Our picks:COVID-19 originsWhat Scientists Do and Don’t Know about COVID-19 Origins | The Rise of the Coronavirus Lab-Leak Theory | The Lab Leak Theory Doesn’t Hold Up, and more Published 24 August 2021 Editor’s note: This is the first of a 2-part list of the best articles on the origins of COVID-19. Tomorrow we will

COVID-19 originsReport: Lab-Leak Theory of COVID-19 Origins Lacking Evidence So Far Published 24 August 2021 A new scientific report says that the lab-leak theory of the origins of COVID-19 has, so far, no evidence to support it. “Preventing future pandemics requires the political will to cut off the routes by which these viruses enter the

AfghanistanChina’s Response to the Taliban’s Takeover Published 24 August 2021 “The primary interest for China in Afghanistan is ensuring stability so that no unrest would spill over into the wider region and China in particular. In this sense, the U.S. presence in Afghanistan has been a positive for China as it has played the security

AfghanistanAfghanistan’s Panjshir Valley: The Last Stronghold of Resistance to Taliban Rule By Kaweh Kerami Published 24 August 2021 Panjshir Valley, nearly 150km north of Kabul, is home to a largely ethnic Tajik population and through four decades of civil war and Taliban insurgency has been a center of resistance. Panjshir resisted the Soviet invasion in

Nuclear safetyExtending Nuclear Power Accident Code for Advanced Reactor Designs Published 24 August 2021 Nuclear power is a significant source of steady carbon-neutral electricity, making the design and construction of new and next-generation nuclear reactors critical for achieving the U.S.’s green energy goals. A number of new nuclear reactor designs, such as small modular reactors

PandemicsLarge Pandemics Are More Likely Than We Thought Published 24 August 2021 The COVID-19 pandemic may be the deadliest viral outbreak the world has seen in more than a century. But statistically, such extreme events aren’t as rare as we may think. Most people are likely to experience an extreme pandemic like COVID-19 in their

Energy securityWave-Powered SeaRAY Set for Hawaii trial Published 24 August 2021 Offshore industries, like marine research, fish farming, and mineral mining, often rely on big ships with large crews. Without clean energy to power these vessels, each trip out to sea and back to shore is not only expensive but also carbon intensive. You cannot

Our picks: Lab-leak theoryWhat Scientists Do and Don’t Know about COVID-19 Origins | The Rise of the Coronavirus Lab-Leak Theory | The Lab Leak Theory Doesn’t Hold Up, and more Published 24 August 2021 Editor’s note: This is the first of a 2-part list of the best articles on the origins of COVID-19. Tomorrow we

AfghanistanAfghanistan’s Panjshir Valley: The Last Stronghold of Resistance to Taliban Rule By Kaweh Kerami Published 24 August 2021 Panjshir Valley, nearly 150km north of Kabul, is home to a largely ethnic Tajik population and through four decades of civil war and Taliban insurgency has been a center of resistance. Panjshir resisted the Soviet invasion in

AfghanistanChina’s Response to the Taliban’s Takeover Published 24 August 2021 “The primary interest for China in Afghanistan is ensuring stability so that no unrest would spill over into the wider region and China in particular. In this sense, the U.S. presence in Afghanistan has been a positive for China as it has played the security