Child for Sale
Ok, bear with us on this one… here’s a reminder that our greatest nemesis—the coronavirus—is also an awe-inspiring creation of nature. What you’re looking at is the ‘molecular dance’ (‘tandav’ may be more apt) that the virus’ spike proteins perform when they attach themselves to a human cell: “Each spike protein snaps together with two others, forming a structure that has a tulip-like shape. A long stem anchors the proteins to the virus, and their top looks like a three-part flower.” And then they dance! For a whole lot more: (freemium paywall) and have an array of stunning new images of the virus released by scientists over the weekend.
RAFA ROARS AT THE FRENCH OPEN Rafael Nadal demolished Novak Djokovic to win his 13th French Open title. The score: 6-0, 6-2, 7-5. offers an entertaining recap comparing the players to “two old pugs.” Also: see Rafa’s winning moment : Also making history: 19-year-old Iga Swiatek who won her first Grand Slam title—and became the first Polish player to do so. has that story. Roland-Garros (which hosts the tournament) tweeted these of Swiatek celebrating her win in truly French style: TRUMP'S NOT-SO-GLORIOUS RETURN The US President is that he is miraculously Covid-free, tweeting: "A total and complete sign off from White House Doctors yesterday. That means I can't get it (immune), and can't give it. Very nice to know!!!" Twitter promptly slapped a warning label, saying the tweet "violated the Twitter Rules about spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to Covid-19." Point to note: The White House doctors have that the president is no longer infectious—but refuse to say when Trump tested negative. And yeah, he is getting ready to this week. Not inspiring confidence: Trump’s bizarre with Fox News over the weekend where he said this: > "California is gonna have to ration water. You wanna know why? Because they send millions of gallons of water out to sea, out to > the Pacific. Because they want to take care of certain little tiny fish that aren't doing very well without water." What’s even more bizarre: A who "spent sleepless nights, starving and praying" for Trump's recovery died of cardiac arrest on Sunday. Also: He used to worship a six-feet statue of the Donald. THE GREAT PANDEMIC: A QUICK UPDATE * India the seven million mark on Saturday—and Kerala is now adding the highest number of daily new cases, beating Maharashtra. How did we get here? This video offers a timeline in 200 seconds. * Numbers are rising once again in the US, which reported more than 57,000 cases over the weekend—its highest tally in two months. And the onset of winter poses the very real threat of a second, larger wave since “the virus’s spread will be aided by dry air and people spending more time indoors." * One that also applies to India: “We still have tens of thousands of known cases, probably hundreds of thousands of actual cases, happening every day, and what that means is that we have a tremendous number of small little outbreaks ready to burst.” And yes, colder temperatures pose in India as well. * Winter is also the flu season. So how do you know whether you have the flu or Covid? One key : The loss of smell and taste. * The Great Barrington Declaration is a letter calling on governments to pursue ‘herd immunity’ () has supposedly been signed by 15,000 scientists and medical practitioners—and 150,000 ordinary citizens. But a investigation shows that many of the signatories are either fake or, umm, kinda weird. Example: one Mongolian Khöömii Singer who describes himself as a "therapeutic sound practitioner". * That said, the letter has been signed by a number of qualified epidemiologists. has that story. * The latest evidence of neurological damage caused by the virus: “.” * A —inherited from Neanderthals—increases the risk of being infected. A third of the population in South Asia carry the genes—rising to 63% in Bangladesh. * Microsoft is the latest company that it will allow most of its employees to work permanently from home—for either less than 50% of their work week or go entirely remote. * pays tribute to 48-year-old Aarif Khan who ferried 200 bodies of Covid patients as an ambulance driver. He succumbed to the disease last week: “These have been extraordinary times, and even though he was a driver, Khan often helped with the last rites too. Woh Muslim tha par Hinduon ke bhi daah-sanskaar karaata tha (He was a Muslim but he helped out even with cremations of Hindus)… He was very dedicated to his work.” NORTH KOREA HAS ‘MONSTER’ MISSILES President Kim Jong Un showed off giant intercontinental ballistic missiles at an unusual predawn military parade on Saturday. If made operational, these will be one of the largest ICBMs that can be transported via road. Also: we presume this is a big and parting eff-you to his ex-BFF Trump and their denuclearisation talks. has more. THE TV TRP DRAMA: AN UPDATE As you may remember, Republic TV—along with two Marathi channels—is accused of offering bribes to fix viewership numbers (which we explained). The Mumbai police the channel’s CEO Vikash Khanchandani for nine hours. The COO and CFO have been summoned as well, but have not turned up for questioning. According to the police, one of the men arrested last week—Bomapallirao Mistry— over the course of the year from multiple sources. But there is no direct link to the channels as yet—which is why the police is promising a “forensic audit” of the accused three channels. Already spooked by the TRP tamasha: leading brands and ad agencies that are re-examining their advertising spends. For example, Parle G: > "We are exploring possibilities wherein other advertisers can come together and sort of put a restraint on their advertising > spends on news channels, so that there is some sort of a clear signal to all the news channels, that they better change their > content." Bajaj Auto has already blacklisted the three channels. has this story. RUSSIA’S MYSTERIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL TRAGEDY Thousands of sea creatures—including octopuses, mussels, crabs, and sea urchins—were found dead on the beach in an Arctic peninsula. According to scientists, 95% of sea life to the depth of 10 to 15 meters was dead. But no one knows why it is happening! Scientists have discovered high levels of phosphate ion, iron and phenol but are stumped about the source. Greenpeace is calling it an “environmental disaster,” but the Russians aren’t quite as worked up: "We don't see a catastrophic event; no humans have died, no one has been injured.” But if it makes you feel any better, President Putin sees the situation as “really worrying.” () In related bad news: A new report estimates that there is 8-14 million tons of microplastics on the seafloor—35 times the amount on the surface. () In far happier news: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray has junked the plan to build that infamous metro shed in Aarey—where the previous government mowed down 2,700 trees to begin construction. Around 800 acres of the area has now been declared a protected forest. Indian Express explains and the devised by the Shiv Sena government to move the shed—though BJP insists that it will raise costs by Rs 40 billion. LADY WITH THE LONGEST LEGS Seventeen-year-old Maci Currin from Texas two Guinness World Records: she has the longest legs in history for a woman and as a teenager. Currin is 6-foot-10. Her legs account for 60% of her height! And as you can see , she is totally comfortable with dem long stems:)
was a baby turtle born with an exposed heart (literally)—doomed to die an early death except a human decided he was going to do everything he could to keep her alive. Yeah, animal rescue stories are a bit of a cliché but this one is special.
A LIST OF GOOD READS * has the mostly true—and bizarre—story of Vanilla Ice, the man who cursed us with ‘Ice, Ice Baby!’ * The ‘quantum internet’ will bring us unhackable networks and information that travels faster than the speed of light. explains. * offers an excellent deep dive on Gurgaon—which has become a model of how not to build a city. * reports on violent gang wars between monkeys in India—and why they are killing people. * Anita Rao Kashi in looks at the rise of ‘revenge travel’—yes, it’s real and likely to explode in the coming months. * has the delightful story of the gynecologist who delivered a preemie on an Indigo flight. * Aruna Chandrasekhar in offers a brilliant corrective to our obsession with carbon emissions—and the fatal flaw of the ongoing climate change discourse. * Huffington Post India put together a collection of excellent and necessary pieces on mental health in India—all of which are collated on this handy . * The police in the Hathras case have pivoted to blaming the victim and her family. Another must-read in reveals this is standard practice in caste killings. * has a fun read on the rise of the ‘one month stand’—because we can no longer risk the joys of the ‘one night’ kind. * Is emotional intelligence more important than your IQ? looks at a fascinating thought experiment that proves it is better to be a butterfly than a genius.
This sheep… driving a golf cart! Horror-meister Jason Blum’s mash up of ‘The Ring’ and Mike Pence’s fly. This delightful round up of animals, er, relaxing—made more delightful by the hilarious Aussie commentator. Four: Fifty-odd fish enjoying a joy ride… in a whale shark’s mouth! (More winners of the diving photography awards ).
A lively look back at our pehla election of 1951. We’ve come a long way.
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Scientists are trying to alter the evolutionary course of animals—so they can survive it.
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The BJP is expending astonishing amounts of energy on Tamil Nadu this election season—and it’s all about 2029.
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Early-onset cancer has been steadily rising but scientists have no clue why this is happening.
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