories in Seibersdorf commemorate 50 years of dedicated support to Member States in their efforts to address developmental needs through the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. With the changing nature of the nuclear applications landscape, the need and expectation for national and international organizations to cooperate in nuclear research and technology transfer has increased. Read More »
IAEA Signs Memorandum of Understanding with BIPM, Honouring 50 Years of Cooperation
On 25 June, the IAEA and the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) marked a milestone in their over 50 years of mutual cooperation in the field of metrology by signing a Memorandum of Understanding at the IAEA Headquarters in Vienna. The event further strengthened what has been a long and productive relationship, as well as paved a new path for opportunities for collaboration in the future. Read More »
BERM 13 and IAEA Reference Materials: Facilitating International Cooperation in the Scientific Community
One of the IAEA’s roles in facilitating the peaceful applications of nuclear technology around the world is to ensure that laboratories in Member States are able to share scientific knowledge and resources effectively. In order for analytical data to be comparable and reliable between laboratories in different countries, it is vital that everyone follow the same universally accepted system of units. Read More »
Telemedicine in Africa: Connecting Professionals in the Fight against Cancer
Delegates from African Member States recently gathered in Vienna to participate in an IAEA technical meeting aimed at setting-up a telemedicine network for radiation oncology consultation in Africa. A telemedicine network allows health professionals to communicate through interactive audio-visual media, allowing parties on either end to rapidly share information regardless of where they are. Read More »
The IAEA at Rio+20: Nuclear Technology for a Sustainable Future
Nuclear technologies are used daily to find and protect sustainable sources of fresh water, produce energy and food, while providing researchers the tools to study the ocean’s past and predict its future. Download Brochure
CRPs and TCs: IAEA’s Delivery Mechanisms for Nuclear Applications
In order to assist Member States in planning for and using nuclear science and technology for peaceful purposes, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) plans, implements and manages Coordinated Research Projects (CRPs) and Technical Cooperation Projects, both of which are essential for the IAEA to foster collaboration between Member States and improve nuclear techniques worldwide. Read More »
The IAEA’s Nuclear Spectrometry Laboratory: Developing Cutting-Edge Technologies for the Past, Present and Future
If human civilization is to make sustainable progress, it is essential that we better understand the ecological impact of our actions. While globalization has opened up the path of rapid industrialization
to many developing countries, it is now necessary for the international community to step back and ensure that this path is not only heading in the right direction, but that the tracks left behind are not
causing too much damage.
Read More »
Analytical Laboratories Contribute to Food Safety in Latin America and the Caribbean Region
6 Dec 2012 -- A weeklong final coordination meeting on assessing the impact of pesticides on food and the environment concluded with a high-level meeting in San Jose, Costa Rica last week. Government representatives from Brazil, Ecuador and El Salvador joined the Costa Rican Minister of Science and Technology, the Vice-president of the University of Costa Rica and IAEA officials. Read More »
IAEA Workshop on Monte Carlo Method in Medical Physics Attracts Participants from Around the World
On 17 – 28 October, medical physicists, scientists and engineers from around the world convened in Trieste Italy to participate in one of the largest IAEA workshops that’s ever been held. The workshop on “Monte Carlo Radiation Transport and Associated Data Needs for Medical Applications,” which was held at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), constituted a unique opportunity for participants to gain extensive and up-to-date training on the use and understanding of cutting edge techniques for medical physics applications. Read More »
Preserving the Past for a Stronger Future: Nuclear Techniques for Cultural Heritage Research
At the mouth of the Amazon River, 1500 years before Europeans arrived in South America, there emerged one of the most intriguing indigenous societies of the Americas, the Marajoaras. An exuberant and aesthetically driven culture, they are known for their pottery, which—both highly complex in form and decoration—has been studied intensively since the 19th century in relation to vessel function, production processes and style. Read More »
Addressing the Water Shortage with Electron Beam Wastewater Treatment
As the population of the world continues to grow, so does industrialization and urbanization, creating a global community that relies on enormous amounts of water and resulting in waste water containing a variety of contaminants. Nature alone used to be able to clean the water, but not anymore. The steady discharge of toxic substances into the world’s ecosystems has made it impossible for water to be naturally recycled in rivers and aquifers. With a lack of clean, accessible water in both arid and semi-arid climates, we are now facing a global crisis of water supply. Read More »
Exclusive Breastfeeding for a Healthy Start in Life
“Breastfeeding provides an excellent start of life for newborn babies,” says Lena Davidsson, an expert in nutrition from the IAEA’s Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, “and with exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months of life, infants are given the best opportunity to grow and develop normally, regardless of where they live.” The WHO and UNICEF have recommended that women practice exclusive breastfeeding—which means that women feed their children only human milk—from birth up to six months of age. Much of the IAEA’s work in nutrition involves feeding infants and young children. In many countries, these projects focus on breastfeeding by HIV infected mothers and therefore deal with the complex issues related to transmission of the HIV virus via human milk. Read More »
Human Health Campus Goes Mobile
On Thursday, 22 September of the 55th IAEA General Conference, a special side event was held to introduce the mobile version of the distance learning tool developed by the IAEA, called the Human Health campus. In addition to being available online for desktop computer users, those with a smart phone will now have access to a wide variety of learning material in radiation medicine including nuclear medicine, oncology, medical physics, radiopharmacy and nutrition, all essential in the global fight against cancer and other non-communicable diseases. Read More »
A World Free from Rinderpest
On Tuesday, 20 September, a special Rinderpest Freedom Celebration was held to bring together some of the key players that contributed to this great feat, and gave them the opportunity to share what the experience means to them. By some estimates, the eradication has left Africa an annual economic benefit of around US$920 million. FAO Deputy Director General Ann Tutwiler opened the event and commented on how the eradication of rinderpest is evidence of the power of international cooperation. Read More »
Helping To Feed the World with Nuclear Techniques
At the IAEA 55th General Conference, the Division of Food and Agriculture distributed banana plantlets to conference participants in order to draw attention to their recent work in the field of plant breeding and genetics. Those who attended the giveaway had the opportunity to sit and talk directly with experts from the IAEA Plant Breeding and Genetics Laboratory to learn more about the important role of nuclear techniques for sustainable food security. Read More »
Efforts to Ensure Sustainable Supply of Medical Isotopes: Molybdenum-99
At the IAEA 55th General Conference a special side event on radioisotopes was held to allow conference participants to gather additional information and talk directly to experts from the IAEA working in this field. By bridging the gaps between businesses, science and medical expertise, the IAEA General Conference was a pivotal opportunity for new ideas to be shared and put to use. Read More »
Helping to Improve Africa’s Health Care Work Force with VUCCnet
The IAEA’s Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT) was created in 2004 to confront the cancer crisis in the developing world by facilitating the transfer of technology and expertise in radiation therapy and nuclear medicine. At the IAEA 55th General Conference, PACT will host a special side event to recap the progress it has made in past couple years, highlighting its most recent successes while also discussing challenges for the future. Read More »
Understanding the Water Below Our Feet
Two billion people are dependent on groundwater moving under our feet and between borders, the amount of which is estimated to be as much as 10.5 million km3 worldwide; 99% of the world’s accessible fresh water is under the earth. In the 20th century, the human population has tripled and fresh water consumption has risen six-fold. According to the World Water Vision Unit of the World Water Council, if water is not more efficiently used, approximately half the world’s population will soon live in high water stress regions, where agricultural, industrial, and domestic users compete. Read More »
Battling Bugs - IAEA Pest Eradication Work Boosts Guatemalan Produce Exports
The IAEA, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), helped deploy sterile insect technology (SIT), a nuclear application, to assist in curbing Guatemala's fruit fly population, thereby providing a host of new jobs and at least doubling, over four years, export earnings from non-traditional agricultural export crops of tomatoes, bell peppers and papaya. Read More »
IAEA Dosimetry Laboratory Celebrates 50 Years of Work in Medical Dosimetry
This year, the IAEA commemorates the 50th anniversary of its Dosimetry Laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria, which has played an integral role in improving the consistency of dosimetry used in radiation medicine and other applications of ionizing radiation worldwide. Dosimetry is a precise art of measurement to determine the dose--or the amount of radiation energy-- deposited in a unit mass of matter, such as the cancer cells of a cancer patient. By improving dosimetry measurements around the world, the IAEA helps to ensure that cancer patients treated with radiation beams receive the correct doses, no matter where in the world they are being treated. Read More »
What is Dosimetry and Why is it Important for Cancer Treatment?
Whether weighing out apples at the supermarket or medication at the drug store, accurate measurements are important in everyday life. The decisions we make depend on the amount we buy--or rather the measured weight--of the product. While an error of a few percent may not be of grave concern when buying fruits and vegetables, when it comes to medical treatment for disease it is certainly necessary to be precise. But, what if the thing we are measuring is completely invisible? Ionizing radiation, which can be used to treat cancer by destroying harmful cells but is completely undetectable by human senses, requires the utmost care in ensuring it is accurately measured. Otherwise, too little or too much radiation can be harmful to the cancer patient that is being treated. Read More »
Rinderpest No More - IAEA in Global Partnership to Eradicate Rinderpest
For centuries, rinderpest, a highly contagious viral disease afflicting cattle, buffalo, yak and several wildlife species, caused immense livestock losses and crushing economic damage. Once common in Africa, the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East, rinderpest, or cattle plague, has now been eradicated worldwide, as officially declared on 25 May by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) in Paris. Read More »
Committed to Fight Cancer
At the IAEA´s annual commemoration of World Cancer Day, held at the IAEA´s headquarters in Vienna on 7 February 2011, Director General Yukiya Amano took stock of his prioritization of cancer control in developing countries during 2010, his first year as IAEA Director General. With seven of ten cancer deaths occurring today in the developing world, he noted that awareness of the growing cancer epidemic in developing countries is steadily increasing, yet much must be done to combat the disease. Read More »
IAEA helps to improve the productivity of cattle, camels and yaks in Mongolia through better nutrition and reproductive management
The livestock sector is the main pillar of the economy in Mongolia which, in addition to providing export products, provides food, clothing and shelter. The livestock sector employs 30 percent of Mongolians and is a core survival strategy for nomadic families that rely entirely on pastureland livestock herding. In 2009 there were 43.4 million heads of livestock in Mongolia or 0.3 million camels, 2.2 million horses, 2.5 million cattle, 18.4 million sheep and 20 million goats. However, there is large variation in animal numbers from year to year because of the death of millions of animals each year due to harsh climatic conditions. Read More »
Water Resources and Livestock: An increasing constraint
Global warming is causing serious deleterious effects to the environment. The maintenance of stable water temperature in oceans, lakes, and rivers is extremely important for aquatic animals as small temperature variations can affect feed availability, egg hatchability, and survival; furthermore, elevated ambient temperatures prompt higher water consumption in humans and all terrestrial animals.
Changes in the hydrological cycle may cause more water to be deposited in the oceans at some periods of the year and an increased scarcity of water in others, while accelerated melting of glaciers and increasing use of fossil water will lead to severe shortages of water that will affect millions of people in the mid-term future unless governments jointly agree on and implement appropriate measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Read More »
The Agency supports portable diagnostic devices to enhance "at-source" control of transboundary animal diseases
Molecular genetic testing plays a vital role in safeguarding public health – from diagnosing disease to monitoring for pathogens with pandemic potential; from detecting potential bioterrorism threats to safeguarding the food supply via crop and farm animal surveillance. Meanwhile, government agencies like the US Public Health Service and CDC, WHO and medical, emergency response and agriculture professionals are struggling to keep up with increasing demands of testing to ascertain safety and security. Finite financial resources, a shortfall in qualified technical personnel and time-consuming test technologies restricted to specially equipped laboratories have created an environment of need poorly served by the solutions currently available. Read More »
Poland's Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology (INCT), in Warsaw, is the IAEA's newest Collaborating Centre
"The new Collaborating Centre 'RAPID' (from Radiation Processing and Industrial Dosimetry) is an important addition to the IAEA's resources in further serving Member States in feasibility assessment of emerging applications of radiation processing to facilitate adoption and industrial dosimetry intercomparison exercise, vital for effective and efficient application of the technology," said N. Ramamoorthy, Director of the IAEA's Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences, during the inauguration of the Collaborating Centre plaque at INCT headquarters. Read More » on Collaborating Centres