Celebrity Life
The COVID-19 Vaccine Is Safe for Kids Ages 5-11, CDC Data Show
Young children who get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine often have mild side effects, but serious reactions are rare, according to a recent government analysis on vaccine safety in children ages 5 to 11. The data come from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a large vaccine safety surveillance system maintained by the U.S. Centers…
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky Faces a Surging Virus—And a Crisis of Trust
Over the last year, Rochelle Walensky has worked to regain the trust of CDC personnel—and the nation—while facing a surging COVID-19 pandemic
Fossil Fuel Companies Say They Want to Help Fight Climate Change. Here’s What They Should Do
The last year has been critical in the global fight against climate change. I attended COP26 and believe that the Glasgow Climate Pact, which enshrines the collective commitments that aim to limit global temperature increases to well below 2°C, could be a transformative step on the road to net zero. In 2022, we will learn…
In 2022, We Need to Shift Our COVID-19 Focus to Testing
Vaccines are key, but heading into year 3 of the pandemic, testing will be just as important to stay ahead of the virus
Artificial Intelligence Can Now Craft Original Jokes—And That’s No Laughing Matter
Don’t you hate it,” says Jon the Robot, gesturing with tiny articulated arms at an expectant crowd, “when you’re trying to solve inverse kinematics equations to pick up a cup and then you get ‘Error 453, no solution found’?” The crowd laughs. “Don’t you hate that?” An experiment billed as a comedy act, Jon is…
Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Convicted of Fraud and Conspiracy
A jury found Holmes guilty of two counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud
Inside the Project to Genetically Modify Rice to Emit Fewer Greenhouse Gases
A cup of tea in 2006 changed genetic engineering forever. Jill Banfield, a University of California at Berkeley ecosystem scientist and 1999 MacArthur Foundation fellow, had become curious in 2006 about mysterious repeating DNA sequences that were common in microbes that live in some of the planet’s most extreme environments, such as deep-sea heat vents,…
FDA Expands Pfizer Boosters for More Teens As Omicron Surges
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must decide whether to recommend boosters for the younger teens
Did We Just Blow Our Last, Best Chance to Tackle Climate Change?
2020 and 2021 were supposed to be landmark years for the planet, but leaders didn't deliver
Omicron Now Accounts for 59% of U.S. COVID-19 Cases, According to Public Health Officials
The Omicron variant is causing an increasing share of coronavirus infections in the U.S., though its climb to dominance has been gentler than earlier estimates indicated, according to an updated federal model. Omicron accounted for an estimated 58.6% of sequenced U.S. virus cases in the week ending Dec. 25, the Centers for Disease Control and…
COVID-19 Spreads to 89 Cruise Ships, Prompting a U.S. CDC Investigation
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection identified 89 cruise ships with COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, nearly all of which have met the threshold for a formal investigation. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal urged cruise companies and health agencies to stop ships from sailing, saying they are “repeating recent history as petri dishes of Covid-19…
New York City Schools Will Reopen Jan. 3, With Increased COVID-19 Testing
New York City will double COVID-19 PCR testing in schools when students return in January, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. De Blasio, Mayor-elect Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul all spoke on Tuesday at a virus briefing of the importance of bringing students back to school in January, for kids and for parents. Schools are…