The case for updating covid-19 vaccines for the Omicron variant
Jan 12th 2022VARIANTS VARY, but how much? Since SARS-CoV-2 was first sequenced at the beginning of 2020 dozens of versions have been identified. Five have been designated “variants of concern” by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The latest is Omicron, which was given its name in November last year and looks set to become the…
A lot of Arctic infrastructure is threatened by rising temperatures
Jan 12th 2022A QUARTER OF the northern hemisphere’s land is covered by permafrost, defined as ground that remains at or below 0°C for at least two years in succession. Most of this is above the Arctic Circle, a part of the world that is warming at a rate double the global average, with significant consequences…
Unique New Year’s Resolutions 2022
Every time we end a year and welcome a new one, New Year’s resolutions come up. While this may be the case this year as well, it seems that some people are veering away from making resolutions — especially the diet kind. (Faith Hill’s article on The Atlantic is a good read.)Then there are those…
Hilariously Fun Christmas Challenge Ideas On TikTok You Should Try This Year
Published on Dec 20, 2021 by AnneThe Christmas season is all about spending time with family and friends. We used to do balls and soirees, but we all know that the pandemic changed what “party” is for us. A lot of us simply want to spend Christmas and New Year at home with family. And,…
Europe is bankrolling a force that routinely abuses African migrants
THE JOURNEY of the Geo Barents was a long, tense stand-off punctuated by moments of frantic effort. For weeks the ship, operated by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a medical charity, bobbed in international waters off Libya’s Mediterranean coast. Its crew watched for boats filled with migrants—as did patrols run by the Libyan coastguard, which has…
The first successful pig-to-human heart transplant has been performed
Jan 11th 2022ON JANUARY 7TH David Bennett became the first person to have a heart transplanted successfully into him from a pig. In press material issued three days after the operation, the University of Maryland confirmed Mr Bennett was doing well, and was capable of breathing on his own. While he continues to rely on…
Will households’ excess savings keep the American economy afloat?
Jan 11th 2022WASHINGTON, DCAMERICA’S FISCAL largesse during the pandemic has fuelled not just economic growth but also, more surprisingly, a lively hip-hop niche. Over the past two years musicians have released no fewer than 30 different songs referring to the government’s stimulus cheques, known as stimmies. “Yeah, check, I need a stimmy. S-T-I-double M-Y, tell…
Libya’s coastguard is notorious for abusing migrants
THE JOURNEY of the Geo Barents was a long, tense stand-off punctuated by moments of frantic effort. For weeks the ship, operated by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a medical charity, bobbed in international waters off Libya’s Mediterranean coast. Its crew watched for boats filled with migrants—as did patrols run by the Libyan coastguard, which has…