The U.S. just created a big new biomedical research agency. But questions remain | Science

President Joe Biden last week got his wish for a new agency to fund high-risk, cutting-edge biomedical research when Congress created the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) and gave it a $1 billion startup investment. That’s a fraction of the $6.5 billion Biden had proposed, but advocates say it’s plenty to launch ARPA-H. … 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

Radical Plan to Make Earth’s Deepest Hole Could Unleash Limitless Energy

Since its launch in 2020, a pioneering energy company called Quaise has attracted some serious attention for its audacious goal of diving further into Earth’s crust than anybody has dug before.   Following the closure of first round venture capital funding, the MIT spin-off has now raised a total of US$63 million: a respectable start … Read more

Thousands of Tree Species Remain Unknown to Science

The world’s forests may hold more secrets than previously thought: a new global estimate of tree biodiversity suggests that there are about 9,200 tree species yet to be discovered. Most of these species are likely in the tropics, according to the new research, which was published on Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of … Read more

Covid-19 news: Infections in England remain at ‘extremely high’ level

By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu and Layal Liverpool Pedestrians walk across London Bridge, London, England, 21 January 2022 ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstoc​k Latest coronavirus news as of 12pm on 26 January Around 1 in 23 people in England were infected with the omicron … Read more

Omicron in children: Cases remain mild despite rise in hospitalisations

By Michael Le Page More school-aged children are being infected by omicron, but findings suggest it causes less severe disease than previous variants Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Several countries are reporting record numbers of children being hospitalised as omicron spreads, with babies especially likely to be admitted. While this has led to claims that omicron is … Read more

Two years of covid-19: How the pandemic has unfolded so far, what we’ve learned, and the questions that remain

It’s now been two years since Chinese authorities first informed the World Health Organization about an unknown virus in Wuhan. How has our understanding of the virus changed since then and where does that leave us? Health 31 December 2021 By Helen Thomson A new hospital was rapidly built in Wuhan, China, in early 2020 … Read more