stories that caught our attention this week
She’s a woman Good news for the feminist cause. The UK is about to get its first female Chief Scientific Officer. Just in time for the next pandemic, which could be the ultra dangerous H5N1 flu strain, which is starting to find its way into humans, as we explain below. Meanwhile, here’s Nature
Angela McLean, a mathematical biologist who helped to steer the country’s response to COVID-19, has been appointed as the UK government’s next chief scientific adviser. She will take over from clinical pharmacologist Patrick Vallance, who gained a high profile for his unflappable appearances in frequent televised pandemic briefings. McLean will need to “step back from the immediate aftermath of that crisis and look afresh at how well our system is working”, says research-policy analyst James Wilsdon.Nature | 3 min read
Sorry, what were you just talking about? Appalling animal husbandry and a feckless desire to put profit over science has nurtured appallingly dangerous strains of influenza. You haven’t heard the last of this story, gentle readers, but here’s the latest, today from the Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/southeast-asia/cambodia-girl-bird-flu-dead-b2288808.html
One Year of War It’s been 365 days since Russian Dictator Vladimir Putin launched his invasion. Today we present a series of expert views on how we got here and what might happen next
Jonathan Este looks at how things have gone in the actual fighting, which hasn’t been nearly as one sided as Putin daydreamed it would be
Why has Russia done so badly? Putin rose from a gangster background and presides over a gangster regime. The result? Corruption and graft are rife, but spare at least a thought for the poor Russian recruits who are forced to fight for the regime. Here’s Frank Lewidge
Lie machine Of course it helps if you are holding a gun to the population’s head, but Putin lies like a horse coper as .well, to get them to go along with this war. Precious Chatterjee Doody makes clear
And China? Their actions in the next few days could shape human history for decades, if not centuries to come. If there is to be any human history, that is. Here’s Ian Williams for the Mail
America has its idiots too Yes, Putin miscalculated. But don’t forget George W Bush, whose Iraq blunder arguably broke the world order and gave dictators everywhere the green light to invade who they wanted, when they wanted
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/george-w-bush-was-worse-remember-rcna71216
thanks to P Seymour
And our view? Western countries are not entirely angels, and we can see why some people in other lands are suspicious or even want to cheer on Putin as “the underdog”. But for us there is a line of right and wrong here. In 1994 Russia took control of all Ukraine’s Nuclear weapons, guaranteed its frontiers and agreed to refrain form aggression against it. The UK and the USA signed up to the Budapest Memorandum too; at the time, it was seen as an important step to prevent nuclear proliferation. By his action on 24th February 2022 Vladimir Putin tore up that treaty, and has unleashed a terrifying peril. He would not have done so if Ukraine had retained those weapons. The message is clear: if you want to be safe, get nuclear weapons as soon as possible. That is why his action was not just evil, but irresponsible at an almost adolescent level. He must be stopped.
#avian flu #ukraine #vladimir putin #russia #china #aggression #NATO
Learning, Science and Society 