Annual Pioneer Valley Microbiology Symposium postponed due to COVID-19

Annual Pioneer Valley Microbiology Symposium postponed due to COVID-19

Presenting at scientific conferences can be difficult for early-career scientists, especially with the logistical challenge of traveling to these events. Microbiologists in the Five College Consortium and beyond have the advantage of having a symposium right in their own backyard. The Pioneer Valley Microbiology Symposium is an annual graduate-student-run one-day scientific symposium hosted at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Undergraduate students, graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and faculty members who conduct microbiology research are invited to present their work. Mount Holyoke College microbiologists — professors and students alike — often attend this symposium.

A new coronavirus variant, Omicron, leads travel restrictions

A new coronavirus variant, Omicron, leads travel restrictions

In a press statement released on Nov. 26, the CDC announced that the World Health Organization has officially recognized a new coronavirus variant called Omicron. According to the press release, the variant was first identified in South Africa and has since spread to regions across the globe.

Climate Activist Spotlight: Lilly Platt

Climate Activist Spotlight: Lilly Platt

Lilly Platt is a 13-year-old England-born, Netherlands-based climate activist who centers her work around reducing plastic pollution through her initiative called Lilly’s Plastic Pickup. According to Global Citizen, in 2015, after Platt and her family moved to the Netherlands, she went on a walk with her grandfather and, in an attempt to improve her language skills, decided to count pieces of plastic. “We counted 91 pieces of plastic in only 10 to 15 minutes,” Platt told Global Citizen. Her grandfather explained to her that the plastic garbage then makes its way into the ocean to become “plastic soup,” according to an interview with Earth.org. This led to Platt starting Lilly’s Plastic Pickup, through which Platt goes on regular trash pickups, sorts the trash and “take[s] pictures of them and post[s] them on social media,” according to an interview with Global Citizen.

COP26 results in global agreement on climate change, but lacks concrete action

COP26 results in global agreement on climate change, but lacks concrete action

The 26th Conference of the Parties, also referred to as the COP26, was held from Oct. 31 to Nov. 12 after being delayed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The COP was created by the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, a treaty signed in 1992, according to New Scientist. This year’s conference took place in Glasgow, Scotland, in partnership with Italy, where pre-COP events were held, according to the COP website. The COP26 is part of multiple larger U.N. treaties, including the COP, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, which was created during the COP21, according to the COP26 final briefing. The Washington Post reported that nearly 200 countries were involved in the COP26. It brought nations together to focus on mitigating climate change and preventing warming over 1.5 degrees Celsius. However, from Al-Jazeera to CNBC, many major news publications have expressed that the COP26 failed to develop concrete plans to reach that goal.

COVID-19 booster shots become widely available in the United States


In mid-October, both the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration released statements on their websites that endorsed a booster shot for COVID-19 in certain populations. The CDC stated that people who are 65 years and older, as well as those who are over 18 years old and live in a long-term care setting, work or live in high-risk settings and/or have underlying medical conditions, are eligible to get the shot. Some states, such as Colorado, Kentucky and Michigan, are allowing anyone 18 or older to receive the booster shot. The CDC and FDA statements recommend waiting six months before getting the boosters for Moderna and Pfizer and two months before receiving the booster for Johnson & Johnson. The Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson or Janssen boosters are currently under an emergency use authorization, according to Yale Medicine.

COVID-19 booster shots become widely available in the United States

COVID-19 booster shots become widely available in the United States

In mid-October, both the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration released statements on their websites that endorsed a booster shot for COVID-19 in certain populations. The CDC stated that people who are 65 years and older, as well as those who are over 18 years old and live in a long-term care setting, work or live in high-risk settings and/or have underlying medical conditions, are eligible to get the shot. Some states, such as Colorado, Kentucky and Michigan, are allowing anyone 18 or older to receive the booster shot.

New York City Board of Health declares racism a public health crisis

New York City Board of Health declares racism a public health crisis

The New York City Board of Health and Mental Hygiene passed a resolution as of Monday last week declaring racism a public health crisis. The step was taken six months after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared racism a serious health threat, a fact which became more apparent over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Smithsonian Magazine. The resolution, passed on Oct. 18, went into effect immediately.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to two scientists for their work on asymmetric organocatalysis

Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to two scientists for their work on asymmetric organocatalysis

While mRNA vaccine researchers received global attention as favorites for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, according to Chemical and Engineering News, the prize was instead awarded to another field of research that has hugely benefited the pharmaceutical industry. On Oct. 6, the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Dr. Benjamin List and Dr. David W.C. MacMillan for their work on “asymmetric organocatalysis.”

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