The big event of the day, although it did not necessarily make the main headlines, was the global March for Science. Focussed by the Trump administration's retreat from supporting action and research on climate change, the dramatic reduction in size planned for the EPA and even the support by some for creationist arguments. It takes a lot for non-political scientists to come out in a political march. According to the Independent, marches were held in 500 cities around the world.
The news did feature strongly on CNN online. the UK however, is now dominated by election politics. France is wrapped up with the first stage of the presidential elections and the terrorist attack last week that resulted in the death of two policeman. German news is full of the splits in the far right AfD and the threats to Merkel.
An immediate need for more research and development is to combat antibiotic resistant superbugs. Back in February, the WHO released a priority list of pathogens for which we require new antibiotics:
Priority 1: CRITICAL
- Acinetobacter baumannii, carbapenem-resistant
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa, carbapenem-resistant
- Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem-resistant, ESBL-producing
Priority 2: HIGH
- Enterococcus faecium, vancomycin-resistant
- Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant, vancomycin-intermediate and resistant
- Helicobacter pylori, clarithromycin-resistant
- Campylobacter spp., fluoroquinolone-resistant
- Salmonellae, fluoroquinolone-resistant
- Neisseria gonorrhoeae, cephalosporin-resistant, fluoroquinolone-resistant
Priority 3: MEDIUM
- Streptococcus pneumoniae, penicillin-non-susceptible
- Haemophilus influenzae, ampicillin-resistant
- Shigella spp., fluoroquinolone-resistant
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