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How covid-19 could become as mild as a common cold

How covid-19 could become as mild as a common cold

21 January 2021

As the new coronavirus evolves, it could follow the same path as other coronaviruses we live with already, becoming far less deadly in the future


As the coronavirus mutates, we will need to adjust our approach to it

As the coronavirus mutates, we will need to adjust our approach to it

20 January 2021

We are still working out what new coronavirus variants will mean for us. As we adapt, there is one thing we know for certain: the only way to stop the virus evolving is to stop it from spreading


Silicon Valley needs to take responsibility for its political power

Silicon Valley needs to take responsibility for its political power

20 January 2021

Big tech firms have enabled the US’s current mess – the time has come for them to acknowledge that they are key to our political process and repair the things they have broken, writes Annalee Newitz


Why vaccinating everyone on the planet may still not wipe out covid-19

Why vaccinating everyone on the planet may still not wipe out covid-19

20 January 2021

More transmissible coronavirus variants, coupled with questions about whether the vaccines prevent transmission, means it might be impossible to wipe out covid-19


How worried should we be about the new coronavirus variants?

How worried should we be about the new coronavirus variants?

20 January 2021

New versions of coronavirus that spread faster and might evade the immune system are causing fears about vaccine efficacy and a rise in covid-19 deaths. Here’s what you need to know


Water may be even more crucial to life than we thought

Water may be even more crucial to life than we thought

20 January 2021

Life as we know it depends on water, and not just as a liquid for DNA and protein to float around in – it is more actively involved in life’s chemical reactions than we previously realised


Employees work on the production line of CoronaVac, Sinovac Biotech's vaccine against COVID-19 coronavirus

Can coronavirus variants reinfect people and evade the vaccines?

19 January 2021

It looks like some of the new coronavirus variants can evade parts of our immune response, but it's not yet clear if we need to update the vaccines


dinosaurs

Dinosaur found in Argentina may be largest land animal ever

15 January 2021

Fossils of a gigantic dinosaur are emerging from the ground in Argentina after 98 million years – and the creature may be the largest land animal that scientists have ever found


Northern white rhino Fatu (right) and southern white rhino Tauwo (left) are fed by a caretaker in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya

Embryos from the last two northern white rhinos set to be implanted

14 January 2021

Fertilised eggs from northern white rhinos are set to be implanted in surrogates this year, with the hope of producing offspring


The lens

Superhuman sight may be possible with lens that makes UV light visible

13 January 2021

A nanocrystal-coated lens can convert ultraviolet light into bright green, extending the range of people's vision


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