One of the most asked questions when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic is which country has the best strategy for curbing the spread of COVID-19. Many of us are anxiously following the daily updates of ever rising death rates across the world, hoping to learn the answer.

But different countries have radically different approaches to testing, sampling and reporting. This leads to significant biases in the data, which can make country comparisons useless. If a country has a low death or infection rate compared to others, it is not necessarily because it is managing the virus any better or that the virus has infected fewer people. Luckily, there are ways to improve the modelling, something which should ideally be done in parallel with random testing.

Also check out our long read about a strange paradox: the better we manage to contain the coronavirus pandemic, the less we will learn from it. That said, we may be able to change how we travel in the future.

The pandemic has allowed many of us some much needed time to reflect on the human condition. Peter from Darlington wrote to us to ask whether racism and bigotry is in our DNA and, if so, why only some people battle with their instincts. You can read an insightful response by Tom Oliver as part of our Life’s Big Question series, which is co-published by BBC Future.

Perhaps the biggest existential question of our time is how to save the planet. New research shows that the Arctic is likely to be a major methane source in the coming decades – and it’s all down to recent carbon emissions.

Contact us here to have your event listed.

For sponsorship opportunities, email us here