Up to 90 percent effective. And that its cheap to make time easy to store china launches an unmanned spacecraft to the moon, the mission to bring the rockets back to earth. We asked 8 Rocket Scientists what success would mean for chinas im speechless space . Im probably a phony. Yes. Welcome to the program. We start in the United States where a key federal agency has told joe biden the president ial transition can begin. After donald trump directed his administration to cooperate in the handover process. In a tweet, president , trump said he no longer opposed government aid for bidens transition team. Its the closest yet hes come to conceding defeat. Earlier us president elect joe biden announced his nominations for 6 top positions in this administration. A long time advisor Anthony Blinken for the position of secretary of state, former secretary of state john kerry as Climate Change on voice. And john together as treasury secretary, when it comes to well for more on this son joined by d. W. Correspondent cut only night. You moyes in washington, i can only know now the transition to a budding administration is now officially underway. But what was it that led to president , finally conceding what if i dont know, he also learned briefly after trumps tweet that to michigan has certified by the nz win. That means these 16 electoral votes from michigan will definitely go to joe biden. This clearly erases any pathway for president trying to overturn the election results. We also know from last week that georgia certified biden as the winner of that state. After the recount and Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected the Tram Campaign efforts to block, to continuing to count certain ballots. So a considering this overview probably trumps a close advisors, told him to open the doors for a transition because there is obviously no real way of overturning this results from the elections on november 3rd. Well, now that we have this situation, the transition is officially underway. What happens next . Can we expect a smooth transition . Or maybe in an official way, a smooth transition over trump is not going to change his narrative on elections frog. He and the media that support him breitbart fox. They are going to keep this rhetoric in order to feed their supporters with false claims. And we know that on december 12th, there is again a big trump rally planned here in washington, d. C. And that is only a small example. We can notice that hes not going to change his narrative and his rhetoric. Right cutter, you know, well, lets not shift the focus to president elect joe biden. Weve been hearing more about his cabinet picks with so many familiar names in the mix. So what does this tell us about the kind of administration hell eat he has picked a lot of people from the obama administration, as weak as c. N. N. Seems to be almost an obama, a 2. 0 administration, as some are saying here in washington. The truth is he has a lot of experience people now in his cabinet. You already mentioned him. Tony blinken, former deputy secretary of state under obama york, us former deputy secretary of homeland security, a real haynes, for example, also former Deputy National security adviser now director of National Intelligence and so on. So a lot of people power though, who really know their fields and more experience in these fields. And this of course it gives a certain set believe not only in the United States, but also on the international level. Katrina chinmoy, do you correspondent in washington . Thank you for that update. Well, there are more encouraging signs in the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine. Drug maker, astra zeneca and Oxford University of announced their vaccine is up to 90 percent effective in preventing covert 19 and the vaccine was most effective when patients were 1st given a half dose followed by a full dose. One months later. Crucially, this new vaccine doesnt require extreme cold storage and is relatively cheap and easy to mass produce. These files hold a promising formula for entering the covert 900 pandemic globally. A cheap, effective, easy to distribute that scene. We have to get a lot of people. Were not thinking about Solutions Working in terms of one person at a time. We have to think about vaccinating communities, populations, reducing transmission within those populations, so that we really get on top of this pandemic. And thats what it now looks like. Were going to have the ability to share in a really big way the vaccine was developed at the ukase university of oxford using the i dont know, virus platform. Researchers took a common cold virus that infects chimpanzees, genetically engineering it to trick the human body into thinking it has been infected with the virus that causes that 19. Im producing an immune response. , over 24000. 00 volunteers took part in the Clinical Trials in the u. K. , brazil, and south africa. The late stage trials showed the adenovirus vaccine is better at preventing hospitalizations and severe cases of covert 19 m. R. In a vaccines developed by madonna and pfizer by on tech. But people are not getting sick with the spike scene, which means that ultimately, even if you were to get ill, you have model symptoms. And so i think thats incredibly important because itll keep hospital beds free and people wont be dying from this in this virus. And thats not the only advantage. Unlike the m. R. In a vaccines, it can be kept at normal fridge temperatures, making it easier to distribute, especially in developing countries. It can also be manufactured at scale, meaning it can be produced in much greater quantities and that much lower costs than its rivals. But i think this will be a truly global vaccine in terms of its deploy ability and its accessibility. And its going to be probably more affordable and most of those for the lincoln countries, astra zeneca has pledged it wont make a profit from the vaccine during the pandemic. If it gets regulatory approval, the firm says its ready to produce 3000000000 doses next year. Or here are the other stories making headlines this hour. 3 prominent hong kong activists have been detained after pleading guilty to charges of organizing an authorised protest. Last year, joshua won ivan lamb and agnes trial. All expect to be given prison. Terms on kongs Democracy Movement has faltered since beijing imposed a sweeping national security. If you know, pierre has accused rebel forces of destroying the airport in the ancient town of axim as the 2 sides battle for control of the northern region, ethiopia has set a wednesday deadline for the teague rive forces to lay down their arms or face an assault on the regional conflict, ok . Chinas space agency launched its mission to the moon to bring rock samples back to earth. Child to 5, named for the chinese goddess of the moon took off successfully from the space center on chinas Southern Island. Its the 1st mission by any nation to retrieve lunar samples, since the 970 s. The probe is expected to bring back 2 kilos of rocks and so well to help scientists learn more about earths nearest neighbor, including how it was formed. A mission also showcases the advances that china has made in Space Exploration technology. This spacecraft has towered above the Southern Island province of heine than 30 days. A symbol of chinas technological prowess. And its military might a source of pride for many chinese to see the boys. This is chinas message to the world. Its chinas global signature. But if your child, i think by being able to launch such moon exploration, china is making history. The china 5 rocket is comprised of several components. One is the lander, which will dig for rocks and soil. These materials will then be transferred into the return capsule for the journey back to earth. Hall are currently in a program consists of 3 phases, overseeing landing and returning the china. 5 will carry out the 3rd phase, bringing moon samples back to earth. We hope this will be a success, was a good your mind that you hope. If it is a success, it would be the 1st time in 4 decades. That material has been brought back from the moon. Chinas space ambitions are no secret and have been growing for years. In 2003, it secured a major breakthrough when it became the 3rd country in the world to send a man into space. 10 years later trying to hit another milestone successfully landing and unpiloted spacecraft on the moon. It was the 1st soft landing since the soviet Union Success in 1976. More chinese cheers in january 29th teen in a global 1st, a lunar probe. Touching down on the far side of the moon, boosting chinas space ambitions. Mas is also in its sights. This year beijing launched an unmanned probe to the planet. In july, it put the final satellite into orbit for its chinese navigation system. The countrys, rival to us and g. P. S. , but this Lunar Mission to bring back material from the moon is one of chinas may stamp issues to date and one which beijing is determined to be another success. Well, to talk some more about this, were joined by keith cowing, hes a blogger, and the founder of the web site nasa watch as well as a Rocket Scientist. Hi, i am what i want to start with. What is china hoping to achieve with this mission . Well, what theyre going to be doing is the next in a series of very important robotic studies of the movie and knew back in the sixtys. We said people who do this, well, its been many decades since anything is really when the moon in order to bring something back. So its very important regard. Its also landing in a unique area of the moon that his head volcanic activity. So by leaving here, drilling 2 meters, john and grabbing 2 kilograms of blocks of rock will be able to understand how long the moon had a malted interior. It still does how much located actually they had when to make millet fuel would be like these are very important questions that we dont quite understand. So this is the latest and its a very important issue. Series of missions to explore the affairs of missions a day that is if successful, the mission would make china only the 3rd country to have retrieved the lunar samples and the joining again. Ited states on the former soviet union. That where is chinas role in space . Exploration aspects, exploration had to well, its pretty much looking to repeat what the americans did with the russians tried to do, which is an intellectual in humans on the moon. And if you look at the illustrations for the things theyve landed on the moon, if you look at the designs for the lunar landers, the lunar leaders are just a little bit bigger, but they look the same. So they have a clear path and they stand their intention of doing to do that. But they also are looking to become a full partner in scientific exploration room again, which is what this mission to us, that there seems to be an increased interest in the moon. As of late or why is that exactly . Well, you know, i grew up during the original moon race when it was between us and the soviets. And back then there were only 2 countries that could even attempt to explore. Now, not only committee countries do this, but private companies owned by a very rich people can do this. So weve now seen missions that have successfully gone to move from india and china from japan. And weve had the israeli strike. And weve got some companies now and must is looking to wind his own space ship on the moon and his own expense. So you take this all together. Its sort of like, well now anybody can go to the moon. And if you remember, maybe you dont, there was a song back in the sixtys called, everyones going to the moon. Now seems to be exactly whats going on these days. Everyones going to the moon, keith cowing a Rocket Scientist and the founder of the website. Nasa watch, thanks for joining us. Budget. Youre watching. The news live from berlin up next, doc, film, flames, and pestilence. How pandemics change the world will be more news at the top of the hour. But in the meantime, theres always our web site with analysis and all that. I just use Business Culture and sports on top of him. Yes. I mean the entire news team here. Take care and see you soon. Can you hear me now . Oh, yes, we dont need you and how the last 2 years gentlemen starts. Now when you bring your uncle, our mascot as youve never had to have been surprised to self with what is possible . Who is magical . Really . What moves and want to talk to people who follow along the way. Maurice and critics alike join us from eccles. Last stop. People who study Public Health have been saying, listen, this is going to happen. Its only a matter of time. This is a message from the governments chief medical officer about coronavirus. You should now only go out to an absolutely necessary for food medicine, work or exercise. Always try to stay 2 meters apart. Do not meet others outside your household, even friends and family. I think this disease is remarkably infectious, even compared to influenza, the flu. And so even though we were prepared, were almost overrun by the ferocity of the pundit. Its highly transmissible, like all the coronaviruses, which with all the cold, common cold. You know, if youre in the room with somebody with a cold, youre lucky to get the copd. But the problem with this fire woods is it doesnt stop in the nose. It doesnt stop in alone. It can spread very rapidly into the rest of the body. And thats why it is such a dramatic disease portobello road in the heart of Londons Notting Hill district, normally packed with people and tourists from all over the world. Now in march 2020, its deserted streets shuttered, shops, closed schools and t. , public transport queues. The deadly covered 19 virus that hit the world in the early months of 2020, led to scenes like this. And from what we all grave. You know, its very difficult to completely isolate the brass of one person from another, so that it is likely to be the respiratory diseases that are the respiratory viruses that are going to be the real problem in terms of epidemics and pandemics. You know, were now at and in, in the future. But this is just the latest in the series of pandemics that has devastated populations and societies across the world through the ages. When i was a child, the in the shift is that there were the diseases around, you know, i got have the tightest those polio around and you see people who are crippled and we were aware all the time of the dangers of infection. And the doctor would come to your home and treat you for that. But whats happened since then . Weve brought in antibiotics. We brought in faxes and gradually weve driven many of the Infectious Diseases not necessary out of the richer countries, but into into Hidden Health care components of the richer countries options of need, hospitals away from the community. This hasnt happened in many parts of the world, for example, on the african continent where they dealing with diseases like this on a daily basis. Each disease is slightly different from every other disease. And the problem with this covert 19 virus is that we, we cant quite predictable. This is going to turn out. We cannot predict at the moment how long immunity will last, whether it will be solid immunity. Whether everyone becomes, you know, whether you become more immune, a few, had a more severe illness and have less immunity. If you shrug it off quickly, we just dont know movies are still questions, are up in the air, diseases and viruses such a smallpox people on a plane to back, you know, since an influenza and some of the most brutal killers in human history. Outbreaks of these diseases across International Borders i defined as pandemics. How did they change the world in the past . Why do they still happen . And how would they change the world again . This will be a can to new and battle. I think we thought we were winning the battle after brown night in fiftys, and this is a reminder the cover of night in our brain that it is a continuing battle and it will continue on into the future. Through the ages, men have searched and found cures for new diseases and they doing the same. Again. The idea that vaccine saw drugs or silver bullets is rather naive or it certainly needs you need to be far more new once in your thinking. These are extremely valuable weapons in against Infectious Diseases, but they, they suffer from 2 problems. Sometimes when we want them to work, they dont work. And sometimes they cause problems. In addition to the problem were trying to solve. And thats true of drugs and its true of actually humans have always caught diseases from animals. In fact, most new infections and diseases come from wild life. It really goes back to the time when humans 1st became urbanized and told clusters themselves where theyve moved from being into gatherers if you like into more organized society. Thats probably where the 1st many pandemics occur. The history of human human civilization has been increasing contact with animals starting with agriculture. You know, where we had domestication of animals. We had also things like grain stocks and such which brought in other non domesticated animals like mice and rats, and wrote other rodents. Weve had expansion into wilderness areas with agriculture, with need for housing need for lumber or need for raw materials. Other are materials which brought us in contact with animals. So theres been these tendencies to have increasing contact with animals that we have not had contact with before. Which environmental changes are speeding up this process where the explosion of city living in International Travel means that when these diseases emerge, they can spread through quickly. Most animals carry a range of pathogens, bacteria, and viruses, which can cause disease. A pathogen is an organism that causes disease. The pathogens evolutionary survival depends on infecting new hosts and jumping to others is one way to do this. The new hosts, immune system tries to kill off the new pathogen, meaning that the 2 unlocked eternally in an evolutionary game of trying to find new ways to vanquish each other. We encounter new cardinals all the time. The vast, vast majority of the pathogens recount or are either not very successful at infecting humans or transmitting between humans or are dealt with very easily, barmy ancestor, now theres some very small fraction thats able to infect humans directly from Something Like bird flu, a very small fraction of those are able to actually transfer from one human to another, such as mergers and indifference. Smaller fraction of those are able to jump from one human to or another human with enough transmission that it could actually cause an outbreak. Wild animals, often harbor viruses. Bats for instance, can carry hundreds of them. And viruses jumping from species to species can ultimately infect people with human urbanization officious cycle develops more people bring more deforestation. Human expansion and loss of habitat ultimately kills off predators, including those who feed off rodents with the project has gone, or at least their numbers sharply diminished. The rodent population explodes and the studies in africa show. So does the risk of soon not a disease. And the situation is only likely to get worse, as it has been for centuries. A major proportion of east asians population still lives in larry and other nice asian is expected to continue for decades. Tropical regions rich in bio diversity, already hold a knowledge pool of pathogens. Great. Increasing the chance that a known craft of farming systems throughout africa or nations doesnt help on both continents. Many families depend on subsistence farming and a miniscule supply of livestock disease control, food, and housing for those animals is extremely limited to cattle chickens and pigs which can carry endemic disease. Often in close contact with each other and a variety of non Domestic Animals and humans. Like animal markets is common place throughout asia in africa. Crowded conditions on the internet, the mixing of multiple species, including humans. This 2 case a key role in how a killer pathogen could emerge and spread between species. Another risk is bushmeat hunting and butchering, which is particularly widespread in subsaharan africa. These activities not only threaten the animal species and revoking the change ecosystems, they also bring people and wild animals together. Bushmeat hunting to clear up the primary part of the zoonotic disease transmission bush made while youre doing is youre going out and youre tropic or catching wild animals which might die, which might scratch. And then youre butchering them, which puts you in direct contact with a lot of their bodily fluids. And so its very easy for profit gyms to jump from these wild animals for humans through the mechanism of bush meat. An alternative to bush meat is factory farming. You know, high density farming, but then that can do causes the conditions that are ripe for pathogens jumping it from a while population into a domestic population like domestic poultry in a way that allows a pathogen to jump into human population. So is traditional chinese medicine, which purports to provide remedies for a host of conditions like arthritis, epilepsy, and erectile dysfunction. Although no Scientific Evidence exists to support most of these claims. Asia is an Enormous Consumer of traditional chinese medicine products. Cheika spares, rhinos, pangolin, and other animal species approach. So their body parts could be mixed into these questionable medications. This too is a major contributor to increasing animal human interaction. Demand is likely to go up as Online Marketing stalls along with asias relentless economic growth. These trends have become very well established in the last 100 years. That plagues and pandemics have been around for as long as man can sell for the world. The really affect or influence is different. Other ones, but how these logs, demographic impact furtiveness out all half the population is killed. With drawls, an awful lot of people from the labor force, just drop social Political Institutions in ways that make it very popular to recover. The plague of justinian was a pandemic that afflicted the byzantine eastern roman empire and especially its capital in constantinople. In the 6th century, merchant ships arriving from black sea floor rats that carried fleas infected with plague. This became one of the deadliest content x. In history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 25 to 100 1000000 people during the following 2 centuries. It was named after empress justinian the 1st to call the disease, but survived. The outbreak begun in 542, but then there were a color episode, the plague over the next 1012 years or so. And we know that by the end of this period, the byzantine empire was thrown into turmoil, said that Something Like more the population was stricken and dawoud, the losses of rome itself were huge. So it struck right at the heart of the roman empire. The usual narrative about the plague justinian is that the us was result of the breakup of the byzantine empire. And the beginning of what were known as the dark ages. In a similar way that we used to, you know, coven starting slowly. It starts with, you know, one or 2 people falling ill, not really realizing, but in this case, we know that in fact a very, very rapid. Once people develop some sort, they would progressive our soil, so theyre old us and end up dead in a matter of days. So it was shocking unfair for the deadliest plague in history was the 2nd major case of people unexplained, commonly known as the black death. The dance of death, the dance, mccarthy, and ill agree on the universality of death was a common painting, many tif during the late medieval period that killed between the 1st to haul them population up to 75000000 people. So yes, i mean the demographic impacts were immense. Also originating in the east in china, the disease spread western on the silk road to gain reaching the black sea in mediterranean trade ships, then spread the disease to the rest of europe. Italy 1st in sicily in venice in 1347, and the rest of europe over the next 3 years. This remains the deadliest plague outbreak in history. The bacterium yesenia pest is derived from the rat flea, which results in several forms of cake is believed to have been the cool once again. Technically you would very quickly develop a fever