2022 news preview: Quantum computers may finally become useful tools

By Matthew Sparkes Google’s Sycamore quantum processor is one of the most advanced Peter Kneffel/dpa/Alamy A POWERFUL quantum computer could crack encryption and solve problems that classical machines find impossible. Although no one has yet succeeded in building such a device, recently we have seen a gathering pace of progress – so could 2022 be … Read more

2022 news preview: High-voltage supergrids could power the world

By Adam Vaughan Solar reflectors in Australia’s Northern Territory generating power John Warburton-Lee Photography/Alamy INDIA gained notoriety when it finished November’s COP26 climate summit by weakening a move to end the use of coal. Less widely recognised is that the country also started the Glasgow summit in a more positive fashion, with a plan to … Read more

Covid-19 news: Hospitals in England declare critical incidents

By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu and Layal Liverpool A man passes a temporary ‘Nightingale’ field hospital constructed in south London, England, 3 January 2022. NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstoc​k Latest coronavirus news as of 12pm on 4 January Staff shortages force health service providers … Read more

2022 news preview: Expect a row over controversial Alzheimer’s drug

By Clare Wilson A participant in a clinical trial for aducanumab Kayana Szymczak/New York Times/Redux/eyevine EXPECT to see debate over a new medicine to treat Alzheimer’s disease, called aducanumab, continue into 2022. Approved in the US last June, it is the first drug designed to treat a possible cause of this form of dementia, rather than the symptoms. … Read more

Biggest science news of 2021: ‘Right to Repair’ campaigners claim iPhone victory

Groups campaigning for electronics manufacturers to make it easier for people to repair their own devices scored a surprise victory when Apple promised to sell parts and tools for fixing iPhones Technology 31 December 2021 By Matthew Sparkes iPhones require careful repairs wichan yodsawai/Alamy Apple made a surprise announcement in November that it would begin … Read more

2022 news preview: What will the coronavirus do next?

By Michael Le Page The delta variant, viewed using an electron microscope Steve Gschmeissner/Science Photo Library WE HAVE been watching evolution in action as one coronavirus variant after another emerges and triggers further waves of infections around the world. There is every reason to think this will continue during 2022 – and there is no … Read more

How to Stop Doomscrolling News and Social Media

Reading through their social media feeds, Americans are likely to encounter anguished accounts of political turmoil, the coronavirus pandemic and continued fallout from cyberattacks, among other less than cheerful topics. And yet many can’t stop scrolling even more, perhaps hoping to distract themselves from thinking too hard about any one of these ongoing problems. The … Read more

2022 news preview: China to host crucial meeting in a bid to save nature

By Adam Vaughan Shane Gross/naturepl.com AS THE world examines the outcome of the COP26 climate summit, spare a thought for conservationists trying to protect the planet’s natural riches. A landmark UN biodiversity summit has been postponed three times because of the pandemic and now won’t be held in person in China until April, after a … Read more

2022 news preview: Large Hadron Collider will reach for the edge of physics

By Matthew Sparkes The Large Hadron Collider has been shut down for upgrades since 2018 CERN THE Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland, will start running again after a three-year shutdown and delays due to the covid-19 pandemic. The particle collider – known for its role in the discovery of the Higgs … Read more