102 articles from FRIDAY 3.12.2021

UK Covid live: ‘keep calm and carry on’ with Christmas plans, says minister despite high case numbers

Oliver Dowden says people should keep going to pubs and restaurants, claiming the government has taken ‘sufficient’ action against OmicronBooster shots significantly strengthen immunity, trial findsBlack and south Asian people urged to get boosters amid higher deathsHow the NHS could be hit by Covid this winterHow probable is it that Omicron will take hold in UK?Global coronavirus updates –...

International Space Station forced to swerve to avoid US space junk

Orbit dropped by 310 metres briefly to avoid collision with fragment from vessel launched in 1994 The International Space Station performed a manoeuvre to swerve from a fragment of a US launch vehicle, the head of Russia’s space agency has said.Dmitry Rogozin, the director general of Roscosmos, said the station’s orbit dropped by 310 metres for almost three minutes to avoid a close encounter...

Predictive analytics pays off with complementary investments

The predictive analytics industry is slated to earn more than $273 billion in 2022. Yet, despite the hype over big data and the forecasting power of tools such as statistical modelling and machine learning, not all firms that sink money into them reap benefits, prompting a research team to probe what makes the difference.

Killer whales lingering in newly melted arctic ocean

Killer whales are intelligent, adaptive predators, often teaming up to take down larger prey. Continuous reduction in sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is opening areas to increased killer whale dwelling and predation, potentially creating an ecological imbalance.

Black and south Asian people in UK urged to get jabs to cut higher Covid death rates

Disparity with white people who have lower death rate relative to infection rate suspected to be due to slower vaccine uptakeCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageDoctors have urged unvaccinated Black and south Asian people to get their Covid jabs after new data revealed hospitalisations and deaths are higher in those groups, despite infection rates being lower than in...

ALS therapy should target brain, not just spine

The brain is indeed a target for treating ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), scientists have discovered. This flips a long-standing belief the disease starts in the spinal motor neurons and any therapy would need to target the spine as the key focus. The new study shows the brain degenerates early in ALS, sends warning signals and shows defects very early in the disease. Degeneration of brain...