Bulletin of Atomic Scientists December 5, 2020

 

December 7, 2020

JOHN MECKLIN Introduction: An innovative and determined future for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists​​ ​Many publications that were staples of American life 75 years ago are either long gone or only a pale shadow of their former selves. But the story of the Bulletin has been exactly the opposite. We’ve made this special anniversary issue entirely free access for two months, including some greatest hits from our 75-year archive. ​Read John Mecklin's introduction, and then dive in. Now and Next...   RACHEL BRONSON Buckle up: We are in for a bumpy ride. An interview with Royal Astronomer Martin Rees.  Lord Martin Rees is the 15th Astronomer Royal and a long-serving member of the Bulletin's Board of Sponsors. He has served at the highest levels of science and is one of the world’s most recognized voices on existential risk. He spoke with president and CEO, Rachel Bronson, for the Bulletin's milestone anniversary. Read free-access. JOHN MECKLIN Nobel chemistry laureate Jennifer Doudna on the promise and peril of the genetic editing revolution  UC Berkeley professor Jennifer Doudna and her colleague Emmanuelle Charpentier were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic editing tool. Doudna's interview with editor John Mecklin is wide-ranging, as they discuss, among other things, whether scientists would refrain from editing the inheritable human germline. Read free-access. WILLIAM J. PERRY How a US defense secretary came to support the abolition of nuclear weapons  Many people have asked the Bulletin's Board of Sponsors chair how a former secretary of defense could support the abolition of nuclear weapons. He describes in this article how his thinking on nuclear weapons has evolved from Hiroshima to the present time. Read free-access. ROBERT SOCOLOW Contending with climate change: the next 25 years Any successful effort to address climate change over the next 25 years will involve a “credible swap” that greatly reduces greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, provides energy in different ways, and reduces demand for energy. But solutions bring disruption and risks. Well-executed solutions will be like threading a needle. Read free-access. FILIPPA LENTZOS How to protect the world from ultra-targeted biological weapons As genomic technologies develop and converge with AI, machine learning, automation, affective computing, and robotics, they will radically transform the dual-use nature of biological research and create the possibility of biological weapons that target particular groups of people and even individuals. Managing these technological advances will require new governance structures with cross-sectoral expertise. Read free-access. JOHN MECKLIN Interview: Siegfried Hecker on remembering history while planning the future of future of nuclear arms control In this interview for the Bulletin's 75th anniversary issue, editor John Mecklin asks renowned nuclear policy expert Siegfried Hecker to look forward and to suggest concrete actions world leaders can take now to reduce nuclear risk in the next decade or two. Read free-access. YANGYANG CHENG The edge of our existence: A particle physicist examines the architecture of society  In this wide-ranging essay, the author argues that pretending to be above and beyond politics is by itself a political position; in adopting it, one has aligned with the state and sided with the powerful. Read free-access. ROSE GOTTEMOELLER  Science diplomacy: The essential interdisciplinary approach Interdisciplinary efforts by scientists have shaped successful nuclear initiatives both in and out of government, but to succeed in avoiding catastrophe in the future, scientists must be allowed to interact with their peers not only in other national organizations, but also in other countries. The author uses her past experience to illustrate why this is so important. Read free-access. EMMA BELCHER Transforming our nuclear future with ridiculous ideas Success in limiting and eventually eliminating nuclear arsenals will rely on several interrelated factors: A revitalized nuclear policy field that recognizes the power that comes from greater diversity in all its forms, new partners willing to share their knowledge and expertise, and bold new ideas—some of which, by design, will appear ridiculous at first. Read free-access. RICHARD SOMERVILLE Facts and opinions about climate change Like everybody, climate expert Richard Somerville writes, I know some facts, and I have some opinions. I will first summarize the facts that we have learned from the science of climate change. Then I will give some opinions about what people and governments should do. Read free-access. JOHN MECKLIN Beatrice Fihn: How to implement the nuclear weapons ban treaty In this interview, ICAN's Beatrice Fihn lays out a possible future in which the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons delegitimizes nuclear weapons, and nuclear weapons countries are persuaded to decide that it is best to give up the most fearsome weapons ever created—in those countries’ own interests. Read free-access. HANS KRISTENSEN, MATT KORDA Nuclear notebook: Chinese nuclear forces, 2020 China is continuing the nuclear weapons modernization program that it initiated in the 1980s and increased in the 1990s and 2000s, fielding more types and greater numbers of nuclear weapons than ever before. Read free-access. And Way Back Then... 1946: Can air or water be exploded? By H. A. Bethe  1947: How the American people feel about the atomic bomb Sylvia Eberhart  1950: What the scientists are saying about the H-bomb Albert Einstein and Edward Teller    1952: Ten years after Eugene Rabinowitch    1956: Science and our times  J. Robert Oppenheimer     1958: Only world government can prevent the war nobody can win Bertrand Russell    1959: Science and Art Martyl Langsdorf and Cyril Stanley Smith    1960: Science and party politics Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy  1961: The neutron bomb Freeman Dyson   1975: All in our time: A foul and awesome display Kenneth T. Bainbridge  1978: Is mankind warming the Earth? William W. Kellogg    1992: What is to be done? Arthur C. Clarke    1992: Keep peace by pooling armies Randall Forsberg     1995: Hiroshima Memories: One sunny day, a young girl learned about darkness Hideko Tamura Friedman  ​​​​​​2002: Nuclear gamblers Pervez Hoodbhoy 2003: North Korea: No Bygones at Yongbyon Robert Alvarez   2004: City on Fire Lynn Eden    2005: The bioterrorist cookbook Malcolm Dando   2011: Chernobyl 25 years later: Many lessons learned Mikhail Gorbachev  2012: An elemental force: Uranium production in Africa, and what it means to be nuclear Gabrielle Hecht 2016: Putin: The one-man show the West doesn’t understand  Fiona Hill  Not yet a subscriber to our magazine? Subscribe at the lowered price of $59.99 and receive a full year, including access to the Bulletin archive.   SUBSCRIBE NOW

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