Researchers will keep pushing for a normalization of the COVID-19 epidemic as it enters its fourth consecutive year. Researchers will monitor hundreds of subvariants to Omicron which is the deadly but highly transmissible strain of SARSCoV-2. The evolution of the virus will be monitored by virologists this year. They want to determine if it is slowing down or whether a new, more deadly variant emerges. This would help to evade much of the immunity humanity has acquired to the previous strains. Researchers are working on new vaccines that offer broad protection against coronaviruses. A nasal vaccine that stimulates immune response within the mucosal membranes of the body is another priority. These should be able to elicit stronger and faster defenses against the initial infection than shots in the arm. Public health experts are concerned that widespread vaccination hesitancy could persist and have long-lasting implications for the fight against COVID-19 as well as other diseases. Because of the rapid evolution of COVID-19, many existing anti-viral drugs have become ineffective. Potential drugs for Long Covid treatment may be tested in randomized clinical trials. This could benefit millions of people who suffer from fatigue or other symptoms.
The rest of the section will be covered. ScienceThe News team at’s News forecasts which areas of policy and research will be the most talked about in the next year.
CLIMATE POLICY
Climate-losses Pact rebuffed by nations
Two dozen diplomats representing two dozen nations will discuss the terms of an agreement that requires wealthy countries, which are responsible for the largest historical amounts of greenhouse gas emissions to pay damages caused by climate changes. This was the sole substantive policy that emerged from U.N.’s November 2022 climate summit in Egypt. The new fund will pay for property and economic damage caused by heat and flooding and other climate-related effects. However, signatories remained vague on details such as who should pay and which country should benefit from the fund, and how it should be spent. These details may be brought to the forefront at next year’s U.N. Climate Summit in Dubai. The prospects of the agreement’s success are questioned by observers, who point out that rich nations have not fulfilled past promises to support such financial assistance.
BIOMEDICINE
Funders big to support new leaders
The U.S. National Institutes of Health and Wellcome Trust, two of the largest sponsors of biomedical research in the world, will likely be replaced by new directors. The White House has been slow to name a replacement for Francis Collins who stepped down in December 2021 as the director of the $47.5 billion-a-year NIH. Senate approval will be required for the next leader of the agency. He will also oversee NIH’s efforts to increase diversity in its research workforce. Republican legislators will likely grill him about the agency’s response to the COVID-19 epidemic. The $6.6 billion National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH) is also in search of a permanent director. It was led by Anthony Fauci for 38 years. He resigned last month. Wellcome will also be looking for a permanent director for Director Jeremy Farrar. Farrar spent a decade with the nonprofit Wellcome and was promoted to chief scientist at the World Health Organization.
BIOMEDICINE
Human gene editing nears OK
A landmark moment in medicine could be the new year: gene editing was approved for medical treatments. Patients with beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease have defects in their gene for hemoglobin. This is the protein that transports oxygen in the blood. CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, biotech firms, have conducted clinical trials. They removed a patient’s blood stem cells and used the CRISPR gene editing tool to turn on a healthy gene that fetal hemoglobin. These cells are shut down after birth. Then, they reinfuse these modified cells. This one-time procedure has eliminated severe pain and blood transfusions for most of the patients. Companies are awaiting approval from U.S. regulators and European regulators. A decision could be made by the end of this year on at least one coast. Cost will be the next issue. The cost of gene therapy (an older treatment that modifies genes rather than adding them) can range from $850,000 up to $3.5 Million.
GENOMICS
Animal genomes proliferate
Although scientists have successfully sequenced thousands of human genomes and those of microbial organisms, the deciphering and analysis of DNA from other multicellular organisms is still a slow process. This year will mark a new chapter in the history of sequencing. The results of more accurate, cheaper technologies will result in a surge in nonhuman genome sequences. Earth BioGenome Project is an umbrella project that includes more than 50 sequencing projects covering many organisms. It expects 2000 sequences to be released in 2012. Many of the groups that fall under this umbrella are focused on specific types of animals. The Wellcome Sanger Institute’s Darwin Tree of Life Project studies insects, invertebrates and mammals, while the Zoonomia Project examines mammals. The sequences will be released by two other consortiums, which include more than 200 nonhuman primates. Many of these have been identified as endangered or threatened. The new data, scientists believe will enhance comparative genomics research and offer insights into evolution as well as life history.
PUBLIC HEALTH
End mpox
This year, health authorities are working to eradicate human-to-human transmissions of mpox (previously called monkeypox). The disease was first discovered in 2022. The World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern after more than 80,000 people became ill. Although the new cases declined sharply by the end of the year, hundreds of cases still were reported each week. Experts are trying to understand the impact of immunizations, infections, and immunity on the declining number of cases. They also hope that they can find out how behavior changes in gay men (and their networks) could explain the decrease. The effectiveness of the single vaccine (a smallpox shot that has been repurposed) could be revealed by studies. They also compare the effects of different dosages and methods for administering the shots. Global health policy will need to be evaluated on whether the vaccine is available in countries like Africa that have had a history of mpox epidemics.
ASTRONOMY
China launches space telescope
China will further develop its space science capabilities with three launches this year. These include the Chinese Survey Space Telescope (also known as Xuntian “sky survey”)). China’s second space-based optical probe is a 2-meter telescope. It will be 350 times more powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope (2.4 meters). The telescope will be used to study star formation and exoplanets. It also studies dark matter, dark energy and mysterious phenomena controlling the expansion of our universe. It will orbit in the same orbit of China’s Tiangong-3 satellite and can dock to perform maintenance. Xuntian will launch in December, and begin observations in 2024. Chinese Academy of Sciences’s National Astronomical Observatories promised to share data. China also has two other missions: x-ray observatories, the Space Variable Objects Monitor and Einstein Probe. These are joint projects with France.
GEOLOGY
Anthropocene could get a marker
Soon, researchers will announce the choice of the site that they believe should be the Anthropocene “golden spike”. This controversial idea to identify a geological time period marked by human impact on the earth’s environment is controversial. Anthropocene working group, which was formed by the International Commission on Stratigraphy has already chosen the 1950s as the beginning of the epoch. This is an era marked by a surge in fossil fuel usage. The group also reviewed 12 potential sites that could contain lake muds or ice cores. These features are important in establishing the new epoch. Three more committees must approve the choice after it is announced by the working group. If the definition is rejected, it will not be considered again for at least 10 years. It is unlikely that the definition will be passed. While many geologists recognize the extraordinary changes caused by human activity, they question whether it is necessary to alter a system that records millions of years worth of geologic time in order to record shorter-lived events.
DISEASES INFECTIVES
Dengue vaccine nears debut
Last month, a new dengue vaccine was approved in Europe. It may be soon available to Indonesians. This will protect far more people from the disease than any product on the current market. Sanofi Pasteur’s Dengvaxia vaccine, which has been on the market since 2015 can only be used by people who have already been infected with dengue. Takeda Pharmaceuticals has now shown that Qdenga can be used to protect those who have never been infected with dengue in multiple countries. An estimated 100 million people are infected with the virus each year. In rare instances, it can cause fatal complications. Scientists want more information about Qdenga safety. They are wary because of their experience with Dengvaxia. Children who were not infected and had received vaccines had higher chances of developing severe symptoms. Qdenga trials have not shown this problem. It could be due to an uncommon phenomenon where antibodies to one type of dengue virus “enhance” another group’s ability to infect cells.
LEADERSHIP
Amazon Conservation Reboots
Brazil’s left-wing President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva is expected to renew efforts for protecting the Amazon and fighting climate change. This will be a complete reversal of the pro-development agenda set by his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro who oversaw record levels of deforestation. Lula (also president between 2003 and 2010) has pledged to stop illegal deforestation. Bolsonaro issued hundreds of laws that weaken policing for illegal logging, and mining. He could start with revoking them. However, Brazil may have other budgetary demands that limit enforcement, like fighting rising poverty. Other countries may be able to help reinstate subsidies that supported conservation during Bolsonaro’s term. These contributions were resumed by Norway and Germany days following Lula’s election on October 20,22.
HUMAN ORIGINS
South Africa tells HomoThe story of
Recent analyses could support the notion that important events occurred in the evolution our genus’s history. HomoSouth Africa. Kromdraai Cave researchers say that they will publish descriptions of new fossils discovered. Homo This could be more than two million years old, which is a long time after the date for the oldest. Homo fossils from east Africa, 22.7 million years ago. The unique features found in the Kromdraai fossils could support the controversial theory that fossils from Drimolen last year belonged to Kromdraai. H. erectusThis might suggest that the species was first discovered in South Africa, rather than east Africa, Asia as some have believed. Analysis of new South African fossils including those of the forerunners HomoThis could help to unravel the relationships and histories of the hominins that once lived in this area.