Shi Zhengli, a top virologist, said in a rare interview that speculation about her lab in Wuhan was baseless. But China’s habitual secrecy makes her claims hard to validate.
Tag: Science and Technology
Reading Dan Frank, Book Editor and ‘Champion of the Unexampled’
Alan Lightman, Janna Levin and others recall the editor who shaped their work and a literary genre. Plus, more reading recommendations in the Friday edition of the Science Times newsletter.
Some Scientists Question W.H.O. Inquiry Into the Coronavirus Pandemic’s Origins
Those who still suspect the outbreak in China may have been caused by a lab leak or accident are pressing for an independent investigation.
‘Smart’ Office Cushions Track Workers by the Seat of Their Pants
A Chinese tech company designed a way to track employees’ health, but sensors were also monitoring when they were away from their desks, setting off a debate about privacy and surveillance.
It Spied on Soviet Atomic Bombs. Now It’s Solving Ecological Mysteries.
Imagery from the Cold War’s Corona satellites is helping scientists fill in how we have changed our planet in the past half century.
Inside the C.I.A., She Became a Spy for Planet Earth
Linda Zall is disclosing how she toiled anonymously within the intelligence agency to help scientists intensify their studies of a changing planet.
China Moon Mission Brings Lunar Rocks to Earth, and New Competition to Space
The Chang’e-5 mission’s success highlights the progress of China’s space program, and growing rivalry with the United States.
China Peddles Falsehoods to Obscure Origin of Covid Pandemic
To push the idea that the virus didn’t come from China, the government has misrepresented experts’ remarks and given dubious theories the veneer of science.
To Test Coronavirus Vaccines, UK Study Will Intentionally Infect Volunteers
The hotly contested strategy of deliberate exposure, known as a human challenge trial, could speed up the process of identifying effective coronavirus vaccines.
Mario Molina, 77, Dies; Sounded an Alarm on the Ozone Layer
He shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research that showed how chemicals in hair spray and other products could cause grave environmental damage.