A Small Cut in World Military Spending Could Help Fund Climate, Health and Poverty Solutions

Carlo Rovelli and Matteo Smerlak The world’s military expenditure has nearly doubled since 2000. It now amounts to about $2 trillion per year, more than half of which is from NATO countries. Now, with the war raging in Ukraine, countries are rushing to increase their budgets even more; Germany, for instance, recently announced a roughly … Read more

Russia-Ukraine war: Chernobyl power cut sparks fears of potential for radiation leaks

Vital cooling systems for controlling nuclear waste at the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant are offline, leading to concerns that radioactive waste might escape Physics 9 March 2022 By Matthew Sparkes A drone image of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Pripyat, Ukraine, taken on 7 March 2022 Russia MOD/EYEPRESS/Shutterstock Fears of a potential radiation … Read more

Western nations cut ties with Russian science, even as some projects try to remain neutral | Science

In 2011, Russia signed a deal that would pay the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) $300 million to help found the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech), an English-language research university on the outskirts of Moscow. Dozens of researchers from around the world leaped at the chance for a foreign assignment, which they thought … Read more

Russian gas: EU will cut Russian gas imports by two thirds in 2022

The EU launched a new energy strategy to reduce the use of Russian gas imports just as the UK announced it would phase out such imports, and the US imposed a ban as well Environment 8 March 2022 By Adam Vaughan Pipes at a gas treatment facility in Russia Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images The … Read more

Covid-19 news: Self-isolation period cut to 5 days in England

By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu and Layal Liverpool Sajid Javid, health secretary, arrives at No.10 Downing Street, London, UK James Veysey/Shutterstock Latest coronavirus news as of 2pm on 13 January Isolation period shortened for people with covid-19 in England People who … Read more

New year’s resolutions: Should you cut your carbon footprint?

Are you thinking about going green in 2022? Cutting your personal carbon footprint can help, but it is important to engage with others and encourage wider efforts to tackle climate change, says climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe Environment 29 December 2021 By Chen Ly Will you go green in 2022? Pasuwan/Shutterstock As 2021 draws to a … Read more

Covid-19: Cuba’s home-grown vaccines have massively cut case numbers

Four months after hospitals collapsed in Cuba due to skyrocketing covid-19 case numbers, the country has rolled out its own vaccines and cases are down to 5 for every 100,000 people Health 23 December 2021 By Luke Taylor Abdala is one of Cuba’s covid-19 vaccines YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images Four months after Cuba reported … Read more