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The pandemic spurred innovation in a variety of ways, from CRISPR-based diagnostics to cell biology benchwork at home.
COVID-19 diagnostics
Much of the world became aware of the disease now known as COVID-19 in January, and impressively, a diagnostic PCR test became available the same month. We’ve since seen an explosion in potential variations on that assay, including saliva tests, which bypass the need for scarce swabs, and a slew of techniques that could be considerably faster and cheaper than PCR

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New paths in vaccine development
While diagnostics gave us hard numbers on SARS-CoV-2’s devastating sweep, the rapid development of vaccines against it allowed us to imagine the pandemic coming under control. mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were among the early leaders of the vaccine race, training the spotlight on a newer technique that had been attempted for other diseases but had not yet made it to the market before 2020. The principle is to deliver a stretch of viral mRNA to recipients’ cells, which go on to manufacture viral proteins from the transcripts, provoking an immune response.
The year also saw researchers experimenting with other innovative ways of producing vaccines. In one example—which, unlike with mRNA vaccines, would avoid the need for cold temperatures during transport and storage—researchers showed that a flu vaccine delivered orally as a thin film induced an immune response in mice.

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Bringing the lab home
The pandemic’s effects on science were far-reaching, and necessitated adaptation as many researchers were shut out of their labs in a bid to prevent infection. Among the creative means scientists devised to continue their work was Cut&Tag@home, a protocol for profiling chromosome components that Steven Henikoff of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center devised in his laundry room.

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Black Lives Matter (BLM), international social movement, formed in the United States in 2013, dedicated to fighting racism and anti-Black violence, especially in the form of police brutality. The name Black Lives Matter signals condemnation of the unjust killings of Black people by police (Black people are far more likely to be killed by police in the United States than white people) and the demand that society value the lives and humanity of Black people as much as it values the lives and humanity of white people.

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May 2020 George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was pronounced dead after Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, despite Floyd’s repeated protests that he could not breathe. Wide circulation of a bystander’s video of Floyd’s last minutes triggered massive demonstrations in cities throughout the United States and across the globe. The tragedy also brought to national attention the earlier deaths of two other African Americans: Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. In February 2020 Arbery was jogging in Glynn county, Georgia, when two white men, believing he might have committed a series of break-ins, began following him in a truck. The men, who had guns, confronted Arbery, and a struggle ensued, which resulted in the fatal shooting of Arbery. The following month in Louisville, Kentucky, Taylor, an emergency medical technician, was killed during a botched police raid at her apartment. Although Arbery and Taylor had initially received little media coverage, in the wake of Floyd’s death they also became the subject of nationwide demonstrations.

These events swayed American public opinion in favour of the Black Lives Matter movement while drawing wide attention to the problem of entrenched racism in American society. There were calls for greater police accountability, and in 2021 Chauvin was found guilty of murder. It was a rare case of police violence resulting in a conviction.

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According to the Britannica publication BLM activists seek to draw attention to the many ways in which Black people are treated unfairly in society and the ways in which institutions, laws, and policies help to perpetuate that unfairness. The movement has fought racism through such means as political action, letter-writing campaigns, and nonviolent protests. However, in the last year, there was an accident, when White people were on their knees asking for forgiveness in front of Black people. Such occasion does not seem to be harmless in order of saving someone's pride.

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Australia is being ravaged by the worst wildfires seen in decades, with large swaths of the country devastated since the fire season began in late July.

At least 28 people have died nationwide, and in the state of New South Wales (NSW) alone, more than 3,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged. State and federal authorities are struggling to contain the massive blazes, even with firefighting assistance from other countries, including the United States.

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There have been fires in every Australian state, but New South Wales has been hardest hit. Blazes have torn throughbushland, wooded areas, and national parks like the Blue Mountains. Some of Australia's largest cities have also been affected, including Melbourne and Sydney -- where fires have damaged homes in the outer suburbs and thick plumes of smokehave blanketed the urban center.

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Each year there is a fire season during the Australian summer, with hot, dry weather making it easy for blazes to start andspread.

Natural causes are to blame most of the time, like lightningstrikes in drought-affected forests. Dry lightning was responsiblefor starting a number of fires in Victoria's East Gippsland regionin late December, which then traveled more than 20 kilometers(12.4 miles) in just five hours, according to .

Humans can also be to blame.

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Entire towns have been engulfed in flames, and residents acrossseveral states have lost their homes. The heaviest structuraldamage occurred in NSW, the country's most populated state, where 1,588 homes have been destroyed and over 650 damaged.

In total, more than 7.3 million hectares (17.9 million acres) havebeen burned across Australia's six states -- an area larger than thecountries of Belgium and Denmark combined. The worst-affectedstate is NSW, with more than 4.9 million hectares (12.1 millionacres) burned.

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About half a billion animals have been affected by the fires acrossNSW, with millions likely dead -- and that's a conservativeestimate. The figures for NSW include birds, reptiles, andmammals, except bats. It also excludes insects and frogs, so thereal sum is almost certain to be higher, the ecologists said.

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On 11 March the State Duma adopted the third and final reading of the amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation. On the same day these amendments were approved by the Federation Council. On 22 April the national vote on proposed amendments is scheduled in Russia. In our material you will find out the most noticeable and important amendments to the current Constitution of the Russian Federation

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Securing social support measures

The minimum wage cannot be lower than the cost of living; the mandatory increase of pensions, benefits and other social aids is established. At the constitutional level, it is determined that the pension system is formed based on the principles of universality, justice, and solidarity of generations.

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Rule of Russian law

Decisions of interstate bodies adopted based on the provisions of international treaties ratified by Russia in their interpretation that is contrary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation will not be subject to enforcement. The contradiction shall be established by the Constitutional Court.

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New requirements for the President

The requirement of permanent residence of a presidential candidate in Russia for at least 25 years, as well as the absence of foreign citizenship or residence permit of another state, not only at the time of participation in the elections but also in the past is now established in the Constitution.

The Federal Assembly also supported the amendment to nullify the presidential term.

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Immunity

Immunity for the President of Russia, who ceased to exercise his powers, is introduced into the Constitution. At the same time, the former head of state may be deprived of immunity in the manner prescribed by Art. 93 of the Constitution for the removal of the current head of state from office.

Besides, after the exercise of his powers, the President of Russia can become a senator for a term of life.

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Verification of the constitutionality of laws

The legislative procedure concerning the Federal Constitutional Law and Federal Law is supplemented by the President’s right to appeal to the Constitutional Court with a request to verify the constitutionality of the law approved by the parliament before signing it.

If the constitutionality of the law is confirmed, the President signs it. If the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation does not confirm the constitutionality of the Federal Constitutional Law and Federal Law, then the head of state returns the law to the State Duma.

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Russian language

One of the amendments establishes the status of the Russian language as the language of a nation-forming nation.

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Originally scheduled to be held from 24 July-9 August 2020, the Games have been postponed to 2021 due to the developing global situation in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, they will retain the Tokyo 2020 name.
The Olympics have never been rescheduled in peacetime. In 1916, 1940 and 1944, the Games were canceled because of world wars.

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The financial implications of postponing the Olympics could be huge.

The cost of hosting, organizers said in December, was some $12.35 billion but, according to Reuters, that figure did not include the cost of moving the marathon and walking events from Tokyo to Sapporo to avoid the summer heat.

Sponsors, insurers and broadcasters have also committed billions to the Games.

Some experts believe the truer sum is likely to be $25 billion, a vast majority of which has already been spent on large-scale infrastructure projects such as transportation networks, hotels and new venues.

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Shortly before the postponement was confirmed, the IOC and Tokyo 2020 organizers formed a task force named "Here We Go" with the remit to address any issues arising from postponing the Games, such as sponsorship and accommodation. The organizers confirmed that all athletes who had already qualified for Tokyo 2020 would keep their qualification slots.

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On 30 March 2020, the IOC and TOCOG announced that they had reached an agreement on the new dates for the 2020 Summer Olympics, which would begin with the opening ceremony on 23 July 2021 and end with the closing ceremony on 8 August 2021. The subsequent Winter Olympics in Beijing are scheduled to begin on 4 February 2022, less than six months later.