Covid-19 news: Vaccines for new variants could be fast-tracked in UK

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2237475-covid-19-news-vaccines-for-new-variants-could-be-fast-tracked-in-uk/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Repeated coronavirus lockdowns are taking a severe toll on children

The covid-19 pandemic and associated restrictions have impacted children’s mental health – which has already been declining for years in the UK and US Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24933243-200-repeated-coronavirus-lockdowns-are-taking-a-severe-toll-on-children/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Photon-photon polaritons: the intriguing particles that emerge when two photons couple

Scientists at the University of Bath in the UK have found a way to bind together two photons of different colors, paving the way for important advancements in quantum-electrodynamics—the field of science that describes how light and matter interact. In time, the team’s findings are likely to impact developments in optical and quantum communication, and precision measurements of frequency, time and…

Scientists Have Invented Light-Up OLED Tattoos

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: Tattoos are usually considered a form of personal expression, but a team of researchers in Europe have created what they’re calling the world’s first light-emitting tattoo based on OLED screen technology that, besides presumably looking kind of cool, could also serve as a visible warning about potential health concerns. In a recently published…

How much of a threat is the Brazil variant of coronavirus to the UK?

The P.1 variant from Brazil that has been detected in six people in the UK can partly evade existing antibodies, but vaccines should still protect against severe disease Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2269579-how-much-of-a-threat-is-the-brazil-variant-of-coronavirus-to-the-uk/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Covid-19 news: Search underway in UK to identify Brazil variant case

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2237475-covid-19-news-search-underway-in-uk-to-identify-brazil-variant-case/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Vast Energy Use of Bitcoin Criticized

The University of Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance has calculated that Bitcoin’s total energy consumption is somewhere between 40 and 445 terawatt hours (TWh) a year, with a central estimate of about 130 terawatt hours, reports the BBC: The UK’s electricity consumption is a little over 300 TWh a year, while Argentina uses around the same amount of power as the…

Motor industry lobbied for a loophole in UK fossil fuel car ban

The UK government plan announced in 2020 is to ban new petrol and diesel model cars by 2030, but some fossil-fuelled cars are to be exempt. Now it has emerged that the concession came after lobbying by the UK car-makers’ trade body Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2269011-motor-industry-lobbied-for-a-loophole-in-uk-fossil-fuel-car-ban/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Children are getting long covid and being left with lasting problems

UK officials have called the lack of support for children with long covid a “national scandal” and parents are raising alarms about the risks posed by school reopening Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24933233-600-children-are-getting-long-covid-and-being-left-with-lasting-problems/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…