On the morning of Dec. 20, 2019, the Chinese fish monger Chen Qingbo was cleaning out his stand at the market, completely unaware that he would soon become the focus of intense scientific research, that he was carrying a virus within him of a kind the world had never seen before. He was unaware that his fate was linked closely with that of all of humanity.He had been up since 5 a.m. and had already made deliveries to his primary customers, including a number of hotels and restaurants in the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan. The Huanan retail and wholesale market, located not far from the train...…On the morning of Dec. 20, 2019, the Chinese fish monger Chen Qingbo was cleaning out his stand at the market, completely unaware that he would soon become the focus of intense scientific research, that he was carrying a virus within him of a kind the world had never seen before. He was unaware that his fate was linked closely with that of all of humanity.He had been up since 5 a.m. and had already made deliveries to his primary customers, including a number of hotels and restaurants in the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan. The Huanan retail and wholesale market, located not far from the train...WW…

When Alexander Ginzburg injected himself with the vaccine he developed, he hadn't even begun testing the substance on monkeys. That was four months ago, and Ginzburg, a microbiologist and director of the state-owned Gamaleya Institute in Moscow, says he is still feeling just fine. One hundred institute employees also agreed to be vaccinated. And all are still healthy.Ginzburg is working on what is called a vector vaccine, which involves introducing genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus into a harmless carrier virus in order to trigger the human immune system to produce antibodies. The...…When Alexander Ginzburg injected himself with the vaccine he developed, he hadn't even begun testing the substance on monkeys. That was four months ago, and Ginzburg, a microbiologist and director of the state-owned Gamaleya Institute in Moscow, says he is still feeling just fine. One hundred institute employees also agreed to be vaccinated. And all are still healthy.Ginzburg is working on what is called a vector vaccine, which involves introducing genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus into a harmless carrier virus in order to trigger the human immune system to produce antibodies. The...WW…

It’s not very difficult for an industrialized country to build a nuclear bomb. The technology is already available, and it’s astonishing that more countries haven’t done it so far.The veto powers on the United Nations Security Council - the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain – all have nuclear weapons, as do Israel, India and Pakistan. Beyond that, there’s North Korea and perhaps also soon Iran.Many worry that the proliferation of nuclear weapons could spin out of control. But those worries apparently don't go deep enough. Fears of nuclear war more or less disappeared after...…It’s not very difficult for an industrialized country to build a nuclear bomb. The technology is already available, and it’s astonishing that more countries haven’t done it so far.The veto powers on the United Nations Security Council - the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain – all have nuclear weapons, as do Israel, India and Pakistan. Beyond that, there’s North Korea and perhaps also soon Iran.Many worry that the proliferation of nuclear weapons could spin out of control. But those worries apparently don't go deep enough. Fears of nuclear war more or less disappeared after...WW…

At night, when the sky clears, it's not difficult to guess where the bridge leads. The clouds on the other side of the bay glow orange, illuminated by the city of Hong Kong, with its population of 7 million, just beyond the horizon. Another glow can be seen farther north: the high-tech boomtown of Shenzhen, with 13 million inhabitants. There is a third and fourth patch of light in the sky even beyond that: Dongguan, with 8 million people, and Guangzhou, population 15 million.In the haze of daylight, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, modern-day China's most recent gargantuan building...…At night, when the sky clears, it's not difficult to guess where the bridge leads. The clouds on the other side of the bay glow orange, illuminated by the city of Hong Kong, with its population of 7 million, just beyond the horizon. Another glow can be seen farther north: the high-tech boomtown of Shenzhen, with 13 million inhabitants. There is a third and fourth patch of light in the sky even beyond that: Dongguan, with 8 million people, and Guangzhou, population 15 million.In the haze of daylight, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, modern-day China's most recent gargantuan building...WW…

The leadership in Beijing has done everything in its power to ensure that the People's Congress can take place this year. Around 3,000 delegates will meet in the Chinese capital in late May, with many having traveled all the way from Shanghai and Sichuan, Tibet and Inner Mongolia. They will walk across Tiananmen Square, past the red flag and soldiers of the People's Liberation Army, before taking a seat in the Great Hall of the People, which was built at the behest of the founder of the modern Chinese state, Mao Zedong.For more than 20 years, China's Communist Party has held the National...…The leadership in Beijing has done everything in its power to ensure that the People's Congress can take place this year. Around 3,000 delegates will meet in the Chinese capital in late May, with many having traveled all the way from Shanghai and Sichuan, Tibet and Inner Mongolia. They will walk across Tiananmen Square, past the red flag and soldiers of the People's Liberation Army, before taking a seat in the Great Hall of the People, which was built at the behest of the founder of the modern Chinese state, Mao Zedong.For more than 20 years, China's Communist Party has held the National...WW…