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IEA says global CO2 emissions rising again after nearly 6% fall last year

"Global carbon dioxide emissions dropped by 5.8% in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic slowed economic activity, but they rebounded at the end of the year and are on course to rise further, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday." Whilst economic growth is sought to reduce national deficits following...
Source: reuters.com

Ghana kicks off coronavirus vaccination campaign with COVAX shots

"Ghana began its coronavirus vaccination drive on Tuesday with 600,000 AstraZeneca doses it received from the global COVAX vaccine-sharing facility aimed at providing shots to developing nations to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic." Great to see Ghana in the news and reading about the ITU nurses getting...
Source: reuters.com

UK rollout data on AstraZeneca shot should guide other countries: vaccine chief

Natural experiments can be a really useful source of data. "Data from Britain's vaccine rollout on the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University COVID-19 shot in older people should help other countries reassess their use of it, the head of the university's vaccine research group said on Tuesday."
Source: reuters.com

Betting on death of petrol cars, Volvo to go all electric by 2030

"Volvo's entire car lineup will be fully electric by 2030, the Chinese-owned company said on Tuesday, joining a growing number of carmakers planning to phase out fossil-fuel engines by the end of this decade." Maybe the transition to all electric cars is going to go faster than it appeared only a few...
Source: reuters.com

'Undiscovered Titian painting' found in Ledbury church

"An art historian claims to have found the Renaissance master's signature during restoration work." Fascinating story especially the then - plague - and now - pandemic angle. Enormous dedication from the historian and team who have been working on it - over 11,000 hours of work. Can't remember seeing...
Source: bbc.com

Human origins: 'Little Foot' fossil's big journey out of Africa

"How the priceless skull of an ancient ancestor was brought to the UK from South Africa for study."
Source: bbc.com

NOAN creates timber wedding chapel in Finnish woodland

"NOAN has designed a timber chapel within a forest overlooking the Tervajärvi at a campground in southern Finland." What amazing woodwork.
Source: dezeen.com

Covid vaccines cut risk of serious illness by 80% in over-80s

"The UK will soon be in a "very different world", government scientists promise after the success of the jabs."
Source: bbc.com

A Psychologist's Journey to Treating Phobias with VR - VR for Health

VRforHealth invites you to learn about the work of Howard Gurr, licensed psychologist in New York State, and his journey toward the use of Virtual Reality Therapy in helping patients overcome phobias and anxieties and assist in the enhancement of mindfulness. Since the pandemic, Howard practices VR therapy...
Source: vrforhealth.com

Killings by Police Declined after Black Lives Matter Protests

"A study also found body-camera use and community policing increased in places with the most active movements."
Source: scientificamerican.com

The Namib Desert bears a scar from a meteorite impact.

"In the vastness of one of the world’s oldest deserts lies a relatively recent geologic feature: the Roter Kamm crater (“red comb” or “red crest/ridge” in German). An astronaut onboard the International Space Station photographed the crater while orbiting over the Namib Desert. It is approximately...
Source: nasa.gov

Is the UK destined to be the next life science hub?

Jason Shafrin explores the question in The Economist about the role of British science in the pandemic and the future of the UK life sciences activity. "With good data, efficient regulation, an international collection of talent, R&D funds focused on the health care, the UK could see big gains...
Source: healthcare-economist.com

The Technology Behind Cinematic Photos

There has been some work by teams at Google looking at analysing images to extract their 3D features. They launched a new feature called 'cinematic photos' and this blog posted by Per Karlsson and Lucy Yu, Software Engineers, of Google Research tries to explain how it works. "Looking at photos from...
Source: googleblog.com

'How many dead bodies?' asked Myanmar protester killed on bloodiest day

Shocking news from Myanmar reported by Reuters. "The day before he was killed, internet network engineer Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing had posted on Facebook about the increasingly violent military crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Myanmar." "“#How_Many_Dead_Bodies_UN_Need_To_Take_Action,” he wrote,...
Source: reuters.com

Drones fly to protect rare New Zealand dolphins

New Zealand's prime minister Jacinda Ardern said on Friday (February 26) that her government was backing a new project that uses drone technology to understand and protect the endangered Maui dolphins in the country. Gloria Tso reports. Reuters Video.
Source: reut.rs

Covid: Bedfordshire counselling service sees rise in caseload

Demand for help from a youth counselling service will "continue to rise" during the pandemic.
Source: bbc.com

Rocket Report Cornwall

Cornwall says “LOL, no” to space tourism. "If we're being blunt about it ... One council member, John Fitter, was more explicit, saying, 'If we were to entertain this, it would be quite ridiculous and send out the wrong message to those people in Cornwall who could possibly be suffering on below...
Source: arstechnica.com

The bankers are bluffing, don’t scrap the bonus cap

There's no shortage of people wanting to be senior bankers. Luke Hildyard writes for Left Foot Forward
Source: highpaycentre.org

Cornish couple feel 'discriminated against' over wedding language

"Steph Norman and Aaron Willoughby cannot have their ceremony entirely in Cornish." Apparently they could conduct it English obviously but also in Welsh (which is close to Cornish) but it highlights the lack of legal formality to the Cornish language.
Source: bbc.com

The Edge: Where Ed Tech’s $2-Billion Year Leaves Colleges

It’s not too late to pay attention to something perennially missing from these booms: whether the tools are working.
Source: chronicle.com