Crafting successful public health measures depends on the ability of top scientists to gather data and report their findings unrestricted to policymakers.
State of play: But concern has spiked among health experts and physicians over what they see as an assault on key science protections, particularly during a raging pandemic. And a move last week by President Trump, via an executive order, is triggering even more worries.
Honeywell on Thursday introduced the next generation of its quantum computing system, claiming the highest quantum volume measured in the industry.
Why it matters: New versions of quantum computers are coming out almost monthly, as the industry continues to push the technical boundaries of the technology. The real challenge, however, comes with designing systems that can move out of the lab and into the hands of actual customers.
The pandemic is throwing a wrench into Americans' understanding of science, which has big implications for climate change.
Driving the news: Recent focus groups in battleground states suggest some voters are more skeptical of scientists in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, while surveys reveal the persistence of a deep partisan divide.
Tropical Storm Zeta has killed at least two people, triggered flooding, downed powerlines and caused widespread outages since making landfall in Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane on Wednesday.
The big picture: A record 11 named storms have made landfall in the U.S. this year. Zeta is the fifth named storm to do so in Louisiana in 2020, the most ever recorded. It weakened t0 a tropical storm early Thursday, as it continued to lash parts of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle with heavy rains and strong winds.
Tropical Storm Zeta has killed at least two people and caused hundreds of thousands of people to lose power after making landfall in Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane Wednesday.
Details: After "battering southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi," Zeta weakened to a tropical storm over central Alabama early on Thursday, but it was still pummeling parts of the state and the Florida Panhandle with heavy winds and rains, per the National Hurricane Center.
The 2020 presidential election presents two stark paths for the direction of future-focused scientific research.
Why it matters: Science is a long game, with today's breakthroughs often stemming from research carried out decades ago, often with government help. That means the person who occupies the White House over the next four years will help shape the state of technology for decades into the future.
Scientists have discovered a 1,600-foot-tall detached coral reef at Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Why it matters: The shoal of coral that's taller than New York City's Empire State Building is the first detached reef to be found in more than 120 years.
Firefighters in Orange County, Southern California, battled into the night two growing wildfires that have burned across more than 27,000 acres and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate.
The state of play: The blazes have been driven by strong Santa Ana winds and forced the evacuation of some 92,000 people Monday, per Orange County Fire Authority officials. Mandatory evacuation orders were lifted for some parts of the city of Irvine late Tuesday as the fires continued to grow.
