#she be doing unethical science experiments daily

[anxiousghostea]

I’m not the only one who’s still reeling from how insane princess bubblegum was under the crown’s influence, right? Like, she was gonna put her and two other people in a blender??? Ice king would NEVER

[penguin--person]

10. If your character is an antagonist or something of the like, do they self-justify their actions? If so, how? (kozlova)

28. What emotion is the most unfamiliar to your character and how do they deal with it? (alik and/or nastya)

31.What genre of music does/would your character love? (kozlov)

like with the one you sent me the character after the questions are just suggestions !! answer about whoever if you want >:D

aa thankies!!!! 💥💥💥

10. id say that kozlova, while not with malicious intentions and not a villain, is an antagonist indeed !! to certain characters... points at ája points at nastya. she does care for them!!! in one au she even saves ája. but like, she still does unethical experiments on them. her care for nastya doesnt stop her from vivisecting her on the daily. though alík would never blame her for how shes treated, saying kozlovas just doing her job, its still like... still messed up !!

as for how she justifies her actions... i dont think she lies to herself that shes doing a Good Thing. deciding which mutants should be terminated when their budget is cut isnt fun for her. but i think shes got a "somebody has to do it. if i dont do it, somebody else will" mindset.. as well as the regular "for science!" approach at the Zh. I. Alferov National Institute of Anomalous Research hehe

so shes just !! idk. its a necessary evil. i dont get to talk about this side of kozlova much hehe... shes not happy about it, she doesnt revel in it !! but like. she Is right that if she doesnt do it, somebody else will. might as well be somebody that doesnt delight in hurting people, that will hurt the subjects in the gentlest way avalible.

28. for alík, in her pafl canon, id say, regrettably, like.. and for nastya too i think but in her every canon. i think.. just feeling safe? alíks like this in the alnst au too but in her human au shes jsut some guy shes happy. its not easy but shes happy.

she cannot be safe at the facility, nor if she escapes, nor if she never gets there in the first place !! nastya... god id have to do a 10 thousand word essay on why she never feels safe anywhere. blame her parents blame the school system. i think.. smth interesting about her and dasha is like.. even with dasha being a bit meanies at times and not letting nastya smoke her cigs .. she doesnt report nastya, yea?? and like. thats all that nastyas asking for, ever. i dont think they could be healthy like i think itd be funny if nastya still stabs dasha at some point. but like. not being reported is the bare minimum for nastya. she coiuld feel a bit safe after some time maybe:) and i think thatd scare her ❤️they call her the Vane - Heart's Claws, the Weevildoing - Deviant, they call her the Normal Girl.

i think alík, while also scared if she started to feel safe, i think she'd cling to it, unlike nastya. nastya goes into fight mode and then flight mode (first comes fawn mode) if she gets scared like that. but alík !! like. i think.. im gonna use sanya as an example. i thinkkkk. shed cling to sanya as much as she could without being weird. in a Dont Leave Me way but also in a Hii Im Scared way ??? idkkk !!! alík clings to the feeling of safety while nastya punches it with her mega fists. is that anything boss

31. oh i found osme music!!! isome time ago!!! i think he'd like depeche mode :) i think hed like mcr too tbh i just dont think he'd know them. if dasha or roma or zhenya introduced it to him i think hed like it... also just like instrumentals...

i like to think that, like a dumbass, he listens to music in the zone with some kolya-ass headphones... kozlov!!! kozlov theres an anomaly behind you watch out!!!!! NOOO FUCK!!! hes listening to lofi hiphop beats to relax/study to he cant hear us fuckkk!!!!

[boombox-fuckboy]

hi! ik you just answered a recommendation ask so sorry!! but do you have any non-comedy sci-fi podcast recommendations? i really like stuff that's set in space and the mystery/drama genre. i loved wolf 359, so doesn't need to be 100% serious but at least semi serious. (also queer characters are a bonus but its podcasting ofc there are gonna be queer characters)

No apology required. Here's some Non-Comedy Space Podcasts I enjoyed.

Directive: Heart-crushing podcast about a man tasked with taking care of the sleeping passengers aboard a colony ship, over the course of 20 years. Reflections, happenings, and something that's not quite as it seems.

Erraticus: Three individuals - one who's not a comdemned criminal, one who's not a bomber, and one who's not an AI - find themselves together on a ship fleeing danger toward the edge of the edge of the solar system, and a dangerous conspiracy none of them signed up for. Not far in yet but I like the characters, banter, and the creator's policy to release episodes only on their own schedule.

Girl in Space: If you liked Wolf 359, please do not go past Girl in Space. The Girl in Space lives alone on a station, doing science, making cheese, watching Jurassic Park, chatting with the old AI, recording her journals... It's a pretty good life. Would be a shame if something were to change that. Really well made, performed, written. Queer.

InCo: Follows the travels of a disgruntled interstellar information trader, her peppy AI, and the strange boy they find floating in space. I sometimes have a hard time believing this is the product of one person, because they do such a good job at voicing, writing, audio, music, worldbuilding (oh, the worldbuilding). And, though subtle, it's queer!

In Transit: Aboard The Eurus, a ship bound for a new world, things are going smoothly: crops are growing, oxygen is high, morale is decent, and they're making great time. So when a series of murders following a notable pattern occur, they call in (or, unthaw) a specialist, one who must use all the skills, training, and limited resources she has to solve it, while trying to adjust to life 113 years after she last went to sleep. The mic qualities vary and can be a bit rough, admittedly, but I enjoyed the story and writing. Oh, and it's queer!

Janus Descending: Do you like horror? Perhaps having your heart torn out and ditched at the nearest wall? Janus Descending follows a xenopaleontologist and a xenoanthropologist who travel to a new world to study a lost civilisation, but find far more then they bargained for. A really interesting framing device: her tapes are from first to last (chronologically), and his from last to first, and they use this really well. I heavily recommend listening to the supercut instead of each episode individually.

Mnemosyne: Mnemosyne is an isolated space station with duel purpose, both prison and shady testing facility. The show follows the people involved in one experiment in particular, both in their daily lives aboard and as part of the testing of a potentially revolutionary piece of technology. It does have a healthy dose of humor in it, but I'd not call it an outright comedy. I would call it underrated. Queer.

Moonbase Theta, Out: Messages to Earth from the communications officer of Moonbase Theta, as the facility prepares for shutdown, both to the people overseeing the project, and to his husband. Season one has short episodes (listen to the supercut), but longer for seasons 2 and 3. Really well made, and very queer.

Novitero: The princess of a planet is banished until she can make up the excessive funds she's lost, and is picked up by a group of wanted criminals. From a shared interest in getting rich fast, they reach an agreement: the ultimate heist.

The Orphans: I could spoil this podcast, (it'd still be great), but I won't. It's very well made, set in the far future, features AI, unethical science, quality worldbuilding, heart-crushing tragedies, and a dash of political intrigue. A bit queer, but you'll need to wait til season 3.

The Pasithea Powder: The last major interplanetary war was full of atrocities, but possibly none more infamous then the creation of Pasithea Powder, a memory altering drug which was used to horrible effect and landed it's entire team of creators in prison. So when decorated war hero Captain Sophie Green sees one of them wandering free, worlds away from his prison, she gets in touch with a very old, estranged friend: one Dr. Jane Gonzalez, who's behind bars for the very same reason. Very good, and absolutely queer.

SAYER: Crisp sci-fi horror. You are an employee of Ærolith dynamics on Typhon, an artifical moon orbiting Earth. A selection of ominous and highly advanced AI speak in your ear, helping you to adjust to your new life, and guiding you through your daily (and often disturbing) tasks. Pretty popular, but for a good reason.

Second Star to the Left: Follows a scout tasked with investigating a new world and preparing it for a new human colony, and the minder back home tasked with keeping an eye on her, as they each deal with various challenges, try to help each other from half a galaxy away, and become closer in the process. I really enjoyed this podcast. Queer.

The Strange Case of Starship Iris: When the shuttle carrying the crew of scientific research ship Iris explodes, Violet Liu finds herself stranded in space, the last survivor with no way out. Until her emergency broadcast is picked up by a passing ship. But the crew aren't who they seem to be, there's more going on here than anyone knows yet, and Violet must decide who she can really trust. Very queer.

To Starlight We Come: A very new podcast about a talented young thief who ends up working on a station as part of her prison sentence, a new program which claims to rehabilitate young offenders. She's been working her ass off, dreaming about returning to her lucrative life of crime and beloved girlfriend when she gets home, and it's all going pretty smoothly, until she's framed for murder. Now she's got to work out who the real killer is to prove her own innocence, or she's leaving the station early, and without an oxygen supply. Queer.

VAST Horizon: An agronomist tasked with kickstarting agriculture on a new world wakes on the ship before they arrive, to discover something has gone horribly wrong. The ship is adrift, nobody but the malfuctioning AI to be seen, and the ship riddled with issues, she must do her best to save the ship and herself, and work out what happened. Great sci-fi horror.

Hope you find something here you can enjoy

[rinharu-purple]

Lucien: MLQC’s Mastermind

Yes, I said that Lucien is the creepiest LI in my opinion, and I wouldn’t choose him in a million, billion years. BUT, Lucien is by far the one person, who is pulling the strings and is the driving force of the MLQC universe. He is the only person who acquires all the information from all sides and is connected to every important actor in the story. Therefore, Lucien has become the second LI I’ve started to follow more attentively. Mind that the ranking ist 1) Gavin 2) Gavin 3) Gavin 4) Lucien ;)

In my manifesto, why Gavin is MC’s choice, I’ve already mentioned briefly, that Lucien has the strongest EVOL among all the characters but is also the strongest character (it’s not the MC or the Black Queen, let’s not fool ourselves)

The Machiavellian

Before we talk about Lucien’s part in the MLQC universe, we should first look at him as person and observe the elements that make up his personality.

In the game, all our guys have their personal priorities. Gavin and Kiro are on the front line, fighting for peace and prosperity, Victor, well...I don’t think that he cares for anything else besides MC, maybe his position. But with Lucien, his priority is not a person or a concept, but rather a philosophy. Lucien wants to see the next step in human evolution and is determined to take any measures necessary to see it to it’s end. Other guys can not stand oblivious to other things that come up their way in achieving their goals but Lucien only has his eyes on the prize and to him nothing else matters, no one else matters and no ethics matter. 

Machiavellianism denotes cunningness and claims, that those dark triads use whatever means necessary to gain power. If we consider the choices Lucien has made throughout the story so far, we can clearly find his manipulative ways in getting other actors to the positions of his conjecture. He lies to MC and hides his personality as Ares, penetrates Black Swan to use their facilities, but also uses LFG’s resources for his R&D projects all the while concealing his true nature. 

Another trait of a Machiavellian, is that he is charismatic and friendly, all the while displaying no emotions. I think, there can be two possible reasons as to why Lucien has limited display of emotions. The first possible explanation has something to do with his parents passing and the trauma he suffered afterwards. Among all LIs Lucien is the one with the most loveless childhood and teenage years, the most important years in developing one’s psychological traits and during those years Lucien received alongside with Kiro the most blows. That resulted in him losing the connection to his emotions as a defense mechanism. 

Another possibility might be him losing the connection to his emotions as a result of a chemical reaction in his brain due to excessive testing Black Swan objected him to. Lucien’s EVOL was created in a lab and he was the first man-made Evolver. Lucien is called various times a psychopath, because he shows signs of psychopathy such as lack of remorse, empathy or compassion. It is said that that kind of behavior might occur due to a misconnection between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the amygdala. Considering the fact that Lucien’s parents were killed right in front of him and that he was both physically and psychologically abused for the coming years, this might have led him to experience an imbalance in his chemical balance. One might argue, that his altruistic actions in the orphanage are an evidence for his compassion, I think it is yet another disguise for his unethical ways of reaching his goals.

The Orchestrator

In all honesty no one is actively seeking alliances and keeps tabs on other’s actions for their agenda like Lucien does. Maybe Commander Leto but he mostly fails in drawing others to his side, because he is not able to speak in their pendants’ language or resonate with their perspective. Lucien, on the other hand, is gifted with an extraordinary ability to observe his surroundings and companions, making it very easy for him to talk to them in their terms and desires. Lucien doesn’t show much empathy, UNLESS, it contributes to his cause, in that case he can perfectly put himself in other’s shoes and plays them in such a meticulous way, that they join him willingly.

That is how Lucien directs MC successfully in entering the Black Cabin or in understanding the evolution core.

Lucien is not exactly a piece on a chess board, but is a player, who knows all the pieces very well, knows the rules of the game, has observed many games and took notes of how they all has turned out and therefore knows what kind of a game he is going to play. Just watch closely. how he co-operates with Kiro and the Black Queen. He knows that Kiro is using Black Swan for his goals, much like he does, so he uses his hacking abilities to access to information. The Black Queen is the initiator of everything in S1, so he makes sure to stay close to her. He knows that Victor is searching for MC and trying to understand the Evol gene, there he has an investor. 

The Cool, Calm and Collected Type

in the MLQC universe, everyone loses their composure at one point or another, because...who wouldn’t? Time and space warps constantly and people are also changing their stances depending on the time-space constellation they find themselves in. 

MC loses her cool almost on a daily basis, Gavin was in a constant haywire in the Daybreak era, Victor literally threw people into black holes in CH11 and freaked out as he saw the Black Queen for the first time and Kiro walks around in a bipolar state. So, everybody is pretty unstable due to understandable conditions but we never see Lucien lose his cool and this is one of his best qualities. 

Here is the thing about Lucien. This guy is always at least one step ahead of everyone and he achieves this by two simple rules: 

1) Acquire all possible information

2) Observe everyone and everything at all times

Why am I saying this? It lies in the basis of anxiety and angst. We humans tend to feel uncomfortable in the face of an uncertain situation, meaning in the wake of the unknown. MC is constantly anxious, because she doesn’t know what is going on, why is everyone after her, why is she blessed with the unconditional affection of 5 equally attractive men? (ehm, but not quite equally ehm *Gavin* hihi, sorry, Gavin-stan gotta Gavin-stan ^_^). Anyway you get the picture. Gavin went haywire in CH22 because he was pushed in a tight spot and therefore had angst. Same goes for Victor in CH11 his mind went blank as he saw history repeating itself and then in CH18 when he saw with his own eyes what could the girl of his dreams might become.

We don’t see Lucien in such deadlock situation though do we, and I think it is mainly because he is always prepared for every possibility and he can calculate them meticulously, because he possesses the largest chunk of information and also keeps tabs on everyone and everything that’s going on. So, when a crisis occurs he doesn’t freak out, sure he gets surprised at times, because the outcome of a a certain situation is the possibility, which he calculated to be no higher than 1% and yet there it is. But since he’s already took this into consideration, he has a plan. Combine this with his knowledge about the persons and organizations involved in the matter, then you have a calm Lucien, who is in control of the situation. Thus, he is calm. You can actually also bind this behavior of Lucien with that of a predator, whose movement are languid, is non-reactive and doesn’t mind turning his back to his opponents, since he doesn’t perceive them as a threat.

If this wasn’t enough, Lucien manages to joggle all of this without exposing himself. Even in the last stage of the play he never gets caught. Unless he willingly exposes himself, as in the case of revealing Ares to MC. MLQC actors can usually see through each other and use their weaknesses to meet their own ends. MC is obviously Gavin, Kiro and Victor’s weakness and their opponents can see this pretty easily. IT’s not quite the same with Lucien though and he doesn’t let himself be blackmailed or threatened by any weakness. He always keeps his cards close to his chest. 

Considering the fact that Lucin is the least outstanding LI, this is pretty impressive. So I guess this makes him the embodiment of the phrase “still waters run deep”.

The Renaissance Man

Lucien is a man of science and aesthetics. Explaining phenomenons with associations and loading them with philosophical substance. He doesn’t necessarily perceive things bluntly as they are, but interprets them in a meaningful way. The way he associates MC with a butterfly, how he wants to entrap her in ajar, so she wouldn’t get away, alas taking the only resource of color in his life away. Not only that, but he can also break down the matters at hand to its fragments and can therefore work his way up from there. He is blessed with a strong deduction ability, so he can connect the dots easily, come to a conclusion and act accordingly. No doubt that the other guys have very good deduction abilities, but because Lucien always has a bit of an information more than them, he can find the solutions just a little bit faster in my opinion. 

Reading is a necessity for his guy much like eating and drinking, Which is why we see him reframing events in the context of a certain story he’d read at some point in his life. With time, I will add here some of his quotes about certain situations to explain what I mean. Or even better, if you have some, that are evident in you opinion, you could add them in the comments. I really enjoy reading/hearing Lucien’s philosophical, scientific explanations to certain moments in MC’s life. They are always to the point and helpful.

-------------

So this is my very first analysis on Lucien and I have to admit, I still have  so many material to check on him, so if anything is missing please bear with me here :)

I was watching Joe’s Twitch while I wrote this, so there are many spelling, grammar mistakes, which will be corrected gradually.

This post will get better and better, scout promise!

[theauthorandtheartist]

Cliches

This goes along with the Dannymay day 7 prompt: 2nd chances

I don’t know where I came up with this. I just started writing and didn’t stop. I tried to do a story without using dialogue, and I think I succeeded. I had to write this for a school assignment, so I had to explain the Danny Phantom world a bit because my teacher had no idea what it is. 

Cliches are a wonderful thing. We cling to them like lifelines, hoping for a good "happily ever after" to make everything better. In fact, I'm sure you were expecting a "Once upon a time" to start off the story now weren't you.

Yeah, you were.

Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but here, there are no cliches. No long-lived and well-loved story arcs to follow, no "good guys" or "bad guys" or save the world scenarios. Here, the princess rescues the prince and the dragon is locked in the tower. Here, the evil stepfather can't get the upper hand over his rebellious teen son. Here, the protagonists are monsters and the villains are heroes.

Probably the only cliche in the whole story is the existence of myself, the narrator, who will shamelessly add my own thoughts and commentary to the story as I please; simply because I can.

Pleased to meet you.

Now, with hasty introductions out of the way, let’s get down to business. I am here to tell you a story, though I’m sure you already knew that. It is my job as narrator, to lovingly guide you through the history, lore, and thrilling storyline that the author has painstakingly crafted for you to enjoy. You’re welcome. 

Let’s just jump straight into it shall we? I’m sure you already know everything there is to know about Amnity Park, and you don’t need me to tell you about their slightly paranormal pest problem. Surely you don’t need me to inform you about the daily ghost attacks, or the ghostly superhero known as Phantom who repeatedly confronts the angry spirit and either persuades them or forces them back across the veil. Assuredly, you know all about Phantom’s tragic backstory, of how he was caught in the veil between dimensions, and was officially turned into Schrödinger’s boy -both living and dead simultaneously. Of course you already know about the struggles of being both a hero and a high school student, missing class and skipping sleep in order to keep his city (and his secret) safe. I don’t need to tell you about the ghost hunters in town, who relentlessly hunt and attack Phantom without warning, oblivious that he is their son. 

No, you already knew all of that. 

Still, it is quite tragic to see a family pitted against one another, even if it is due to ignorance. Danny Phantom is nowhere near being ready to confide in his parents, but progress always starts with a first step. This story is that first step. 

Let’s meet our protagonist, shall we? 

Daniel James Fenton -or Danny, as he prefers to be called- is a good looking kid. Tall and muscular, without the air of privilege or haughtiness that often surrounds such people. His messy black hair and sparkling blue eyes are enough to make any girl swoon, though he does not seek out such attention, preferring instead to mess around with his two best friends. While most boys his age spend their nights drinking or partying, Danny spends his stargazing (or more recently, ghost fighting). He truly is the ideal high school boyfriend -but don’t let him hear me say that, he’s a flustered dork most of the time. He does his best to avoid the limelight, even letting the other kids bully him if it means that he won’t be looked at twice. 

Danny Phantom however, has no qualms with spotlights. In fact, he doesn’t mind them at all as long as they don’t get in the way or result in other people getting hurt. His ghostly form does not look dissimilar to Fenton, swapping black hair for blinding white and blue eyes for toxic green. His normal T-shirt and jeans shift into a full body, black HAZMAT suit with white gloves and the trademark DP logo on the front. It is rather easy to spot, especially when he’s flying around and glowing. 

To hide his alternate identity, Danny created two different personas for his two halves, slipping seamlessly into character whenever it is needed. Phantom is brash and hot-headed, a master at distracting his enemies with witty banter and endless puns. Fenton is cowardly and shy, infamous for being too clumsy to handle glassware. Fenton is terrified of ghosts, Phantom hunts them. Phantom is willing to sacrifice his own safety and wellbeing for others, Fenton gets misty-eyed over papercuts. This way, even if someone had thought that a ghost and a human could be the same, no one would ever suspect the two to be connected. 

It was crucial that the two were never suspected. If the world knew that half-ghosts  existed, Danny’s identity as a human would be overshadowed by his identity as a ghost. Ghosts don’t have rights, therefore Danny wouldn’t have rights. There would be nothing to stop anyone from marching down and kidnapping him for use in loads of painful and most likely unethical experiments. After all, the popular opinion on ghosts was that they were evil, semi-sentient projections who could feel no pain. That doesn’t do much to help his case. 

The people need to be convinced that Phantom was a hero, and that process starts with his parents. The Fentons are the leading ghost hunters in Amnity, and they have dedicated their life to catching and researching ghosts, even if they aren’t very good at it. They are a perfect team. Maddie is thin and slender, and her blue HAZMAT suit does nothing to hide her curves, but she is not weak in the slightest. Her proficiency in martial arts and science is renowned throughout the city, and every thug knows not to mess with the red-haired mother. Jack, however, has the dexterity of a brick wall and the mass to rival an elephant. He looms menacingly over all who approach him, but his childish nature and agreeable personality make it easy for him to interact with others -even if he is a little too passionate about his profession. 

 The Fentons are stubborn, but not bullheaded. They can see reason when they need to, and unfortunately, with the infamous Phantom of Amnity Park bleeding out on their doorstep, they need to reevaluate their theories. 

Phantom lay slumped against the porch railing, eyelids fluttering as he struggled to remain awake. It was a rather gruesome sight, and if Maddie didn’t know that he was a ghost, then she would be furious at whoever dared do this to a child. His right arm pressed hard against his wounded side, soaking the white glove in acid-green, ectoplasmic blood. A nasty gash on his forehead leaked the same vile liquid into his snowy white hair, plastering it against his sweaty, pale skin. In all honesty, he looked like he had brought a toothpick to a knife fight. 

The Fentons frowned at each other, debating their next move. They knew how this happened, news of Phantom’s latest battle against the hunter ghost known as Skulker had been broadcasted on every television for the past three hours, what they didn’t know, and couldn’t figure out, was why Phantom had come here. They were his enemies, for all intents and purposes, they were very loud about their threats to rip him apart. But here he was, bleeding out on their porch, and Maddie found herself fighting between her hunter’s curiosity and her motherly worry. 

Phantom didn’t look older than her own son, Danny. She hadn’t noticed that before, but now it was painfully obvious how young he was. It also struck her that he was a ghost, which means at some point or another Phantom had been alive. She couldn’t imagine losing Danny, and this ghost didn’t look older than seventeen. 

She sighed, and scooped the hero up into her arms. The hunting could wait. It was against the hunter’s code to kill anything that you hadn’t weakened yourself, anyways, best to fix him up and let him be on his way. She could chase him down again later. 

Now I know you’re thinking, “but Mr. Narrator, isn’t the hunter nursing the huntee back to health and becoming friends a huge cliche?” And to that I say, yes. However, that is not what we’re doing here. They do not become friends and instantly trust each other because of this little incident. This is a first step, nothing more. 

After calming her husband’s fears, and assuring him that she was fine, Maddie cleared off the dining room table and laid the ghost on top. He had lost consciousness at some point while she moved him, and his head lolled back as she set him down. She frowned at the ghost, listening to his labored breaths. Ghosts didn’t need to breathe, but Phantom had always insisted. She never knew why. 

Jack walked up the stairs from the lab, carrying a spool of glowing green thread. Phantom’s wounds would need stitches, and the special thread wouldn’t fall out when he used his power of intangibility. Silently, she stitched up his side, flinching at his whimpers he made every time the needle made contact. She had to remind herself that he was a ghost, and therefore couldn’t feel pain. Any reaction he gave was just part of an elaborate ruse. 

You and I both know that wasn’t true.

She nodded as Jack brought her some bandages, holding his head upright in order for her to wrap them around his ectoplasm-stained hair. A neon green stain spread out on the tabletop, seeping into the wood. This was fine, she would just have to clean it later so the ectoplasm didn’t bring any food to life. 

Satisfied that there were no other major lacerations, she once again scooped up the teenaged hero and moved him slowly to the couch. His unnecessary breathing had evened out, and she could feel a faint, slow, rhythmic thump against the fingers pressed on the base of his neck. It couldn’t be a heartbeat. Ghosts don’t have heartbeats. It must’ve been her imagination. 

As you can see, Maddie is not very receptive to new ideas. 

Laying him on the couch, she expertly ignored the slight hiss he made as his stitches stretched. He began to softly snore. She left the room. Jack was not much help when she explained what she’d felt, merely parroting her feelings back to her with a few insults directed at the ghostly species thrown in. “Ectoplasmic scum” was a popular one, along with “spook” and “monster.” Maddie didn’t know why she didn’t agree with those insults anymore. 

A soft groan echoed from the other room, and Jack jumped to his feet to grab weapons. Maddie stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Phantom was no threat now, maybe she could get some answers out of him. A strangled, frightened yelp called from the living room, along with a loud thump and a groan. Upon investigation, she found Phantom on the living room carpet, curled up into a ball and shaking. A small pool of his green blood had soaked through the bandages and was now leaving little polka-dots on the rug. 

Phantom apologized for the carpet. 

At first, Maddie was taken aback. Phantom was hurt. Phantom had nearly died. Again. And he was apologizing about the stains on her rug. She didn’t expect most humans to be that selfless, much less a ghost. Nevertheless, Phantom was apologizing for the carpet, as a thin line of green dribbled down from the corner of his mouth. 

She sighed and drew closer, eyes softening as Phantom flinched and tried to back away. She continued to advance, slower this time, and murmured words of encouragement as she approached. The ghosts glowing eyes held suspicion, but he did not flinch away this time. His usual witty banter was gone, much to Maddie’s worry, replaced by the soft pleas of a frightened child. A child faced with death, who did not want to die. 

She called Jack into the room, and asked him to grab some bedding from the storage closet. She had made up her mind. Phantom was not a threat. Jack warily nodded and left to do as she asked, and Maddie gently took Phantom up in her arms again, wiping the green liquid from his face. He stiffened at the contact, but made no move to escape. 

Soon enough, Jack returned with a feather comforter and several pillows. With Phantom’s telekinetic help, they made a soft nest and placed him gently inside. Maddie fussed over him as Jack stood to the side suspiciously. 

Needless to say, Phantom was very confused. Why was his parents helping him? They hate Phantom. Did they see him change back into human form? Is that why they're being so nice? No, Maddie kept calling him “Phantom,” if she knew, she would call him “Danny” or “Sweety.” His secret was safe for now. 

That still begged the question of why they were helping him, and when he asked, their only reply was along the lines of “you’re not a threat,” which really did more harm than good when it came to calming his nerves. 

Nevertheless, they had saved him, and so when Maddie asked for an interview, Phantom didn’t decline. Their questions were standard, if a bit rude. They were nothing he hadn’t answered before, and he only had to lie twice, when their questions got a little too personal. He refused to answer how he died. They didn’t need to know that. 

His healing factor had kicked in, rapidly knitting the skin back together and repairing the damage to his muscles. The room had gotten progressively more relaxed as time went on, and Jack was no longer shooting glares at him from across the room. Instead, he was questioning him with just as much zeal as Maddie. However, Phantom could feel his time here drawing to a close. Danny Fenton needed to be back home before curfew, and he couldn’t do that if Danny Phantom was in the living room. 

Hastily making an excuse to leave, he said goodbye to his parents and phased through the door before they could catch him. His head, which had been overtaken by an awful headache, protested as he flew down the street and into an alley, but he paid it no mind. Unwinding the bandages around his head, Phantom felt his transformation overtake him. 

His heartbeat sped up, his temperature rose, and his breathing grew more frequent. Granted, his heartbeat and breathing still weren’t exactly fast, and his temperature wasn’t exactly warm, but he could pass as human and that’s all that mattered. Seconds later, Danny Fenton exited the alley and headed home, walking carefully as not to disturb the stitched side under his shirt. 

When he arrived home, his parents were whispering in hushed voices, glancing over at the couch occasionally. They greeted him excitedly as he walked inside, before running downstairs to the lab to go over what Phantom had told them. What Danny had told them. 

He sighed and scaled the steps, making a beeline for the door to his room. He should start his homework, but then again, chances are the ghosts aren’t going to let him sleep tonight, so he should take a nap while he can. Not bothering to change clothes, Danny flopped onto his mattress, asleep before he hit the covers. 

In the later weeks, the Fentons would continue to search for Phantom. However, now it was for conversational purposes instead of experimental ones.  He even visited on his own time once or twice for a chat. The overall acceptance of Phantom increased as well, because if the ghost hunters thought he was okay, then the rest of the people would follow. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than before, and that’s all Danny could really ask for. 

Who knew it took nearly dying to repair broken relationships?��

Well, I did, for one, but I don’t count. I already know how Danny’s story ends. I know how his secret is revealed, and how his parents react. I know who will hurt him, who will betray him, and who will make amends. I know lots of things, including this: Danny will not live happily ever after. He just won't. There will always be more ghosts to fight, more threats to his friends and family, and he will not live happily ever after. His life will be filled with struggle and pain, and there’s nothing I can do to stop that. 

His afterlife however...well, that’s another story. 

I should tell you sometime.

[sciencespies]

Covid-19 news: Infection rate in England rises to one in 500 people

https://sciencespies.com/biology/covid-19-news-infection-rate-in-england-rises-to-one-in-500-people/

Covid-19 news: Infection rate in England rises to one in 500 people

By Michael Le Page , Clare Wilson , Jessica Hamzelou , Adam Vaughan , Conrad Quilty-Harper and Layal Liverpool

Public information messages in central Manchester, England

Jon Super/AP/Shutterstock

Latest coronavirus news as of 5 pm on 25 September

Infection rate within communities in England and Wales continues to rise 

One in 500 people in England had the coronavirus in the week ending 19 September, up from one in 900 people the previous week, according to the latest results from a random swab testing survey by the Office for National Statistics. “It’s a worrying increase and is occurring across all age groups, particularly in the North of England and London,” said Simon Clarke at the University of Reading in a statement. “While it’s true that there are many more tests conducted nowadays, this is clear evidence of an accelerating spread of the virus,” said Clarke. “We can expect to see an increasing burden placed on our hospitals and a consequent increase in deaths.” 

Northern Ireland, which was included in the survey for the first time, and Wales have also seen increases in infections. One in 300 people are estimated to have had the virus in Wales and Northern Ireland during the same time period. In Wales, this figure is up from one in 500 the week before. This weekend, new restrictions will be put in place in the Welsh city of Cardiff as well as in Swansea county areas and in the town of Llanelli. 

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The UK’s R number – the number of people each coronavirus case infects – has increased for the third week in a row, up to an estimate of between 1.2 and 1.5, an increase from between 1.1 and 1.4 the previous week, according to official figures. This is most likely to represent the situation two to three weeks ago due to a time lag in the data used to model the R. Infections across the country are estimated to be growing at a rate of between 4 and 8 per cent every day.

Other coronavirus news

Only 11 per cent of people told to self-isolate actually do so for the full 14-day period, which the UK government has been aware of since June. The finding comes from a survey that began in February. Results were published online yesterday to the pre-print server medRxiv and have not yet been peer-reviewed. The government’s scientific advisors recommend that 80 per cent or more of the contacts of people diagnosed with the coronavirus self-isolate for the full time period in order to help limit onward spread. 

Independent SAGE – an independent group of scientists publishing advice for the UK government – says Sweden’s success in tackling the coronavirus pandemic has been overstated. In a report published today, the group dismissed the idea of “herd immunity” as a strategy for dealing with the UK’s epidemic in the absence of a vaccine and said it is “irresponsible and unethical to try”.

Spain’s government has recommended imposing a new partial lockdown on the entire city of Madrid due to rising cases. The capital accounts for more than a third of the country’s hospital admissions, according to local authorities. Under the new restrictions, people would be banned from travelling outside of the city but would still be allowed to leave their homes to go to work and school.

The Netherlands recorded its highest daily increase in cases since the start of the pandemic, with 2777 new cases confirmed today. The country’s previous record for daily new cases was set just yesterday, when 2544 cases were recorded.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 984,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 32.3 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

When did the coronavirus first reach Europe and the US?: No cases were reported outside China until January 2020, but a study published on 10 September claims that cases in the US began to rise by 22 December. Many people there and in Europe suspect they had coronavirus around this time. Yet overall, the evidence suggests there were few cases outside China this early on. 

Birdsong during lockdown: If you thought birdsong sounded different during lockdown, it turns out you were probably right. The uniquely quiet circumstances of the covid-19 restrictions in San Francisco saw birds respond by lowering their pitch, singing sexier songs and making their songs clearer.

Essential information about coronavirus

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What to read, watch and listen to about coronavirus

Health Check is New Scientist’s weekly health newsletter by reporter Clare Wilson. This week she examines a new study from the only city in the world to have achieved herd immunity to the coronavirus and explores what the impact might be if the UK were to try a similar strategy.

Race Against the Virus: Hunt for a Vaccine is a Channel 4 documentary which tells the story of the coronavirus pandemic through the eyes of the scientists on the frontline.

The New York Times is assessing the progress of different vaccine candidates and potential drug treatments for covid-19, and ranking them for effectiveness and safety.

Humans of COVID-19 is a project highlighting the experiences of key workers on the frontline in the fight against coronavirus in the UK, through social media.

Coronavirus, Explained on Netflix is a short documentary series examining the on-going coronavirus pandemic, the efforts to fight it and ways to manage its mental health toll.

New Scientist Weekly features updates and analysis on the latest developments in the covid-19 pandemic. Our podcast sees expert journalists from the magazine discuss the biggest science stories to hit the headlines each week – from technology and space, to health and the environment.

The Rules of Contagion is about the new science of contagion and the surprising ways it shapes our lives and behaviour. The author, Adam Kucharski, is an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and in the book he examines how diseases spread and why they stop.

Previous updates

The new NHS Covid-19 app for England and Wales

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

24 September

NHS Covid-19 app goes live in England and Wales but testing and tracing still limited

The official test and trace app for England and Wales went live today, with more than one million downloads so far. The app uses Bluetooth technology built into smartphones to detect people nearby and alert users if any of those people later test positive for the virus. The government is urging everyone over the age of 16 to download and use the app. 

Some users have already reported issues with the app, and it does not work on some iPhone and Android smartphones, including iPhone 6 and older models. UK health minister Matt Hancock told BBC Breakfast this morning that the app would run on the “vast majority” of smartphones in the country. But there are concerns that limitations in testing and contact tracing could negate any potential benefit of the app. 

The latest NHS Test and Trace figures reveal that it is taking longer to return results for coronavirus tests in England. Only 28.2 per cent of coronavirus tests performed in community testing centres returned results within 24 hours in the week leading up to 16 September, down from 33.3 per cent in the previous week. During the same period, NHS Test and Trace reached 60.2 per cent of the contacts of people who were diagnosed with the virus, below the level of 80 per cent or more recommended by the government’s scientific advisors. 

Just 18 per cent of people in the UK report self-isolating after developing symptoms of the coronavirus and only 11 per cent say they self-isolate after being told by contact tracers that they have been in contact with a confirmed coronavirus case, according to a preliminary study by researchers at King’s College London. The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, surveyed more than 31,000 people in the UK between 2 March and 5 August.

The number of new coronavirus cases in England also went up, but less sharply than the previous week, with 19,278 people testing positive for the virus between 10 and 16 September, compared to 18,371 the week before. This small weekly increase may reflect “oddities in the reporting testing system, rather than a sudden plateau in viral cases,” said James Naismith at the University of Oxford in a statement. 

Other coronavirus news

The number of people in the UK diagnosed with common conditions – including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mental health conditions – was about 50 per cent lower than would normally have been expected between March and May this year, a study has found. The study, published in The Lancet Public Health analysed electronic health records from 47 general practices in Salford, UK, between January 2010 and May this year. The UK went into lockdown on 23 March.

United Airlines in the US is expected to become the first airline to offer rapid coronavirus testing to some of its passengers. The firm plans to conduct a trial of the programme on flights from San Francisco to Hawaii starting on 15 October, using 15-minute rapid tests supplied by US biotechnology company Abbott.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 978,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 31.9 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Testing troubles: How the UK can get its catastrophic coronavirus testing under control. 

Doctor administers a vaccine

Udom Pinyo/Getty Images

23 September

Volunteers will be deliberately infected with the coronavirus in first challenge trials

Healthy volunteers will be deliberately infected with the coronavirus to test the effectiveness of experimental coronavirus vaccines in London next year, in the world’s first human challenge trials for coronavirus. About 2000 people in the UK have volunteered to be given one of a number of experimental vaccines and then receive a dose of the coronavirus under controlled conditions. The volunteers have joined the trial, which is due to begin in January, through advocacy group 1Day Sooner. Earlier this year the group organised an open letter signed by prominent researchers including Nobel laureates, urging the US government to immediately prepare for human challenge trials. The researchers behind the trials, which are being funded by the UK government, told the Financial Times that the trials would play an important role in helping to identify the most promising vaccine candidates likely to move into clinical testing in early 2021.

Other coronavirus news

There were 6178 new coronavirus cases recorded across the UK today, the highest daily total since 1 May. Scotland recorded 486 new coronavirus cases yesterday, the highest daily figure since its epidemic began, first minister Nicola Sturgeon told a briefing today. In the Scottish city of Dundee, 500 university students have been told to self-isolate due to a suspected outbreak in a halls of residence. Meanwhile, in England, more than a million pupils were absent from school last Thursday for reasons related to covid-19, according to the nation’s Department for Education. Yesterday, the Isle of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall in England recorded its first coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.

The UK’s prime minister Boris Johnson has urged people in England to follow new rules announced yesterday aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus, warning that the government could introduce further restrictions if people fail to adhere. “If people don’t follow the rules we have set out, then we must reserve the right to go further,” Johnson said during a televised address. However, some have questioned the logic behind the new rules. “Closing down restaurants and pubs earlier will do little to stave the spread for as long as multiple different households can interchangeably meet up,” David Strain at the University of Exeter said in a statement.

The official test and trace app for England and Wales will be launched tomorrow after being trialled in Newham in London and the Isle of Wight. It will be the second iteration of the app, after the first was abandoned because it struggled to detect iPhones. There are concerns about the lack of transparency around the new app, and the government has not yet demonstrated that it is effective and ready for mass rollout, the Health Foundation charity said in a statement today.  

Germany’s contact tracing app, the Corona-Warn-App, has been used to transmit 1.2 million coronavirus test results from laboratories to users during its first 100 days, according to officials. The app has been downloaded more than 18 million times since it was first launched in June and more than 90 per cent of laboratories in the country are now connected to it.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 972,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 31.6 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Asymptomatic infection: People who have the coronavirus without symptoms appear to have similar levels of the virus in their noses and throats to people with mild symptoms, a study has found. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean they are as likely to spread covid-19 as those who are sick.

Doctor’s diary: How can we deal with the long covid-19 symptoms?

A staff member wears a face mask as she serves customers at the The Shy Horse pub and restaurant in Chessington, Greater London

BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images

22 September

New restrictions for England could last six months, UK prime minister says

People in England will be asked to work from home where possible and pubs, bars and restaurants will be required to close at 10 pm each night, under a series of new restrictions announced by UK prime minister Boris Johnson today, which come into force on Thursday. Under the new rules, which Johnson today told MPs could stay in place for six months, pubs, bars and restaurants will be restricted to table service only and face masks will be compulsory for hospitality staff and non-seated customers, as well as for retail workers and taxi drivers. In Scotland, a ban on meeting people in houses will be extended from Glasgow and its surroundings to the entire country, and bars, pubs and restaurants will have to close at 10 pm. 

Linda Bauld at the University of Edinburgh said in a statement that the new measures for England are not as stringent as might have been expected, with some of them already in place in parts of the nation under local lockdowns. “What is worrying, however, is that they will be accompanied by sticks but no carrots,” said Bauld, which she says “risks rising levels of non-compliance” among the public. Shops and hospitality businesses that fail to comply to the rules on use of face coverings, contact tracing and limits on maximum group sizes, risk closure or fines of up to £10,000. Fines for individuals not wearing face coverings or following rules will be increased from £100 to £200 for the first offence. 

Cabinet office minister Michael Gove told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that people should work from home “if you can,” a reversal of advice from the prime minister in July, when he encouraged people to go back to workplaces. 

“The urging of people to work from home if at all possible is sensible. There should never have been encouragement of people to return to their workplace,” Michael Head at the University of Southampton said in a statement. “We have already seen outbreaks linked to the office environment, and there is no reason to promote an increase in numbers of commuters travelling on public transport.”

Other coronavirus news

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has backtracked on advice it posted last week regarding airborne transmission of the coronavirus. The advice suggested the virus spreads through tiny droplets that can linger in the air. The World Health Organization acknowledges that there is some evidence that airborne transmission can occur in crowded spaces with inadequate ventilation but says the main route of coronavirus transmission is through larger droplets from coughs and sneezes, which can land on surfaces and get onto people’s hands. The CDC retracted its guidance yesterday, with a spokesperson telling CNN that a “draft version of proposed changes to these recommendations was posted in error.”

More than 200,000 people in the US have now died from covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University, the highest number for any nation. The country has recorded more than 6.8 million cases of the coronavirus.

Covid-19 was a factor in 1 per cent of all deaths registered across England and Wales in the week ending 11 September, according to the Office for National Statistics. The figure is among the lowest since March but there are concerns deaths may rise due to recent increases in cases and hospitalisations.

No new locally acquired coronavirus infections were recorded in New South Wales in Australia today for the first time in 76 days. Two infections confirmed yesterday were both returned travellers in hotel quarantine, according to local health authorities.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 965,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 31.3 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Staff at a NHS appointment only testing facility take testing kits from members of the public in Redcar, England

Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

21 September

New localised lockdown restrictions to come into force in parts of the UK tomorrow

Amid warnings from scientists that the UK’s epidemic is doubling every seven days, which could lead to 50,000 cases a day by mid-October, the UK has imposed new restrictions to try and limit the spread of coronavirus. The country’s chief medical officers also advised that the coronavirus alert level be raised from 3 to 4. According to the government’s 5-tier alert system, an alert level of 4 indicates that transmission is high or rising exponentially and warrants increased social distancing measures. The UK is currently recording around 3000 cases per day, compared to around 5000 a day at the peak of the epidemic in spring. 

Wales has now followed England in introducing additional localised coronavirus restrictions, set to come into force tomorrow. In total, at least 13.9 million people in the UK now face some form of additional local restrictions. From 6 pm tomorrow, people in Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend, Blaenau Gwent and Newport in Wales will not be allowed to leave those areas or to meet with people from other households. Restaurants, bars and pubs will be required to close from 11 pm each night. Similar restrictions will affect Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales as well as 10.9 million people in parts of north-west England, West Yorkshire and the Midlands starting tomorrow. Today, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon told journalists that additional lockdown restrictions will “almost certainly” be put in place in Scotland over the next few days as well. 

Other coronavirus news

Coronavirus restrictions will be lifted across New Zealand today, with the exception of Auckland, where some restrictions will remain in place. “Our actions collectively have managed to get the virus under control,” the country’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern told a press conference today. There are currently 62 active cases of the virus in New Zealand, 33 of which are connected to a cluster in Auckland. Rules in Auckland will be eased further on Wednesday, with a limit on gatherings to be increased from 10 to 100 people.

Strict new lockdown measures came into force in Spain’s capital Madrid today. At the weekend, thousands of people in the city’s southern district of Vallecas took to the streets to protest against the new restrictions. Under the new rules people won’t be allowed to leave the areas where they live except to go to work or for emergency medical treatment.

India’s Taj Mahal reopened today for the first time since it was closed due to the pandemic in March. Visitors will be required to adhere to strict physical distancing rules and the number of visitors will be limited to 5000 per day – a quarter of the usual rate.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 961,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 31.1 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Death toll: Most people still don’t have any level of immunity to the virus behind covid-19. But there is a growing risk that some of us are becoming immune to the enormous numbers that this pandemic is throwing out on a weekly basis. The global death toll from covid-19 is nearing 1 million. That is a number that we shouldn’t allow ourselves to become blasé about.

UK epidemic: The UK faces a “very difficult problem” of rising covid-19 deaths and cases if it does not change course, chief medical officer for England Chris Whitty has warned.

Shoppers walk past an electronic billboard displaying a UK Government advert in Newcastle, UK

OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images

18 September

UK government considering short-term national lockdown in October

The UK could face a second nation-wide lockdown in October, according UK health minister Matt Hancock. In an interview today, Hancock told Sky News that the government isn’t ruling out a short-term national lockdown in October. “We do have to recognise that the number of cases is rising and we do have to act,” he said. This comes after warnings from senior scientific advisors to the government that the UK is about six weeks behind France and Spain in terms of coronavirus cases, and can expect to see a significant increase in cases by mid-October without further intervention. France set a record for daily new coronavirus cases in the country on Thursday, recording 10,593 new cases within 24 hours, according to its health ministry.

The latest estimate of the UK’s R number – the number of people each coronavirus case infects – is between 1.1 and 1.4, up from between 1 and 1.2 the previous week and between 0.9 and 1.1 the week before, according to the latest government figures. The current number is representative of the situation two to three weeks ago due to a time-lag in the data used to model the R number. In documents released today, the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies warn that new infections in the UK may be doubling as quickly as every seven days and, according to the latest results from a random swab testing survey by the Office for National Statistics, about one in 900 people in communities in England had the virus in the week ending 10 September, up from about one in 1400 the previous week. 

Parts of north-west England, West Yorkshire and the Midlands have become the latest areas in the UK to see tightening coronavirus restrictions. Starting on Tuesday, people in these areas won’t be allowed to mix with people from other households, and pubs and restaurants will be required to shut at 10 pm each day. “It does seem ironic that after encouraging mass attendance at pubs, cafes and restaurants through ‘eat out to help out’, that we are now contemplating restricting or closing those activities down,” said Jonathan Ball at the University of Nottingham in a statement. At least 13.5 million people in the country are now facing local restrictions of some kind, including 10.9 million people in England. 

Other coronavirus news

Details on a participant in the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine trial who experienced neurological symptoms, which halted the trial in early September, have been revealed in an internal safety report by the firm. The 37 year-old woman experienced symptoms of a rare neurological condition called transverse myelitis, including pain, weakness and difficulty walking, according to the report.

Israel today became the first country to introduce a second nation-wide lockdown, with people required to stay within 500 metres of their homes, except if they are travelling to work. 

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 947,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 30.2 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

People entering Oxford Circus Station in London, England.

17 September

Steep rise in new coronavirus cases in England despite testing shortage

The weekly number of people testing positive for the coronavirus in England has risen sharply, as the country is experiencing testing shortages. Between 3 and 9 September, 18,371 people were diagnosed with covid-19, which is “a substantial increase of 167 per cent compared to the end of August,” according to NHS Test and Trace. These may be “the last reliable figures” on the state of the nation’s epidemic for some time because of the reduced availability of tests, said Daniel Lawson at the University of Bristol in a statement. 

The time for tests to be returned is also taking longer. The proportion of test results received within 24 hours fell to 14.3 per cent during the same period in September, down from 32 per cent the week before. “Tests which take many days to report and action, are of no value in suppressing the pandemic,” said James Naismith at the University of Oxford in a statement. In June, UK prime minister Boris Johnson told parliament that all coronavirus tests would be returned within 24 hours by the end of the month.  

The website for booking coronavirus tests online in the UK is struggling to cope with the growing demand for tests. An increasing number of users are reporting receiving error messages when attempting to book tests on the site.

Other coronavirus news

Today the UK government announced new restrictions affecting almost two million people in the north-east of England, where case rates are particularly high. Under the new rules, which come into force at midnight tonight, people will be banned from meeting people from other households. Restaurants, bars and pubs will also be required to close at 10 pm. Affected areas include Sunderland, where the infection rate is currently 103 per 100,000 people, as well as Newcastle, South Tyneside and Gateshead, all of which have infection rates above 70, UK health minister Matt Hancock told MPs today. “The data says that we must act now,” said Hancock. 

Europe has “alarming rates of transmission”, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned today, as it encouraged countries to stick to the recommended 14-day self-isolation period for people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus. In the UK, the recommendation is currently 10 days. Other European countries, including Portugal and Croatia, are considering reducing the length of recommended self-isolation, according to the Guardian. “Knowing the immense individual and societal impact even a slight reduction in the length of quarantine can have […] I encourage countries of the region to make scientific due process with their experts and explore safe reduction options,” Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said at a press conference.

It will take at least a year before a coronavirus vaccine becomes generally available to the US public, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield told a US Senate panel yesterday. In an interview with Fox & Friends earlier this week, US president Donald Trump said a vaccine could be ready “in a matter of weeks.”

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 942,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 29.9 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Tracking blood oxygen: Apple’s recently released Series 6 smart watch incorporates a new feature: it can measure your blood oxygen levels. The tech must have been years in the making, but the timing of its release worked well given we are in the middle of a global respiratory pandemic.

Stopping the next pandemic: Covid-19 isn’t the first pandemic humanity has faced and it won’t be the last. What has happened offers lessons about how to judge and respond to virus warnings in future.

What now?: Five scientists tell us what happens next with the covid-19 pandemic.

People queue at a coronavirus testing facility in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham

Jacob King/PA Wire/PA Images

15 September

Widespread reports of people struggling to get coronavirus tests in England

England’s coronavirus testing system is significantly overwhelmed, with many people in the nation’s 10 worst-hit coronavirus hotspots unable to get tests. People trying to book swab tests on Monday in Bolton, Salford, Bradford, Blackburn, Oldham, Preston, Pendle, Rochdale, Tameside and Manchester were told that it was not possible, according to LBC. Bolton currently has 171 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, the highest rate in England. “It seems that there are several bottlenecks in the testing procedures. These are not being made publicly available so we can only speculate that these may be limited materials for the testing process, capacity and procedural issues,” said Brendan Wren at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in a statement. “This needs to be addressed urgently, and if it is [a lab] capacity [problem] then university labs should be more widely deployed,” said Wren.

A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care told the Guardian: “It is wrong to say testing is not available in these areas, and our capacity continues to be targeted where it is needed most.” However, there have also been reports of testing shortages elsewhere. NHS Providers, a body that represents hospital trusts in England, told the BBC that NHS staff are having to self-isolate, because they are unable to get tests for themselves or their family members. 

Laboratories analysing community swab tests in England were stretched to capacity as far back as August, emails seen by the Guardian revealed today. NHS England sent an email to all NHS laboratories on 24 August calling for them to support the UK Lighthouse Labs Network, a private group of labs that has been analysing community swabs, due to a “surge in capacity.”

Other coronavirus news

A report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation warns that the coronavirus pandemic has pushed back progress on improving health around the world by “about 25 years.” The pandemic has increased poverty by 7 per cent and led to a drop in routine vaccination coverage from 84 per cent last year down to 70 per cent, according to the report. “It’s a huge setback,” Bill Gates said at a media briefing on the report’s findings today. The report also highlighted the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women, racial and ethnic minority communities and people living in extreme poverty. 

Schools in England have seen a higher absence rate among pupils this term compared to last year, according to the nation’s Department for Education. Official figures suggest 88 per cent of pupils attended school last Thursday, below the figure for the same term last year of about 95 per cent. Since schools reopened earlier this month, school leaders have warned that delays in testing are leading to year groups being sent home, the BBC reported.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 930,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 29.3 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Anti-government protesters rallying in Madrid, Spain amid the covid-19 outbreak, on September 12, 2020

Oscar Gonzalez/NurPhoto via Getty Images

14 September

New global record for daily new coronavirus cases as WHO warns of rise in deaths in Europe

A record single day increase in global coronavirus cases was recorded on Sunday with 307,930 new confirmed cases . The largest increases were in India, the US and Brazil, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO also warned that Europe can expect to see more deaths from covid-19 as soon as next month. “It’s going to get tougher. In October, November, we are going to see more mortality,” said Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, in an interview with the AFP news agency today. Cases in Europe have increased sharply over the last few weeks, with case rates highest in Spain and France. There are 270.7 cases per 100,000 people in Spain and 153.9 per 100,000 people in France, according to the latest 14-day cumulative figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. In the UK there are 51.1 cases per 100,000 people.

Other coronavirus news

Laboratory-made antibodies will be given to about 2000 covid-19 patients in UK hospitals as part of the UK’s RECOVERY trial, a large-scale clinical trial to test existing drugs as therapies for covid-19. In June, data from the RECOVERY trial provided the first evidence that a steroid drug called dexamethasone could save lives for those with severe covid-19. In the new trial of antibodies made specifically to combat the coronavirus, the first patients will be given the experimental treatment in the coming weeks. “There are lots of good reasons for thinking it might well be effective – stopping the virus from reproducing, stopping the virus from causing damage, improving survival for patients,” Martin Landray at the University of Oxford, who is co-leading the RECOVERY trial, told the BBC. “Monoclonal, or targeted, antibodies are already used to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases,” said Fiona Watt, executive chair of the Medical Research Council in the UK, in a statement. “The new trial will tell us whether antibodies that attack the virus can be an effective treatment for covid-19.”

An email seen by the BBC reveals that UK government chief scientific advisor Patrick Vallance argued that the UK’s coronavirus lockdown restrictions be imposed earlier than they actually were, and in response he was given a “telling off” from other senior officials. Vallance referred to advice given by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies on 16 March, suggesting “additional social-distancing measures” be implemented “as soon as possible.” The UK went into lockdown on 23 March, about two months after the country’s first confirmed case, which some researchers blame for the UK’s high number of coronavirus deaths.

Israel has become the first country to announce a second nationwide lockdown to begin Friday and last three weeks. It is an effort to contain a second-wave surge of new cases, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday. People will be required to stay within 500 metres of their homes, with the exception of travelling to workplaces. Schools will also be closed.

US president Donald Trump held the first indoor presidential campaign rally in months in Nevada on Sunday, despite local officials saying it violated the state’s rule limiting gatherings to 50 people. In a statement before the rally, Nevada’s governor Steve Sisolak criticised Trump’s decision saying “Now he’s decided he doesn’t have to respect our state’s laws. As usual, he doesn’t believe the rules apply to him.”

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 925,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 29 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Coronavirus family tree: Like any other biological entity, SARS-CoV-2 has a family tree. It isn’t a very old one – the virus has only been recognised since December – but it still has tales to tell.

Racism in healthcare: Covid-19 is affecting ethnic minorities more severely, but we will never understand why if we don’t collect the right data, says Alisha Dua.

Members of the public attend an NHS covid testing facility in Bolton town centre as restrictions are tightened in the area on 9 September

Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

11 September

New data suggests England’s R number could be as high as 1.7

The UK’s coronavirus epidemic is growing, according to the latest government figures. Simon Clarke at the University of Reading described this as a “massive blow to the government’s strategy to contain the spread of covid-19.” The UK’s R number – the estimated number of people each infected person goes on to infect – is between 1 and 1.2, up from between 0.9 and 1.1 last week. This data is representative of the situation two to three weeks ago, due to a time-lag in the data used to model the R, but is in line with more recent data for England from a separate study by researchers at Imperial College London, which suggests England’s R number could be as high as 1.7. 

The study, commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care, tested over 150,000 people in communities in England between 22 August and 7 September and used this to model the R number. It found that 0.13 per cent of people tested positive – equivalent to 130 per 100,000 people in the population. The latest results from a random swab testing survey by the Office for National Statistics also indicate an increase in infections in communities in England and Wales in recent weeks.

The rise in cases “suggests that the recent uptick in cases is not just because of greater testing,” said Clarke in a statement. “It’s likely that the coronavirus is circulating more freely out in the community again, meaning we are likely to need greater restrictions on our lives to push the transmission rate back down again.”

Other coronavirus news

A new coronavirus contact tracing app will go live across England and Wales on 24 September, the government announced today. The new app will allow people to scan QR codes to register visits to bars and restaurants and will use Apple and Google’s method for detecting other smartphones nearby. The UK government was previously forced to abandon development of an earlier app, built on different technology, due to its inability to recognise a significant proportion of Apple and Android devices. Scotland’s app, Protect Scotland, went live yesterday.

Birmingham in England is being put under a local lockdown due to a spike in cases. The city now has the second highest rate of coronavirus infection in England, after Bolton. There were 85.4 cases per 100,000 people in Birmingham during the week ending 7 September, up from 32 in the previous week. People in Birmingham will no longer be allowed to meet with other households.

India has recorded the highest number of daily new coronavirus cases in a single country since the pandemic began, with 96,551 cases recorded in the country on Thursday.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 910,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 28.2 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Reports of reinfection: In recent weeks, the first confirmed reports of people who have been re-infected with the coronavirus have begun to trickle in. Such cases suggest that, in some people at least, the immune system doesn’t develop lasting protection against the virus. How worried should we be?

An adult singer from the York Minster Choir walks to rehearse ahead of a performance in York, England.

Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

10 September

Latest figures show significant jump in weekly coronavirus cases in England

The number of people who tested positive for the coronavirus in England was 9864 in the week ending 2 September, up 47 per cent from 6732 in the previous week, according to the latest figures from NHS Test and Trace. It’s the highest number of weekly positive cases recorded since the system was launched in May. During the same week, NHS Test and Trace only managed to reach 69.2 per cent of the contacts of people diagnosed with the virus in England – below the target of 80 per cent or more recommended by government scientific advisors to limit infections from spreading. 

Public health specialists have raised concerns about the feasibility of government plans announced yesterday to spend £100 billion on expanding testing to 10 million tests per day by early 2021. Chaand Nagpaul, council chairman of the British Medical Association told the BBC it is unclear how these tests will work, given the “huge problems” with lab capacity. Sarah-Jane Marsh, director for testing at NHS Test and Trace apologised for the problems with the testing scheme earlier this week. Even if testing can be expanded, concerns remain about accuracy and contact tracing capacity. Transport secretary Grant Shapps told BBC Breakfast this morning that the technology to carry out the plan doesn’t currently exist.

Other coronavirus news

US president Donald Trump admitted to playing down the threat posed by the coronavirus in March, during an interview with journalist Bob Woodward revealed in his forthcoming book. “I wanted to always play it down,” Trump told Woodward on 19 March. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.” Trump also acknowledged the virus was “more deadly than even your strenuous flu” as early as February – a time when he was publicly saying the virus was less of a concern than the flu.

AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot today told an online briefing he is hopeful that the company’s coronavirus vaccine candidate could be ready for global distribution in the first half of 2021. Trials of the vaccine, which is being developed in partnership with the University of Oxford, were put on hold yesterday after a participant developed neurological symptoms. An independent safety committee is currently reviewing data on the affected participant, said Soriot. 

Scotland’s Test and Protect system, the nation’s equivalent to NHS Test and Trace in England, today released its Protect Scotland app, which alerts people if they have been in close contact with someone who later tests positive for the coronavirus. Like Northern Ireland’s app, Scotland’s new app was built using the toolkit provided by Apple and Google. England doesn’t yet have a widely available equivalent app but has been testing a similar one on the Isle of Wight and in the London borough of Newham over the past month, after abandoning development of an NHS Covid-19 app built on different technology, due to its inability to recognise 96 per cent of Apple phones and 25 per cent of Google Android devices.

University students in England may be required to stay in their student accommodation and avoid visiting their family homes in the event of local coronavirus outbreaks, according to new guidance published by the UK Department for Education today. Students with covid-19 symptoms should “self-isolate in their current accommodation”, the guidance says. It also suggests that universities group students living in halls of residence into “households” that include all of those living on the same floor or sharing communal facilities, potentially including as many as 30 students. The guidelines add that private gatherings, including those within student households, must still be limited to a maximum of six people.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 905,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 27.9 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Coronavirus and flu: Doctors are fretting about concurrent outbreaks of flu and covid-19 but some virologists are worrying about another scenario: a Frankenvirus. Could the coronavirus merge with another virus to create a new threat?

A general view of analytical chemists at AstraZeneca headquarters in Sydney

DAN HIMBRECHTS/AAP/PA Images

9 September

UK government plans to expand coronavirus testing to 10 million tests a day

The UK government plans to carry out 10 million coronavirus tests per day by early 2021, according to documents obtained by the BMJ. Currently, the UK’s testing capacity is 350,000 per day. As part of the new plan, £100 billion will go towards the expansion of the country’s testing programme, the documents revealed, and GSK and AstraZeneca are among firms named for supplying tests and laboratory capacity respectively. 

Martin McKee at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told the BMJ the plan is too optimistic and disregards “enormous problems with the existing testing and tracing programmes.” NHS Test and Trace in particular has been criticised for its repeated failure to reach a sufficient proportion of the contacts of people who test positive for the virus in England. Between 28 May and 26 August, the scheme reached 78.5 per cent of the contacts of people diagnosed in England – below the target of 80 per cent or more recommended by government scientific advisors. 

Jon Meeks, a biostatistician at the University of Birmingham who reviewed the documents for the BMJ, tweeted that the documents “show a severe lack of science or reality. No consideration of harms that screening us all would create.” In the BMJ he raised the problem of false positives: “If you test 60 million people [with a 99% accurate test] we will be classifying a group the size of the population of Sheffield as wrongly having covid.”

Other coronavirus news

Advanced trials of one of the most promising coronavirus vaccine candidates have been put on hold after a participant became ill in the UK. Drug firm AstraZeneca, which is developing the vaccine in partnership with the University of Oxford, has voluntarily paused the trials. This is standard procedure in vaccine development, and allows time for the researchers to determine the cause of the illness and ensure the safety of participants. AstraZeneca described the action as “routine” in a statement to STAT. The vaccine candidate has already passed preliminary trials, and is now undergoing phase II and III trials involving approximately 30,000 participants in the US as well as in the UK, Brazil and South Africa. These larger trials are designed to test whether it can prevent people from becoming infected with the coronavirus or getting ill with covid-19, as well as assessing long term safety.

Social gatherings in England will be limited to a maximum of six people from Monday 14 September, in an effort to tackle a recent spike in coronavirus cases. People will not be allowed to gather in groups larger than six either indoors or outdoors, with the exception of gatherings in schools, workplaces and some events such as weddings and funerals. UK health minister Matt Hancock told the BBC today that the new rule is “super simple” and will be “enforced by the police.” People could be fined between £100 and £3200 for violating the rule, he said. “We’ve seen in other countries around the world where they don’t take action then you end up with this second peak, resulting in more hospitalisations and more deaths, and we don’t want to see that here,” said Hancock.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 898,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 27.6 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Severe symptoms: An out-of-control human peptide called bradykinin could be responsible for some of the varied and sometimes deadly symptoms seen in people who have contracted the coronavirus. We already have drugs to control bradykinin, which are being tested as treatments for people with covid-19.

People walk on the street in central Bolton, Greater Manchester

Jon Super/Xinhua/PA Images

8 September

New restrictions could be introduced across England due to surge in cases 

The government could tighten restrictions on people meeting in England following the recent spike in coronavirus cases. According to several reports, the government could reduce the number of people allowed to meet outdoors to six, down from the current limit of 30. Restrictions on how many people can meet indoors may also become tighter, according to Sky News. Under current guidelines, only two households can congregate indoors. 

England’s deputy chief medical officer, Jonathan Van-Tam, said the new wave of cases was because “people have relaxed too much.” Today, 2420 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the UK, down from 2948 on Monday but still high compared to daily figures in recent months. John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies told ITV that the UK as a whole is in a “risky period” because the country’s R number – the number of people each infected person goes on to infect – has risen above 1. An R number higher than 1 means that an epidemic is growing. 

Some measures are already tightening in some parts of the UK, including Bolton, in Greater Manchester. The town currently has the highest case rate in the country, with 120 cases of the virus per 100,000 people. Pubs and restaurants there will now have to be take-away only and stay closed between 10 pm and 5 am, UK health minister Matt Hancock announced today. The current guidance, which says people should not socialise with those from a different household, will be made legally binding, he told MPs. The number of people allowed to visit hospitals and care homes will also be reduced under the new measures. “The rise in cases in Bolton is partly due to socialising by people in their 20s and 30s. We know this from contact tracing,” said Hancock, adding “we’ve identified a number of pubs at which the virus has spread significantly.” 

Other coronavirus news

Amid increasing reports of people being told to attend drive-through testing centres hundreds of kilometres away from their homes, the director of testing for NHS Test and Trace, Sarah-Jane Marsh, tweeted an apology today to people in England who haven’t been able to get tested for the coronavirus. Marsh described laboratory processing as “the critical pinch-point” and said “we are doing all we can to expand quickly.” Last month researchers warned that the UK would probably face a second wave of coronavirus infections in winter if the country’s testing and contact tracing system didn’t improve by September.

There were 101 deaths from covid-19 in England and Wales during the week ending 28 August, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. This is down from 138 deaths in the previous week and is also the lowest number of deaths from the disease recorded since the week ending 13 March.

A school in Nottinghamshire in England has been forced to close after its head teacher was admitted to hospital with covid-19. Pupils and staff at Trowell Primary School have been told to stay home and self-isolate until 21 September. In the week since pupils returned to classrooms, coronavirus outbreaks have been reported at dozens of schools in England and Wales. Across Liverpool, an estimated 200 pupils are self-isolating after positive covid-19 cases at five schools, while five teachers at a school in Suffolk have tested positive.Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 897,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 27.3 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

What is a vaccine and how do they work?: The latest video in our new YouTube series, Science with Sam, explains how vaccines work by training your immune system to recognise viruses and bacteria. We also take a look at the unprecedented worldwide effort to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus, and consider the challenges involved in making, testing and distributing covid-19 vaccines.

People undertake a coronavirus test at a walk-in test facility in Bolton, UK, September 7, 2020

Phil Noble/REUTERS

7 September

The UK recorded its highest number of daily new cases since May on Sunday

There were 2948 new coronavirus cases confirmed in the UK today, down slightly from the 2988 new cases confirmed on Sunday, which marked the highest daily increase in cases recorded in the country since 23 May. “This is especially concerning for a Sunday when report numbers are generally lower than most other days of the week,” said Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia in a statement. “Sadly it is beginning to look like we are moving into a period of exponential growth in the UK epidemic and if so we can expect further increases over coming weeks,” said Hunter.

UK health minister Matt Hancock yesterday expressed concern about the rise in cases, which he said were largely among people under 25, especially those between 17 and 21. “Of course younger people can pass on the disease to their grandparents and we do not want to see that,” Hancock said yesterday. In France and Spain, rises in infections among younger adults in August were followed by higher numbers of hospital admissions for older and more vulnerable people in subsequent weeks. “It’s concerning because we’ve seen a rise in cases in France, in Spain, in some other countries across Europe, and nobody wants to see a second wave here,” Hancock said today.

Hancock’s concerns about younger people transmitting the virus to more vulnerable groups are shared by the government’s scientific advisors. A report endorsed by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies published last week warns there is a significant risk that reopening universities could amplify local and national transmission, adding that “it is highly likely that there will be significant outbreaks.” Because of the higher proportion of asymptomatic cases among younger age groups, cases and outbreaks are also likely to be harder to detect among student populations, says the report.

Other coronavirus news

India confirmed 90,632 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, the country’s health ministry reported on Sunday, setting a new global record for the number of infections recorded in a single country in one day. India has confirmed more than 4.2 million cases since the pandemic began, the second-highest number for any country after the US.

The Tokyo Olympic Games will take place next year “with or without covid”, according to John Coates, vice-president of the International Olympic Committee. Previously, the committee said they would cancel the Games scheduled for July 2021 if necessary. 

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 889,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 27.1 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Keeping schools safe: There is wide agreement that schools must reopen, and stay open. Achieving this is fraught with unknowns, however. Although it seems that children are less likely to transmit and get sick from the coronavirus, we don’t know why that is the case. Should an outbreak occur, pupils’ families and school staff could still be at risk. In order to keep schools safe, governments must be prepared to shut down other areas of society to keep overall levels of virus transmission low.

Sputnik V, Gamaleya National Center

THE RUSSIAN DIRECT INVESTMENT FUND

4 September

Russia’s vaccine candidate produced antibody and T-cell responses in early-stage trial

A preliminary trial of Russia’s coronavirus vaccine candidate Sputnik V suggests it is safe and induces an immune response. The vaccine was approved by Russian authorities last month, before any data had been made public or a large-scale trial had begun. In the preliminary trial, it was tested in a small group of 76 healthy volunteers. All the volunteers developed coronavirus-specific antibodies and T-cells, and none experienced serious adverse reactions, according to results published in The Lancet today. However, it still isn’t clear whether the vaccine protects people from becoming infected with the coronavirus or from getting ill. This will be investigated through phase III testing, which is already underway, and which is expected to include 40,000 people across Russia. 

Some researchers are concerned that vaccine developers may come under political pressure to release doses of the vaccine for administration to the general public, before phase III testing is complete. “A vaccine should not be used to short-cut the implementation of public health interventions that are already known to be safe and effective, until the vaccine itself has been shown to be safe and effective,” said Eleanor Riley at the University of Edinburgh, in a statement. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) today said it does not expect widespread coronavirus vaccination until mid-2021. “We are not expecting to see widespread vaccination until the middle of next year,” said WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris at a briefing in Geneva. Harris said phase III trials will need to go on long enough to determine how “truly protective” and safe a given vaccine candidate is.

Other coronavirus news

Preliminary findings from a study by Public Health England found low rates of coronavirus infection among children and teachers in pre-school and primary school. Researchers took swabs from more than 12,000 children and teachers across 131 primary schools in England in June and early July, and detected only three cases of the virus. Ravindra Gupta at the University of Cambridge said the findings are not surprising, since limited numbers of children were attending schools in England during this time period. “We must not be complacent and falsely reassured,” said Gupta in a statement. “From September there will be more children, more mixing, more crowding and over winter less time will be spent outdoors,” he said, adding that there will be less chance to socially distance in schools in the coming months than it was possible to do in June.

New Zealand has recorded its first death from covid-19 since 28 May. A man in Auckland died after being admitted to hospital. His death is the first connected to a recent outbreak in the city, including 152 cases.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 870,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 26.3 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Social distancing: Computer scientists have used a database of public cameras to keep track of how well people are adhering to social distancing guidelines.

A medical worker takes a swab to test for the coronavirus at a drive-in testing facility

ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images

3 September

New funding announced for trials of rapid new coronavirus tests in the UK

The UK government today announced £500 million worth of funding for trials of rapid coronavirus tests, including recently developed swab and saliva tests that can be performed in 90 minutes or less. The trials will also include community pilots investigating the effectiveness of repeat testing in schools and among the general population. “We are backing innovative new tests that are fast, accurate and easier to use and will maximise the impact and scale of testing, helping us to get back to a more normal way of life,” UK health minister Matt Hancock said in a statement today. 

Having quicker tests could help speed up the identification of infected people and the tracing of their close contacts. But having a rapid test is “useless” if contacts can’t be identified because the tracing system is overwhelmed, Joshua Moon at the University of Sussex said in a statement. NHS Test and Trace has been criticised for its repeated failure to reach a sufficient proportion of the contacts of people who test positive for the coronavirus in England. According to the latest figures, 78.5 per cent of the contacts of people diagnosed with the virus in England were reached by NHS Test and Trace between 28 May and 26 August – below the target of 80 per cent or more recommended by government scientific advisors.

Other coronavirus news

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has notified states to prepare for the roll-out of a coronavirus vaccine within two months. “Limited covid-19 vaccine doses may be available by early November 2020,” according to CDC documents first published by the New York Times.  And in a letter to governors on 27 August, first obtained by McClatchy, CDC director Robert Redfield wrote: “CDC urgently requests your assistance in expediting applications for [vaccine] distribution facilities and, if necessary, asks that you consider waiving requirements that would prevent these facilities from becoming fully operational by November 1, 2020.” But public health researchers are concerned that the move is being driven less by evidence and instead by a political effort to rush a vaccine before the November election. Michael Osterholm at the University of Minnesota told the Associated Press that “the public health community wants a safe and effective vaccine as much as anybody […] but the data have to be clear and compelling.”

Pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi will start testing their protein-based coronavirus vaccine candidate in humans for the first time, to assess its safety and ability to induce an immune response. If this and subsequent trials are successful, the companies have said they could be requesting regulatory approval in the first half of next year. 

A surge in demand for coronavirus tests has left the UK struggling to keep up. Some people with symptoms who tried to book coronavirus swab tests online told the BBC they were directed to testing centres more than 100 miles away from their homes. This could act as a “big disincentive to being tested”, Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia told the BBC, potentially limiting efforts to contain localised spikes in cases.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 864,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 26 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Pharmacist holding packs of dexamethasone anti-inflammatory steroid tablets.

LEWIS HOUGHTON / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

2 September

Steroid drugs that reduce inflammation found to save lives from severe covid-19

A group of drugs that reduce inflammation have been confirmed to increase survival in people with severe covid-19. In a landmark study bringing together all the trials done so far looking at the effect of steroids on coronavirus, researchers in the World Health Organization (WHO) REACT working group analysed results from seven randomised clinical trials, which included 1703 critically ill patients with covid-19. They compared the outcomes of those who had received one of three corticosteroid drugs – dexamethasone, hydrocortisone or methylprednisolone – with those who received standard care or a placebo. The researchers found that 32 per cent of those who received a corticosteroid treatment had died from the disease after 28 days, compared to 40 per cent of those who did not. 

“The evidence for benefit is strongest for dexamethasone,” Stephen Evans at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said in a statement. These new results, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, add weight to earlier findings from the RECOVERY trial, which found that dexamethasone reduced deaths in critically ill covid-19 patients by a third for patients on ventilators and by a fifth for those receiving oxygen – the first drug shown to do so. “This analysis increases confidence that [dexamethasone] has a really worthwhile role in critically ill patients with covid-19,” Evans said. As a result of the study, the WHO is expected to update its guidance on treatment. In the UK, the drug has been in use for treating severely ill covid-19 patients since June.

Other coronavirus news

The US will not take part in a global initiative to develop and distribute a future coronavirus vaccine, because of its association with the WHO. More than 170 countries are participating in the initiative, called COVAX, which is working to ensure the equitable and fair global allocation of a potential vaccine. “We will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization and China,” White House spokesperson Judd Deere said in a statement. The US is due to withdraw from the WHO entirely next July – a move Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has vowed to reverse if he is elected in November.

Coronavirus restrictions have been eased in parts of Greater Manchester, Lancashire and West Yorkshire in England, with the exceptions of Bolton and Trafford in Greater Manchester. The government today announced that restrictions on meetings between different households indoors in these areas, which were also due to be lifted today, would now remain in place due to increasing infection rates. Bolton currently has one of the highest rates of new virus cases in England, with 59 cases per 100,000 people in the week ending 29 August. Similar restrictions have also been introduced in the Glasgow area in Scotland, which has seen a rise in cases over the last two days.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 858,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 25.8 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Schools reopening: Schools across England and the US are about to reopen their doors to students who have been at home for months thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. What is the best way to keep children, and school staff and parents, safe?

Face coverings in schools: Should children returning to school wear face coverings? Official advice on this has evolved during the pandemic.

Oxford vaccine: A large trial of a coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford has begun in the US. With similar trials already under way in the UK and Brazil, hopes are rising that we could find out if the vaccine works before the end of the year.

Pupils wash their hands as they arrive on the first day back to school at Charles Dickens Primary School in London

Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire/PA Images

1 September

Pupils around the world return to schools with new coronavirus measures in place

Millions of pupils returned to school today for the first time since coronavirus lockdowns were introduced, including pupils in France, Poland, Russia, England and Wales as well as in Wuhan in China, where the coronavirus was first detected. Schools in England and Wales have introduced hygiene and social distancing measures in line with recently updated government guidance, including wearing of face coverings by pupils in communal areas and staggering of break times for different year groups. But a survey of 653 parents in these regions by YouGov revealed that 17 per cent were considering keeping their children out of school due to concerns about coronavirus. 

UK schools minister Nick Gibb today urged parents to send their children back to school. Doing so would “help them catch up on the lost education they’ll inevitably have suffered in the lockdown period,” he told the BBC Breakfast show. A survey of thousands of teachers by the National Foundation for Educational Research suggests that children in England are three months behind in their studies following lockdown, and that the estimated learning gap between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils has risen by 46 per cent. 98 per cent of the teachers in the survey, which was conducted at the end of the last school year in July, said their pupils were further behind in the curriculum than they should have been at the time.

Other coronavirus news

The UK’s prime minister Boris Johnson today told MPs that people in the UK were returning to the office in “huge numbers”, although no evidence has emerged to support the claim. A spokesperson for Johnson told the Huffington Post “people will be returning to the office after the summer break and also children going back to school gives parents some added flexibility.” The UK government’s campaign to encourage people to return to offices launched today. But in a recent survey of more than 6000 workers who have been working from home due to the pandemic, nine out of 10 said they would like to continue to do so.

Pharmaceutical giant Astrazeneca has expanded its agreement with UK company Oxford Biomedica to scale up production of its coronavirus vaccine candidate. Oxford Biomedica has agreed to produce tens of millions of doses of the vaccine candidate, which is being developed by AstraZeneca in partnership with the University of Oxford. The candidate recently entered late-stage trials in the US, with 30,000 people enrolled. In a statement, AstraZeneca said its global manufacturing capacity was close to 3 billion doses.

Although there has been an increase in the use of face coverings in the UK, only 13 per cent of people who wear reusable face masks are maintaining them in a way that is helpful to stopping the spread of coronavirus, according to a poll of 1944 people by YouGov. The survey found that the use of face coverings in the UK increased from 38 per cent to 69 per cent from mid to late July. However, only 13 per cent of people who said they wear washable face masks also said they wash them after every use and at 60 degrees C or higher.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 851,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 25.5 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Immune response: Throughout the coronavirus pandemic there have been fierce debates over the science – when to lock down, whether face coverings help and whether children are less susceptible, for example. The latest row is over whether we have been ignoring a crucial part of our immune response to the virus: T-cells.

Children wait outside the school gate in Johannesburg, South Africa.

KIM LUDBROOK/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

28 August

Children are at “strikingly low” risk of getting severely ill from coronavirus

Children are much less likely to get severe covid-19 than adults, and it is very rare for them to die from it, according to a UK study that was published in the BMJ today. The study tracked 651 under-18s admitted to hospital with coronavirus between January and July in England, Scotland and Wales. Six children died, 1 per cent of the total, and they had all had other severe illnesses before the virus struck, some of which were themselves life-limiting. The authors say this is a “strikingly low” death rate compared with 27 per cent for all ages in the population as a whole over the same time period. The findings are in line with previous similar research. Young people make up 1 to 2 per cent of cases of covid-19 worldwide, although it’s not clear why they seem to be less affected.

“There have been no deaths in otherwise healthy school-age children,” Calum Semple at the University of Liverpool told the BBC. “There is no direct harm from children going back to school,” he said. The findings come as some UK schools have been reopening for all their pupils for the first time since lockdown in March, with most schools in England due to be back by next week.

Other coronavirus news

The UK has announced plans for quickly immunising large numbers of people if a coronavirus vaccine is developed before winter. They involve allowing a wider range of healthcare staff to give shots, such as midwives, physiotherapists and dentists, as well as pharmacists, who already administer flu vaccines. It also grants powers to approve any vaccine that is proven safe and effective before the end of the year to the Medicines Healthcare Regulatory Agency. This body will become responsible for approving all drugs and vaccines from the start of 2021 once the UK’s Brexit transition period is over.

Schools reopening in the US have found Legionnaires’ disease bacteria in their water supply, which can cause deadly pneumonia. The Legionella microbe was found in the water supply of five schools in Ohio and four in Pennsylvania last week, and experts say it could be in more.

The World Health Organization is trying to get more countries to join Covax, its coronavirus vaccine allocation scheme, according to documents seen by Reuters. The WHO plan would see countries pooling funds so that if one vaccine succeeds, all participants will get a fair allocation. But the UN agency has struggled to get enough richer nations on board. Countries including the UK, the US and Japan have made their own deals with manufacturers developing vaccines, securing millions of doses for their own citizens. 

Several large US states have said they will not follow official federal policy to stop testing people who think they have been exposed to the coronavirus but who do not have symptoms. In a rebuke to the new testing policy announced by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), California, Texas, Florida, New York and four other states have said they will continue with the old regime. The CDC’s move provoked claims that it was a politically motivated move to lower the number of people testing positive ahead of the 2020 election.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 832,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 24.5 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Internet outage slows covid-19 contact tracing: Health officials were unable to trace and isolate the contacts of thousands of people who tested positive for the coronavirus in England until up to a week later.

A woman walks past chairs painted with the colours of the Tour de France leaders’ jerseys on the seafront in Nice, France

ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images

27 August

WHO warns Europe is entering “tricky moment” as coronavirus cases climb

As some European countries have continued to report growth in covid-19 cases, governments are responding by tightening up restrictions and safety measures. France reported 5429 daily cases today, up from 3776 a week ago, and Italy counted 1366 cases, its biggest daily increase in more than three months and up against 642 a week ago. Daily numbers in other major European countries are relatively stable, with Spain at 7296, Germany at 1507 and the UK at 1048.

The French prime minister Jean Castex warned the country had seen an “undeniable surge” of cases and the epidemic “could become exponential”, with cases rising as quickly as they did in the early days of the pandemic. The virus is now circulating in 20 of the country’s 101 “departments”, up from two previously. With France’s reproduction number – the average number of people one infected person will likely infect – now at 1.4, Castex said masks will become mandatory in Paris. The 21-day Tour de France will still go ahead this Saturday.

The German government today rejected calls to relax restrictions, with a leaked plan saying private parties will be limited to 25 people and the anticipated end of a ban on large public gatherings in October will instead be extended to the end of the year.

Hans Kluge at the World Health Organization said today that Europe is entering a “tricky moment” as schools reopen across the continent, though he stressed that schools had not been a “main contributor” to the epidemic. Asked by New Scientist at a press conference today if European countries’ responses to growing cases this week are commensurate with keeping the virus in check, Maria van Kerkhove at the WHO said: “What we are seeing is countries applying different measures. What we are seeing are targeted, tailored approaches. Hopefully these are time-bound.” On measures such as mandating face coverings and limiting the size of gatherings, she said: “All of these are different tools that may need to be applied. I think what we’re seeing is this calibration, of putting in efforts to suppress transmission to keep it at a low level while allowing societies to open up. This is one of the critical things we are all trying to figure out now.”

Other coronavirus news

The number of patients getting heart disease services at hospitals in the US and UK dropped by more than half during the countries’ lockdown, researchers have found. Writing in the journal Open Heart, they warned cardiology departments need to be prepared for a “significant increase in workload” in the coming months as a result.

In the UK, government statistics today show that three months after the launch of England’s contact tracing scheme, it is still falling short of reaching 80 per cent of close contacts of people who have tested positive for covid-19, the level the government’s scientific advisers say is needed. Three quarters of close contacts were reached between 13-19 August. Nearly 300,000 people have been reached since the system’s launch.

Separately, anyone in the UK on a low income who needs to self-isolate for 10 days and cannot work from home will be eligible to get £13 a day from the government in areas affected by local outbreaks, health secretary Matt Hancock said today.

A drug used to help cats with another coronavirus has been found to show promise in tackling the current coronavirus outbreak. The drug, GC376, and its parent, GC373, are “strong drug candidates for the treatment of human coronavirus infections because they have already been successful in animals,” the team write in Nature Communications. Here’s the New Scientist guide to all the latest on covid-19 treatments.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 826,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 24 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Is the rush to roll out a coronavirus vaccine undermining safety? Some shortcuts are being taken in the race to get a coronavirus vaccine approved, but there are also more resources, openness and scrutiny than ever before.

Pupils in Glasgow, Scotland return to school after lockdown on 12 August

Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

26 August

Face coverings will now be mandatory for secondary school pupils in areas of England under lockdown 

Secondary school pupils in areas of England under local lockdowns will now be required to wear face coverings in all communal areas except classrooms, after the government reversed its guidance last night. The government has been under mounting pressure from headteachers to adopt a stricter policy on the use of face coverings ahead of schools reopening next month. Within coronavirus hotspots, “it probably does make sense in confined areas outside the classroom to use a face covering in the corridor and elsewhere,” UK prime minister Boris Johnson told journalists today, citing recently updated World Health Organization guidelines. The new rule won’t apply to schools in areas that aren’t under lockdown, although head teachers in any secondary school will have the flexibility to introduce their own rules. In Wales, the decision on the use of face coverings in schools will be left to individual schools and councils.

Other coronavirus news

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been criticised for changing its guidelines on coronavirus testing to say that some people without symptoms may not require a test, even if they have been in contact with someone who tested positive for the virus. The change has not been explained by CDC leaders. Leana Wen, a doctor and public health professor at George Washington University, told CNN, “These are exactly the people who should be tested,” as they are key to contact tracing.

Fewer than 40,000 cases were confirmed in the US yesterday and daily new coronavirus cases there have been falling, after peaking on 22 July at about 70,000, though this may be due to insufficient testing. The total number of tests administered has fallen from an average of more than 820,000 per day in mid-August to about 690,000 per day in the last week or so.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 820,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 23.9 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Vaccine race: Some shortcuts are being taken in the race to get a coronavirus vaccine approved, but there are also more resources, openness and scrutiny than ever before.

Face coverings: Do you get angry when you see someone without a face covering? They might have a good reason to avoid one, even if it isn’t obvious.

Father and two children walking to school wearing face masks

Sally Anscombe/Getty Images

25 August

UK government under pressure to review policy on face coverings in schools in England

There is growing pressure on the UK government to review its policy on the wearing of face coverings in schools in England, after the Scottish government today announced that secondary school pupils will have to wear them in communal areas from Monday. Public Health England’s current guidance, issued in July, doesn’t recommend the use of face coverings in schools. The Association of School and College Leaders – a headteachers’ union in the UK – has criticised the lack of clarity around the rules on whether teachers and pupils can wear face coverings in schools in England. “The guidance is silent on what schools should do if staff or pupils want to wear face coverings,” the union’s general secretary, Geoff Barton told the BBC. During a visit to the south-west of England today, UK prime minister Boris Johnson said the government is continuing to look at the changing medical evidence, adding “if we need to change the advice then of course we will.” The Welsh government has said it will review its position on face coverings in schools. 

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization issued new guidance saying that children above age 12 should wear face masks in line with recommended practice for adults in the place where they live. Recent outbreaks in Scotland “reinforce the idea that covid-19 transmission in schools is potentially substantial”, said Rowland Kao at the University of Edinburgh in a statement. “Should masks be adopted, their use must be accompanied by awareness of the need for good mask hygiene and regular handwashing.”

Other coronavirus news

Two more patients have been reported to have been reinfected with the coronavirus, one in the Netherlands and another in Belgium. Yesterday, researchers at the University of Hong Kong announced that they had documented the first case of coronavirus reinfection. “That someone would emerge with a reinfection, that doesn’t make me nervous,” Marion Koopmans at Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands told Dutch broadcaster NOS. “We have to see whether this happens more often.” 

Coronavirus cases in Spain are continuing to surge, with 175.7 cases per 100,000 people, according to the latest 14-day cumulative figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. This is compared to 62.8 cases per 100,000 people in France and 22.5 cases per 100,000 people in the UK. Unions in Madrid last week warned that the primary care system was “on the edge of collapse” due to lack of staff and capacity for testing.

People living in the Gaza Strip have been put under a lockdown after local authorities confirmed the first locally acquired cases of the coronavirus. A 48-hour lockdown went into effect on Monday evening across the territory.

Bali in Indonesia will not reopen to foreign tourists this year due to concerns about rising coronavirus cases.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 814,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 23.6 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Less deadly in Europe: It is becoming increasingly clear that people are less likely to die if they get covid-19 now compared with earlier in the pandemic, at least in Europe, but the reasons why are still shrouded in uncertainty.

Plasma treatment: Blood plasma donated by people who have recovered from covid-19 will be used as a treatment for the infection in the US. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted an emergency use authorisation for the treatment on 23 August, but the evidence that it works is lacking.

First case of reinfection: A healthy 33-year-old man is the first person confirmed to have caught the coronavirus twice, according to unpublished research from the University of Hong Kong. As details of the case emerge, researchers say there is still much we don’t know.

Hong Kong residents receive free covid-19 test kits

MIGUEL CANDELA/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

24 August

Researchers say they have detected the first case of coronavirus reinfection

Researchers at the University of Hong Kong say they have documented the first case of a person being reinfected with the coronavirus. The team analysed virus samples taken from a man when he first tested positive for the coronavirus in late March, and again when he tested positive for a second time in mid-August. They discovered several differences in the sequences of the virus from the first and second infections, suggesting the man had been infected with two separate strains of the virus, rather than one long-lasting infection. Their findings have been accepted for publication in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal.

What will the discovery mean for the dozens of vaccine candidates being developed to protect people against the coronavirus? It may indicate that being infected with the virus doesn’t necessarily protect people against future infections, said David Strain at the University of Exeter in a statement. “Vaccinations work by simulating infection to the body, thereby allowing the body to develop antibodies. If antibodies don’t provide lasting protection, we will need to revert to a strategy of viral near-elimination in order to return to a more normal life,” says Strain. But Brendan Wren at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said it is important to take these results into context: “This is a very rare example of reinfection and it should not negate the global drive to develop covid-19 vaccines.”

Other coronavirus news

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Sunday issued emergency use authorisation for convalescent plasma as a treatment for severe covid-19. This is drawn from people who have recovered from infection with the coronavirus and contains antibodies to fight the virus. In a statement the FDA said that “the known and potential benefits of the [treatment] outweigh the known and potential risks.” More than 70,000 people in the US have received convalescent plasma as a treatment for covid-19 since March, through a programme run by the Mayo Clinic. FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn said studies have found a 35 per cent improvement in survival for covid-19 patients given the plasma.

At least 17 staff and pupils at a school in Dundee have tested positive for the coronavirus less than two weeks after pupils returned to schools in Scotland. Kingspark school closed last Wednesday and pupils have been told to self-isolate until 3 September. Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon today announced that secondary school pupils in Scotland may be advised to wear face coverings, in light of new guidance from the World Health Organization. Schools in England are due to reopen in September, but a spokesperson for the prime minister today said there are no plans to review the current guidance in England for the wearing of face coverings in schools.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 809,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 23.4 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Australia’s second wave: Australia’s second wave of the coronavirus appears to be finally subsiding, but the country isn’t out of the woods yet.

Vaccine technology: Prevention is better than cure, so we should start using genetic techniques to stop dangerous animal diseases jumping to humans, say Scott Nuismer and James Bull.

Commuters arrive for work at Victoria Station in London

Alex Lentati/LNP/Shutterstock

21 August

Coronavirus R number in UK rises slightly but infections appear to be levelling off

In the UK, the latest estimate for the R number, the number of people each coronavirus case infects, has risen to between 0.9 and 1.1, up slightly from 0.8 to 1.0 the previous week. However, due to a time lag in the data used to model the R number, this is more representative of the situation two to three weeks ago. Estimates for the infection growth rates range between -3 and 1 per cent. This suggests infections in the UK are levelling off on average, in a continuation of the trend observed over the last few weeks. This is consistent with the latest results from the random swab testing survey by the Office for National Statistics, which suggests about 24,600 people in England – 1 in 2200 – had the virus in the week ending 13 August, compared to 28,300 people – 1 in 1900 – in the week ending 9 August

Local coronavirus restrictions in place in parts of northern England will be lifted on Saturday. People from two different households in Wigan in Greater Manchester and Rossendale and Darwen in Lancashire will now be allowed to meet in homes and gardens. But restrictions will remain in place in some other parts of Greater Manchester and Lancashire, as well as in parts of West Yorkshire and in Leicester. Oldham, which had the highest rate of infections in the UK last week at 103.1 cases per 100,000 people, has avoided the introduction of restrictions but will be subjected to “a more targeted intervention”, according to the Department of Health and Social Care. 

Other coronavirus news

Travellers arriving in the UK from Croatia, Austria and Trinidad and Tobago will be required to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival, starting at 4.00 am on Saturday, UK transport minister Grant Shapps announced yesterday. There are currently 47.2 cases per 100,000 people in Croatia compared to 21.2 per 100,000 people in the UK, according to cumulative figures for the last 14 days from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Those arriving in the UK from Portugal, which currently has a case rate of 28.5 per 100,000 people, will no longer need to self-isolate. Shapps said it would be “too difficult” for the UK to adopt a more targeted approach to the quarantine rules like Germany’s, affecting travellers from specific regions rather than entire countries, due to the difficulty in assessing infection patterns overseas in sufficient detail.

Coronavirus cases have been reported among pupils or teachers at 41 schools in Germany’s capital Berlin, less than two weeks after schools reopened. Berlin was one of the first places in Germany to reopen schools after the summer break. Schools in Scotland reopened earlier this month and schools in England will reopen in September. 

South Korea recorded its highest number of daily new coronavirus cases since 8 March, with 324 new cases confirmed on Thursday. There have been 732 cases linked to the new outbreak so far, 56 of which have been linked to a single church in Seoul.

Lebanon has reintroduced a partial lockdown and an overnight curfew in an attempt to suppress a recent spike in coronavirus infections in the aftermath of the Beirut port explosion. The country recorded 605 new cases on Thursday, its highest daily case number so far.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 794,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 22.7 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Coronavirus and flying: Is it safe to fly with the coronavirus still circulating? That depends partly on where you are. But while hard evidence is scarce, it appears the risk of being infected with covid-19 during a flight is relatively low.

Commuters at Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof central train station in Frankfurt, Germany.

Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty Images

20 August

WHO warns of “risk of resurgence” in Europe as Germany and Spain see cases surge

The risk of a resurgence of the coronavirus “has never been far away,” the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge said during a briefing today. Europe recorded 40,000 more coronavirus cases in the first week of August, compared to the first week of June, when cases were at their lowest, and cases have steadily been rising in the region, in part due to the relaxation of public health and social measures, he said. Germany recorded its highest daily number of new cases since April, with 1707 new cases confirmed on Wednesday. Spain recorded 3715 cases on the same day, the highest daily number there since the country’s lockdown was lifted in late June. “Authorities have been easing some of the restrictions and people have been dropping their guard,” said Kluge. 

Kluge thanked young people for the sacrifices they have made to protect themselves and others from covid-19 but expressed concern about people aged between 15 and 24, who account for a growing number of cases. “Low risk does not mean no risk. No one is invincible,” he said.

Other coronavirus news

England saw a 27 per cent increase in the number of people testing positive for coronavirus in the week ending 12 August compared to the previous week, according to the Department of Health and Social Care. Its latest figures state that 6616 people tested positive for the virus, whilst the number of people tested for the virus went down by 2 per cent over the same time period.

UK health minister Matt Hancock yesterday told the BBC that people in the UK should be able to return to workplaces without the need for wearing face masks, citing evidence from NHS Test and Trace that people have been largely catching the virus in meetings between households rather than in offices. But researchers, including microbiologist Simon Clarke at the University of Reading, say there isn’t sufficient data to rule out the risk of transmission within workplaces and from workplaces to households. “The virus needs to be taken into homes by someone and they will have had to pick it up from somewhere else […] even a single workplace transmission could lead to multiple onward infections in a family, household or other setting.”

India reported a record daily increase in coronavirus cases for the country today, with more than 69,652 cases confirmed, according to its health ministry.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 788,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 22.4 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Rewilding the sky: Let’s take inspiration from the way we intervene to help degraded ecosystems recover and attempt to restore the atmosphere back to full health, taking advantage of the lull in human activity under covid-19, writes Graham Lawton.

A medical worker takes a swab sample in a drive-thru testing centre

REUTERS/Carl Recine – RC2Z2I9ILO1A

19 August

Random swab testing survey to be expanded in England and to other UK nations

Coronavirus tests will be carried out on more people in the UK to help monitor the spread of the virus, the government says. The random swab testing survey for coronavirus by the Office for National Statistics, which started in May, will be expanded to test more people in England as well as people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the UK’s health minister Matt Hancock announced today. In England, the survey will expand from testing 28,000 people every two weeks in the community, outside of hospitals and care homes, to testing 150,000 people. Hancock said this is part of a wider effort to expand coronavirus testing in the UK.

Testing larger numbers of people will allow smaller changes in infection growth trends to be interpreted with more reliability, says biologist and medical innovation researcher Michael Hopkins at the University of Sussex. It will provide a “higher definition picture of the outbreak”, helping to pinpoint at-risk groups within the population, says Hopkins. More widespread testing could also help capture people who have the virus but are asymptomatic. An analysis by the ONS published yesterday found that only 28 per cent of people testing positive for the coronavirus in England reported having symptoms around the time they were tested.

Other coronavirus news

Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison backtracked today after saying that coronavirus vaccination would be mandatory in Australia. Currently there isn’t a coronavirus vaccine available but there are 160 vaccine candidates being developed and 31 are in human trials. The Australian government recently secured access to the vaccine candidate being developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, and has now said that if the vaccine is approved it will offer it to Australian citizens for free. Clarifying his earlier comments about making the vaccine mandatory, Morrison said “we can’t hold someone down and make them take it”, adding that vaccination would be “encouraged.”

Almost 1200 fewer people died this year in New Zealand up to 20 July compared to during the same period last year, a rare trend in light of the global pandemic. Some researchers speculate this may be due to a reduction in deaths from other respiratory illnesses, thanks to the introduction of measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus. In May, neighbouring Australia reported lower flu rates than usual, which was also attributed to coronavirus lockdown measures. New Zealand has recorded only 22 covid-19 related deaths. 

South Korea recorded its biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases since March yesterday, with 297 cases of the virus confirmed. Officials in Seoul have begun introducing restrictions on gatherings in the city and its surrounding area, prohibiting indoor gatherings of more than 50 people and outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 782,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 22.1 million, according to the map and dashboard from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Achieving herd immunity: Today, some headlines celebrate the fact that many places might have achieved herd immunity including Britain and pockets of London, New York and Mumbai. But others warn that millions will die before we get there. The true picture is far messier, partly because scientists don’t even agree on what herd immunity is, let alone how it might be achieved. So how will we know when populations are protected against the coronavirus?

A worker holding a tray containing ampoules of “Sputnik V”, a covid-19 vaccine candidate developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology in Zelenograd, Russia

Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images

18 August

“We need to prevent vaccine nationalism,” says WHO director-general

The World Health Organization (WHO) today called for an end to “vaccine nationalism”, the hoarding of vaccine doses by some nations. “The fastest way to end this pandemic and to reopen economies is to start by protecting the highest risk populations everywhere,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press briefing today. “We need to prevent vaccine nationalism,” he said. The priority should be protecting essential workers and other at-risk groups, Ghebreyesus said: “If we can work together, we can ensure that all essential workers are protected and proven treatments like dexamethasone are available to those who need them.” Although there currently isn’t a vaccine available for covid-19 there are more than 160 candidates in development, with 31 in human trials. Several countries have already secured deals for doses of some of these vaccine candidates. The UK has purchased at least 190 million doses, including 100 million of the vaccine candidate being developed by the University of Oxford and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. 

Separately, Takeshi Kasai, WHO Western Pacific regional director, told the briefing that “the epidemic is changing.” He said that “people in their 20s, 30s and 40s are increasingly driving the spread. Many are unaware they are infected.” This increases the risk of the virus spreading to the more vulnerable,” he added.

Other coronavirus news

Public Health England will be replaced by a new public health agency, UK health minister Matt Hancock confirmed today. The new agency, called the National Institute for Health Protection, will combine “the expertise of Public Health England with the enormous response capabilities of NHS Test and Trace and the Joint Biosecurity Centre,” Hancock said at the Policy Exchange think tank. Dido Harding, the current head of NHS Test and Trace, will lead the new organisation initially, Hancock said. NHS Test and Trace has been criticised for repeatedly failing to reach the proportion of contacts of people diagnosed with coronavirus that is recommended by government scientific advisors – 80 per cent or more. Between 30 July and 5 August for instance, the system only managed to reach 74.2 per cent of the contacts of people who tested positive for the virus in England. 

The proportion of people in the UK who reported experiencing symptoms of depression was 20 per cent in June, up from 10 per cent in July last year, according to a survey by the Office for National Statistics.

Voters from six US states filed a lawsuit against the country’s president Donald Trump and the postmaster general Louis DeJoy yesterday over cuts to the US postal service ahead of the upcoming general election. Many states are expecting a surge in postal ballots this year due to the pandemic.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 775,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 21.9 million, according to the map and dashboard from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Travelling abroad safely: Many countries have seen an increase in coronavirus cases, making going abroad more of a gamble. So what are the different options for managing the current risks from international travel, and which countries have got it right?

Return of covid-19 to New Zealand: New Zealand has acted swiftly to contain a new coronavirus outbreak after going 102 days virus-free, but it’s still unclear whether it can stamp it out again.

A-level students hold a sit in protest at the Department for Education over the results fiasco

17 August

A-level and GCSE grades in England to be based on teachers’ predictions instead of controversial algorithm

Pupils in England will be given A-level and GCSE grades estimated by their teachers rather than by an algorithm that sparked protests after it was used to moderate the grades of A-level pupils last week. The algorithm, which was introduced because the pandemic disrupted the usual exam process, resulted in about 280,000 A-level pupils in England seeing their scores drop by at least one grade or more compared to their predicted results.Those from disadvantaged backgrounds were worst-affected. UK education minister Gavin Williamson today announced that England’s exams regulator, Ofqual is scrapping the algorithm, bringing policy in line with the UK’s other nations. Williamson and Ofqual chair, Roger Taylor apologised for the “distress” caused. 

Other coronavirus news

England’s health agency, Public Health England, could be replaced by a new body specifically focused on dealing with pandemics. The new agency would be modelled on Germany’s Robert Koch Institute and is expected to be announced this week by the UK’s health minister, Matt Hancock, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph. The article also indicates that Hancock plans to merge the NHS Test and Trace scheme with the pandemic response work of Public Health England. “The reports in the media of a proposed ‘axing’ of Public Health England is of huge concern,” said Amitava Banerjee, clinical data scientist and cardiologist at University College London. A major restructuring of public health function, as the global covid-19 emergency continues, will divert limited resources away from public health measures such as testing and tracing, said Banerjee. 

Voters in the US are concerned about whether it is still safe to post their ballots, after the country’s president Donald Trump last week said he would block additional funding required for the postal service to handle the expected surge in postal ballots this year. Many US states have been trying to make postal voting easier so that people are able to vote safely during the pandemic.

South Korea tightened social distancing rules on Sunday after 197 new coronavirus cases linked to a new outbreak were confirmed on Saturday. “We’re facing a crisis where if the current spread isn’t controlled, it would bring an exponential rise in cases, which could in turn lead to the collapse of our medical system and enormous economic damage,” director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jeong Eun-kyeong said during a briefing.

New Zealand’s general election will be postponed by a month due to an on-going coronavirus outbreak in Auckland, the country’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. Nine new cases in the new cluster were confirmed today, bringing the total to 58 cases so far.

A new test for coronavirus-specific T-cells – immune cells that help the body fight infections – could help researchers developing vaccine candidates. The test is being developed by UK company Indoor Biotechnologies, which says early trials found that some people who had the coronavirus but tested negative for antibodies went on to test positive for T-cells. It still isn’t clear whether antibodies or T-cells provide long-lasting immunity against the virus and how long such immunity might last.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 776,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 21.7 million, according to the map and dashboard from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Coronavirus and pets: Reports of pets being infected with the coronavirus have been growing, but how worried should owners be? And could pets be spreading the virus between people?

Passengers wait next to the Eurostar Terminal at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris.

Michel Euler/AP/Shutterstock

14 August

UK visitors to France could face restrictions after UK imposed quarantine on arrivals 

Travellers arriving in France from the UK could be required to quarantine for two weeks after arrival into the country, Clément Beaune, France’s junior minister for European Affairs, told journalists on Thursday. His statement came after the UK added France and the Netherlands to its list of countries from which arriving travellers will be required to quarantine for 14 days. France currently has a coronavirus case rate of 34.0 people per 100,000, according to cumulative figures for the last 14 days from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, with 41.6 cases per 100,000 people in the Netherlands. The case rate in the UK is currently 17.3 per 100,000 people. The UK’s new rules are effective from 4:00 BST on Saturday 15 August and will also apply for people arriving in the UK from Monaco, Malta, Turks and Caicos and Aruba. Transport minister Grant Shapps said that there are currently about 160,000 people from the UK on holidays in France. 

Other coronavirus news

Restrictions affecting parts of northern England and Leicester will stay in place due to on-going local outbreaks, the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care announced today. People living in the affected areas in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, East Lancashire and Leicester aren’t allowed to meet with people from other households indoors or in private gardens. Oldham in Greater Manchester has experienced the largest week-on-week rise in cases in England, recording a rate of 107.5 cases per 100,000 people between 2 and 8 August, up from 57.8 during the previous week. The government says the restrictions will be reviewed again next week. 

Elsewhere in England, easing of restrictions allowing small wedding receptions, live indoor performances and beauty treatments will go ahead from Saturday after being delayed from the original date of 1 August, UK prime minister Boris Johnson confirmed today. Bowling alleys, casinos and play centres will also be allowed to reopen.

Despite some local outbreaks, coronavirus cases across England as a whole appear to be levelling off, according to the latest results from a random swab testing survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS estimates that 28,300 people in England – one in 1900 people – had the virus in the week ending 9 August, the same as the previous week.

New Zealand has extended a lockdown in Auckland by at least 12 days, the country’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. New Zealand had been free of locally transmitted coronavirus infections for 102 days until four people from the same household in Auckland tested positive for the virus earlier this week. The number of cases in the new outbreak there has since risen to 29. 

North Korea has lifted a three-week lockdown in the border city of Kaesong after a suspected coronavirus case there, state media reported today. The World Health Organization last week said that tests on the suspected case – a man who returned to North Korea after defecting – had been inconclusive. North Korea has not reported any other cases.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 760,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 20.9 million, according to the map and dashboard from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Staff of Guardian Funerals transport the casket of Covid-19 victim

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

13 August

UK government has changed the way deaths from covid-19 are recorded in England

England’s covid-19 death toll has been revised down by more than 5000, after the UK government announced a new UK-wide standard for recording deaths caused by the coronavirus. The changes mean the removal of 5377 deaths from Public Health England’s official record, decreasing the UK’s total numbers of deaths from the virus from 46,706 to 41,329 as of 12 August. 

People who recovered from covid-19 before dying from other causes more than a month later may have been included in the previous death toll due to the way Public Health England was collecting its data. “It had become essentially useless for epidemiological monitoring,” said epidemiologist Keith Neal at the University of Nottingham, UK. From now on England’s official death toll will only include people who died within 28 days of testing positive for the virus, bringing it in line with the other nations in the UK. 

Other coronavirus news

The number of patients admitted to hospitals in England for routine treatment was down by 67 per cent in June compared to the same time last year, according to data from NHS England. The number of people visiting accident and emergency units was also down, by 30 per cent compared to last year, as was the number going to their family doctor with symptoms of cancer and being urgently referred to a specialist , at 20 per cent lower than last year. The NHS England data also suggests more people waited longer than usual for planned procedures, such as knee and hip operations. The Health Foundation charity told the BBC that this indicates the NHS is still “nowhere close to business as usual following the first outbreak of covid-19,” and warned that long waiting times could lead to deterioration in people’s health.

The coronavirus may have been circulating in New Zealand for weeks prior to the country’s new outbreak, according to New Zealand’s director-general of health, Ashley Bloomfield. The first person in the new cluster of cases started showing symptoms as early as 31 July, Bloomfield said during a media briefing in Wellington, adding that genome sequencing was underway on the original four cases to try and trace the train of transmission. Officials are also investigating the theory that the cases were imported via refrigerated freight. New Zealand had been free of locally transmitted coronavirus infections for 102 days before four people from the same household tested positive earlier this week. 

Authorities in two cities in China said they found traces of the coronavirus on imported frozen food and on food packaging. Samples of chicken wings imported to the city of Shenzhen from Brazil and packaging of frozen shrimp imported from Ecuador to a city in China’s Anhui province tested positive for the virus. It isn’t yet clear when the products became contaminated but China is increasing screening at its ports. The coronavirus can survive for up to two years frozen at -20°C but is destroyed by heating to 70°C. The World Health Organization says that there isn’t currently any evidence that people can catch the virus from food or food packaging. 

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 750,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 20.6 million, according to the map and dashboard from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Sweden’s coronavirus strategy: Sweden was one of the few European countries not to impose a compulsory lockdown. Its unusual strategy for tackling the coronavirus outbreak has both been hailed as a success, and condemned as a failure. So which is it?

Two woman in Ripollet, Catalonia wearing face masks outside a coronavirus testing area.

PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images

12 August

Germany and Spain among a growing list of western European countries where coronavirus cases are surging

Coronavirus cases are rising in Germany, Spain and other countries in western Europe, with Spain recording 1418 new infections on Tuesday, and Germany detecting 1200 cases in the last 24 hours, the country’s biggest daily increase for three months. In the Netherlands, daily new infections are back to about half the level they were at during the initial peak. Spain now has the highest rate of coronavirus infections in the region, with 94 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 38 in the Netherlands, 30 in France, 18 in the UK and 14 in Germany, according to cumulative figures for the last 14 days from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. 

Germany’s health minister, Jens Spahn, says people returning from holiday may be the reason for the increasing number of cases in Germany, as the UK and Germany continue to warn people against non-essential travel to parts of Spain. Any holidaymakers returning to the UK from Spain are required to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. The list of countries from which all arrivals to the UK must quarantine may be updated this week to include 14 more countries, including France.

Other coronavirus news

The World Health Organization (WHO) is in talks with Russian authorities about reviewing the coronavirus vaccine candidate whose approval for use in Russia yesterday sparked criticism from researchers. Russia’s vaccine, Sputnik-V, is not on the WHO’s list of six vaccines that have reached phase III trials involving clinical testing on large groups of people. Russia’s health minister Mikhail Murashko today dismissed safety concerns expressed by foreign researchers about the rapid approval of the vaccine as “groundless.”

Lebanon announced its highest number of daily new coronavirus cases yesterday since the start of the pandemic, with more than 300 new cases and seven deaths from covid-19. Hospitals in the country are overwhelmed following the aftermath of the explosion in Beirut last week. WHO spokesperson Tarik Jarasevic told a UN briefing yesterday that the displacement of people due to the explosion risks accelerating the spread of the coronavirus there.

At least 800 people are estimated to have died around the world as a result of misinformation about the coronavirus during the first three months of this year, a study has found. A further 5800 people are estimated to have been admitted to hospital for the same reason during this period. The majority of the deaths and hospitalisations were due to people consuming methanol and alcohol-based cleaning products, incorrectly believing that they were cures for covid-19, according to the study, which was published in The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 744,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 20.4 million, according to the map and dashboard from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Children at risk: A staggering 115 million children in India are at risk of malnutrition, as the world’s largest school lunch programme has been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Who should get vaccinated first?: It is August 2021, and the moment the world has been waiting for has finally arrived – a vaccine against covid-19 has passed all the tests and is ready to be rolled out. But this isn’t the end. There are more than 7.5 billion people in need of vaccination but perhaps only a billion doses available in the first six months of production. Who gets one?

Staying connected: Greeting neighbours or gossiping with a colleague can boost your health and well-being, but coronavirus lockdowns are putting that in jeopardy. Here’s how to stay connected.

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced new lockdown measures in Auckland after four new coronavirus cases were detected in the community

New Zealand government

11 August

New Zealand reimposes Auckland lockdown after first locally transmitted cases for 102 days

New Zealand has reported its first new coronavirus cases thought to be acquired through local transmission, after going 102 days without a single reported case outside of managed isolation or quarantine. Four people within one family in south Auckland tested positive for the virus, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern said today at a press briefing. New Zealand has been widely praised for its aggressive response to the coronavirus, closing its borders to non-nationals and implementing one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, all at a time when the country had only 205 cases and no deaths from covid-19. Testing is now being ramped up in Auckland and lockdown restrictions will be reimposed there from tomorrow. Everyone except essential workers will be asked to work from home and schools will be closed for most children. Other public facilities, including bars and restaurants, will be required to close and gatherings will be limited to 10 people. 

Other coronavirus news

Researchers have expressed concerns about the approval of a coronavirus vaccine candidate in Russia today. The virus has been approved for widespread use, despite only being tested in dozens of people. “There is no data on the Russian-led vaccine for the global health community to scrutinise,” said Michael Head, public health research fellow at the University of Southampton, UK. Russia’s president Vladimir Putin said one of his daughters has already been inoculated, and claimed it was safe. 

The number of contact tracers working for NHS Test and Trace will be reduced by 6000 in England by the end of this month, the UK government has announced. The remaining 12,000 contact tracers will work more closely with local public health authorities to help with contact tracing within communities. Between 16 and 22 July, NHS Test and Trace only managed to reach 75 per cent of the contacts of people who tested positive for the coronavirus in England. Dido Harding, head of NHS Test and Trace said that having a more localised approach will ensure more contacts of coronavirus cases within communities can be reached.

Australia’s remote Northern Territory will keep its borders shut to coronavirus-affected states until at least 2022, according to local officials. People arriving from affected states will be required to quarantine at a hotel for 14 days at their own expense.

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 737,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 20.1 million, according to the map and dashboard from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist

Question about the UK’s new rapid tests: Two 90-minute tests for the coronavirus will be rolled out by the UK government in the coming weeks – and while both are promising, neither has publicly available data to support its use.

Common cold virus vaccine: A vaccine that protects against one of the main common cold viruses – respiratory syncytial virus – has been shown to be safe and effective in a clinical trial and could be available by 2024.

A man seen in a street during a snowfall in the early stages of the pandemic.

Sergei Fadeichev/TASS via Getty Images

10 August

No indication there is seasonality with the coronavirus, says WHO 

There is no indication that the coronavirus is seasonal and it could bounce back any time, World Health Organization (WHO) leaders said at a press briefing today. Evidence suggests the coronavirus is unlike flu, which tends to spike in autumn and winter. “If you take pressure off the virus, the virus will bounce back. That’s what we will say to countries in Europe – keep the pressure on,” said Mike Ryan, WHO executive director of the emergencies program. Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead of WHO’s covid-19 response, said that the majority of the world’s population remains susceptible to the virus, and WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasised the importance of countries taking targeted action to tackle local outbreaks through methods like localised lockdowns employed in Leicester, UK. 

Other coronavirus news

The WHO says it has only received a fraction of the funding it needs for an initiative aimed at developing and distributing drugs, vaccines and other tools to help tackle the pandemic. “While we’re grateful for those that have made contributions, we’re only 10 per cent of the way to funding the billions required to realise the promise of the ACT [Access to Covid-19 Tools] accelerator,” Tedros said during a press briefing today.

“Greece has formally entered a second wave of the epidemic,” Gkikas Magiorkinis, an epidemiologist at Athens University and one of the scientists advising the Greek government, told journalists today. This comes after Greece recorded its highest number of daily new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, with 203 confirmed on Sunday.

In France, it is now compulsory to wear a face mask outdoors in certain crowded areas within Paris. Health officials said the rate of positive coronavirus tests was 2.4 per cent in the Paris area compared to the average of 1.6 per cent for people tested in the country as a whole. Other cities, including Nice and Lille, have also introduced new rules making face masks mandatory in specific outdoor areas.

It has been more than 100 days since New Zealand last detected a locally acquired coronavirus case. As of today, the country has only 21 active infections, all of which are being managed in isolation facilities. Authorities are still testing thousands of people each day. “We need to be prepared to quickly stamp out any future cases,” said New Zealand’s director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield on Sunday. 

Coronavirus deaths

Matthew Rowett

The worldwide death toll has passed 731,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 19.9 million, according to the map and dashboard from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

NHS advice board promoting Test and Trace in Birmingham city centre in the UK

Mike Kemp/In PIctures via Getty Images

7 August

The number of people estimated to have the virus in England may be levelling off

The number of people estimated to have covid-19 in England appears to be levelling off, after rising slightly in July, according to a random swab testing survey of almost 120,000 people by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS estimates that 28,300 people outside of hospitals and care homes in England had the virus in the week ending 2 August – about one in every 1900 people. This is down slightly from the previous week’s estimate of 35,700. But it isn’t clear how infection rates may differ across different regions. In Wales, which was included in the survey for the first time, an estimated 1400 people had covid-19 in the week ending 2 August, equivalent to one in every 2200 people.

The proportion of people in the UK who say they have been wearing face coverings has gone up for the second week in a row, according to a separate ONS survey. In the week ending 2 August, 96 per cent of people said they had worn a face covering outside their home, up from 84 per cent in the previous week and 71 per cent the week before. The survey also found that 72 per cent of people said they had socialised with others in person, just over half of whom said they had always maintained social distancing. 

Other coronavirus news

Coronavirus vaccine trials could be undermined by the lack of diversity among participants, according to researchers. In the recent trial of a coronavirus vaccine candidate being developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with AstraZeneca, fewer than 1 per cent of the approximately 1000 participants were black and only about 5 per cent were Asian, compared to 91 per cent of participants who were white. In a smaller trial of a vaccine candidate being developed by US company Moderna, 40 out of 45 participants were white. “Diversity is important to ensure pockets of people don’t have adverse side-effects,” Oluwadamilola Fayanju, a surgeon and researcher at Duke University told the Guardian.

The city of Preston in England is being placed under stricter local lockdown measures following a rise in coronavirus cases. From midnight on 7 August residents from different households aren’t allowed to meet indoors or in private gardens. These new measures are in line with those currently in place in east Lancashire, Greater Manchester and parts of West Yorkshire.

More than one million people in countries across Africa have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, although health officials say this is certainly an underestimate. “We haven’t seen the peak in Africa yet,” Mary Stephen, technical officer at the World Health Organization’s regional office for Africa told Al Jazeera. Although the majority of cases confirmed so far are in South Africa, it is also performing significantly more tests than other African countries.

India has recorded its highest number of daily new coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, with 62,538 cases confirmed on Friday. There have been more than 2 million cases recorded in the country since the pandemic began.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 715,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 19.1 million, according to the map and dashboard from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Click here to see previous daily updates

Matthew Rowett

Matthew Rowett

Matthew Rowett

More on these topics:

#Biology

[wisdomrays]

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICAL CLEANLINESS AND MORAL PURITY

Cleanliness is virtue shared by all people and societies. Physical cleanliness and moral purity are highly encouraged by religions, particularly before the commencement of religious ceremonies, suggesting the existence of a possible psychological relationship between physical cleanliness and moral purity. Recently Dr. Zhong from the University of Toronto and Dr. Liljenquist from Northwestern University published a joint article in Science (September 2006) about the relationship between physical cleanliness and moral purity. They conducted an experiment in which they observed human behavior on this matter. They investigated whether a threat to moral purity activates a need for physical cleansing. Subsequently, they also investigated whether physical purity helps people to deal with the moral threats they face. In a laboratory setting, they asked participants to remember any ethical (good) or unethical (bad) behavior in their life and to explain their emotions and feelings they experienced about this behavior to determine whether the threat to moral purity increased the occurrence of purity-related words. Dr. Zhong and Dr. Liljenquist (2006) documented that people who remembered unethical behaviors about themselves recalled more cleansing words than the ones who remembered ethical ones. They employed three additional experiments by changing their designs and replicated the same results. Their findings indicate that people feel a need for physical cleansing after being involved in unethical behaviors. People feel that they are purified from their sins with physical cleansing.

Before they go to holy places people bathe or shower and then dress in their best clothes. In this way, they are showing their Creator how morally and physically clean they are. Physical cleansing also has benefits for health by removing visible or invisible dirt from the body. As mentioned above, all religions give importance to both physical and moral purity. This article will focus on the Islamic perspective of cleanliness and support it with scientific findings.

The Islamic perspective of cleansing and ablution

In the Islamic belief it is stressed that God’s beloved people are those who are pure and clean. The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Cleanliness is half of faith.” This means that physical cleanliness is very important for the purification of the soul and for preparing to worship God. The purity and cleanliness of the body consists of avoiding all external filth and adorning it with cleanliness and good manners.

Traditions of the Prophet about cleanliness

Whenever the Prophet took a bath after intercourse, he started by washing his hands and then performed an ablution that is similar to the one for the prayer. After that he would put his fingers in the water and rub the roots of his hair with them, and then pour three handfuls of water over his head and then pour water all over his body.

“The taking of a bath on Friday is strongly recommended for every Muslim, and (also) the cleaning of his teeth with miswak, and the using of scents if it is available.”

Aisha said: “The Prophet passed away in my house and leaning against my chest. One of us would recite a prayer asking God to protect him or her from all evils if he or she became unwell. So I began to ask God to protect him from all evils (by reciting a prayer). . . . Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr was passing by with a fresh leaf-stalk of a date-palm and the Prophet looked at it; I thought that the Prophet was in need of it (for cleaning his teeth). So I took it (from Abdur Rahman) and chewed the top of it, shook it and gave it to the Prophet, who cleaned his teeth with it, in the best way he had ever cleaned his teeth, and then he gave it to me. Suddenly his hand dropped down or it fell from his hand (i.e. he passed away). So God allowed my saliva to mix with his saliva on his last day on earth and his first day in the Hereafter.”

The Prophet said, “Were I not afraid that it would be hard on my followers, I would order them to use the miswak (as obligatory, for cleaning the teeth).”

Aisha reported: “The Messenger of God, may peace be upon him, said: ‘There are ten acts according to fitra (acts required by human nature): clipping the moustache, letting the beard grow, using miswak (for cleaning the teeth), snuffing water in the nose, cutting the nails, washing between the fingers, plucking the hair under the armpits, shaving pubic hairs and cleaning one’s private parts with water.’ The narrator said: I have forgotten the tenth, but it may have been rinsing the mouth.”

Abdullah ibn Abbas reported: “I spent (one night) in the house of the Messenger of God (may peace be upon him). He got up, brushed his teeth and performed ablution and said: ‘In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, there are indeed signs for people of understanding’ (Al Imran 3:190), reciting to the end of the chapter. He then stood up and prayed two cycles, standing, bowing, and prostrating himself at length in them. Then he finished, went to sleep. He did that three times, six cycles altogether, each time cleaning his teeth, performing ablution, and reciting these verses. Then he observed three cycles of witr. The call to prayer was then heard and he went out for prayer, saying,:” O God! Place light in my heart, light on my tongue, light in my hearing, light in my eyesight, light behind me, and light in front of me, and light above me, and light below me. O God! Grant me light.”

Ablution and its benefits

There are twenty-six movements to the washing ritual of ablution in Islam, and Muslims perform ablution before they start their daily prayers, going before God with a healthy and clean body. The description of ablution and the importance of physical cleanliness are given in the Qur’an as follows:

O you who believe! When you rise up for the Prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to (and including) the elbows, and lightly rub your heads (with water) and (wash) your feet up to (and including) the ankles. And if you are in the state of major ritual impurity (requiring total ablution), purify yourselves (by taking a bath). But if you are ill, or on a journey, or if any of you has just satisfied a want of nature, or if you have had contact with women, and can find no water, then betake yourselves to pure earth, passing with it lightly over your face and your hands (and forearms up to and including the elbows). God does not will to impose any hardship upon you, but wills to purify you, and to complete His favor upon you, so that you may give thanks. (Maeda 5:6)

According to Prophetic tradition these movements are repeated three times each. Additionally, the inside of the ear, behind the ear and one-third of the head above the forehead are wiped once, according to the traditions of the Prophet. Moreover, the Prophet encouraged making ablution before going bed.

Yoga instructors also teach their students to wash their hands, eyes, legs, mouth, and genitals before going to bed with cold water as well. This act of cleansing prepares the body for a deep sleep [Avadhuta, Vedprajinananda, Yoga Health Secrets].

Ablution stimulates the biological rhythms. In his article entitled “Muslim Rituals and their Effect on the Person’s Health,” Dr. Mogomed Magomedov7 mentions how ablution stimulates the biological rhythms of the body by specifically focusing on the Biological Active Spots (BASes), very much like the idea behind Chinese reflex therapy:

As we know human body is a complex system of electromagnetic fields, meridians, biological rhythms and so on. Man’s internal organs, in their turn, present a bio-energetically sophisticated whole; they all have indissoluble multi-channel bilateral connections with the skin, which hosts special spots, whose functions resemble those of buttons on “control” and “ recharge boards” responsible for particular organs. These spots are called biologically active spots (BASes).

Dr. Magomedov also suggests that his studies are inspired by his solemn belief that five daily prayers each day are bound to have not only an “indisputable spiritual effect,” but are also to have a purely healing effect physically.

Ablution prevents potential health problems. The scholar Mukhtar Salem points out the health benefits of the washing movements in ablution in his book Prayers: A Sport for the Body and Soul. He classifies the benefits of ablution as follows:

1. Ablution helps prevent skin cancer. The author claims that the areas washed during ablution are those parts of the body that are most prone to be exposed to pollution, whether it is pollution from the internal secretions of the body onto the skin surface, such as sweat, or whether it is from external pollution. Ablution removes this “pollution” five times a day, and hence maintains a clean outer layer of skin, which in turn helps the cells underneath to function properly. Also, washing with water helps invigorate the blood vessels, as well as the nerves and glands that are near the surface of the skin, and hence helps them perform their functions efficiently.

2. Washing the mouth removes food particles, which could cause teeth and gum problems in the mouth. This is also one of the reasons why miswak (or brushing one’s teeth) is recommended.

3. When washing one’s nostrils, one is also performing a preventive health measure as the germs trapped in the nostrils are removed and do not pass onto the respiratory system. According to a study conducted by a team of doctors at Alexandria University, the Prophetic tradition that urges an exaggerated washing of the nostrils by introducing water into the nostril and then blowing it out positively affects the inner coating of the nostrils. Those who carried out the washing in the correct manner had clean, shiny nostrils with no dust clinging to the small hairs inside. However, those who did not perform the ablution had slightly darkened, greasy nostrils and their nostril hairs came away easily.

4. Repeated washing of the face invigorates the facial skin cells and helps prevent early wrinkles, as well as having a cleansing effect on the inside of the eyes, which prevents eye infections. (Salem 1990). Washing the ears also helps get rid of wax accumulation, which may cause ear infections or affect the inner ear, which eventually causes a loss of balance.

5. The Prophetic tradition of encouraging one to wash between the toes while washing the feet is also extremely important, Salem (1990), as this prevents the foot, which in our modern times is trapped most of the day inside shoes, from acquiring athlete’s foot.

Salem (1990) concludes that ablution also has an exercising effect on all the muscles involved in the action, as they are thus being stimulated five times a day or even more according to the frequency of repetition.

Ablution is useful for controlling anger as well. In a hadith the Prophet encouraged making ablution when angry in order to cool down and to benefit from the refreshing effect of the water; he stated that anger is from the devil, that it is made out of fire, and can therefore be put out by water.

Conclusion

Scientific experiments document the relation between physical purity and moral purity. This helps to understand the reasoning behind the encouragement of cleanliness in different belief systems. Ablution is a significant part of the Muslim daily rituals, and it not only has physical benefits but also spiritual benefits, such as stimulating the biological rhythm, preventing health problems, relaxing the body, purifying the soul, and washing away the sins.

[rachieandthewaves]

The StarKidverse (conceived from my sixteen year old mind)

so um I saw on twitter that @thatsthat24 was interested in seeing some Starkid multiverse theories. Since the announcement of Black Friday, which takes place in Hatchetfield like TGWDLM, people are pretty excited about the idea of a shared universe of Starkid musicals. I came up with one when I was sixteen and found it in the depths of my OneNote. I decided to revive it for the kicks and I’ve updated it accordingly to recent musicals. Let me know your thoughts!

FIRSTLY

The evidence that Starkid musicals exist in the same universe:

In every musical, characters say "Gasp!" instead of actually gasping.

Whenever there’s a chase scene, they face the audience and run on the spot.​

They each have their own unconventional view on religion (in Starship, they believe God is dead. In AVPM they have "wizard God." " etc.)​

Some characters are aware they are in a musical and can communicate with the audience (Aladdin, Ron Weasley, Ja'far, the Dad in Trail to Oregon etc.)

Without further ado, let’s get started.

ANI 

ANI is the definite proof that some musicals do share a universe with others, as they make reference to Starship (the girls auditioning as slaves make a joke about Bug’s home planet, Geonosis) 

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there was a war of the stars taking place​

This advanced civilization had mastered biological engineering and space travel, as shown in the events of ANI: A Parody

​During this time period, these space-faring people began searching for other systems to colonize.

One of them was our solar system.​Originally, they tried colonizing on Mars, where they built a school, but soon realized that it was unsuitable for life.

FIREBRINGER

The advanced civilization then discovered Earth, which was suitable for life. A representative of the space people was sent down to Earth (Chorn) to live in prehistoric America and see if humanity was worthy of ancient power and knowledge.​

However, humanity in its early stages was violent and chaotic. While leaders like Jamilla advocated for logic, peace and duty, Zazzalil relied on optimism, leisure and hope.

Once humanity realized that progress could not be achieved without both, Chorn bestowed the first community of humans with ancient power and knowledge using a Jedi mind trick.

For many years, the first community of people helped develop humanity into prosperity. While science, logic and reasoning helped us understand the world, wishes, dreams and belief helped us improve the world. ​

After a while, the first community achieved biological engineering and became supernaturally powered beings. They developed devices to harness their powers, called "wands"

​During the Salem Witch Trials, the first community were denounced as "witches and wizards" and their scientific advancements were deemed as "magic." As a result, they lived in hiding in one place in America, where their community continued to grow and thrive.​ 

While these gifted natives became a thriving community of innovation and pioneers, the development of the result of the world became dramatically slower.

THE TRAIL TO OREGON

By the 19th century, humanity's progress had halted.​ Diseases such as dysentery were rampant. ​

While the rest of the world was in shit, there was one state in the world that was rich in scientific discovery; Oregon. ​

This was the place where humanity was first gifted with ancient knowledge and power.​ Firebringer takes place in prehistoric Oregon.

Since Chorn healed Grunt’s arm, the settlers of Oregon had made terrific advancements in medicine that mend ailments almost instantaneously.

This is also why, when Father/Mother/Son/Grandpa crossed the county line after dying of dysentery, they were instantly revived by the sheer power of Oregon.

The natives in Oregon were afraid that if they exposed their magical ways and advanced technology to humanity, they would be rejected.​

Little did they know, more magic people were being born around the world as a diaspora emanated from Oregon

​By 2009, they set up a secret school for these genetically enhanced individuals for their safety.

AVPM/AVPS/AVPSY

For a long time, the witches and wizards lived in peace and secrecy. It was during this time they discovered the early concepts of time travel (the time turner), created advanced artificial intelligence (The Hat and Scarfy) and had mastered space travel to visit and take control of the  Jedi school on Mars. 

This was the First Golden Age for people descended from the Oregon natives, because it was an era of great prosperity and peace.​

In case you hadn’t guessed, Pigfarts was the failed colonization effort on Mars.

In 2012, during the events of A Very Potter Senior Year, Gilderoy Lockhart exposed the wizarding world to humans. 

HOLY MUSICAL B@MAN!

This is when the theory goes a little bit sideways in terms of timelines.

According to my theory, Holy Musical Batman would be set post-2012 but Alfred mentions that the year was 1997. However, the presence of smart phones and Barack Obama contradicts this statement, therefore I’m guessing he was just confused about the year.

 Basically, humanity is very accepting of the wizarding world.

They used their gifts to help defend the world.

This also established Earth as a universal pinnacle for acceptance of the abnormal, attracting alien life such as Superman.

became known as superheroes and supervillains and began to integrate into modern society.

Some superheroes used their innate Oregon-originated gifts to fight crime. However, the widespread usage of Oregon-based technology made crime-fighting possible for billionaires like Batman.

This era became known as the Second Golden Age. After the formation of The Super Friends, it was the first time that humans and superheroes (the Oregon natives) had cooperated with each other.

​But many ordinary people were jealous of their gifts and tried becoming villains themselves; many of them with “shitty” themes as they could not afford Oregon technology. As a result, the villain crime rate went through the roof.​

Humanity blamed the superheroes for the rise of a dangerous new world order and decided to eradicate them​

They tried harnessing their technology for their own malevolent purposes​They started using young people in their experiments and reproduce genetically enhanced individuals of their own, but the experiments had a very different effect on reproductive organs.

ME AND MY DICK

The experiments produced a small community of people with anthropomorphic hearts, dicks and pussies ​

These young people tried living their daily life but they were shunned for their reproductive organs (this is why fictional Joey Richter is afraid of introducing Dick to people and is amazed when he learns Sally has an anthropomorphic vagina of her own.)

​As a result, the reproductive organs were forced to start their own society and warned any human who discovered it against telling anybody in fear of persecution. (These worlds had their own governing systems such as the Council of the Pussies.)

THE GUY WHO DIDN’T LIKE MUSICALS

The original space-faring species that gave humanity ancient power and wisdom saw the bastardization of their gift on earth. 

Their gift had led to mutilation, unethical scientific experimentation, prejudice, corruption and crime. As a result, they decided to return to Earth and correct the mess themselves. 

They thought that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom and decided to enslave humanity using song and dance; a creation originating from Firebringer and something the aliens thought would bring humanity together, just as it did back then.

STARSHIP

Humans eventually responded brutally. They used Oregon technology to develop robots to fight the alien invaders. However, when the alien threat was gone, the robots turned on their creators and ignited a “robot war” with all of humankind.

During the Robot Wars, The Super Friends were defeated. With nobody to protect them, in order to combat the robots, the humans developed a space agency called G.L.E.E., used for conquering and colonizing other planets. The agency was controlled by an evil leader named Doctor Spaceclaw.​

During the events of Starship, Bug and February fell in love and returned to the starship together. On their many travels across the galaxy, they discovered many different relics, such as an sentient carpet and a lamp containing a god-like being called a Djin.​

When they returned to earth, February and Bug hid their treasures and settled down in a cave; an itty-bitty living space far away from the conflict. Only February and Bug could access the cave and the treasure.

Eventually, Doctor Spaceclaw discovered the lovers' treachery. They were captured, experimented on and turned into one golden scarab (a bug.) Therefore, they became the key to the cave.

TWISTED

Years later, the robots were defeated and humanity had to rebuild the earth from the ashes.​

Generations of mating between the natives and ordinary humans had cancelled out the starkids' magic abilities. ​

This new world order of kingdoms was started by corrupt leaders like Doctor Spaceclaw, now known as “sultans.” Therefore, the world became a superficial place full of privilege and poverty.​ The effects of the cheery, delusional alien influence of TGWDLM were still prevelant, as most people valued whimsy and optimism over practicality and reality.

The story of the two lovers that Scheherazade tells Ja’far is the story of Bug and February. They are the golden scarab. 

In the end, Ja'far entrusted the power of sultan to a person who believed in both the value of duty and science and hope and belief; The Princess. She is able to unite everyone and eliminate division in the kingdom by declaring everyone a princess, thus leading to the Third Golden Age.

Bear in mind, I was sixteen when I came up with most of this theory so don’t hold back if you have criticisms.

[dailyaudiobible]

05/08/2019 DAB Transcript

1 Samuel 2:22-4:22, John 5:24-47, Psalms 106:1-12, Proverbs 14:30-31

Today is the 8th day of May. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it's great to be here with you today and move ourselves through the center of our week together. And yesterday we started the book of first Samuel and we talked about all of that and how these books were grouped and how they were split apart and changed and stuff all over time and then we got into the story and we ended up meeting Samuel as a boy and that's kind of where we left him. His mother Hannah had cried out to God at the tabernacle at Shiloh for a child and the Lord gave her Samuel and she dedicated Samuel to the Lord. And, so, Samuel is now growing up at the Tabernacle in Shiloh. And a lot of times we think about the temple in Jerusalem but before there was a temple in Jerusalem there was a Tabernacle in Shiloh and that lasted for over three centuries. So, Shiloh was sort of like the heartbeat in the capital of the people, the heartbeat of their spiritual existence was in Shiloh. And, so, Samuel is growing up there. And, so, we’ll pick up the story where we left off yesterday. We’re reading from the New English Translation this week. First Samuel chapter 2 verse 22 through chapter 4 verse 22 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, our reading today gave us plenty to think about. So, in the story of Samuel in the book of first Samuel that we’re navigating through, we read of the story of Samuel's calling and the first time he heard from God and his rise to prominence in spite of all the unethical stuff that was going on in Shiloh, right? So, Eli was the high priest. He had grown old and fat. His sons were supposed to be the next generation of priests, but they were too busy like pilfering the best of the sacrificial food and having sex with the women who assisted at the tabernacle. So, God called Samuel away from the example that he was being given and then his first prophetic word was difficult to say the least. It was the judgment upon Eli and his sons which we read about today, which happened shortly after that, the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant in battle. So, this symbol of their society and of God with them was captured. And, so, Eli’s sons were killed. Eli was old, and he had become blind and he was, according to the Scriptures, severely overweight. And, so, he fell backward and broke his neck. And, so, yeah, good times. But we’ll pick up the story tomorrow.

And then in John's gospel Jesus spoke clearly and directly, and we should listen to Him because He starts out by saying, “like, I’m solemnly telling the truth. Like, listen, this is the truth. Those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins.” May I repeat that? “They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” That is for those who listen to Jesus message and believe in God who sent Him. The implications of what He is saying if He is telling the truth, and He swears that He's telling the truth, and I believe Him, the implications are profound, right? If we listen to Jesus words and believe in the God who sent His son. We will never ever be condemned for sin. That is good news. It is the good news that we’re supposed to live within. It's the good news that we’re supposed to be spreading to the ends of the earth, like there's a way out of the chaos and madness. So, may we rejoice in that simple fact today.

And in our reading from Proverbs kinda spoke practically about our health, “a tranquil spirit revives the body”. And there’s actually a lot more being said there then we may realize because so often the stresses of our lives send us toward meltdown, send us toward the medical community where we’re looking for the pill to cure how we’re feeling of the pill to cure our ales or diminish the anxiety or whatever, or we’re looking for a procedure to correct whatever has begun to fail within us. And even though science and medicine, these are beautiful gifts from God, intentionally seeking peace within is a preventative medicine that is always available and can profoundly affect our health. Being tranquil, being still, being silent is medicine. I know this is true from personal experience. I know that this wisdom of the ages is true, but the Proverb goes on to tell us that “envy is rottenness to the bones.” And then some translators even equate it to cancer in the bones, which is kind of a big deal, right? I mean, the Bible is equating rivalry, envy, competition, like vengeful competition, jealousy, resentment, and suspicion, like the way that we kind of live a lot, the Bible’s equating that to cancer or rottenness in the bones. I mean, who signs up…who signs up for that? And yet, I mean, we…nobody does, right, except for we have to put our hands up and say, “I do. I do it all the time. I sign up for that all the time when I'm drawn into trying to compare my life to somebody else's life. And that envy, that…that bitterness that wells up from within me about what I do not have but I think that I deserve.” That's like signing up to get cancer at least…at least according to the wisdom of Proverbs. So, let's invite the Holy Spirit into the areas so where we are just full of envy, where we’re just jealous or its just stewing inside of us and we won't confess it and we won't name it and it’s just a part of who we are. We get up in the morning and go through our day trying to compare ourselves to each other and we’re invariably coming up short or we wouldn't be envious. According to the Bible that will eat you alive. And if you just take second here and think about it, you can feel the truth of that, right? If you think about what anxiety and envy…like all of the things that are associated…when you think about what they feel like…when you experience them in your body…when your emotions cause your body to experience these things…it feels like you're being eaten alive. But thankfully, the Proverb at first had already given us the cure, “ask God to show what a peaceful, tranquil heart looks like and feels like acts like today. And as you release this bitterness, this bitterness in the bones the Bible talks about, as you release the bitterness of envy and jealousy, then it will be borne out in your body as well. That’s some pretty big stuff to think about today.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into that, especially what we’re talking about here in the Proverbs because it's something that's like so immediate to our experience most every day. We’ve lost the plot of the story when we’re looking to each other to give us an identity. You are our Father and it is only in You that we can find our identity and ourselves. So, Holy Spirit, help us…help us to check ourselves. Help us to realize every time we are turning towards jealousy, every time we are turning toward envy, and help us to remember that when we participate in that and follow it through, we’re signing up for bitterness in our bones. It's like signing up for cancer. Help us to remember this Father we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what's going on around here. And there's always something. So, check it out.

Like I'm just thinking of the Daily Audio Bible shop today because some of the things that we read in the Scriptures, these are places. Like this place Shiloh, that was the capital, like the spiritual capital, the heartbeat of the people for these centuries before there ever was a temple. That's a place and we go to that place It was very rainy when we went to that place a couple months ago. But I’ve been there in the rain and I've been there in the sun and we've filmed all that and you can see Shiloh for yourself in the Promised Land films that are available in the Daily Audio Bible shop. So, yeah, check that out. I mean…it's…these resources that we create are created to bring context to the journey through the Scriptures in a year. And, so, when you can kind of read the story of Samuel and when you think about Hannah, his mother crying out to God for a son, and you think about God coming to Samuel with the words about what's gonna happen, Hophni and Phinehas and Eli. And, I mean, just to be able to zoom in and kind of look around a little bit, see the place. It's helpful to just go, “okay, so this is where that happened.” So, all of that is available in the Promised Land films in the Daily Audio Bible shop. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link, it lives on the homepage. I humbly and gratefully thank you for your partnership. If you're using the Daily Audio Bible app you can press the Give button in the upper right hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Springhill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number that you can dial if you are in the Americas. You can dial that number from anywhere in the world of course, but if you are in the UK we have a number for you, anywhere in Europe, 44-20-3608-8078. And if you are in Australia or that part of the world, 61-3-8820-5459 is the number to dial.

And that is it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hey Daily Audio Bible family, it’s To be a Blessing in California. Wanted to give a praise report an update on my 92-year young friend. She had a procedure done last week. Initially the doctor thought there just was plaque in her arteries. Come to find out, she did have a blood clot that ha burst in her right leg, and that the blood clot was stopped by it pressing against the nerves in her knee. God is so good. It just continued to coagulate. It didn’t move any further. It caused her such great pain. She’s pain-free. Praising God for that. She has another procedure in her left leg this upcoming week so please keep her in prayer. She said God is not through with me yet otherwise he would’ve laid me to rest. And I just am praising God for her service and love of him and sharing who he is with so many people. I wanted to ask that you would pray for me and others who have lost their family members. Specifically, with Mother’s Day coming up, those who have lost mothers and baby grieving. This is a hard time for me. This is the first year that I will be without my mom, but I know that God can hold me up and has been holding me up and I praise Him for that. Praying for those who are grieving as well. Annette from Oklahoma City haven’t heard you. Love to hear your voice. See what’s going on in your neck of the woods. Pastor Gene praying for you. Candace from Oregon praying for you. Salvation is Mine haven’t heard you in a while but praying for you as well my sister. God bless each and every one of you this week. Miguel from Santa Rosa also praying for you. Love you much. Take good care. Have a great day. Bye-bye.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family this is Treasured Possession sending a prayer out to God’s Girl in Bakersfield for her daughter Devon who walked down the aisle to her beloved David. She would like her bipolar dad to be on his meds, to be able to focus on his beautiful daughter, and to be able to show up for himself. Gracious heavenly Father Lord Jesus thank You Father God that You know who we are, that You know our heart, You know our thoughts, You know our lives, You are omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, You know it all from the beginning to the end, there is nothing You do not know. And we are…and You know Father God…that we are but dust, we are fragile, we are one day at a time beings and Your mercies are new every morning. And You also know that for a woman on her wedding day it’s a big deal Father God, it’s a huge deal and it is the dream of our lives. So, Lord God I lift up Devon. I ask Father God that You would give her the desires of her heart, that You would be in her Father, Tom. Help him Father God to show up and to be able to be present in the day so that he can share in the joy of the beauty that is his daughter. And bless God’s Girl from Bakersfield and bless David and bless their union and thank You God for all the people that have gotten married lately. Thank You, Father God, that You are the Father that is always present walking us down the aisle. We love You Lord God. We lay all that we are in Your hands and we praise and thank You for who You are and for how much You love us and it’s in Your precious son Jesus name and in his blood, we pray. Amen.

Hi family it’s Tamika again. I’m reaching out to you to continue to…please…for you guys to keep praying for me and my family especially for my success at my new job. It’s hard to think about that when I’m out of a car, I’m out of all this money, and I have no clue. I can’t pay…I can’t work without a car and I only had a little bit of money put aside for my move and now I don’t even know if it will be enough for the repair for this car. I shouldn’t have kept pushing it, but I kept pushing and pushing and pushing and telling myself I need the money I need the money until it made me so sick that even new coworkers couldn’t take it and made me go home. On the way home…I mean…I swear I didn’t make a single stop on the way to the house I ended up getting into a horrible accident and I thank God that I’m okay and that everybody in general is okay. But I feel such a horrible feeling of despair because now how am I gonna be able to see my kids and pay the fines and support and the move. I can’t seem to win lately. I need help. I need the kind of help that only God can give me. Please pray that I can receive it and perceive it correctly. Amen.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family, this Kenia here also known as Dr. Kenia and I wanted to call in in response to two students. The first one was from the UK which is where I’m from and the second student was from Texas who is a nursing student. And I’m a teacher and I just wanted to pray for you during this exam season and also extend this prayer to anyone else who is going through exams, assessments, at school at college and any institution. Dear Lord, we ask that You pour Your spirit of wisdom on these students. Help them to remain calm, to attend carefully to the questions asked, to think clearly, to remember accurately, and to __ themselves well. We thank You for Your word in Daniel 1:17, which says that You gave these the three boys the ability to learn all types of literature and I speak this over Your children. Grant that they reflect on the best of the work that they have done and of the best of the teaching they have received. Accept their best efforts in these examinations and in the great test of life __, may Your love be upon them all Lord as they place all their trust in You. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

[sandstonesunspear]

Best Friends

Supercorp, Lena-centric

Found a prompt chart for Pride Month and figured I’d try my hand at it. I’m a day behind because life. Parings are random.

Based off this headcanon from @unnecessary-database. Thanks for letting me run with it today.

AO3

When Kara had first asked her to do a TedTalk, Lena had immediately said no. She was, after all, a Luthor. Who in their right mind would want to listen to a speech given by a woman who was the sister to a psychopathic mass murderer and the daughter of a woman championing genocide and terrorism in the name of humanity?

You’re not Lex, Lena, and you’re not your mother, Kara had protested almost immediately before pulling out her trump cards: a pout and a set of puppy dog eyes.

Between Kara’s words and the puppy dog eyes, Lena never stood a chance. She had just sighed and agreed to exactly one talk, ignoring the way her stomach fluttered at the wide smile on Kara’s lips.

Three days later, she spoke on the need for more women in STEM while highlighting the achievements of those currently in the field.

Women in STEM is not some idealistic or politically correct idea, she had told the audience. It is a must, because you cannot be what you cannot see, and there are little girls out there who have ideas that could save the world, but unless they see themselves represented here, in a room exactly like this, those ideas will just stay ideas.

It had been well received. She had received a standing ovation from the crowd once her speech was over and journalists in attendance had written glowing pieces about it. To her surprise, one successful TedTalk led to the request for another one, which was just as well received as the last one. Before she knew it, she was being asked to give more talks at science and education conventions.

I can’t believe they want more, she had told Kara over dinner.

Kara had just laughed. Why wouldn’t they? You’re an amazing woman, Lena.

Lena had felt her stomach flip at Kara’s words and settled for ducking her head instead of stammering out a response.

It was no surprise that when she bought out CatCo, Lena made sure that there a TedTalk channel was quickly set up. Unlike many of the other TedTalks she had given in the past, the videos featured on the CatCo channel were more comical, but still incredible informative. The features videos covered a wide variety of topics, from self-defence, which featured Agent Danvers throwing around a hapless Agent Demos,

Sandra Bullock was pretty spot on for the SING method. Agent Demos here is going to help me demonstrate it for those of you who are unfamiliar with it. Agent Demos grabbed her. So, SING: Solar plexus. A pained grunt from Demos. Instep. A yelp from him. Nose. A sickening crunch followed by swearing. And groin.

Whoa whoa whoa wait, Danvers--- A swift jab backwards that was followed by a squealing noise and then a thump as he collapsed.

To mental health, which saw Lena speaking about what it was like to be the sister of a mass murder,

You come home and find out from the news that your brother is a psychopathic mass murder. What do you do? she had started. Well, first thing’s first, you take a deep breath, close your eyes, count to three, and tell yourself that you are not to blame.

She had locked eyes with Kara. Because you aren’t your brother and holding yourself responsible for his crimes isn’t doing him or you any favours.

And more. There were few things that Lena wasn’t willing to cover, especially as she grew more comfortable with the compliments and praise the videos received. Having Kara as a rehearsal buddy certainly helped as well.

That was great! They’re going to love it! Kara would always say.

I think you’re a bit biased, Kara, Lena was say, blushing and rolling her eyes as her stomach flipped.

Maybe, Kara would shrug while her smile would turn shy for just a second.

It was about nine videos before Lena realised she had a crush on Kara. Every time she would see Kara’s proud smile in the audience, she felt her stomach flip. It took a conversation with a very exasperated Sam to make Lena actually do something about it.

-

“She’s my best friend, Sam,” she said for the umpteenth time.

Sam just rolled her eyes. “People don’t buy media companies for their best friends,” she said. “CEO’s with no idea of scope and have a major crush on someone who works for that company do.”

“It was a business decision!” Lena protested. “What better way to counter negative press than by buying a press company!”

“Aside from how unethical that is, you and I both know that’s not the reason you bought CatCo, and besides, CatCo hadn’t printed anything negative about you,” Sam said. “If you wanted to counter negative press, you would’ve bought the Daily Planet because they dragged you through the mud after Lex was arrested and to be honest, the tone they take whenever L-Corp comes up isn’t the greatest.”

Lena scowled at her friend.

Sam tried a different tactic. “You wear her NCU sweatshirt when you’re at home, Lena,” she pointed out.

“Kara left it and I get cold sometimes,” was Lena’s immediate response. .

“Uh huh.” Sam sighed. “Why don’t you just tell her?” Lena gave her a flat look. “Maybe drop some hints?”

“Hints?”

“That there’s something more there.”

Lena bit her lip.

“Look, I’m not saying outright tell her, just, do something, please?” Sam asked. “Before you buy out Netflix or something for her.”

Lena leaned back. “I’ll think about it.”

-

It was several days before Lena came up with the idea to do a TedTalk on how to make a best friend. It was her way of channelling her feelings into something productive while. That it would be a rehearsal of sorts for the day when she actually confessed said feelings to Kara just happened to be a convenient bonus.

Unlike previous TedTalks, Lena chose not to rehearse this one in front of Kara. Instead, she had dragged Winn into her office and used him to practice. To her dismay, he had started tearing up the first time he heard her speech. Winn was quick to reassure her that it wasn’t a bad speech, there was just a lot of emotion and subtext underneath.

It makes you sound human, he had said. More than the other TedTalks you gave, which is good.

Lena ran through it a few more times just to make sure. Winn nodded approvingly at each one before giving her a thumbs up.

You’ve got it, he had said and smiled. Lena’s stomach had remained still at the sight as she returned it.

That had been just two days ago. Now that she was on stage, Lena could feel her stomach getting ready to fly up her throat.

“Miss Luthor?” one of the stagehands asked.

Lena glanced at her.

“You’re up.”

-

Lena walked out onto the stage. She was met by cheers and applause and smiled. She waited for it to settled down, scanning the crowd while she waited. Almost immediately, she found Kara sitting in the front row next to Winn.

Lena felt her heart stutter in her chest. She took a breath. Then, Kara gave her an encouraging smile. She felt herself relax.

It’s just like any other TedTalk.

“So, you’re trying to make a best friend,” she started. “Where do you start? What do you look for? Well, in my experience, a best friend is someone who will stand by you despite your name and accept you for you.”

She saw Kara’s eyes widened.

“They’re someone who thinks that you’re a hero even though you feel like you’re not.”

Even with the distance between them, Lena could see tears starting to gather in Kara’s eyes.

“They’re someone who inspires you to be better and holds you up even when things look rather bleak.”

She locked eyes with Kara.

“And they’re someone that you could love.”

She could see Kara starting to cry silently. She bit her lip and focused back on the crowd.

“If you find someone with some or most of those qualities, then congratulations, you’ve found your best friend.”

Laughter broke out. Lena smiled right alongside with them before clapping her hands. “Now for the hard part: becoming friends with them…”

-

Lena was in her office going over the latest reports from R&D when Kara walked into her office. She looked up to see the Girl of Steel looking rather nervous. She raised an eyebrow.

“You look like someone just told you that they’re closing down Noonan’s,” Lena remarked.

“What? Oh, no, I’m fine,” Kara stammered out. “Wait, are they really?”

Lena laughed. “No, they’re not,” she said. “Although, if you’re concerned, I could always buy them for you.”

“That’s not necessary!” Kara rushed out. She let out a short breath. “I’m actually here to talk about your TedTalk.”

Lena bit her lip. “What about it?”

“What you said, were you talking about me?” Kara asked.

Lena sat back. “Yes,” she said without hesitation. “You, Kara Danvers, are most definitely my best friend.”

“So, that part about a best friend being someone you could love, does that mean…?” Kara trailed off.

“That I love you?” Kara nodded. “Yes.” The moment the words were out, Lena felt panic flare in her gut but she quickly pushed it back.

There’s only two outcomes, nothing to be afraid of, she told herself.

“Oh.”

Lena looked away, feeling a flush creeping up the back of her neck. “You don’t return the sentiment,” she guessed and tried to hide the embarrassment and grief that was starting to settle in.

“I do!” Kara blurted out.

Lena blinked. She stood and walked around her desk to stand in front of Kara. “You do?” she asked.

Kara nodded. “I do,” she said quietly, giving Lena a small, shy smile. “I just, you know, didn’t want to say anything because you’re Lena Luthor, CEO of L-Corp and to the rest of the world, I’m just Kara Danvers, journali--”

Lena interrupted Kara by pressing her to hers. It was an impulsive move, but it was one she didn’t regret. She placed her hands on Kara’s hips and let her eyes slip shut as Kara kissed her back. She felt Kara place her arms around her shoulders.

They broke apart when air became an issue.

“Sorry,” Lena apologised. “I couldn’t let you put yourself down like that. You’re not just a journalist, you’re my hero, Kara.”

Kara’s cheeks turned pink. “You really have a way with words, Miss Luthor,” she teased.

Lena grinned. “I would certainly hope so,” she said.

Kara pressed her forehead to Lena’s. “So, how what?” she asked.

Lena pretended to think. “How about dinner?” she suggested. “I was thinking about that place on 32nd street, the one with the potstickers that you like.”

Kara smiled widely. “Sounds perfect--” She cut herself off when the sound of alarms from downtown filtered in from the balcony. She winced. She looked back at Lena. “I’m sorry, I have to--”

Lena placed a hand on Kara’s chest, right on top of where she knew Kara hid the crest of House El.

“Go,” she told Kara. “It’s okay, we’ll talk more tonight. Now, go be a hero, Supergirl.”

Kara nodded. “I’ll be back,” she said as she stepped towards the balcony. She glanced to Lena, then she was gone.

Lena watched with a fond smile as Kara flew off.

“A Super and a Luthor, who would’ve thought?”

[newcolorworld]

Vegetarian- Is It Really Good For A Healthy Life--

LIFESTYLE OF A VEGETARIAN

Food buying vegetarian is also an eye-opening experience and the one which is fairly diverse in greater ways than you'd guess. Being a real vegetarian is not exactly about that which you never eat for the reason you never eat beef. It's likewise all about a wholly different method of foods and diet. That means you are not going to find a vegetarian purchasing food in an identical manner a lot of individuals really do. There is going to be a lot more hours in the fresh produce part of this supermarket shop. The voucher basket of the vegetarian will probably provide them off every single time as it's going to be packed with foods that are fresh.

But searching for foodstuff having a vegetarian way of purchasing in different regions compared to neighborhood food shops. This indicates purchasing sausage and legumes in bulk in a store as this is 1 means a vegetarian preserves wellbeing by substituting the nourishment as well as other nutritional supplements that the remainder of the earth receives from beef and substituting it together with proteins out of legumes and different organic meals. Additionally, it entails purchasing farmer's markets and shopping at a vegetarian specialization retail store for several high-quality protein replacements such as kale.

Probably the most essential gap in how a vegetarian resides is apparent as it's in how she or he investigates. You are not going to discover any meat at a vegetarian cooking area. This will not signify a vegetarian can't dwell at family members and become in peace together with cats. If your house has just one vegetarian however many others that are perhaps not, you are going to have the ability to inform from your existence of soy along with more good fresh fruit along with more fresh veggies at the icebox. However, the notion that drinkers cannot be all-around beef eaters is not false. If so drinkers are peace-loving and certainly will endure their life across the others that are no matter these view strategy nicely.

Your household of the vegetarian is also considered a re-cycling residence to complete everything can be done to lower back on waste and also so are ground helpful. Together side recycling cans and bottles while you may anticipate, a vegetarian recycles much right in your residence. A re-cycling dwelling may frequently possess a mulch pile at the lawn for food-waste also it is also going to encourage a nice sized backyard to utilize that mulch to cultivate in house organic meals to dietary supplement a wholesome diet regime.

Among the largest injustices the vegetarian movements have suffered is the fact that in common tradition, the picture of the vegetarian is the fact that of the enthusiast wracking or cult celebrity that is"from the deep end" and can't consider other things aside from"rescuing a bunny" and hammering vegetarianism about everybody else he meets. The reality is the fact that the approach to life of the vegetarian isn't so different compared to everybody in society. The truth is that the chances are that someplace on your circle on the job church, school or on your loved ones and buddies community, you know a few men and women who're gently enjoying the life span of the vegetarian. Thus that will simply help us grasp within the unwanted stereotypes to comprehend how exactly a vegetarian in fact resides, allows study what's different in beers' daily life.

For apparent reasons, a vegetarian will probably possess vegetarian friends and appeal to societal circles and wait for roles that encourage the vegetarian way of life. Eating at restaurants using a vegetarian diet may signify heading into more cultural food eating places and you also may understand plenty of imagination in how exactly to arrange foods at a grocery store. However, despite popular belief, vegetarian ingestion is much more tasty and assorted in relation to the diet.

Only spending daily having a vegetarian can show you a much far more harmonious lifestyle that's painful and sensitive towards the surroundings and also at peace with itself. It's a healthful and joyful way of life and also the one which ought to be popular with us.

The vegetarian movements are at stability with several of the ground first moves like the natural and organic movement and also the green motion. Thus a vegetarian cooking area is going to do have significantly more organic food items hand to decrease the clear presence of unsafe pesticides as well as other compounds from the diet plan. Additionally, vegetarianism impacts the approach to life beyond only the icebox as well as the cabinet. You are not going to discover leather outfits within a vegetarian cupboard and also you won't locate fur that there. This really is growing to become for its large part drinkers are allergic to animal rights plus also they don't really wish to observe your skin of creatures utilized within their own clothing.

GOOD OF VEGETARIANISM

The ethical, spiritual and ethical explanations for being a vegetarian are now likewise famous. Lots of religions involve a daily diet without meat along with recurrent fasting. A vegetarian diet regime provides you far increased control within the desire therefore that you may detect religious areas that predict for bodily refusal to get a brief while and also receive each one the religious goodness away from these.

Occasionally the single thing actually keeping you back out of getting the huge measure of being a vegetarian will be always to visit a strong grasp of exactly what you are certain to gain out of this. Too frequently we begin ingestion cutting and right off meat out of our daily diet for being a drudgery and something we"have to do" however we do not desire to. But learning to be a vegetarian is still a huge life shift plus the one which you ought to make with every single aim of staying a vegetarian to get the life. The single means to make that type of daily life transform"adhere" will be always to own several tangible and desired positive effects you will comprehend from this shift. When there is certainly"anything inside for you personally" aside from getting considered a fantastic man like you" if" do it, then you may adopt the shift further afield.

Aside from the religious principles, increasingly increasing numbers of folks are getting to be informed that consuming beef is either untrue or unethical. It's maybe not"kooky" or mad to realize the increasing of creatures to allow individuals to eliminate and try to eat sounds shameful to get a cultivated civilization including ours. It isn't hard to uncover terror tales of these grisly methods animals are slaughtered to eventually become our food items. To eventually become a portion of this answer as section of the challenge is attracting lots of folks that own a notion. And vegetarianism a section of this remedy which should most of us adopted vegetarianism, it'd have been a much far better planet for everybody.

One particular gain that lots of new moves to vegetarianism see but don't find a lot of protection is how far superior their digestive procedures will probably continue to work minus the load which beef puts onto their own interiors. Maybe not only are you going to eat up the meal more readily, but you are not going to believe "hefty and lethargic" feeling and you'll sleep even have sex. That's since the bad effect of creature muscle onto your own intestines will probably evaporate. Additionally, you will find that it on your own intestines as well as also your own elimination. In the most manner, the performance of one's internal mechanics is going to soon be much simpler as you just offer it meatless food to reside on.

As lots of top-priced fat reduction programs since you will find, there can be no better one and also yet one who is carried out for no price would be always to simply quit eating beef. You hardly ever match with an extra fat vegetarian since there's simply not too far at a non-fat meal to develop into obese. Berries fast convert into energy, so send vitamins into your own systems and also the remnant render your own body without any trouble so that your fat burning capacity will normally accelerate up thus that you shed bodyweight.

The wellness rewards are possibly the enthusiasm which induces many visitors to embrace a beef diet plan. The easy truth is the fact that science has shown that individuals aren't natural meat-eaters. Yes, we all could survive meat however our strategies aren't ideal to eat up the thick food which beef reflects on your gastrointestinal tract.

Some of those absolute most recurring federal health issues might be followed to beef ingestion. Everything from weight problems to cardiovascular problems to growing older generally seems to become for this ingestion of beef. As meat is much tougher in our inside processes to digest, both eliminate and utilize, the effect in your own insides is catastrophic. Vegetarians tend to suffer from a high incidence of colon cancer, obesity, cardiovascular problems or cardiovascular disease.

A single huge advantage a vegetarian life could cause you will be it is far less hassle to the lifestyle because being a vegetarian plus it's much more affordable. It will not require an exact extensive day at the supermarket retailer to appreciate even a little slab of beef or perhaps a pound of hamburger is a lot pricier when compared to the usual mind of cabbage along with perhaps a lot of carrots. The meal costs might plummet should you reevaluate your own life and also eat just sweet meals. As well as also your meal will probably survive more in storage.

HOW OF VEGETARIANISM

A large choice to make and something which you ought to feel through ahead of you begin your course into the lifetime of the vegetarian is how you are going to make the changeover. You may be excited and would like to really go"cold turkey" or some exact unpleasant vegetarian regime. However, it just isn't advised since it increases the likelihood that you can experience a lot more intense responses to clipping so much of one's diet plan. Remember that your human body can be accustomed to a particular degree of ingestion. Thus make alterations at some time and simplicity to a new wholesome way of life.

Occasionally the actual barrier of earning that huge shift on your own life to learning to be a vegetarian isn't exactly the"why" of earning this huge shift on your way of life nevertheless precisely how. It's not difficult to discover superior motives to get rid of meat in the daily diet plan. You'll find ethical motives, religious factors and preceding all wellness reasons which make the shift that an ideal fit to where you're in existence at the moment.

That's precisely why among those huge actions for generating the shift is usually to function well in touch with your motives and priorities for learning to be a vegetarian. This really may be definitely the most crucial from the very first months of one's new lifestyle since you're accustomed to the daily diet and also the wellness impacts in your own system. And due to the fact many vegetarian foods move via an adjustment period of time since you promise you will find enough vitamins and protein, you are going to truly have a lot of fresh senses and matters happening interior this may consider some endurance to make it through.

By beginning intelligent, consulting with your physician and be conscious of your nutrient supplements and vitamin demands since it's possible to alter your diet plan and lifestyle, then you are going to gradually facilitate to a life that is vegetarian. So that since you need to do that you can observe which you aren't only moving off out of a terrible diet plan however proceeding toward you may enjoy and also the one which is going to help your wellbeing for quite a while in the future.

At times the rationale why we restrain from accepting the dip on getting drinkers comes out of a panic that's seated in shortage of advice. Thus that the most obvious way is always to learn everything you are able to on your daily diet and also what things to expect while you start living the life span of the vegetarian diet. The very best priority on your brand new instruction application is how you can generate an eating plan which satisfies your dietary requirements in addition to delivers you sufficient selection to become gratifying minus the current presence of beef. The very fantastic thing is there certainly is certainly a wide range of internet sites and publications it's possible to utilize to learn how exactly to supplement your own daily diet in order that you can get the thing you want to start your own life for being a vegetarian diet.

Thus make certain of one's motives and also return into this"headline" of why you opted to make this shift on your own life from the first location. And just like every amazing objective, in the event that you genuinely have confidence in that which it is you're doing, then you also may push the demanding stains as you wish to call home correct and enjoy some great benefits of living and eating in a sense which is compatible with all the surroundings as well as your very own physiological demands.

There's not any sugar level that the simple fact a considerable shift in diet plan as you'll experience changing into a vegetarian lifestyle will require some getting used to. It's likewise planning to involve self-discipline in your own area to make the changeover. It's true, you are likely to end up fitter and most likely believe a lot better when you could frankly tell the entire world" I'm a vegetarian". However, the changeover might be challenging.

However, what definitely prevents a lot of men and women from earning this exactly favorable shift within their own lives isn't knowing just how exactly to make the changeover. Thus that its good notion to consider exactly what it can suggest being vegetarian therefore we are able to get rid of the puzzle out of exactly what you really might be just about to really do.

If there's a question concerning if or not a vegetarian diet program is suitable for you personally, find healthcare information before it needs to make this a significant difference for that which you take in every day. Your physician is able to assist you to make certain you're taking sufficient vitamins to get continuing wellness insurance and that you're going dishes that offer you adequate nourishment and nourishment therefore that your busy lifestyle isn't hurt from your own fresh eating area.

[thecoroutfitters]

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Treat Customer Data Like You’d Want Yours to Be Treated

Last Christmas, I bought a friend of mine a subscription to a science and culture magazine. She had discovered the magazine during downtime at work, so she was delighted when they started showing up at her door.

The gift was a hit, despite the fact that I’d misspelled her name. But then other magazines offers started to arrive in the mail. Then came requests for donations from charitable groups. Next, travel agency ads. And then came the political mailers.

Once she activated her digital subscription, things got worse. Although Google’s algorithm kept some spam out of her inbox, the same companies crowding her mailbox turned up there. Eventually, she ditched that email address for one the magazine didn’t know about. How did she know that the magazine had sold her data? Because my misspelling showed up everywhere. Fed up, she checked the magazine’s privacy policy; with no recourse but to cancel her subscription, she did so months before it ran out.

Customer Experience Matters More

By selling my friend’s data, the magazine lost her business. So what did it gain in return? Probably around $0.20. Although the value of a customer’s data varies according to their life circumstances, seldom does it sell for more than a dollar.

In aggregate, user data sales add up. But no amount of ad money can erase the stain that selling it leaves on the customer experience. In research published this past May, data exchange Insights Network noted that 90% of consumers consider it unethical for companies to share personal data without the user’s consent. Although some customers will look past data sharing they see as unethical, those like my friend won’t.

Whether my friend is the exception or the norm isn’t important. What’s important is that nearly three-quarters of consumers consider the customer experience an important factor in their purchasing decisions, according to a PwC report published earlier this year. And nothing puts the customer experience in jeopardy quite like unethical use of personal data.

Treat customer data like your own

Customers have different expectations, of course, for how you should handle their data. So how can you tweak your data policies to deliver the best experience for the most customers? Follow the Golden Rule: Treat user data as you’d want your own to be treated. In other words:

1. Don’t buy data; ask for it.

In the U.S. alone, companies spend more than $10 billion annually on third-party audience data. The trouble is, 65% of consumers are uncomfortable with their personal data being shared with for-profit firms, according to the Insights Network report.

But where, if not from data vendors, can you get customer insights? What about customers themselves? Snapchat and other firms focused on the customer experience are partnering with companies like Jebbit to collect what’s known as declared data. Declared data is first-party information that consumers volunteer about their motivations, intentions, interests, and preferences.

Although it might seem impossible to gather enough declared data for Big Data initiatives, Jebbit points out that online experiences and conversations can make collection scalable. Plus, because customers volunteer it, declared data tends to be far more accurate than third-party data, which two-thirds of surveyed consumers told Deloitte is mostly inaccurate.

2. Give the customer something in return.

The question is, are consumers actually willing to share their data? Most are—provided they get something in return. According to a survey by Acxiom and industry group Data & Marketing Association, 58% of consumers make decisions on a case-by-case basis as to whether a service enhancement is worth sharing their data.

What, exactly, do customers want in exchange? In a world, personalization. Epsilon research shows that 80% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that offer personalized experiences. Most consumers realize that products and services can’t be tailored to them unless they share some amount of personal data.

If you need inspiration, look to Spotify. Not only does the music service leverage user data to create customized Discover Weekly playlists, but it builds bottomless Daily Mixes in the user’s favorite genres. Last but not least, its Release Radar helps users find new releases by their favorite artists.

3. Get consent before sharing or selling user data—or better yet, don’t sell it at all.

While the U.S. doesn’t have a comprehensive law like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which requires companies to obtain the customer’s consent before sharing or selling their data, new legislation like the California Consumer Privacy Act indicates a shift in that direction. Simply because the practice is currently legal in the U.S., doesn’t mean it’s a smart business move.

To show that you’re serious about protecting your customers’ data, start by updating your privacy policy to make clear that you’ll seek informed consent before selling or sharing their information. The University of Michigan’s Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research provides a primer on model language as well as phrases to avoid. Although it’s focused on research data, best-in-class companies take a similar approach to their marketing data.

In a time when the customer experience matters most, surreptitiously selling user data simply isn’t a smart move. The science magazine might’ve made a quarter by doing so, but it also turned a paying customer into a quitter.

The post Treat Customer Data Like You’d Want Yours to Be Treated appeared first on Marketo Marketing Blog - Best Practices and Thought Leadership.

from http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/modernb2bmarketing/~3/mbb5TUUthYc/treat-customer-data-like-youd-want-yours-to-be-treated.html

[darkammarketing]

Treat Customer Data Like You’d Want Yours to Be Treated

Last Christmas, I bought a friend of mine a subscription to a science and culture magazine. She had discovered the magazine during downtime at work, so she was delighted when they started showing up at her door.

The gift was a hit, despite the fact that I’d misspelled her name. But then other magazines offers started to arrive in the mail. Then came requests for donations from charitable groups. Next, travel agency ads. And then came the political mailers.

Once she activated her digital subscription, things got worse. Although Google’s algorithm kept some spam out of her inbox, the same companies crowding her mailbox turned up there. Eventually, she ditched that email address for one the magazine didn’t know about. How did she know that the magazine had sold her data? Because my misspelling showed up everywhere. Fed up, she checked the magazine’s privacy policy; with no recourse but to cancel her subscription, she did so months before it ran out.

Customer Experience Matters More

By selling my friend’s data, the magazine lost her business. So what did it gain in return? Probably around $0.20. Although the value of a customer’s data varies according to their life circumstances, seldom does it sell for more than a dollar.

In aggregate, user data sales add up. But no amount of ad money can erase the stain that selling it leaves on the customer experience. In research published this past May, data exchange Insights Network noted that 90% of consumers consider it unethical for companies to share personal data without the user’s consent. Although some customers will look past data sharing they see as unethical, those like my friend won’t.

Whether my friend is the exception or the norm isn’t important. What’s important is that nearly three-quarters of consumers consider the customer experience an important factor in their purchasing decisions, according to a PwC report published earlier this year. And nothing puts the customer experience in jeopardy quite like unethical use of personal data.

Treat customer data like your own

Customers have different expectations, of course, for how you should handle their data. So how can you tweak your data policies to deliver the best experience for the most customers? Follow the Golden Rule: Treat user data as you’d want your own to be treated. In other words:

1. Don’t buy data; ask for it.

In the U.S. alone, companies spend more than $10 billion annually on third-party audience data. The trouble is, 65% of consumers are uncomfortable with their personal data being shared with for-profit firms, according to the Insights Network report.

But where, if not from data vendors, can you get customer insights? What about customers themselves? Snapchat and other firms focused on the customer experience are partnering with companies like Jebbit to collect what’s known as declared data. Declared data is first-party information that consumers volunteer about their motivations, intentions, interests, and preferences.

Although it might seem impossible to gather enough declared data for Big Data initiatives, Jebbit points out that online experiences and conversations can make collection scalable. Plus, because customers volunteer it, declared data tends to be far more accurate than third-party data, which two-thirds of surveyed consumers told Deloitte is mostly inaccurate.

2. Give the customer something in return.

The question is, are consumers actually willing to share their data? Most are—provided they get something in return. According to a survey by Acxiom and industry group Data & Marketing Association, 58% of consumers make decisions on a case-by-case basis as to whether a service enhancement is worth sharing their data.

What, exactly, do customers want in exchange? In a world, personalization. Epsilon research shows that 80% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that offer personalized experiences. Most consumers realize that products and services can’t be tailored to them unless they share some amount of personal data.

If you need inspiration, look to Spotify. Not only does the music service leverage user data to create customized Discover Weekly playlists, but it builds bottomless Daily Mixes in the user’s favorite genres. Last but not least, its Release Radar helps users find new releases by their favorite artists.

3. Get consent before sharing or selling user data—or better yet, don’t sell it at all.

While the U.S. doesn’t have a comprehensive law like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which requires companies to obtain the customer’s consent before sharing or selling their data, new legislation like the California Consumer Privacy Act indicates a shift in that direction. Simply because the practice is currently legal in the U.S., doesn’t mean it’s a smart business move.

To show that you’re serious about protecting your customers’ data, start by updating your privacy policy to make clear that you’ll seek informed consent before selling or sharing their information. The University of Michigan’s Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research provides a primer on model language as well as phrases to avoid. Although it’s focused on research data, best-in-class companies take a similar approach to their marketing data.

In a time when the customer experience matters most, surreptitiously selling user data simply isn’t a smart move. The science magazine might’ve made a quarter by doing so, but it also turned a paying customer into a quitter.

The post Treat Customer Data Like You’d Want Yours to Be Treated appeared first on Marketo Marketing Blog - Best Practices and Thought Leadership.

from http://bit.ly/2TXGAzN via IFTTT via Blogger http://bit.ly/2JrLAZE

[archiebwoollard]

Treat Customer Data Like You’d Want Yours to Be Treated

Last Christmas, I bought a friend of mine a subscription to a science and culture magazine. She had discovered the magazine during downtime at work, so she was delighted when they started showing up at her door.

The gift was a hit, despite the fact that I’d misspelled her name. But then other magazines offers started to arrive in the mail. Then came requests for donations from charitable groups. Next, travel agency ads. And then came the political mailers.

Once she activated her digital subscription, things got worse. Although Google’s algorithm kept some spam out of her inbox, the same companies crowding her mailbox turned up there. Eventually, she ditched that email address for one the magazine didn’t know about. How did she know that the magazine had sold her data? Because my misspelling showed up everywhere. Fed up, she checked the magazine’s privacy policy; with no recourse but to cancel her subscription, she did so months before it ran out.

Customer Experience Matters More

By selling my friend’s data, the magazine lost her business. So what did it gain in return? Probably around $0.20. Although the value of a customer’s data varies according to their life circumstances, seldom does it sell for more than a dollar.

In aggregate, user data sales add up. But no amount of ad money can erase the stain that selling it leaves on the customer experience. In research published this past May, data exchange Insights Network noted that 90% of consumers consider it unethical for companies to share personal data without the user’s consent. Although some customers will look past data sharing they see as unethical, those like my friend won’t.

Whether my friend is the exception or the norm isn’t important. What’s important is that nearly three-quarters of consumers consider the customer experience an important factor in their purchasing decisions, according to a PwC report published earlier this year. And nothing puts the customer experience in jeopardy quite like unethical use of personal data.

Treat customer data like your own

Customers have different expectations, of course, for how you should handle their data. So how can you tweak your data policies to deliver the best experience for the most customers? Follow the Golden Rule: Treat user data as you’d want your own to be treated. In other words:

1. Don’t buy data; ask for it.

In the U.S. alone, companies spend more than $10 billion annually on third-party audience data. The trouble is, 65% of consumers are uncomfortable with their personal data being shared with for-profit firms, according to the Insights Network report.

But where, if not from data vendors, can you get customer insights? What about customers themselves? Snapchat and other firms focused on the customer experience are partnering with companies like Jebbit to collect what’s known as declared data. Declared data is first-party information that consumers volunteer about their motivations, intentions, interests, and preferences.

Although it might seem impossible to gather enough declared data for Big Data initiatives, Jebbit points out that online experiences and conversations can make collection scalable. Plus, because customers volunteer it, declared data tends to be far more accurate than third-party data, which two-thirds of surveyed consumers told Deloitte is mostly inaccurate.

2. Give the customer something in return.

The question is, are consumers actually willing to share their data? Most are—provided they get something in return. According to a survey by Acxiom and industry group Data & Marketing Association, 58% of consumers make decisions on a case-by-case basis as to whether a service enhancement is worth sharing their data.

What, exactly, do customers want in exchange? In a world, personalization. Epsilon research shows that 80% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that offer personalized experiences. Most consumers realize that products and services can’t be tailored to them unless they share some amount of personal data.

If you need inspiration, look to Spotify. Not only does the music service leverage user data to create customized Discover Weekly playlists, but it builds bottomless Daily Mixes in the user’s favorite genres. Last but not least, its Release Radar helps users find new releases by their favorite artists.

3. Get consent before sharing or selling user data—or better yet, don’t sell it at all.

While the U.S. doesn’t have a comprehensive law like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which requires companies to obtain the customer’s consent before sharing or selling their data, new legislation like the California Consumer Privacy Act indicates a shift in that direction. Simply because the practice is currently legal in the U.S., doesn’t mean it’s a smart business move.

To show that you’re serious about protecting your customers’ data, start by updating your privacy policy to make clear that you’ll seek informed consent before selling or sharing their information. The University of Michigan’s Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research provides a primer on model language as well as phrases to avoid. Although it’s focused on research data, best-in-class companies take a similar approach to their marketing data.

In a time when the customer experience matters most, surreptitiously selling user data simply isn’t a smart move. The science magazine might’ve made a quarter by doing so, but it also turned a paying customer into a quitter.

The post Treat Customer Data Like You’d Want Yours to Be Treated appeared first on Marketo Marketing Blog - Best Practices and Thought Leadership.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 https://blog.marketo.com/2019/03/treat-customer-data-like-youd-want-yours-to-be-treated.html

[zacdhaenkeau]

Treat Customer Data Like You’d Want Yours to Be Treated

Last Christmas, I bought a friend of mine a subscription to a science and culture magazine. She had discovered the magazine during downtime at work, so she was delighted when they started showing up at her door.

The gift was a hit, despite the fact that I’d misspelled her name. But then other magazines offers started to arrive in the mail. Then came requests for donations from charitable groups. Next, travel agency ads. And then came the political mailers.

Once she activated her digital subscription, things got worse. Although Google’s algorithm kept some spam out of her inbox, the same companies crowding her mailbox turned up there. Eventually, she ditched that email address for one the magazine didn’t know about. How did she know that the magazine had sold her data? Because my misspelling showed up everywhere. Fed up, she checked the magazine’s privacy policy; with no recourse but to cancel her subscription, she did so months before it ran out.

Customer Experience Matters More

By selling my friend’s data, the magazine lost her business. So what did it gain in return? Probably around $0.20. Although the value of a customer’s data varies according to their life circumstances, seldom does it sell for more than a dollar.

In aggregate, user data sales add up. But no amount of ad money can erase the stain that selling it leaves on the customer experience. In research published this past May, data exchange Insights Network noted that 90% of consumers consider it unethical for companies to share personal data without the user’s consent. Although some customers will look past data sharing they see as unethical, those like my friend won’t.

Whether my friend is the exception or the norm isn’t important. What’s important is that nearly three-quarters of consumers consider the customer experience an important factor in their purchasing decisions, according to a PwC report published earlier this year. And nothing puts the customer experience in jeopardy quite like unethical use of personal data.

Treat customer data like your own

Customers have different expectations, of course, for how you should handle their data. So how can you tweak your data policies to deliver the best experience for the most customers? Follow the Golden Rule: Treat user data as you’d want your own to be treated. In other words:

1. Don’t buy data; ask for it.

In the U.S. alone, companies spend more than $10 billion annually on third-party audience data. The trouble is, 65% of consumers are uncomfortable with their personal data being shared with for-profit firms, according to the Insights Network report.

But where, if not from data vendors, can you get customer insights? What about customers themselves? Snapchat and other firms focused on the customer experience are partnering with companies like Jebbit to collect what’s known as declared data. Declared data is first-party information that consumers volunteer about their motivations, intentions, interests, and preferences.

Although it might seem impossible to gather enough declared data for Big Data initiatives, Jebbit points out that online experiences and conversations can make collection scalable. Plus, because customers volunteer it, declared data tends to be far more accurate than third-party data, which two-thirds of surveyed consumers told Deloitte is mostly inaccurate.

2. Give the customer something in return.

The question is, are consumers actually willing to share their data? Most are—provided they get something in return. According to a survey by Acxiom and industry group Data & Marketing Association, 58% of consumers make decisions on a case-by-case basis as to whether a service enhancement is worth sharing their data.

What, exactly, do customers want in exchange? In a world, personalization. Epsilon research shows that 80% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that offer personalized experiences. Most consumers realize that products and services can’t be tailored to them unless they share some amount of personal data.

If you need inspiration, look to Spotify. Not only does the music service leverage user data to create customized Discover Weekly playlists, but it builds bottomless Daily Mixes in the user’s favorite genres. Last but not least, its Release Radar helps users find new releases by their favorite artists.

3. Get consent before sharing or selling user data—or better yet, don’t sell it at all.

While the U.S. doesn’t have a comprehensive law like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which requires companies to obtain the customer’s consent before sharing or selling their data, new legislation like the California Consumer Privacy Act indicates a shift in that direction. Simply because the practice is currently legal in the U.S., doesn’t mean it’s a smart business move.

To show that you’re serious about protecting your customers’ data, start by updating your privacy policy to make clear that you’ll seek informed consent before selling or sharing their information. The University of Michigan’s Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research provides a primer on model language as well as phrases to avoid. Although it’s focused on research data, best-in-class companies take a similar approach to their marketing data.

In a time when the customer experience matters most, surreptitiously selling user data simply isn’t a smart move. The science magazine might’ve made a quarter by doing so, but it also turned a paying customer into a quitter.

The post Treat Customer Data Like You’d Want Yours to Be Treated appeared first on Marketo Marketing Blog - Best Practices and Thought Leadership.

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