The 737 Max flies again
Boeing’s flagship aircraft has been grounded for 20 months after two catastrophic crashes in Indonesia and then Ethiopia—where all passengers on board died. A great scandal ensued, raising serious questions about the safety of its design. US authorities have now lifted their ban. But it will be a while before the plane can fly again. They still have to approve new pilot training protocols, and the planes have to be fitted with updated software and wiring. What about India? The government plans to study the US decision and then take its call.
The great pandemic: A quick update
- France has passed the two million-mark as infections across Europe hit more than 15 million. France now has the fourth-highest tally in the world after the US (11.2 million), India (8.8 million) and Brazil (5.8 million).
- US authorities have approved the first at-home Covid test and it can be self-administered by anyone over the age of 14: “The test involves swabbing the inside of the nose, placing the swab in a vial and swirling it before putting the vial in a ‘test unit.’” Results in 30 minutes.
- A NASA model estimates that the lockdown has resulted in a 20% global reduction in nitrogen dioxide.
- Mid-stage trials of Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine show that it triggers a speedy immune response—but produces fewer antibodies than patients who recover from the disease.
- The Delhi government has reduced the cap on the number of wedding guests from 200 to 50 because… it will do absolutely nothing to stop the spread but will create a great guest list tamasha among the soon-to-be-wed?
- But there will be no such limit on the hundreds of runners who will participate in the upcoming half-marathon in the city—in the midst of severe pollution and rising cases. Medical experts say “it is totally irresponsible to hold a marathon and give people a false sense of security.”
- The Atlantic offers a perfectly sane—and most likely impossible—guide to Covid safety during holiday season.
- Pfizer’s late stage data is now complete, and it shows that its vaccine was 95% effective with no serious side effects—and 94% effective in older adults above 65. And that is very big news!
- Some economists are so excited by two big vaccine breakthroughs—Moderna and Pfizer—that they are predicting the US will have zero cases in six months. That’s quite remarkable given this is what the spread looks like right now:
India is ‘greener’ than the rest
A new global report shows that India is the only member of the G20 club—which includes the world’s leading economies—is on track to meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change. The agreement aims to limit global warming to 2°C—and requires signatories to restrict emissions to meet that goal. Falling way behind: China which has been deemed ‘highly insufficient'. The US and Russia are ‘critically insufficient’, while the EU is merely ‘insufficient’. (Times of India)
Not so green: The government of Rajasthan which is urgently seeking clearance to ‘denotify’ a big swathe of Bharatpur’s Band Baretha wildlife sanctuary. The likely but fiercely denied reason: It wants to permit mining for a pink sandstone that will be used to construct the Ram Mandir. Mining has been illegal in the sanctuary since 2016. (Indian Express)
Two desis destined for Biden cabinet
There is already great speculation over who will make the cut in a future Joe Biden administration. The two Indian American names in circulation: Former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy who may become Secretary of Health and Human Services. Also: Stanford University Professor Arun Majumdar for the post of Secretary of Energy. Politico has more on the Biden cabinet—though it doesn’t rate either as frontrunners.
Make room for Twitter Spaces
Twitter has two big announcements. One: the global launch of its Fleets tool that’s already available in India. Two: a limited rollout of Audio Spaces, a voice chatroom where a bunch of people can just get together and literally talk:
“Voice tweets allow people to share their thoughts, but we imagined a live audio space to communicate with one other person or small groups… A space that feels very safe and intimate. We've used the metaphor of a well-hosted dinner party. You don't need to know everyone at the party to have a good time, but everyone should feel comfortable to sit at the table.”
So a ‘dinner party’ with people we know only on Twitter? Otherwise, we can already do this on a WhatsApp group call. Also: why?
Our brain mirrors the universe
An astrophysicist and a neurosurgeon compared the network of neuronal cells in the human brain with the cosmic network of galaxies—and found that they are astonishingly similar in the way they are organised:
“The human brain functions thanks to its wide neuronal network that is deemed to contain approximately 69 billion neurons. On the other hand, the observable universe is composed of a cosmic web of at least 100 billion galaxies. Within both systems, only 30% of their masses are composed of galaxies and neurons. Within both systems, galaxies and neurons arrange themselves in long filaments or nodes between the filaments. Finally, within both systems, 70% of the distribution of mass or energy is composed of components playing an apparently passive role: water in the brain and dark energy in the observable Universe.”
There’s plenty here for scientists, philosophers and spiritualists to chew on.
Lonely Planet switches it up
Every year, the world’s best known travel guide assembles a hot new list of travel destinations. But the pandemic forced a change in direction and—happily—perspective. As their editor puts it:
“As our world came to a full stop this year, we looked in the mirror to reflect on how we can best empower our readers to travel responsibly and become agents of positive change. And we realized that to reimagine travel post-2020, we needed to reinvent ourselves first.”
The result is a Best in Travel 2021 guide that spotlights diversity, community and sustainability—and each one of them is a winner. Be sure to bookmark it as this too shall one day pass…
In related diversity news: New Zealand Police have introduced a hijab into their official uniform to encourage more Muslim women to join. And new recruit Constable Zeena Ali will become the first officer to wear it.
In equally good news: Kolkata now has the “world’s first tram library for children” and it looks like this! Indian Express has more details.
Walker takes a very long walk
A big cat nicknamed ‘Walker’ completed the longest walk by a tiger ever recorded in India:
"Fitted with a radio collar, he travelled some 3,000 km (1,864 miles) through seven districts in Maharashtra and the neighbouring state of Telangana over nine months before 'settling down' in another sanctuary in Maharashtra in March."
His new home includes leopards, blue bull, wild boar, peafowl and spotted deer—but sadly no other tigers, and therefore no potential mates. Wildlife officials are contemplating the unprecedented move of introducing a female tiger—but that will bring fresh complications if they breed in the available space.
Also lonely: The last remaining white giraffe in Kenya. Two of his family members were killed in March. And officials have now fitted him with a GPS tracker to keep him safe. White giraffes suffer from a rare genetic condition called leucism—which leads to the loss of skin pigmentation. But he is very pretty as you can see here: