17 articles from SATURDAY 2.7.2022

UK scientists warn of urgent need for action on vaccines to head off autumn Covid wave

Expert fear that new variants will emerge and stress the need to prepare the best drugs to combat itHealth authorities need to act urgently to prepare for an autumn that could see further waves of Covid-19 cases spreading across the UK.That is the clear warning from scientists and doctors after last week’s figures revealed another dramatic jump in cases. More than 2 million people across Britain...

A stitch in time: the benefits of teaching prisoners to sew

Learning a craft can change lives – and a scheme showing inmates how to use a needle and thread has had some remarkable resultsIt’s a balmy afternoon in southwest London and there’s a deafening sound overhead. My companion, Sebastian, jumps excitedly to his feet and leaps outside into the sun-dappled courtyard. Cupping one hand over his eyes, he points the other towards a luxury Pullman...

Great auks and seal-headed men: a window into ice age Provence

The Cosquer cave near Marseille astonished the diver who discovered it with its ancient depictions of sea and land animals. Now it has been painstakingly recreated in the French port for all to enjoyIt was in 1985 that the diver Henri Cosquer discovered, along the coast from Marseille, what has been called an “underwater Lascaux” after the famous cave network in the Dordogne. After several...

Researchers use AI to detect new family of genes in gut bacteria

Using artificial intelligence, UT Southwestern researchers have discovered a new family of sensing genes in enteric bacteria that are linked by structure and probably function, but not genetic sequence. The findings, published in PNAS, offer a new way of identifying the role of genes in unrelated species and could lead to new ways to fight intestinal bacterial infections.

Satellite-tracking of whale sharks offered insight into their migratory and feeding behavior

The largest fish in the ocean is a globe-trotter that can occasionally be found basking in the coastal waters of the Panamanian Pacific. However, little more is known about the habits of the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in the region. By satellite-tracking the whereabouts of 30 of them, scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life...