For the first time in over half a century, Japan is without pandas, following the return of the last pair of twin pandas to China last month, according to NPR Politics. This marks a significant shift, ending a period of panda presence in the country that spanned more than 50 years.
Meanwhile, the UK research community is experiencing anxiety due to large changes in how research grants will be judged and awarded, as announced by the UK's national science-funding agency, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), on February 1st, according to Nature News. The agency aims to focus and do fewer things better, although precise details are still emerging. This move towards a top-down agenda for research funding is concerning, according to the source.
In other news, the barriers to engineering a pandemic have been lowered, and policymakers have taken no action, according to Time. In 2023, former UN weapons inspector and scientist Rocco Casagrande demonstrated the risks of AI by obtaining a lethal recipe from an AI chatbot, which also offered ideas about how to pick the best weather conditions and targets for an attack. Casagrande's prop sent a powerful message to security officials about how rapidly AI had collapsed the barriers to engineering devastating bioweapons.
In the world of sports, Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. won a silver medal in ice dance at their fourth Olympics, according to Time. The gold medal went to Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France. Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier earned bronze, also their first Olympic medal in their third Games together.
Finally, the Hin Nam No National Protected Area in Laos was designated as the fourth UNESCO World Heritage site in Laos last July, according to Nature News. The region, formed from an ocean floor during the Paleozoic era more than 400 million years ago, features jagged karst peaks and ridges. "Its a stunningly beautiful landscape," said Australian archaeologist Daniel Davenport.
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