Science ( IF 44.7 ) Pub Date : 2021-07-23 , DOI: 10.1126/science.373.6553.370 American Association for the Advancement of Science
In science news around the world, the Hubble Space Telescope ends a monthlong hiatus when operators successfully switched a failed control system to backup devices. The European Union and China announce plans to follow through on commitments to curb their carbon emissions, as the European Union would steeply increase the price of carbon dioxide emissions and China unveils a carbon trading scheme for power plants that will be the world's largest. Reflecting another toll of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization announces that 23 million children missed routine vaccinations in 2020, the most since 2009 and 19% more than in 2019. In her backyard, a geomicrobiologist discovers what may be the longest known extrachromosomal sequence, which includes genes from a variety of microbes—prompting her son to propose naming it after Star Trek's Borg, cybernetic aliens that assimilate humans.