S.E.C. Releases Long Awaited GameStop Report
In January, GameStop’s share price dramatically increased as a result of investors on the forum WallStreetBets. Panic ensued, and there were calls for more regulation as retail investors demanded to be given back access to the market after Robinhood stopped trading the stock temporarily.
Pressures on Facebook Grow in Outage
On Monday, October 4, Facebook, Whatsapp, and Instagram experienced a prolonged outage. The five hour outage resulted in share prices dropping by 4.8%, decreasing Zuckerberg’s wealth by $5.9 billion. His current wealth is now $117 billion, making him the world’s sixth richest person, according to Forbes.
China Bans All Cryptocurrency Transactions
On Friday, September 24, China’s central bank, one of its most powerful institutions, continued its crackdown on crypto-currency as it released a ban on all transactions and mining. China is one of the biggest markets for cryptocurrencies, and the price of Bitcoin fell by more than $2000 after the announcement.
Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded for Work in Nervous System Discovery
Two scientists have received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discoveries of molecular receptors that detect temperature and touch. Nearly two decades ago, David Julius, a physiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, used capsaicin, the ‘spicy’ compound found in chili peppers, to figure out how the nervous system responds to and registers changes in body temperature. His team searched for a certain gene that induces this response, finally locating it after scouring millions of DNA fragments. Simultaneously, in 2002, Ardem Patapoutian, a scientist at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, independently discovered another receptor that responds to low temperatures. The discovery of these receptors cascaded into the identification of numerous other receptors for temperature change.
German Elections
When German chancellor Angela Merkel announced her intention to not run in the 2021 election two years ago, everyone knew it would be a defining event that would shape not only Germany's future, but the entirety of Europe’s.
Trudeau’s Gamble
On September 20th, Canadians headed to the polls to vote in the 44th Canadian federal election. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the election on August 15th hoping that his Liberal Party would win a majority in the House of Commons.
Booster Shot Plan Controversy
Recent turmoil has broken out between the FDA and the Biden administration over whether or not it is necessary for all people to get the booster shot, and the FDA thinks politics are playing a clear role in the plan.
Statewide School Bus Shortage Leads To Panic
Imagine waiting outside of your house for the bus to come. Ten minutes go by. Twenty minutes go by. You are still stranded in your driveway with no way to get to school. This is the reality for thousands of students across New York.
The World’s Whitest Paint Could Remove the Need for Air Conditioning
Purdue University professor of mechanical engineering Xiulin Ruan and his students have created the whitest paint on record, which scientists claim could potentially lower or remove the need for air conditioning.
Kidnap Crisis in Nigeria
Nigeria has seen an alarming rise in mass school kidnappings in the past year and especially these last few months, leaving at least 1 million students unsure as to whether they will be able to attend school this year due to safety concerns. Armed groups have targeted schools to carry out their mass abductions for ransom, with more than 1,400 children abducted and 16 dead so far this year. At this point, 200 are still missing, leaving “families and communities remain[ing] fearful of sending children back to their classrooms”, said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria.