The lab-leak theory: Inside the fight to uncover Covid-19’s origins

The lab-leak theory: Inside the fight to uncover Covid-19’s origins

Katherine Eban writes: Gilles Demaneuf is a data scientist with the Bank of New Zealand in Auckland. He was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome ten years ago, and believes it gives him a professional advantage. “I’m very good at finding patterns in data, when other people see nothing,” he says. Early last spring, as cities worldwide were shutting down to halt the spread of COVID-19, Demaneuf, 52, began reading up on the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease….

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The necessity for global vaccine equity

The necessity for global vaccine equity

Sue Halpern writes: A race to vaccinate the world is not an effort to achieve herd immunity. At least in this country, that goal was a kind of marketing device, a way of inspiring people to abide by masking and social-distancing rules while waiting for a vaccine, and then to encourage everyone to do their part by getting immunized once vaccines were available. In the beginning, public-health officials, including Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and…

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In states where Republicans control the legislature, American life is rapidly changing

In states where Republicans control the legislature, American life is rapidly changing

Ronald Brownstein writes: It’s not just voting rights. Though this year’s proliferation of bills restricting ballot access in red states has commanded national attention, it represents just one stream in a torrent of conservative legislation poised to remake the country. GOP-controlled states—including Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Iowa, and Montana—have advanced their most conservative agenda in years, and one that reflects Donald Trump’s present stamp on the Republican Party. Across these states and others, Republican legislators and governors have operated…

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U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism

U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism

Reuters reports: The U.S. Department of Justice is elevating investigations of ransomware attacks to a similar priority as terrorism in the wake of the Colonial Pipeline hack and mounting damage caused by cyber criminals, a senior department official told Reuters. Internal guidance sent on Thursday to U.S. attorney’s offices across the country said information about ransomware investigations in the field should be centrally coordinated with a recently created task force in Washington. “It’s a specialized process to ensure we track…

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How urban planning and housing policy helped create ‘food apartheid’ in U.S. cities

How urban planning and housing policy helped create ‘food apartheid’ in U.S. cities

Black neighborhoods have a higher density of fast-food outlets than in white districts. David McNew/Getty Images By Julian Agyeman, Tufts University Hunger is not evenly spread across the U.S., nor within its cities. Even in the the richest parts of urban America there are pockets of deep food insecurity, and more often than not it is Black and Latino communities that are hit hardest. As an urban planning academic who teaches a course on food justice, I’m aware that this…

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New evidence that sedentary lifestyles result in shrinking brains

New evidence that sedentary lifestyles result in shrinking brains

Science Alert reports:The Tsimane, an indigenous people who live in the Bolivian peripheries of the Amazon rainforest, lead lives that are very different to ours. They seem to be much healthier for it. This tribal and largely isolated population of forager-horticulturalists still lives today by traditional ways of farming, hunting, gathering, and fishing – continuing the practices of their ancestors, established in a time long before industrialization and urbanization transformed most of the world. For the Tsimane, the advantages are…

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William James: Free will requires that we be able to exorcise habits

William James: Free will requires that we be able to exorcise habits

Gordon Marino writes: William James (1842–1910) is arguably one of the most brilliant and fecund minds this nation has ever produced. James and his friend Charles Sanders Peirce were the progenitors of the only distinctly American philosophical movement, pragmatism. The Principles of Psychology, published in 1890, marked James as the first prominent American psychologist. His The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) established him as a pioneer in the study of comparative religion. Americans have long looked to Europe for intellectual…

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Engine No. 1’s big win over Exxon shows activist hedge funds joining fight against climate change

Engine No. 1’s big win over Exxon shows activist hedge funds joining fight against climate change

Engine No. 1 wants Exxon to focus less on fossil fuels. AP Photo/Matthew Brown By Mark DesJardine, Penn State and Tima Bansal, Western University One of the most expensive Wall Street shareholder battles on record could signal a big shift in how hedge funds and other investors view sustainability. Exxon Mobil Corp. has been fending off a so-called proxy fight from a hedge fund known as Engine No. 1, which blames the energy giant’s poor performance in recent years on…

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Why electric cars will take over sooner than you think

Why electric cars will take over sooner than you think

BBC News reports: We are in the middle of the biggest revolution in motoring since Henry Ford’s first production line started turning back in 1913. And it is likely to happen much more quickly than you imagine. Many industry observers believe we have already passed the tipping point where sales of electric vehicles (EVs) will very rapidly overwhelm petrol and diesel cars. It is certainly what the world’s big car makers think. Jaguar plans to sell only electric cars from…

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Just In Time is now running late

Just In Time is now running late

The New York Times reports: In the story of how the modern world was constructed, Toyota stands out as the mastermind of a monumental advance in industrial efficiency. The Japanese automaker pioneered so-called Just In Time manufacturing, in which parts are delivered to factories right as they are required, minimizing the need to stockpile them. Over the last half-century, this approach has captivated global business in industries far beyond autos. From fashion to food processing to pharmaceuticals, companies have embraced…

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Deep-rooted racism, discrimination permeate U.S. military

Deep-rooted racism, discrimination permeate U.S. military

The Associated Press reports: For Stephanie Davis, who grew up with little, the military was a path to the American dream, a realm where everyone would receive equal treatment. She joined the service in 1988 after finishing high school in Thomasville, Georgia, a small town said to be named for a soldier who fought in the War of 1812. Over the course of decades, she steadily advanced, becoming a flight surgeon, commander of flight medicine at Fairchild Air Force Base…

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Charges after U.S. Capitol insurrection roil far-right groups

Charges after U.S. Capitol insurrection roil far-right groups

The Associated Press reports: Former President Donald Trump’s lies about a stolen 2020 election united right-wing supporters, conspiracy theorists and militants on Jan. 6, but the aftermath of the insurrection is roiling two of the most prominent far-right extremist groups at the U.S. Capitol that day. More than three dozen members and associates across both the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers have been charged with crimes. Some local chapters cut ties with national leadership in the weeks after the…

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Republicans fear Trump will lead to a ‘lost generation’ of talent

Republicans fear Trump will lead to a ‘lost generation’ of talent

Politico reports: Trump has driven sitting GOP lawmakers and political aspirants into early retirements ever since he burst onto the scene. But there was hope that things would change after his election loss. Instead, his influence on the GOP appears to be as solid as ever and the impact of those early shockwaves remain visible. When asked, for instance, if he feared the 45th president was causing a talent drain from the GOP ranks, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush —…

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Trump’s rebooted rallies have no place on your television

Trump’s rebooted rallies have no place on your television

Hayes Brown writes: Former President Donald Trump has lost access to some of the biggest guns in his political arsenal. He can no longer tweet directly to the masses; nor can his Facebook page gin up excitement and ardor among his fans. But starting this week, Trump is firing up his most powerful remaining weapon. The good news is there are ways to blunt its effects. NBC News’ Jonathan Allen reported Tuesday: “Trump returns to the electoral battlefield Saturday as…

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