The pesticide approvals process in Europe is changing. This POSTnote explores the potential implications for UK agriculture and horticulture and examines other crop protection strategies available that complement or compensate for pesticides.
This note looks at the treatments currently available for heroin and cocaine dependency, assesses the prospects for new treatments, and examines the issues these raise.
This POSTnote describes how a pandemic vaccine for UK use against the novel strain of influenza (flu) virus subtype H1N1 would be manufactured, and alternative techniques for vaccine development and manufacture.
This POSTnote looks at the latest scientific research, advice and recommendations for a diet to lower cancer risk and the consequences for health policy.
This POSTnote examines the state of research into human variability, and the prospects, challenges and policy implications of more personalised medical treatment.
There is evidence that efforts to reduce emissions of
greenhouse gases may be insufficient to avert
unacceptable levels of climate change; global emission
levels are currently higher than even the highest
scenario produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (2001). Geo-engineering seeks to use
global scale engineering to offset the effects of
greenhouse gas emissions. This POSTnote summarises
the arguments relating to research funding for geoengineering.
This POSTnote looks at the influence of time in decision making, and looks at the implications for policy domains such as pensions, health and consumer affairs.
This briefing describes recent developments in food regulation and examines options to improve food hygiene in businesses through monetary penalties, training and the use of local "Scores on the Doors" schemes.
In the past decade, the government has repeatedly emphasised the importance of taking an "evidence-based" approach to policy-making. In 2006, the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee welcomed the government's progress in integrating scientific evidence into decision making. However, despite increasing use of evidence from the natural and social sciences, evidence from humanities disciplines such as history is not widely used. This POSTnote considers how history could help to inform decisions on key scientific and technological policy issues.
Around 15-20% of the UK's electricity could potentially be produced from marine renewable sources, but the technology is not mature. This POSTnote considers the technologies available and the environmental, economic and technological challenges involved in their deployment.
This POSTnote looks at recent UK e-democracy initiatives, and at challenges faced in their design and implementation. It examines debate over the purpose of eDemocracy and where its future lies.
This POSTnote outlines current and future applications of ITS in road transport, as well as technical, behavioural and economic limitations to their deployment.
Fundamental changes to the UK economy will be required to meet the greenhouse gas emission targets of the Climate Change Act (2008). This POSTnote examines UK emission trends since 1990 and considers how the UK might achieve a technological and behavioural transition to meet the targets.