Long Covid: Dr Sara Kayat discusses impact on children Sign up for FREE health tips to live a long and happy life SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info COVID-19 is a pernicious and multifaceted viral foe with the ability to affect almost every part of the body from how it breathes to how it thinks, and now, to how it hears. Researchers from King’s College London’s ZOE Covid survey have noticed more and more people are developing tinnitus as a result of a Covid infection. Co-founder of the study, Professor Tim Spector, says the symptom should be taken “really seriously” as it indicates the virus has found new ways to attack the body. Tinnitus occurs when a person experiences a noise without an outside source over a prolonged period; … [Read more...] about Covid: The symptom affecting one in five people ‘for weeks or months’ – study finding
Time study methods
UK shortchanging poor countries by £1.9bn a year ‘owed’ for climate crisis, study finds
The UK must stump up £1.9bn a year more to pay its “fair share” in helping poor countries meet the climate emergency and lags behind 6 other leading nations, a new analysis says. Boris Johnson has made “ climate finance ” – to ensure “guilty” industrialised nations aid developing ones in adapting to the devastating effects of historic carbon emissions – a key issue for the Cop26 summit. But the study, by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), finds the UK – far from being a world leader – is falling far short of the contribution it should make to a $100bn (£72.5bn) global fund. Based on national income, population and historic emissions, the UK “owed” £4.2bn in 2017-18, but handed over just £2bn, only 48 per cent. The prime minister’s recent promise of around £2.3bn each year until 2025 – to “build our credibility” with poor countries, he said – takes the UK to only 55 per cent of that “fair share” of £4.2bn in 2021-22, the ODI has concluded. … [Read more...] about UK shortchanging poor countries by £1.9bn a year ‘owed’ for climate crisis, study finds
Coronavirus: Dogs as effective at spotting COVID-19 as PCR tests, study shows
Coronavirus: 'Prepare for another surge in winter' says Nabarro Sign up for FREE health tips to live a long and happy life SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Step through major sport events or international airports and one may spot special dogs on leashes. These dogs are trained to sniff for drugs and other nefarious items, helping to protect the population from illicitly smuggled items. Now these dogs are being trained to sniff out not just hardware, but COVID-19. The results of a new trial published in Finland show dogs are as good at detecting COVID-19 as PCR tests. Related articles High cholesterol; Three smelly symptoms associated with high levels World's oldest woman shares the lifestyle that's got … [Read more...] about Coronavirus: Dogs as effective at spotting COVID-19 as PCR tests, study shows
Asteroid 388945 2008 TZ3 LIVE — ‘Potentially hazardous asteroid bigger than Empire State Building’ to approach on Sunday
AN ASTEROID bigger than the Empire State Building is predicted to glide by Earth on Sunday. The US space agency Nasa expects Asteroid 388945 (2008 TZ3) to pass Earth at around 5.18pm ET and 9.18pm GMT. The giant space rock is predicted to be up to 1,608 feet wide . By comparison, New York's Empire State Building stands at 1,454 feet tall. Although Asteroid 388945 should pass us from a distance of about 3.5million miles away, it is still considered a possible threat. If an asteroid comes within 4.65million miles of our planet and is over a certain size, it's considered " potentially hazardous " by cautious space agencies. Read our Asteroid 388945 2008 TZ3 live blog for the latest news and updates… Josephine Fuller just now Difference between asteroids, meteors, and comets, part three Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However, rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing … [Read more...] about Asteroid 388945 2008 TZ3 LIVE — ‘Potentially hazardous asteroid bigger than Empire State Building’ to approach on Sunday
How medieval Christians may have helped angry chickens evolve into friendly egg-laying farm animals
Christians in medieval Europe appear to have inadvertently influenced the evolution of modern chickens to boost traits relating to their egg-laying abilities and how friendly they are. In a new study published Tuesday, scientists say they have identified the cultural shift that led to the emergence of chickens as we know them today, with urbanization and religion the key factors involved. Modern chickens were domesticated 6,000 years ago from Asian junglefowl. From their home continent, they spread to Europe, arriving in Greece by 500 BC. In 2015, the United Nations said there are roughly 19 billion chickens alive on Earth at any one time, the Economist reports . Yet how they came to be one of the world's most populous birds is something of a mystery. In a study published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution , scientists have now tracked changes in the DNA of ancient chickens to find out when and where specific traits that were valuable to humans emerged—and what … [Read more...] about How medieval Christians may have helped angry chickens evolve into friendly egg-laying farm animals
Turns Out the English Language Is Exactly as Random as it Feels
When language evolves, most might assume it evolves for a reason. But new research upends that idea—a lot of the time, language evolves completely at random. Linguists pooled their expertise with evolutionary biologists and tracked changes to individual words as if they were genes. Using databases of thousands of English-language texts that generations of their predecessors had spent decades parsing, annotating, and digitizing, the teams from the University of Pennsylvania pored over archives dating back to the 12th century. They focused on patterns like consistency among conjugated verbs—tracing the word "dove" as its meaning evolved to include the past-tense of "dive" and not just the bird. By contextualizing and tracking each development ("dived" to "dove"; "quitted" to "quit") they were able to show for the first time that not all changes are due to selective pressures; often they just happen. Nature, in other words, is at play—not nurture. Selective pressures can refer to … [Read more...] about Turns Out the English Language Is Exactly as Random as it Feels
North Korea, China and India all want to go to the Moon. Here’s why.
This article was originally published on The Conversation . Read the original article . No human has been to the Moon since 1972 and only 12 people have ever done it—all of them American men. But that list could soon be getting a lot longer. Why the Moon? Haven't we already been there, done that? Well, yes. But now there are new reasons motivating countries to reach the Moon. Human and other missions to the Moon are planned by India , China and Russia , as well as Japan and Europe . South Korea and North Korea are also looking toward the Moon. Even NASA seems to be getting its mojo back, recently announcing a revamped vision for a Deep Space Gateway that includes a port of call at the Moon en route to Mars and beyond. Elon Musk has also called for a Moon base . Private companies are vying for a slice of the Moon pie, lured by Google's multi-million dollar XPRIZE that challenges entrants to develop low-cost methods for robotic space exploration. A … [Read more...] about North Korea, China and India all want to go to the Moon. Here’s why.
Hired ‘hackers’ try, and fail, to invade Brazil vote system
More than 20 would-be hackers gathered in the Brazilian electoral authority’s headquarters in the capital this week. Their mission: infiltrate the nation’s voting system ahead of a hotly anticipated race in October . Their three-day battery of attempted assaults ended Friday (local time) and was part of planned testing that happens every election year , usually proceeding without incident or, for that matter, drawing any attention. But with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro continuously sowing doubt about the system’s reliability, the test took on an outsized significance as the electoral authority, known as the TSE, seeks to shore up confidence in the upcoming general elections. Analysts and members of the TSE said the test's results were more encouraging than ever. All the experts attempting to disrupt the system – among whom were Federal Police agents and university professors in engineering, information technology, data security and computer science – had failed. “No … [Read more...] about Hired ‘hackers’ try, and fail, to invade Brazil vote system
Viewpoints: What can be done about dangerous dogs?
Published 29 March 2013 comments Comments Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Following the death of Jade Anderson, the 14-year-old girl who was attacked and killed by four dogs, a range of experts explain what they think should be done about dangerous dogs. Sean Wensley - senior veterinary surgeon for PDSA This very sad case is a shocking reminder that any dog, even family pets, can on occasion display problem behaviour. Every year we hear of awful stories of dogs attacking other animals and children, sometimes with fatal consequences. This has to stop. It is up to owners to take responsibility by ensuring they provide appropriate early experiences for their young dog, so that their pet grows up to be friendly and outgoing. Looking at the broader problem of dog behaviour on a national level, the recent PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) report has revealed that … [Read more...] about Viewpoints: What can be done about dangerous dogs?
Fracking review ‘will undermine trust if risk mitigation factors ignored’
Kwasi Kwarteng's review of fracking will undermine public trust if it ignores evidence that the risks associated with shale gas production can be "managed and mitigated", more than 35 Conservative MPs and peers have warned. In a letter to the Business Secretary, parliamentarians including Lord Frost, the former Cabinet minister, and Craig Mackinlay, who chairs the Net Zero Scrutiny Group of MPs, point to the findings of a government-funded study that concluded the earthquake risk from fracking is no worse than coal mining and can be mitigated. The intervention highlights fears among some Tory backbenchers that the review, which followed significant pressure for a reversal of the fracking ban , could amount to a "whitewash". Boris Johnson has come under pressure from MPs and some ministers to lift the ban as part of efforts to increase Britain's homegrown energy supply. In a letter to the British Geological Survey (BGS) ordering the review, Mr Kwarteng said the … [Read more...] about Fracking review ‘will undermine trust if risk mitigation factors ignored’