Technology has made a tremendous difference in the world, in areas as diverse as health and education, and pretty much everything in between.

Mymensingh, Bangladesh — Bangladesh, whose populous and low-level delta region is expected to be severely affected by rising sea levels, is using nuclear technology to adapt to this threat. Scientists are looking for ways to protect the country’s agriculture against flood and salinity, as well as drought and changing temperatures. With support from the IAEA and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), they are developing climate change resilient crop varieties that will help feed the country’s growing population.

The European Institutions reached an agreement last night for the first time limiting CO2 emissions from trucks.

There are an awful lot of insects. It’s hard to say exactly how many because 80% haven’t yet been described by taxonomists, but there are probably about 5.5m species. Put that number together with other kinds of animals with exoskeletons and jointed legs, known collectively as arthropods – this includes mites, spiders and woodlice – and there are probably about 7m species in all.

In a continent with a shortage of medical physicists and training facilities for them, regional cooperation in training is key for effective and safe cancer care. The IAEA held the first ever training workshop on how to establish clinical training programmes for radiotherapy medical physicists using regional cooperation in Abuja, Nigeria from 18 to 20 December 2018.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the European Union (EU) reviewed progress achieved in working together on a range of nuclear activities and agreed to further enhance cooperation during their seventh annual Senior Officials Meeting, in Luxembourg, this week.

The evidence against chemical pesticides is mounting. An estimated 7m people are at risk from exposure to pesticides globally, while a million a year suffer or die from pesticide associated diseases. And that says nothing of the damage they are thought to be doing to other wildlife. Yet when humanity needs to produce approximately two billion tons of crops every year to feed itself and the population is still increasing, it’s difficult to see how we can grow the necessary food without pesticides.

Only two northern white rhinos exist in the world: both are female and neither can bear calves. But scientists have not given up hope of saving the species from extinction.