29 articles from SATURDAY 10.10.2020

Pull investments from companies not committed to environment, pope says

Pope Francis on Saturday urged people to pull investments from companies that are not committed to protecting the environment, adding his voice to calls for the economic model that emerges from the coronavirus pandemic to be a sustainable one. Francis spoke in a video message for an online event called "Countdown Global Launch, A Call to Action on Climate Change". The pope listed three action...

Pope in TED talk: Earth cannot be squeezed 'like an orange’

Pope Francis on Saturday issued an urgent call to action to defend the planet and help the poor in his second TED talk. The pontiff, known for his affinity for social media and technology, said in a videotaped message to a TED conference on climate change that the coronavirus pandemic had put a focus on the social-environmental challenge facing the globe. “Science tells us, every day with more...

The race for a Covid vaccine: inside the Australian lab working round the clock to produce 100m doses

The Guardian is given a unique insight into the operations of CSL, which is making vaccines that could help end the crisisSome call it the “happy soup”.Take a dash of modified Covid-19 protein DNA, mix it with cells from a Chinese hamster’s ovary, and place the combination in two state-of-the-art 2,000L bioreactors in a sprawling scientific facility on Melbourne’s northern fringes....

Celebrities lead TED global call to act on climate crisis

With a call to "fix our climate" by 2030, Prince William on Saturday joined a global array of  activists, artists, celebrities and politicians taking part in a free streamed TED event aimed at mobilizing and unifying people to confront the climate...

The Island Brokers Are Overwhelmed

Calls and emails come in at all times of day and night. They no longer concern fun or prestige. Instead they focus on fresh water and solar panels. These were not the inquiries they had grown used to.The island brokers are overwhelmed.As the coronavirus pandemic has devastated countries around the world, it has upended nearly every aspect of life for everyone, including for those most insulated by...

European Space Agency finalises plans to ‘explore the moon properly’

Ambitious series of joint missions aims to construct a crewed space station that will orbit the moonEuropean space officials will this week unveil detailed plans for a series of ambitious missions aimed at returning humans to the moon in the next few years.Projects will include construction of crew quarters for an orbiting lunar space station, making the power and propulsion units for America’s...

Make masks compulsory in UK workplaces, urges BMA

British Medical Association seeks to build trust amid ‘inconsistent’ Covid messagingCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageWearing face masks in all offices and working environments should be mandatory unless you are working alone, the British Medical Association (BMA) has urged.Publishing recommendations to safeguard public health amid the pandemic, the UK doctors’...

Celebrities lead TED global call to act on climate crisis

With a call to "fix our climate" by 2030, Prince William on Saturday joined a global array of activists, artists, celebrities and politicians taking part in a free streamed TED event aimed at mobilizing and unifying people to confront the climate crisis.

Why the hidden world of fungi is essential to life on Earth | Merlin Sheldrake

Fungi have long supported and enriched life on our planet. They must be protected as fiercely as animals and plants As you read these words, fungi are changing the way that life happens, as they have done for more than a billion years. They are eating rock, making soil, digesting pollutants, nourishing and killing plants, surviving in space, inducing visions, producing food, making medicines,...

Coronavirus live news: France sets daily record 20,000 cases; Australian state of Victoria reports 14 new infections

Trump plans in-person rally on Monday as next presidential debate cancelled; Europe records 100,000 daily cases for first time; Canada at ‘tipping point’. Follow latest updatesEurope: Spain declares emergency in Madrid as Berlin emerges as hotspotUK workers to get two-thirds of wages if firms told to shutAustralia: Is Victoria ready to come out of lockdown?US presidential debate cancelled –...

Sapphires show their true colors: Not water-loving

The researchers investigated the wetting behavior of four different crystal surfaces of sapphire (alumina) single crystal and found that although the surface of polycrystalline alumina is hydrophilic (water contact angle was about 10°), the intrinsic water contact angles of all four crystal surfaces are greater than 10°. Among them, the (1-102) crystal surface is intrinsic hydrophobic, which...