How Supercomputing and Advanced X-Rays Helped the Government Fight COVID-19 Timofeev Vladimir/Shutterstock.com
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Government-backed scientists spent countless hours in 2020 applying advanced research and sophisticated technological capabilities to help the United States better grasp and effectively fight COVID-19.
Much of their efforts built on prior work that started unfolding long before the pandemic even posed a threat, but modern, real-world impacts hastened by the global emergency are now beginning to come to light.
For instance, genetic mutations within and helping strengthen five potential vaccines including those developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna hinged upon more than a decade of research advanced by the Energy Department’s Advanced Photon Source, or APS.
The year 2020 was incredibly rough, but with one big bright spot at the end.
A once-in-a-century global pandemic an unfathomable tragedy devastated lives and economies. But in a miraculous display of scientific prowess, Pfizer, Moderna, and other pharmaceutical companies produced what appeared to be highly effective Covid-19 vaccines by December. After a year of loss, there was a fresh glimmer of hope.
But while Covid has been the story of the year, it is far from the only story our other mega-challenges continued and, unfortunately, grew larger. Economic inequality became even more stark. After decades of the top income earners getting all the wealth gains about $50 trillion in the U.S. alone it got worse. During the pandemic, U.S. billionaires gained one trillion in wealth. Climate change hit harder than ever with bigger storms, heat waves, and fires of record-breaking scale in Australia and California. 2020 is on track to be the hottest year on record.
Some ‘Secret City’ secrets shouldn’t stay hidden
D. Ray Smith/Historically Speaking
Oak Ridge might be known as the “Secret City,” but sometimes, secrets are too important to stay hidden. One of these “secrets” the Oak Ridge community should be proud of is Centrus Energy’s effort to bring advanced nuclear manufacturing and innovation to East Tennessee. Right now, the company is working on advanced nuclear fuel production to ensure the country has a reliable fuel supply for the next generation of nuclear reactors a notable mission worth recognizing.
Centrus Energy’s work emphasizes that Oak Ridge is and always has been on the forefront of scientific discoveries. From fighting a global pandemic to space travel to nuclear medicine, Oak Ridge experts are making incredible discoveries and producing outstanding solutions every single day.
by John Klyczek / December 14th, 2020
Five of the pharmaceutical companies developing COVID-19 vaccines through the USA’s Operation Warp Speed have paid out a total of nearly $6 billion to settle lawsuits charging them with fraud related to “off-label” marketing of atypical antipsychotics and antidepressants that were mandated through the Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP), which evolved into President George W. Bush’s federal “New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.” AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceutical, and Pfizer, which are currently funded with over $7 billion from Operation Warp Speed, financed the nationwide rollout of fraudulent TMAP algorithms in order to bilk Medicaid programs and other public revenues to pay for drugs like Risperdal, Seroquel, Geodon, Paxil, and Wellbutrin, causing serious side-effects, including death.