Extremists and their views

People with extremist views are less able to do complex tasks. The Cambridge University team say their findings could be used to spot people at risk from radicalisation: Our brains hold clues for the ideologies we choose to live by, according to the research, which has suggested that people who espouse extremist attitudes tend to perform …

Continue reading ‘Extremists and their views’ »

Shocking statistics

More than 25% of Americans are likely to refuse the vaccine, according to an international study Only 11% of US citizens said they trusted their government to be a reliable source of information on vaccines, compared with 30% in the UK.  Three out of four Republicans don’t think Joe Biden won the election  legitimately. About …

Continue reading ‘Shocking statistics’ »

Be careful who you believe!

Oklahoma is trying to return its $2 million purchase of hydroxychloroquine and get a refund from the manufacturer. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt ordered the purchase of the malaria drug in April, when President Trump was promoting it as a “miracle” treatment for Covid-19. Studies, however, have found the drug inappropriate (actually useless, to be honest, except …

Continue reading ‘Be careful who you believe!’ »

Why don’t birds freeze at high altitudes?

Birds fly at tens of thousands of metres high. Ice forms on the wings of planes at this altitude, so why don’t the birds freeze? Birds can sometimes reach astonishingly high altitudes. The record is a massive 11,278 metres by a Rüppell’s vulture that collided with an aircraft. The resulting “snarge” – that is to …

Continue reading ‘Why don’t birds freeze at high altitudes?’ »

Catulent – a name you are probably unfamiliar with

How will Moderna make the 100 million doses contracted for in the first quarter of 2021 and the 200 million doses it has to provide the federal government (for $3.2 billion) by the end of June? A big part of the answer is outsourcing production to a contract manufacturer that will make the vaccine on …

Continue reading ‘Catulent – a name you are probably unfamiliar with’ »

Will the ecosystem collapse?

Ecosystem collapse a risk in one fifth of the world’s countries The spread of intensive farming threatens to jeopardize the world’s chances of meeting the term of the Paris agreement on the climate crisis. Nitrous oxide is given off by the overuse of artificial fertilizers, and by organic sources such as animal manure, and has …

Continue reading ‘Will the ecosystem collapse?’ »

The downside of air conditioning

The scientist Stan Cox, in his 2018 book “Losing Our Cool”, blames air con for “resource waste, climate change, ozone depletion and the disorientation of the human mind and body”. Air conditioning emits some half a billion tonnes of CO2 annually, and the coolants used are even more polluting than CO2. Air conditioners fuel a …

Continue reading ‘The downside of air conditioning’ »

Climate change is not a scam!

Like many other climate-vulnerable nations across the globe, Bangladesh is trying to save lives, shore up healthcare systems, and cushion the economic shock for millions of people, all while avoiding fiscal collapse. But this is not a cry for help; it is a warning. For while other countries may be less exposed to the climate …

Continue reading ‘Climate change is not a scam!’ »

Lower emissions owing to coronavirus

Global carbon emissions are likely to see their steepest fall this year since the second world war, according to researchers who say coronavirus lockdown measures have already cut them by nearly a fifth. But the team warns that the dramatic drop won’t slow climate change. The first peer-reviewed analysis of the pandemic’s impact on emissions …

Continue reading ‘Lower emissions owing to coronavirus’ »