New Scientist - USA (2019-06-08)

(Antfer) #1
8 June 2019 | New Scientist | 7

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump
had his first state visit to the UK
this week. Amid the ceremony
and speeches, he discussed trade,
climate policy and cybersecurity
with Prime Minister Theresa May.
High on the agenda was
the trading relationship if the
UK leaves the EU. “The US is
committed to a phenomenal trade
deal between the UK and US,”
Trump said at a press conference
on 4 June. It could be up to three
times the value of trade today, he
added, and any deal would include
the National Health Service (NHS).
Two days earlier, the US
ambassador to the UK, Woody
Johnson, said in an interview
that the deal would be “on the
president’s desk day one the

minute you leave”. But he raised
hackles by saying farming and
healthcare could be part of a deal.
For instance, in the US,
slaughtered chickens are washed
in chlorine, and their import
is banned in the EU. Johnson
said the UK wouldn’t necessarily
have to accept chlorine-washed
chicken, but reiterated his view
that the practice is safe.
Liam Fox, the international
trade secretary, sought to
assuage concerns, saying the
UK would keep control over
regulation of the NHS and food
standards for imports.
The US also used the visit to
press its case for the UK to block
Chinese technology firm Huawei
from the country’s 5G networks.

The US has previously claimed
that the company’s involvement
would threaten US-UK
intelligence sharing, but
Trump said such cooperation
wouldn’t be at risk because
“we are going to have absolutely
an agreement on Huawei”.
May said she raised with
Trump the UK’s support for the
Paris climate agreement. Several
hundred academics wrote to the
prime minister before the visit,
urging her to challenge Trump on
his planned exit from the climate
accord in 2020. While any request
by May is likely to have fallen
on deaf ears, raising the subject
was an opportunity for the UK
government to advertise its bid to
host UN climate talks next year. ❚

Away from the pomp and protests, Donald Trump and Theresa May
discussed climate change and tech fears, reports Adam Vaughan

Space exploration

Lunar landers
line up to launch
NASA has chosen three
firms to build moon landers.
Orbit Beyond will carry
four NASA payloads and
launch by September 2020
to Mare Imbrium, a plain
of solidified lava in a crater.
Astrobotic will carry 14
NASA instruments and loads
from private firms. Its launch
should be by July 2021 to
a crater called Lacus Mortis.
Intuitive Machines, aiming
for the same date, will carry
five payloads and a rover to
Oceanus Procellarum, the
biggest of the dark plains
on the moon. ❚ Leah Crane

Ageing

How young blood
boosts brain power
TWO proteins could be
behind the brain-enhancing
ability of “young blood”.
Blood from young animals
seems to boost cognition in
older ones. To find out how,
Thomas Südhof and Kathlyn
Gan at Stanford University
in California applied blood
serum from 2-week-old
mice and from old mice
to human neurons.
Only the blood serum
from the young mice caused
a boost in the growth of
key structures involved in
communication. The serum
contained two proteins,
THBS4 and SPARCL1, which
had similar effects on the
neurons when applied on
their own (PNAS, doi.org/
c6rt), suggesting they could
be behind the effect. ❚
Ruby Prosser Scully

Trump in the UK


News


MA


ND


EL^
NG


AN
/AF


P/G


ET
TY


Gene editing
Mutations may make
CRISPR babies have
shorter lives p

Nose for numbers
Elephants can
estimate quantities
by smell alone p

Gut trouble
Your microbiome
could be to blame for
drug side effects p

Irrational atheists
Most atheists hold
some supernatural
beliefs p

Settle the galaxy
NASA’s 90-million-
year interstellar
competition p
Free download pdf