Tuesday's elections continue to make headlines, but the big news at the end of the week was the announcement of a new antiviral treatment for COVID-19. According to Pfizer, which developed the drug, Paxlovid cuts the risk of hospitalization or death by 89 percent. The drug doesn't prevent infection, so it's not exactly a cure. Combined with vaccines, though, it could reduce the pandemic from a social crisis to a seasonal annoyance.
That's not the only good news from the scientific world. On Friday, The New York Times reported a Russian project that provides heat using a small, sea-borne nuclear reactor. Although there are genuine risks, nuclear energy is the most plausible low-emissions alternative to fossil fuel. That means it's an unavoidable part of any serious response to climate change.
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