Coronavirus variants and vaccines, climate change resistant coffee, dare to repair and how to get rid of moths

Coronavirus variants and vaccines, climate ch...

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Finding the evidence for the social media ban

After this week’s announcement that under-16s will be banned from major social media platforms, we delve into the evidence behind the ban with Professor Amy Orben, Programme Leader of the Digital Mental Health Group at the University of Cambridge, and Dr Catherine Sebastian, Head ...  Show more

How do you build an unbuildable tower?

After 144 years the tallest tower on the Sagrada Familia is finally complete, but when Gaudi first designed it, the technology to build the tower didn’t exist. We’re joined by Tristram Carfrae, structural engineer and designer at Arup who was tasked with this impossible feat over ...  Show more

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New evidence for SARS-CoV-2’s origin in bats
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Researchers studying bats in Northern Laos have found evidence that brings us closer than ever to understanding the origin of Covid-19. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic scientists have tried to pin-point the exact origin of SARS-CoV-2. But recent evidence from the ...  Show more

Does climate change mean a future without coffee?
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The world loves coffee. We drink two billion cups each day! But it’s very vulnerable to climate change, and millions of coffee farmers are struggling. Rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and diseases are threatening our favourite caffeinated drink and the livelihoods o ...

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Omicron’s rapid replication rate
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A study from Hong Kong university shows Omicron replicates 70 times faster than two earlier variants of the SARS-Cov-2 virus. Virologist Malik Peiris, explains how tests using cells from the wind pipe showed the dramatic difference, which supports observations of increased transm ...  Show more

Identifying a more infectious HIV variant
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We’re 40 years into the AIDS pandemic, and even with massive public health campaigns, still, 1 ½ million become infected with HIV each year; about half that number die of its ravages. And a study just out shows that this well-understood virus can still take on more worrying forms ...  Show more