Gain-of-function researchWhy Gain-of-Function Research Matters By David Gillum and Rebecca Moritz Published 21 June 2021 There are unanswered questions about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, so both the U.S. government and scientists have called for a deeper examination of the validity of claims that a virus could have escaped from a lab in Wuhan,

DisastersPuerto Rico is Prone to More Flooding Than the Island is Prepared to Handle Published 21 June 2021 Puerto Rico is not ready for another hurricane season, let alone the effects of climate change, according to a new study that shows the island’s outstanding capacity to produce record-breaking floods and trigger a large number of landslides.

Foreign techWhite House Launches Broader Scrutiny of Foreign Tech By Mo Yu Published 21 June 2021 An executive order signed by President Joe Biden earlier this month dropped a Trump-era measure that barred Americans from downloading TikTok and several other Chinese smartphone apps. But analysts say the order also broadens the scrutiny of foreign-controlled technology. An

Coastal challengesCoastal Cities of the Future By Karen B. Roberts Published 21 June 2021 It’s time to put all the options on the table when it comes to discussing climate change adaptation. Managed retreat — the purposeful movement of people, buildings and other assets from areas vulnerable to hazards — has often been considered a

Coastal challengesAcceleration of Coastal Overtopping around the World Published 21 June 2021 The combination of sea level rise, tides, storm surge and waves has increased the overtopping of natural and artificial coastal protection by nearly 50 percent in the last two decades. By combining satellite data and digital models, the researchers have shown that coastal

Coastal challengesManaged Retreat Conference Published 21 June 2021 The Columbia Climate School and its Earth Institute, will hold a virtual conference 22-25 June 20201 on the subject of managed retreat. conference will address a range of scientific, social, policy, and governance issues around managed retreat (also known as strategic realignment and planned relocation). The Columbia Climate School and

TerrorismInquiry Details 9 Missed Opportunities to Thwart 2017 British Concert Bombing By Jamie Dettmer Published 18 June 2021 Families of the 22 people who died in the 2017 terrorist bombing of a concert at Britain’s Manchester Arena are urging authorities to mount corporate manslaughter prosecutions against the firm responsible for security on the night of

Truth decayDeveloping Research Model to Fight Deepfakes Published 18 June 2021 Detecting “deepfakes,” or when an existing image or video of a person is manipulated and replaced with someone else’s likeness, presents a massive cybersecurity challenge: What could happen when deepfakes are created with malicious intent? Artificial intelligence experts are working on a new reverse-engineering

DHSRedefining Homeland Security: A New Framework for DHS to Meet Today’s Challenges Published 18 June 2021 A new report from the Center for American Progress says that to meet the challenges of today, the Biden administration and Congress should reform the Department of Homeland Security around a mission that highlights safety and services alongside its

COVID-19 originsLet Scientific Evidence Determine Origin of SARS-CoV-2: Presidents of the National Academies Published 18 June 2021 Earlier this week, the leaders of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine issued a statement about the ongoing debate regarding the origins of the COVID-19 virus. “We urge that investigations into the origins of SARS-CoV-2