World Health Organization’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the actions that will change the pandemic

What will it take to bring the pandemic under control? Vaccine equality, social measures and supporting the health workforce, says the head of the World Health Organization Health 4 January 2022 Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is director general of the World Health Organization REUTERS/Alamy To change the course of the covid-19 pandemic, the international community must demonstrate a … Read more

Small study suggests pandemic may slow babies’ development | Science

Babies born at two New York City hospitals in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic scored slightly lower on developmental tests at 6 months of age than did babies born before the pandemic, according to a new study. There were no significant differences between the groups in communication and problem-solving skills. The study, published in JAMA … Read more

James Webb Space Telescope completes tricky sunshield deployment

The James Webb Space Telescope has successfully deployed all five layers of its tennis-court-sized sunshield, a prerequisite for the telescope’s science operations and the most nerve-wracking part of its risky deployment. The challenging procedure, which required careful tensioning of each of the five hair-thin layers of the elaborate sunshield structure was a seamless success today … Read more

Last astronauts to visit Hubble Space Telescope sign coins for AMF fundraiser

As the world’s eyes turn to the deployment of a new space telescope, the Astronauts Memorial Foundation (AMF) is shining light on the last astronauts to visit one. The foundation, which maintains the Space Mirror Memorial and operates the Center for Space Education, both at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, has revealed … Read more

Covid-19 pandemic in 2022: What will happen this year?

In the third year of the coronavirus pandemic, expect more variants, lower death rates and some continuing restrictions Health 4 January 2022 By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson and Helen Thomson Theme park visitors show their covid passes in France, July 2021 SEBASTIEN SALOM-GOMIS/AFP via Getty Images While the pandemic is unlikely to fully end in 2022, … Read more

Happy perihelion! Earth reached its closest point to the sun today.

The sun is just a little bit closer in Earth’s sky right now. Earth is at its closest to the sun Tuesday (Jan. 4) in its 365.25-day journey. This milestone, called perihelion, coincidentally happens near the start of the Gregorian calendar year observed by much of the world, including in North America. The exact moment … Read more

JWST: James Webb Space Telescope is carrying out its most critical manoeuvre

The massive space telescope, which launched on Christmas Day, is in the process of deploying its sunshield. If anything goes wrong, it could endanger the entire mission Space 4 January 2022 By Alex Wilkins A final glimpse of the James Webb Space Telescope Arianespace, ESA, NASA, CSA, CNES After a nail-biting launch on Christmas Day, … Read more

Chip shortage: ASML factory fire could be another blow to global semiconductor supply

ASML Holding, which supplies a vital technology used in computer chips has reported a fire at a manufacturing plant, but the extent of the damage is not yet known Technology 4 January 2022 By Matthew Sparkes Photolithography systems are used to manufacture computer chips PaulRaats/ASML A fire at a factory owned by the sole provider … Read more