COVID RESPONSESocial Capital and COVID-19 Response Published 30 December 2021 Social capital measures how well connected we are to our families, communities, workplaces and religious groups. Researchers found that early in the COVID-19 pandemic, high levels of social capital were associated with a slower spread of the virus. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign electrical and computer engineering professor Lav Varshney is

GEOENGINEERINGWhat Are the Geopolitical Risks of Manipulating the Climate? By Doug Irving Published 30 December 2021 It would only take one country—watching its crops shrivel or its water run dry—deciding to take a chance to set in motion a global geoengineering climate experiment, and technologies which could, for example, block the sun’s rays or siphon

CLIMATE CHALLENGESControlled Burning of Natural Environments Could Help Offset Carbon Emissions Published 30 December 2021 Planting trees and suppressing wildfires do not necessarily maximize the carbon storage of natural ecosystems. A new study has found that prescribed burning can actually lock in or increase carbon in the soils of temperate forests, savannahs and grasslands. Planting trees

ENERGY SECURITYGermany Responds to Putin’s Weaponization of Russian Gas By Jo Harper Published 28 December 2021 Germany is pumping Russian gas back into Poland as Gazprom cuts supply to the EU. As Russia plays its hybrid war games with an increasingly divided EU, the new front appears to be the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline. Yamal-Europe, Europe’s longest

EXTREMISMDOD Releases Report on Countering Extremist Activities Published 28 December 2021 DOD last week issued a report on addressing the challenge of extremist activities in the ranks. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that “We believe only a very few violate this oath by participating in extremist activities, but even the actions of a few

MISINFORMATIONWhat Will 2022 Bring in the Way of Misinformation on Social Media? 3 Experts Weigh In By Anjana Susarla, Dam Hee Kim, and Ethan Zuckerman Published 28 December 2021 At the end of 2020, it seemed hard to imagine a worse year for misinformation on social media, given the intensity of the presidential election and

FORENSICSMeet the Maggot: How This Flesh-Loving, Butt-Breathing Marvel Helps Us Solve Murders By Michelle Harvey Published 29 December 2021 Not all superheroes wear capes – some live in rubbish bins, garbage dumps and on dead bodies. Maggots, the humble little legless larvae, are actually nature’s antibacterial soldiers. Their ability to survive and thrive in decomposing

CLIMATE CHALLENGESControlled Burning of Natural Environments Could Help Offset Carbon Emissions Published 29 December 2021 Planting trees and suppressing wildfires do not necessarily maximize the carbon storage of natural ecosystems. A new study has found that prescribed burning can actually lock in or increase carbon in the soils of temperate forests, savannahs and grasslands. Planting trees

ENERGY SECURITYGermany Responds to Putin’s Weaponization of Russian Gas By Jo Harper Published 28 December 2021 Germany is pumping Russian gas back into Poland as Gazprom cuts supply to the EU. As Russia plays its hybrid war games with an increasingly divided EU, the new front appears to be the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline. Yamal-Europe, Europe’s longest

EXTREMISMDOD Releases Report on Countering Extremist Activities Published 28 December 2021 DOD last week issued a report on addressing the challenge of extremist activities in the ranks. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that “We believe only a very few violate this oath by participating in extremist activities, but even the actions of a few