ARGUMENT: Unprepared We’re Already Barreling Toward the Next Pandemic Published 30 September 2021 America’s frustrating inability to learn from the recent past shouldn’t be surprising to anyone familiar with the history of public health. Ed Yong writes that many public-health experts, historians, and legal scholars worry that the U.S. is lapsing into neglect, that the

Havana SyndromeHavana Syndrome Fits the Pattern of Psychosomatic Illness – but That Doesn’t Mean the Symptoms Aren’t Real By Robert Baloh Published 30 September 2021 I am an emeritus professor of neurology who studies the inner ear, and my clinical focus is on dizziness and hearing loss. When news of these events broke, I was

ExtremismLeader of Atomwaffen Extremist Group Convicted of Federal Felonies, Conspiracy Published 30 September 2021 The leader of the extremist Atomwaffen group was convicted in U.S. District Court in Seattle of five federal felonies for his conspiracy to send threatening posters to journalists and employees of the Anti-Defamation League. The leader of a Neo-Nazi hate group ‘Atomwaffen’

Rare Earth Elements (REEs)The Effect of Imports of Neodymium Magnets on U.S. National Security Published 30 September 2021 The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has initiated an investigation to determine the effects on U.S. national security from imports of Neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has

DroughtsSmall Increases in Greenhouse Gases Will Lead to Decades-Long “Megadroughts” in U.S. Southwest Published 30 September 2021 Recent NOAA-funded research found that even small additional increases in greenhouse gas emissions will make decades-long “megadroughts” – similar to the drought which has descended on the U.S. southwest nearly twenty years ago — more common. At the dawn

DisastersPredicting, Managing, and Preparing for Disasters Like Hurricane Ida By Megan Lowry Published 30 September 2021 Since Hurricane Katrina swept through Louisiana almost exactly 16 years ago, the National Academies have helped produce scientific insights and recommendations through initiatives to help policymakers avoid the worst impacts of future disasters. Today, communities across Louisiana and Southeastern coasts

North KoreaWhy It Matters That North Korea Tested a Hypersonic Missile By William Gallo Published 29 September 2021 Like most ballistic missiles, hypersonic glide vehicle (HGVs) fly at hypersonic speeds, or faster than five times the speed of sound. But HGVs are in theory more difficult to detect and intercept, since they can fly at

China watchU.S. and EU, Wary of China, Forge Alliance on Technology By Janosch Delcker Published 29 September 2021 With Beijing on the rise as a tech superpower, Brussels and Washington want to close ranks. But divisions loom over the new “Trade and Technology Council” alliance — and previous efforts have a mixed track record. The chip

PandemicSocial Distancing in Spring of 2020 Effectively Curbed COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany Published 29 September 2021 Early contact restrictions and school closures prevented over 80 percent of COVID-19 infections and over 60 percent of deaths in Germany within three weeks, a quasi-experimental economic study finds. The measures adopted in mid-March 2020 to contain the COVID-19 pandemic

China watchU.S. and EU, Wary of China, Forge Alliance on Technology By Janosch Delcker Published 29 September 2021 With Beijing on the rise as a tech superpower, Brussels and Washington want to close ranks. But divisions loom over the new “Trade and Technology Council” alliance — and previous efforts have a mixed track record. The chip