GESDA's best pick from the press, web and science journals, in relation to GESDA's thematic platforms
08-15 February 2022
A GESDA product curated by Olivier Dessibourg
www.gesda.global
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! Next edition: 1 March 2022
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FOCUS 1
> Reboot biomedical R&D in the global public interest // 09.02.2022, Nature
Inequitable access to the fruits of research during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the urgency – and feasibility – of overhauling the R&D system. This Comment in Nature is signed by the following scientists, among others: Soumya Swaminathan, Bernard Pécoul, Marie Paule Kieny, Marcel Tanner, Suerie Moon.
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Workers in south India make low-cost, generic HIV drugs that will expand access to therapies.
© Sara Hylton/Bloomberg/Getty
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FOCUS 2
> Ageism in artificial intelligence for health // 09.02.2022, WHO
This WHO policy brief examines the use of AI in medicine and public health for older people, including the conditions in which AI can exacerbate or introduce new forms of ageism. It presents legal, non-legal and technical measures that can be used to minimize the risk of ageism in AI and maximize AI’s benefits for older people as these technologies become more commonly used across the world.
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FOCUS 3
> Drugs based on next-generation gene editing are moving toward the clinic faster than CRISPR 1.0 // 10.02.2022, STAT
For CRISPR 1.0 therapies, 4.5 years passed between the first studies in cells and the first public data in non-human primates. CRISPR 2.0, got it down to 3 years. STAT has created a new tracker of milestone CRISPR studies, and found that the explosion in interest created a positive feedback loop, accelerating the movement of new and better gene editing approaches toward the clinic.
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© Adobe
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FOCUS 4
> Mieux explorer l’océan, ou mieux l’exploiter? Le dilemme de Brest // 11.02.2022, Le Temps
Une trentaine de chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement, dont la Suisse, étaient réunis en France. Objectif: protéger la haute mer et lutter contre l’invasion du plastique.
Related contents:
> Brest Commitments for the Oceans // 11.02.2022, Palais de l’Elysée
Representatives of more than 100 countries from all sea basins and representing more than half the world’s exclusive economic zones, have stated their determination to preserve the oceans by contributing to the “Brest Commitments for the Oceans”, alongside the Secretary-General of the UN, the Director-General of UNESCO and the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
> France sends mixed signals on deep-sea mining in advance of ocean summit // 09.02.2022, Scoop World
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© flickr
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FOCUS 5
> Visions of the Internet in 2035 // 07.02.2022, Pew Research Center
Asked to ‘imagine a better world online,’ experts hope for a ubiquitous – even immersive – digital environment that promotes fact-based knowledge, offers better defense of individuals’ rights, empowers diverse voices and provides tools for technology breakthroughs and collaborations to solve the world’s wicked problems.
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© Getty Images
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FOCUS 6
> The myth of tech exceptionalism // 10.02.2022, Noema
With the onslaught of press coverage and congressional hearings about Big Tech’s role in society in recent years, we have heard variations of an all-too common defense from tech leaders: “We do more good than harm.” On its face, this is both an unsubstantiated and unquantifiable assertion, based on the self-described tech industry’s views of what is good for the rest of us, both today and in the future they are building. More importantly, it is an irrelevant argument intended to subvert a fundamental purpose of democratic governance: protecting the public from predatory or harmful actors and business practices.
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© Artby Outsidein for Noema Magazine
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FOCUS 7
> Science and social media // 10.02.2022, Science
Long before the pandemic, scientists began flocking to social media, sharing ideas, thoughts, and information. But it is undeniable that the pandemic has boosted the visibility and engagement of scientists on many platforms, especially Twitter. Has this been good or bad for science? The answer is both, says Holden Throp, editor-in-chief of Science, to open a series of articles on this issue.
Related articles:
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© Robert Neubecker
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FOCUS 8
> Charting a course for the future of medicine // February 2022, STAT/Genentech
The seismic breakthroughs in science and medicine – and the challenges that lie ahead for scientific institutions and health care systems – took center stage at the 2021 STAT Summit. The event featured perspectives from biotech visionaries and the minds behind the Biden administration’s ARPA-H program. It also looked deeply at both the crisis of Black maternal mortality in the U.S., the future of treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, and the next stage of drug pricing legislation in Congress. Taken together, these stories underscore the important conversations that are taking place, as researchers, health care industry leaders, and policymakers navigate the future of science and medicine.
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FOCUS 9
> Food is Medicine Research Action Plan // February 2022, Aspen Institute
The United States faces an unabating chronic disease epidemic, leading to skyrocketing health care costs and devastating effects for individuals, communities, and the nation. The connection between chronic disease and nutrition is undeniable; nutrition not only plays a role in the onset of disease but also its prevention, management, and treatment. Efforts that involve a healthcare response to the need for better nutrition fall under the umbrella term “Food is Medicine.” An emerging body of research demonstrates the enormous promise of Food is Medicine interventions across a range of health conditions in improving health and quality of life, while also curbing health care costs.
Related articles:
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FOCUS 10
> The net-zero transition: what it would cost, what it could bring // February 2022, McKinsey
Governments and companies worldwide are pledging to achieve net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases. What would it take to fulfill that ambition? In a new report, McKinsey looks at the economic transformation that a transition to net-zero emissions would entail – a transformation that would affect all countries and all sectors of the economy, either directly or indirectly. We estimate the changes in demand, capital spending, costs, and jobs, to 2050, for sectors that produce about 85 percent of overall emissions and assess economic shifts for 69 countries.
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EXPLORE GESDA'S
SCIENCE BREAKTHROUGH
RADAR
- For understandable and entirely valid reasons, research has focused on harvesting colossal amounts of observational physical data to feed into our climate models.
- The “biological layer” of our planet, however, remains under-sensed and less adequately modelled. For example, our observations of soils, their dynamism and the interactions of their microorganisms, are in many respects low-resolution.
- Ecological modelling, the attempt to understand interactions and feedback mechanisms that shape ecosystems at a variety of scales, requires a full range of biological sensing platforms that have not yet been fully developed and deployed.
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GOOD READS ABOUT GESDA'S PLATFORMS THEMES
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© Alex Huth
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Platform 3: Eco-regeneration & Geoengineering
Resources
> Janez Potočnik interview: How a circular economy can help us go green // 09.02.2022, New Scientist
A sustainable future means using less stuff more wisely – but politicians aren’t yet grasping the nettle, says the head of the UN International Resource Panel.
Related articles in New Scientist:
> Catalyst turns carbon dioxide into gasoline 1,000 times more efficiently // 10.02.2022, Phys.org
Biotechnologies
> Gene-edited wheat resists dreaded fungus without pesticides // 09.02.2022, Science
> China’s approval of gene-edited crops energizes researchers // 11.02.2022, Nature
> The precious genes of the world’s first cloned ferret could save her species // 11.02.2022, Science
> The urine revolution: how recycling pee could help to save the world // 09.02.2022, Nature
Space
> Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship event leaves a lot of questions around the company’s big rocket // 11.02.2022, TechCrunch
> UN postpones space diplomacy talks after Russia asks for more time // 09.02.2022, Politico
> Space Force eager to invest in debris removal projects // 10.02.2022, SpaceNews
Climate and environment
> UN report to sound alarm on impacts of climate change // 13.02.2022, Geneva Solutions
> Rapid global phaseout of animal agriculture has the potential to stabilize greenhouse gas levels for 30 years and offset 68 percent of CO2 emissions this century // 01.02.2022, PLOS Climate
> 'Game-changing' tech can extract 99% of carbon dioxide directly from the air // 07.02.2022, Yahoo! News
> ESA hosts new office to coordinate global climate modelling push // 09.02.2022, ESA press release
Energy
> Why this could be a critical year for electric cars // 08.02.2022, The New York Times
> A photosensitizer–polyoxometalate dyad that enables the decoupling of light and dark reactions for delayed on-demand solar hydrogen production // 27.01.2022, Nature Chemistry
> Startup will drill 12 miles into Earth’s crust to tap the boundless energy below // 14.02.2022, Singularity Hub
> Nuclear-fusion reactor smashes energy record // 09.02.2022, Nature
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The Joint European Torus tokamak reactor near Oxford, UK, is a test bed for the world’s largest fusion experiment — ITER in France. Credit: Christopher Roux (CEA-IRFM)/EUROfusion (CC BY 4.0)
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Platform 4: Science & Diplomacy
> The global nature of science, technology and innovation: an interview with Ambassador Qin Gang, China's Ambassador to the U.S. // 17.12.2021, Science & Diplomacy
> In the global chips arms race, Europe makes its move // 12.02.2022, The Economist
> EU and US legislation seek to open up digital platform data // 10.02.2022, Science
> Following Lander’s resignation, here’s who might be in line for White House science adviser // 10.02.2022, STAT+
> Africa CDC is elevated to status of continental public health agency // 07.02.2022, Health Policy Watch
> Tedros celebrates WHO’s ‘baby’, the mRNA hub in South Africa // 11.02.2022, Health Policy Watch
Related article: European and African pharma sector want permanent platform to support African development // 14.02.2022, Health Policy Watch
Related speech: WHO Director-General's remarks at mRNA Technology Transfer Hub // 11.02.2022, WHO
Related Editorial: Africa is bringing vaccine manufacturing home // 09.02.2022, Nature
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GESDA Platform: Knowledge Foundations
> The world’s biggest optical telescope will search for alien life // 11.02.2022, Motherboard
> From the anthropocene to the microbiocene // 10.02.2020, Noema
The novel coronavirus compels us to rethink the modern concept of the political.
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Illustration of a pangolin. Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, Joseph Meyer, 1897.
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© Simone Rotella
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> Quantum diplomacy: rebalancing the power dynamic through emerging technologies // 10.02.2022, Science & Diplomacy
André Xuereb, Maltese Ambassador for Digital Affairs and Head of the Department of Physics at the University of Malta, examines “ how a small nation such as Malta can employ science diplomacy to assert its role in this evolving ecosystem and turn itself into a leader.” (©DR)
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> Jian-Wei Pan sees routine quantum advantage within five years // 07.02.2022, The Quantum Insider
When most people make predictions about the timetable of quantum computing adoption, you take it with a grain of salt. When a leader in quantum research — and a pioneer in several approaches to quantum computing — you give it a bit more credence. (©DR)
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BOOKS
> Decoding brain diseases, molecule by molecule // 11.02.2022, UNDARK
In A Molecule Away from Madness, neurologist Sara Manning Peskin shows how molecular research has transformed our understanding of diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Nicknaming these molecules mutants, rebels, invaders, and evaders, Peskin believes we are now on the precipice of a breakthrough.
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WHAT IS GESDA?
Humanity, now more than ever, is facing global challenges (especially with regards to the Covid-19 crisis), putting people and the planet under stress and in great uncertainty. Simultaneously, the world is experiencing breakthroughs in science and technology at an unprecedented pace, which are sometimes hard to grasp. Anticipation, therefore, is key to build the future with the aim of early and fully exploiting this scientific potential for the well-being and inclusive development of all. The Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator was founded in Geneva in 2019 to tackle this issue.
GESDA's ambition is to first anticipate and identify these cutting-edge advances in science and technology throughout various domains (Quantum Revolution & Advanced AI, Human Augmentation, Eco-regeneration & Geoengineering, Science & Diplomacy). Based on this scientific outlook, it will, with its Diplomacy community, translate potential leaps in science and tech into tools that can bring effective and socially-inclusive solutions to emerging challenges. Most importantly, this process will be achieved not only by scientists or diplomats, but will include actors of various professional origins and mindsets (from philanthropy, industry, citizens, to youth).
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Have a very nice and fruitful week! :-)
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