29 articles from SATURDAY 15.1.2022

‘I’d keep it on the down low’: the secret life of a super-recogniser

Police employ them and scientists study them, but what is life like for the rare few who can never forget a face? Super-recogniser Yenny Seo didn’t think it was anything specialAs a child, Yenny Seo often surprised her mother by pointing out a stranger in the grocery store, remarking it was the same person they passed on the street a few weeks earlier. Likewise, when they watched a movie...

Mother who gave birth to stillborn son while in Covid coma urges people to get vaccine

Rachel, 38, said she was discouraged from having the Covid vaccine in the early days of the rolloutCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA mother whose baby was stillborn while she was in hospital with Covid-19 has urged people to get vaccinated to save themselves the “agony” of becoming seriously ill with the virus.Rachel, 38, from Bilston in Wolverhampton, who did not...

In a further blow to the China Initiative, prosecutors move to dismiss a high profile case

On Friday, federal prosecutors recommended that the US Department of Justice dismiss all three charges against MIT nanotechnology professor Gang Chen, ending a two-year ordeal stemming from accusations that he hid funding from Chinese entities on grant disclosure forms.  Chen had pleaded not guilty to all charges, while his employer had indicated that the funding…

How weekly bike rides with a group of supportive women showed me a route to joy

When Tanya Frank joined a group of ‘joyriders’, she rediscovered her love of cycling and found a caring communityI always thought that joyriding meant nicking cars and taking them for a spin, often when drunk. It was what some of the wayward lads did on the Chingford Hall council estate where I grew up. So, I was surprised when the Waltham Forest newsletter reported a different kind of...

Texas scientists’ new Covid-19 vaccine is cheaper, easier to make and patent-free

Dr Maria Bottazzi says their vaccine, called Corbevax, is unique because they do not intend to patent itA new Covid-19 vaccine is being developed by Texas scientists using a decades-old conventional method that will make the production and distribution cheaper and more accessible for countries most affected by the pandemic and where new variants are likely to originate due to low inoculation...

What is Biological E, the Indian company producing Corbevax?

The Hyderabad-based company says the vaccine will provide ‘sustainable access to low- and middle-income countries’The Indian biotechnology and biopharmaceutical company Biological E has produced the country’s first locally developed Covid-19 vaccine in partnership with the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development at Baylor College of Medicine.The Hyderabad-based company has...

Mexico says pig die-off due to salmonella, pneumonia

Mexican authorities breathed a sigh of relief Friday when experts determined that a die-off of pigs in December at a local slaughterhouse was due to salmonella and Pasteurellosis, a commonly occurring infection, and not African swine fever.

South prepares for weekend threat of debilitating snow, ice

Weather forecasters' predictions of debilitating snow and ice as far south as Georgia sent parts of the region into a tizzy Friday with shoppers scouring store shelves for storm supplies and road crews trying to prevent a repeat of past wintertime debacles.

Hubble views a tranquil galaxy with an explosive past

The lazily winding spiral arms of the spectacular galaxy NGC 976 fill the frame of this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This spiral galaxy lies around 150 million light-years from the Milky Way in the constellation Aries. Despite its tranquil appearance, NGC 976 has played host to one of the most violent astronomical phenomena known – a supernova explosion. These...

As Covid-19 peak seems to near, experts warn against letting guard down

Hospitalizations and cases seem to be subsiding in states with high vaccination rates, but experts caution against celebrating too soonIn February 2021, Dr Craig Spencer wrote in a Medium post that he was as “eager as anyone to see the end of this pandemic. Thankfully, that may be in sight”.“Covid cases and hospitalizations are dropping,” wrote Spencer, director of Global Health in...

Are There Rainbows on Mars? We Asked a NASA Expert

Are there rainbows on Mars? Sadly, no. But there are a whole lot of other conditions on Mars that we have right here on Earth! NASA scientist Mark Lemmon explains why the Red Planet is a rainbowless world. Get more Martian science: www.nasa.gov/mars Producers: Jessica Wilde & Scott Bednar Editor: Matthew Schara Video...

Genetic strategy reverses insecticide resistance

Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, scientists have genetically engineered a method to reverse insecticide resistance. The gene replacement method offers a new way to fight deadly malaria spread and reduce the use of pesticides that protect valuable food crops.