SCI's Daily Digest: your one-stop shop for all of the day's news in science based industry

In today's Daily Digest, the opening of a Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre in the UK, Bayer's group sales fall in the second quarter of 2023, and more.

Health

The UK Health Security Agency has opened the Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre located in Porton Down, Wiltshire, UK. The facility will focus on the development of new vaccines by testing and evaluating them against threats capable of causing a health emergency.

The UK Health Security Agency has launched a three year strategy to prepare for and respond to health threats and build capabilities and technologies to protect the country in the future. The strategic plan will see the UKHSA work across government, academia, private, and voluntary sectors to ensure that the UK is in the best possible position to respond to hazards in coming years.

Business

Bayer has said that group sales for the second quarter of 2023 fell by 8.2%. The Crop Science business was ‘down significantly mainly due to a sharp decline in glyphosate volumes and prices.’ Pharmaceutical sales were stable, while Consumer Health recorded higher sales.

Innovation

The US Department of Energy is providing $37 million in funding to build research capacity, infrastructure and expertise at institutions historically underrepresented in the DoE’s Office of Science portfolio. The funding will go to Emerging Research Institutions and Minority Serving Institutions.

Rice University in the US has been awarded $25 000 by the US Environmental Protection Agency to carry out research on treating PFAS waste in landfills. The Rice University team is developing a UV unit that degrades PFAS waste leachate in landfills using boron nitride.

Other news

According to a modelling done by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the US Inflation Reduction Act could get the US closer to net-zero. Provisions under the IR Act could result in a 40% drop in energy related emissions by 2035 and 55% by 2050 compared with 2021. However, mandates and regulations are required to abate sectors such as industry and heavy transport.

According to Deloitte, while a majority of people see climate change as an emergency, many struggle to incorporate sustainability into their personal, professional and political actions. It was noted that those who identified as higher-income were more likely to engage in sustainable activities. The analysis is based on views of more than 20 000 people in 20 countries.