The UK government last night said that its energy and finance ministries had struck a deal to triple the amount firms can add to customer bills by 2020, in order to support nuclear, wind, solar and other sources of low-carbon electricity. Read more
The World Health Organization (WHO) this afternoon reported four new lab-confirmed cases of a novel coronavirus infection bringing the total number of cases identified since June to six. Two of the cases are from the same household, raising the possibility of human-to-human transmission of the virus, although it’s also possible that they both contracted it independently from an animal source in the area. Three of the new cases occurred in Saudi Arabia, including one who died, while a fourth case was reported in Qatar. The WHO gave few further details of the cases, such as their age or sex, or their current medical condition. Read more
Protests led by two former British science ministers have prevented threatened budget cuts at the UK parliament’s in-house science briefings service, the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST). Read more
Ruth Francis, Nature’s former head of press, is reading the shortlist of the Royal Society Winton prize for science books at a rate of one a week. She’s done it before. Will she succeed this year? The winner of the prize will be announced on 26 November. Read more
They call it a leaky pipeline. But the leaks are women, not oil. A substantial number of young women enter into potential research careers but drop-off at various stages, says a report released this week by the Canadian Council of Academies analyzing the gender gap amongst Canada’s University researchers. Read more
The phone calls began in 2007, if not earlier. After safety committee meetings regarding clinical trials of an experimental Alzheimer’s drug, neurologist and committee-chairman Sidney Gilman would ring Mathew Martoma, a hedge-fund manager for CR Intrinsic Investors, based in Stamford, Connecticut, to fill him in on the latest data … Read more
Animal activists have known for some time that beagle puppies bred in China are regularly shipped to Indian contract research organizations like Bangalore-based Advinus, which uses them for drug toxicity studies, after which the animals are euthanized. Read more
At first glance, many of the western blots in the data of nutrition researcher Eric J. Smart, censured yesterday by the US government’s Office of Research Integrity over a 10 year career of misconduct, look innocuous. Read more
After years of struggle, the production of seasonal flu vaccine in the United States has entered the modern era. On 20 November, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its first seasonal flu vaccine made in cell culture, rather than in fertilized chicken eggs. Read more
Last week the California Air Resources Board (CARB) hosted its first quarterly auction for carbon allowances in a cap-and-trade system that will take effect next year. The results are now in, and they suggest that there were no major surprises during the online event — no real shocks to the system. It’s a positive sign for the state as it prepares to launch what will be the world’s second largest carbon market, behind the European trading system. Read more
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Archived newsblog. Breaking news from the world of science, brought to you by Nature’s news team.
The report produced by the investigators does not say so explicitly, probably out of fear of prejudicing future criminal/civil inquiries,… ... Read more
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