Largest scale experiment ever’ shows what is possible as satellite images reveal marked fall in global nitrogen dioxide levels The coronavirus pandemic is shutting down industrial activity and temporarily slashing air pollution levels around the world, satellite imagery from the European Space Agency shows. One expert said the sudden shift ... Read More »
Poor water infrastructure is greater risk than coronavirus, says UN
On World Water Day, UN warns that more than half the global population lacking access to safely managed sanitation Decades of chronic underfunding of water infrastructure is putting many countries at worse risk in the coronavirus crisis, with more than half the global population lacking access to safely managed sanitation, ... Read More »
The coronavirus crisis may lead to a whole new way of economic thinking
The 1929 crash changed economics. With ideas such as universal basic income now being championed, Covid-19 could do likewise Rishi Sunak says the measures he has announced to support the economy are without precedent in peacetime – and he’s right. Never before has the British state agreed to pay the ... Read More »
Toxicologist says anti-malaria drugs show ‘promise’ in treating coronavirus
Malaria drugs are showing “promising” initial results as a potential coronavirus treatment, a toxicologist and economic researcher said Saturday. Appearing on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Dr. Chris Martenson said the experimental drugs — including hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin — were made available on Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration. Although chloroquine has a “spotty past” and is unsafe ... Read More »
Why Italy’s coronavirus death toll continues to spike despite lockdown – and what the UK can learn
As a number of European states scramble to introduce mandatory social distancing and the UK ponders similar measures, governments are looking at Italy’s coronavirus lockdown to gauge how far a democratic state can go to constrain civil liberties when dealing with a medical emergency. Italy has been in full lockdown since ... Read More »
Greenland’s melting ice raised global sea level by 2.2mm in two months
Analysis of satellite data reveals astounding loss of 600bn tons of ice last summer as Arctic experienced hottest year on record Last year’s summer was so warm that it helped trigger the loss of 600bn tons of ice from Greenland – enough to raise global sea levels by 2.2mm in ... Read More »
WHO considers ‘airborne precautions’ for medical staff after study shows coronavirus can survive in air
The World Health Organization is considering “airborne precautions” for medical staff after a new study showed the coronavirus can survive in the air in some settings. The virus is transmitted through droplets, or little bits of liquid, mostly through sneezing or coughing, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of WHO’s emerging diseases and ... Read More »
Why outbreaks like coronavirus spread exponentially, and how to “flatten the curve”
After the first case of covid-19, the disease caused by the new strain of coronavirus, was announced in the United States, reports of further infections trickled in slowly. Two months later, that trickle has turned into a steady current. This so-called exponential curve has experts worried. If the number of ... Read More »
Coronavirus: many infections spread by people yet to show symptoms – scientists
Findings mean that isolating people once they start to feel ill is less effective than hoped Many coronavirus infections may be spread by people who have recently caught the virus and have not yet begun to show symptoms, scientists have found. An analysis of infections in Singapore and Tianjin ... Read More »
Climate emergency: global action is ‘way off track’ says UN head
Deadly heatwaves, floods and rising hunger far greater threat to world than coronavirus, scientists say The world is “way off track” in dealing with the climate emergency and time is fast running out, the UN secretary general has said. António Guterres sounded the alarm at the launch of the UN’s ... Read More »