A new variant of the coronavirus has scientists worried about the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has lifted regional stay-at home orders.
But 54 counties in the state are still classified as having “widespread” coronavirus risk. So why did the state loosen the restrictions? And the CDC is reporting the highest number of overdoses in a 12-month period.
Today, the U.S. Senate will receive the article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump for inciting an insurrection. But the actual trial won’t start for another two weeks. Why the delay?
Logistics continue to be a challenge in the fight against the coronavirus. Only about half of the vaccines that have been distributed have been administered. And NPR’s investigations team finds that 135 unarmed Black people were killed by police in the past five years.
The weekend’s biggest talking points are dissected by Tyler Brûlé, Rob Cox and Chandra Kurt, with commentary from our editors in London and Milan. Plus: Christoph Amend of ‘Zeit Magazin’.
We flick through the weekend’s papers across the Middle East and North Africa and examine the future relationship between the UK and the US under Joe Biden. Plus: Andrew Tuck’s Saturday column.
In this episode, Getty curator Davide Gasparotto discusses early accounts of Leonardo’s life and how they shaped our understanding of the artist. Passages from these biographies were recently collected in the Getty Publications book Lives of Leonardo da Vinci.
“He was a great artistic personality, crucial for the development, in some way, of what we think as the modern science. But he was not alone.”
Leonardo da Vinci died more than 500 years ago, but he is still revered as a genius polymath who painted beguiling compositions like the Mona Lisa, avidly studied the natural sciences, and created designs and inventions in thousands of journal pages. Even during Leonardo’s lifetime, contemporaries marveled at the artist’s great skill and wide-ranging pursuits, but many also noted his perfectionism and difficulty completing projects. Since his death, the legends surrounding his life and personality have continued to grow. Today Leonardo’s story inspires novels and his work brings record-breaking prices, demonstrating his enduring relevance and mystique.
President Biden wants 100 million coronavirus vaccinations in his first 100 days. But Pfizer and Moderna have fallen behind in their production. Jobs numbers show another 1.3 million Americans are out of work.
So why are economists optimistic? And about half of the country’s students are attending class remotely. President Biden wants to change that and open more schools.
Online News Editor David Grimm joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss a controversial new paper that estimates how many rodents are used in research in the United States each year.
Though there is no official number, the paper suggests there might be more than 100 million rats and mice housed in research facilities in the country—doubling or even tripling some earlier estimates.
Next, Staff Writer Jennifer Couzin-Frankel talks with Sarah about a new theory behind the cause of irritable bowel syndrome—that it might be a localized allergic reaction in the gut. Sarah also chats with Taline Kazandjian, a postdoctoral research associate at the Centre for Snakebite Research & Interventions in Liverpool, U.K., about how the venom from spitting cobras has evolved to cause maximum pain and why these snakes might have developed the same defense mechanism three different times.
President Biden’s top priority is getting the pandemic under control. What do his first executive actions tell us about how he plans to do that? Biden also released a sweeping reform bill to overhaul the U.S. immigration system.
And in 35 states, coronavirus numbers are falling. Researchers believe the U.S. has hit a peak in the pandemic, but some public health officials are skeptical.
How has Einstein’s work on photons ushered in a golden age of light? Oliver Morton, The Economist’s briefings editor, explores why laser’s applications have been spectacular and how solar power became the cheapest source of electricity in many countries.
Also, he talks to the scientists scanning the skies with the largest digital camera in the world.
With Joe Biden taking over the establishment steps back In, Trump pardons issues pardons to friends and supporters, and some inauguration trivia.
