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Policy & Ethics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 24-Apr-2026 18:16 ET (24-Apr-2026 22:16 GMT/UTC)

Mapping metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease models of care across 17 Middle East and North Africa countries: Insights into guidelines, infrastructure, and referral systems

Xia & He Publishing Inc.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) represents an escalating healthcare burden across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region; however, system-level preparedness remains largely undefined. This study aimed to assess existing models of care, clinical infrastructure, policy frameworks, and provider perspectives across 17 MENA countries.

Journal: Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology

Causal machine learning reveals the impact of renewables on electricity prices

Tsinghua University Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Do renewables always make power cheaper? In the UK, it depends on how much is on the system. Using causal machine learning on 2018–2024 market data, researchers find wind’s causal effect is U-shaped: at low penetration, +1 GWh can reduce prices by up to £7/MWh, the effect weakens mid-range, then strengthens again at higher penetration. The impacts have grown over time as renewables’ share rose, providing an evidence base for market design and support policy. These findings support adaptive support schemes and capacity planning that reflect changing marginal value rather than one-size-fits-all assumptions.

Journal: iEnergy

Widely cited stat on global water and food security ‘hearsay’ and fragile for policymaking

University of Birmingham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A globally cited statistic about the role of irrigation for food security that has formed foundational evidence for policy making and scientific research is used on a ‘hearsay’ basis and is based on weak evidence, according to a new study published in PNAS Nexus.

Journal: PNAS Nexus

SHOWCASE launches “Farming with Biodiversity” Handbook and Living Fields Platform

Pensoft Publishers
Book Announcement

The EU-funded project SHOWCASE has released its final handbook, titled “Farming with Biodiversity”, which serves as a practical and evidence-based guide and bank of resources to help farmers, advisors and policymakers work together to make European agriculture both profitable and nature-positive.

Funder: Horizon 2020 Framework Programme

Two major irrigation statistics may be wrong

PNAS Nexus
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The idea that irrigated agriculture underpins global food and water security—producing 40% of crops and using 70% of freshwater—has become widespread in science and policy. However, these statistics are not empirically supported, according to a new analysis.

Journal: PNAS Nexus

Food stamp expansion in 2021 reduced odds of needy US kids going hungry

BMJ Group
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The 15% expansion of food stamp payments under the supplemental nutrition assistance program, or SNAP for short, during the COVID-19 pandemic, reduced the odds of needy children going hungry, especially in Hispanic-American and large households, finds research to be published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

Journal: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health

Cash transfers boost health in low- and middle-income countries

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Large-scale, government-led cash transfer programs drove significant improvements in health outcomes across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), according to a major new study in The Lancet from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. More women received health care early in their pregnancies, more babies were born in health facilities, and more births were attended by trained health workers when governments gave money through cash transfer programs.

Journal: The Lancet