Under fire for approving a questionable drug for all Alzheimer’s patients, the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday greatly narrowed its previous recommendation and is now suggesting that only those with mild memory or thinking problems should receive it. The reversal, highly unusual for a drug that has been available for only a few weeks,…
In June, the European Union officially recommended its member countries reopen their borders to American tourists after more than a year of tight restrictions. The United Kingdom has also placed the United States on an “amber” list, which means American travelers are allowed in, but must quarantine for 10 days and show proof of a…
Many Americans felt socially isolated during the pandemic, cut off from friends and family as they hunkered down and kept their distance to try to protect themselves from infection. But new research released Thursday suggests many people’s sense of isolation increased even as the public health crisis in the United States began to abate, with…
Monks once hoped to turn lead into gold through alchemy. But consider the cauliflower instead. It takes just two genes to transform the ordinary stems, stalks and flowers of the weedy, tasteless species Brassica oleracea into a formation as marvelous as this fractal, cloudlike vegetable. This is the true alchemy, says Christophe Godin, a senior…
Courtesy Nordstrom, Connie Zhou In the year since the non-profit 15 Percent Pledge launched in June 2021, urging retailers to commit fifteen percent of their shelf space to products from Black-owned businesses, nearly 30 major sellers—including Macy’s, Old Navy, and Sephora—have publicly taken the pledge. On July 8th, luxury department store Nordstrom became the latest…
The Delta variant of the coronavirus can evade antibodies that target certain parts of the virus, according to a new study published on Thursday in Nature. The findings provide an explanation for diminished effectiveness of the vaccines against Delta, compared with other variants. The variant, first identified in India, is believed to be about 60…
Viruses evolve. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is no exception. So the emergence of variants is no surprise, and not every new genetic mutation poses a serious threat. But in recent weeks, a growing drumbeat of news coverage has started to raise alarm about Lambda, a variant first detected in Peru late last year.…
Here’s what you need to know: A member of the U.S. military and an employee of the New Jersey Institute of Technology prepared doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at an immunization site in Newark last month.Credit…Bryan Anselm for The New York Times The Delta variant of the coronavirus can evade antibodies that target certain parts…
Places like Savoie exist all over historic wine areas, little-known cul-de-sacs that are suddenly embraced by the outside world, though the residents have been making wine there for centuries. Then again, there’s only one Savoie. This small, hilly protrusion in the Alpine foothills of eastern France juts into the mountainous region where Switzerland meets Italy.…
But the recent intelligence challenges have required a different range of scientific expertise, including some areas that agencies have invested fewer resources in over the years. “This is a really interesting moment where the national security interests have changed from some of the Cold War interests,” said Sue Gordon, a former top intelligence official. “Priorities…