University of Alicante

Climate change is influencing the length of the day, according to an analysis published in PNAS. As melting ice accelerates due to rising temperatures, sea levels rise and large masses move from the polar to the equatorial regions. This redistribution affects the Earth's rotation and results in longer days. During the 20th century, sea level variations were associated with changes in day length between 0.3 and 1 millisecond per century, but since 2000 this variation has increased to 1.33 (±0.03) milliseconds per century and the authors estimate that it will accelerate further in the coming decades.

A study estimates that household energy expenditure has increased by 62.6 to 112.9 % in 2022, following the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This represents an increase of 2.7 to 4.8 % of overall household expenditure. The analysis, published in Nature Energy, warns that this increase could push between 78 and 141 million people worldwide into extreme poverty.

The Spanish Confederation of Scientific Societies (COSCE) has just published a report, submitted to the EU, which proposes and compares different possibilities for reform of the regulatory framework for genome editing techniques.

The message that we must continue to protect ourselves with masks, distance, ventilation and hand washing has been repeated since the beginning of vaccination, but in the midst of the pandemic in Europe it is even more important. Several experts warn that the high vaccination coverage in Spain will mitigate the new wave but will not eliminate it: although vaccines prevent serious disease, they are not an insurmountable shield and must be complemented with behavioral measures.