42 articles from SATURDAY 24.4.2021

Can Australia achieve herd immunity to coronavirus, and what happens if not?

Declining immunity and new viral variants may mean annual vaccine boosters are neededImmunologists and virologists are questioning the ability of populations to ever achieve herd immunity to Covid-19.They say gradually waning immunity to the virus after infection or vaccination, and the impact of variants, mean it is likely annual vaccinations will be required and cases will continue to occur....

From Eno to Dua Lipa, why musicians are fascinated by outer space

Artists have long been seduced by galactic themes. Now Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes is releasing a celestial epicNick Rhodes, the most concept-friendly and new-romantic of Duran Duran’s line-up, has been in contemplation. Mostly he’s been thinking about the movements of the heavens and their travelling companion, mythology.If the gods are angry, this thinking goes, their mood swings might be...

Secrets of a tree whisperer: ‘They get along, they listen – they’re attuned’

Suzanne Simard revolutionised the way we think about plants and fungi with the discovery of the woodwide web. The ecologist’s new book shares the wisdom of a life of listening to the forestWhen Suzanne Simard made her extraordinary discovery – that trees could communicate and cooperate through subterranean networks of fungi – the scientific establishment underreacted. Even though her...

The city my grandfather used to call home no longer exists – except in our minds

After his death, I wanted to know more about his life, and the city that made him and very nearly killed himEvery Hanukkah through my childhood, if I was visiting my grandparents’ Liverpool home, my Grandpa Oskar told me the exact same story. With a pickle on his side plate – my grandma serving up his favourite dinner of latkes, vusht (smoked sausage) and eggs – he’d recount the night...