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.
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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