Global wishes for 2022: a gift box for everyone, greater girl power, vertical gardens We asked global thinkers like Malala, doctors dealing with the pandemic, educators and more — if you were in charge of the world, what would you like to see happen this year. Malaka Gharib
FDA shortens the wait time between Moderna vaccine and booster to 5 months Now, both the Pfizer and the Moderna booster shots can be given five months after the second dose of vaccine — down from six months. Deepa Shivaram
Nabiha Saklayen: Could lasers make stem cell therapy available to everyone? Stem cells have long been heralded as a potential tool to treat illnesses. Nabiha Saklayen explains how it's still early, but scientists are getting closer to turning this vision into a reality. james delahoussaye
Jennifer Doudna: What does CRISPR mean for the future of human evolution? In 2011, biochemist Jennifer Doudna helped discover the genetic editing tool CRISPR. Today CRISPR is actively deployed in clinical trials with the potential to cure disease—and alter human evolution. Rachel Faulkner
Employers added only 199,000 jobs in December even before omicron started to surge U.S. employers added 199,000 jobs in December as the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%, marking a second consecutive month of disappointing numbers. Scott Horsley
What it really takes to keep schools open during the omicron surge Schools are just starting to get regular access to testing; teachers are still paying out of pocket for masks and air purifiers; and qualified substitutes and bus drivers can be hard to find. Anya Kamenetz
Experts say these changes could help the U.S. live with COVID The omicron wave in the U.S. will likely continue to the end of January, then start to recede rapidly. Former advisers to President Biden say a new strategy is needed to help the U.S. live with COVID. Allison Aubrey
What we know about the symptoms — and the severity — of the omicron variant Researchers are looking at data from U.S. cases to determine if the variant causes milder disease. Even if the answer is yes, they say, rates of hospitalization could be high during the surge. Michaeleen Doucleff
Unvaccinated National Guard members can't be deployed to hospitals that need help Ohio's hospitals have some of the nation's highest numbers of COVID patients. And with staffing levels suffering, nearly 2,000 Ohio National Guard personnel are being deployed to help. Karen Kasler
COVID is spiking in India, further straining the country's health system India's COVID-19 caseload is quickly rising, as omicron threatens the country's already precarious health system. Lauren Frayer