FOCUS 1

> Influential US astronomy list calls for giant telescope to spot an Earth analog // 01.11.2021, Science
After nearly 3 years of deliberation, a panel of U.S. astronomers says the country’s biggest priority for the field should be an $11 billion, 6-meter space telescope – roughly the same cost and size of the James Webb Space Telescope, set to launch next month, but centered on the optical part of the spectrum. The panel’s report “Astro2020”, known as the U.S. astronomy decadal survey, says such a telescope, which wouldn’t launch until the 2040s, would “have the potential to profoundly change the way that human beings view our place in the universe.

Related report: Astro2020

FOCUS 2

> Ikaria - the island of mysterious longevity // 04.11.2021, NEO.LIFE
Why do the inhabitants of this tiny Greek island live so long? It may be something in the rocks.

FOCUS 3

> The Role of Science in the Swiss Policy Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (report) // 02.11.2021, Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences
What role did science play in managing the Covid-19 pandemic from January to December 2020? In what way did the Swiss experience differ from selected other countries? Where is there a need for action in the future?  The first comprehensive study on the role of science in the pandemic policy response shows a positive track record but also identifies a need for optimization.

FOCUS 4

> The United Nations could finally create new rules for space // 03.11.2021, WIRED
The proposal to create a process for preventing military confrontations and misunderstandings in orbit would be the first major step in more than 40 years.

Related article: UN Committee votes ‘Yes’ on UK-US-backed space rules group // 01.11.2021, Breaking Defense

FOCUS 5

> Quantum technologies' journey to space seen in patent survey // 04.11.2021, ESA
Tipped to change the world, quantum technologies – employing special properties of matter that manifest at the very tiniest of scales – are heading to space too. To highlight the space applications of this emerging sector, ESA has supported the European Patent Office and the European Space Policy Institute in a survey of the past two decades of related patent filings.

FOCUS 6

> Adaptation Gap Report 2021 // 04.11.2021, UNEP
Even as the world looks to step up efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the need to adapt to the impacts of climate change already locked in are just as important. The sixth edition of the UNEP "Adaptation Gap Report: The Gathering Storm" looks at how the world is doing in adapting to these intensifying impacts.

FOCUS 7

> GESDA: Blick in die Zukunft // 04.11.2021, Admin.ch
Ansprache von Bundesrat Ignazio Cassis, Vizepräsident des Bundesrates und Vorsteher des Eidgenössischen Departements für auswärtige Angelegenheiten EDA gehalten anlässlich Dies Academicus der Universität Luzern: “Was wir hier mit GESDA versuchen, ist neu. Und damit schwierig. Die Kombination von Antizipation – die weit vorausschaut – und Aktion – die unmittelbar greifen muss – ist schon eine Herausforderung an sich. Und die Methode, mit der wir diese Brücke schlagen wollen, ist für alle Teilnehmer neu und unerprobt. Persönlich habe ich aber noch keinen besseren Vorschlag gesehen, wie sich die Staatengemeinschaft dank einer klugen Wissenschaftsdiplomatie für die Herausforderungen der kommenden rüsten kann. Wir erschaffen hier ein Instrument, das in Genf beheimatet ist und aus Genf heraus operiert.”

FOCUS 8

> Les sciences océaniques sont essentielles dans la lutte contre le changement climatique // 25.10.2021, Ifremer
L’Ifremer, le CNRS et l’IRD, avec le soutien de la Plateforme Océan & Climat et de l’astronaute de l’ESA Thomas Pesquet, lancent un tour du monde digital des sciences océaniques et climatiques, baptisé OneOceanScience. Des scientifiques du monde entier participent. Ensemble, ils expliquent pourquoi les sciences océaniques sont essentielles pour mieux connaître et protéger l’Océan - « Why ocean science matters? ». Ils lancent aujourd’hui un appel d’urgence : l’Océan nous concerne tous et il doit être au cœur des négociations sur le climat.

FOCUS 9

> Protecting and promoting young people’s futures: Governing Health Futures 2030 Report launches // 25.10.2021, Fondation Botnar
The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on the critical role technologies play in ensuring that young people can continue to exercise their rights, including accessing essential health resources and services. It has also highlighted that not equipping ourselves with the right tools to roll out these technologies safely, equitably, and efficiently could represent a significant missed opportunity for the world and prevent us from ever achieving the goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

FOCUS 10

> Resilient Cities Network launches new tool to help cities embed equity in climate ready urban infrastructure projects // 03.11.2021, Resilient Cities Network press release
The Resilient Cities Network (R-Cities), an independent city-led global non-profit organisation that promotes urban resilience, today announced the Resilient Infrastructure Diversity and Equity (RIDE) Scorecard. The tool provides a framework for assessing resilient infrastructure projects according to key criteria for social and racial equity, the creation of green jobs, and climate-readiness. The RIDE Scorecard is the first of its kind to provide a transparent and fair methodology for evaluating the equity of proposed resilient infrastructure projects. The tool is structured in such a way that allows for flexibility and adaptation for cities to tailor use according to an individual community’s economic and geographic priorities with scoring criteria that can be weighted.

GOOD READS ABOUT GESDA'S PLATFORMS THEMES

Platform 1: Quantum Revolution & Advanced AI

Artificial intelligence

> The future of AI is a conversation with a computer // 01.11.2021, The Verge

> Machines learn good from commonsense norm bank // 03.11.2021, IEEE Spectrum

> Alphabet has a new drug discovery company building on DeepMind’s AI chops // 04.11.2021, STAT+

> The synthetic data that will help build AI and the metaverse // 03.11.2021, Axios

> The Guardian view on spooky science: AI needs regulating before it’s too late // 01.11.2021, The Guardian

> Einstein's theory of relativity could help stop bank account hackers // 03.11.2021, New Scientist
Having to hand over your PIN to access your bank account puts you at risk of hackers, but the fact that information can't travel faster than light, as laid out by Albert Einstein, could offer a solution, thanks to University of Geneva scientists.

> All-in-one quantum key distribution system makes its debut // 02.11.2021, Physics World

> ColdQuanta’s pioneering culture is poised for a bold quantum future // 02.11.2021, The Quantum Daily

> A new quantum computing method is 2,500 percent more efficient // 05.11.2021, Interesting Engineering

Platform 2: Human Augmentation

Genomics

> DA, NIH announce bespoke gene therapy consortium to focus on rare diseases // 28.10.2021, Newsweek

> Personalized RNA drugs may soon be available for more rare genetic diseases // 03.11.2021, Science

> Can DNA testing offer personalized diet advice? Nope, not yet // 03.11.2021, ACSH

> CRISPR-based 'antibiotic' eliminates dangerous bacterium from the gut // 05.11.2021, New Scientist

> Gene-edited stem cells help geckos regrow more perfect tails // 01.11.2021, Science News

Neurosciences 

> A new kind of brain scan is letting us understand how toddlers think // 03.11.2021, New Scientist

> Closed-loop enhancement and neural decoding of cognitive control in humans // 01.11.2021, Nature

> Sponge cells hint at origins of nervous system // 05.11.2021, Nature

Longevity and health

> Les ambitions de l’ARPA-H, le projet d’agence fédérale pour la recherche biomédicale, face aux réserves du Congrès // 04.11.2021, Ambassade de France aux Etats-Unis

> Emerging dynamics from high-resolution spatial numerical epidemics // 15.10.2021, eLife

> These mice pups inherited immunity from their parents – but not through DNA // 02.11.2021, Singularity Hub

> Skin, nerve transplants from genetically modified pigs could help humans, but organs are a way off // 01.11.2021, Science

Platform 3: Eco-regeneration & Geoengineering

Resources

> Carbon dioxide can be turned into a valuable resource // 03.11.2021, PSI press release

> Mutant microbe produces carbon-neutral biofuel // 04.11.2021, Futurity

> New East Bay facility producing lab-grown meat plans to produce 400,000 pounds per year // 04.11.2021, San Francisco Chronicle

> Are vegan meat alternatives putting our health on the line? // 27.10.2021, New Scientist

Energy 

> ‘A rather beautiful concept’: plan aims to replace Asia’s coal plants with renewable energy // 02.10.2021, Science

> US to build its first small modular nuclear reactor in Romania // 04.11.2021, Science|Business

Space

> Blood tests reveal brain damage following long-term spaceflight // 04.11.2021, Physics World

> Earth’s space debris crisis could be solved using ‘never been done’ magnet technology // 01.11.2021, The Independent

> The complicated promise of Amazon’s space internet // 03.11.2021, VOX

Climate and environment

> COP26: 105 countries pledge to cut methane emissions by 30 per cent // 02.11.2021, New Scientist

> EU teams up with Bill Gates in €820M climate tech investment deal // 04.11.2021, Science|Business

> The Clean Cow: cutting the carbon footprint of US beef production (report) // 02.11.2021, The Breakthrough Institute

> It’s time to delete carbon from the atmosphere. But how? // 05.11.2021, WIRED

> The enormous hole that whaling left behind // 03.11.2021, The Atlantic
The mass slaughter of whales destroyed far more than the creatures themselves.

Platform 4: Science & Diplomacy

> Why Africa must invest in science // 28.10.2021, Africa.news

> Inside the echo chamber of European research cooperation // 02.11.2021, Science|Business

> Scientists call for IPCC-like group on chemical pollution // 29.10.2021, Chemical & Engineering News
UN Environment Assembly likely to vote in 2022 on whether to form panel.

> Ignore China’s new data privacy law at your peril // 05.11.2021, WIRED
The Personal Information Protection Law gives authorities the power to impose huge fines and blacklist companies. But the biggest impact may be felt outside the country.

> Pandemic treaty offers opportunity to correct COVID-19 weaknesses, address equity // 9.11.2021, Health Policy Watch
Based on this article: How an outbreak became a pandemic: a chronological analysis of crucial junctures and international obligations in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic // 08.11.2021, Lancet

OF INTEREST

> James Beware: Gaia may destroy humans before we destroy the Earth, says James Lovelock // 02.11.2021, The Guardian

> How to predict the future(s) // 06.11.2021, Axios
Based on this article by Salesforce: The pandemic era has begun: how to navigate challenges and opportunities in an uncertain future // 16.09.2021, Salesforce

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

TOOLS, RESOURCES AND PARTNERS

> Swiss Digital Initiative unveils the Digital Trust Label Seal // 03.11.2021, Swiss Digital Initiative
The Swiss Digital Initiative is developing the world's first Label to test and certify the trustworthiness of digital services. For the first time, SDI is now presenting the Digital Trust Label seal. From 2022, the Digital Trust Label will enable users to recognise trustworthy digital services at a glance. From now on, interested companies can register and be among the first whose digital services will be certified with the Digital Trust Label. To place the Label in the broader context of Digital Trust, the Swiss Digital Initiative is publishing a whitepaper with a holistic vision for trust in the digital world.

BOOKS

> Life As We Made It review: should we go all in on gene-editing tech? // 03.11.2021, New Scientist
Look around you, and the results of humanity’s time on Earth are plain to see. Our species has been changing and refining the environment for generations. Landscapes and habitats that we take for granted as “natural” would look and behave very differently if humans hadn’t come on the scene – and that’s before you factor in our effects on other species. In Life As We Made It, Beth Shapiro, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, explores the ways that humans have transformed the world around us. In doing so, we have taken the reins of not only our own evolution, but also that of many other species, for better or worse.