The high price of air pollution
The latest data shows that air pollution shortens a person’s life by two years on average around the world. Indians, OTOH, lose five years to dirty air. In some parts of the country that number is even higher:
“Roughly 248 million residents in northern India are particularly at risk and stand to lose more than eight years of life expectancy if 2018 pollution levels persist. ‘The levels of air pollution we see in these regions through new satellite data is unprecedented,’ said Anant Sudharshan, executive director, South Asia at EPIC.”
The most polluted in India: Lucknow whose residents will lose 10.3 years in life expectancy. (Mint)
Rajput’s family accuses Rhea Chakraborty
Sushant Singh Rajput's father KK Singh has lodged an FIR in Patna against the actor's girlfriend. The variety of charges include abetment of suicide, mental harassment and financial exploitation.
"Rhea, who was living with Sushant, left his home. She took some cash, jewellery, laptop, credit card, and Sushant's medical prescriptions along with her. Rhea blocked his number, after that, Sushant called his sister and said that Rhea might cause harm to him. He informed his sister that Rhea threatened him with revealing his medical prescriptions to the media, after which no one was going to give him work."
Mumbai serological survey reveals income divide
The survey—which tests for the presence of antibodies—was conducted on 6,936 people in three wards. It found that 57% of residents in slums had been exposed to the virus, compared to 16% in residential buildings and societies. These surveys test for antibodies which reveal if the person was infected at some time in the past two weeks. The good news: a low number of fatalities in these areas. The surprising bit: More women than men showed up positive. Also this:
“The results have shown that asymptomatic population of Covid-19 is higher than we expected, which is good news. People have been exposed to the coronavirus and most have not even developed symptoms.”
For more on serological surveys, read our explainer on the Delhi survey and its results.
Also in Maharashtra: A Pune hospital reported India's first case of "vertical transmission"—where the virus is passed from a mother to her child through the placenta. The baby girl developed fever and other serious symptoms after birth, but has since recovered.
A related survey of pets: Scientists in Italy found antibodies in a small number of cats (3.9%) and dogs (3.4%)—but there is no evidence that they spread it to humans. In related news: Dogs can be trained within a week to sniff out the disease in 94% of cases.
A new treatment? A new study found that a seaweed extract outperformed Remdesivir—the most widely used drug in serious cases. The good news: "Because only a small concentration is needed, and the compound is found in edible seaweed, a treatment could get FDA approval fairly quickly because the substance is considered GRAS, or generally recognized as safe."
A related must read: This candid Twitter thread of a person who lost his father. It shows how many well-educated Indians are in denial of the disease—and how Covid deaths are covered up to avoid social shame.
The Booker longlist is out
Nine of the 13 longlisted authors in the race for UK’s most prestigious literary prize are women—including Hilary Mantel who is up for “The Mirror and the Light” and Anne Tyler (‘Redhead by the Side of the Road’). Also heartening news: Eight are debut novels—among them Avni Doshi’s ‘Girl in White Cotton’. Don’t know who that is? Check out a review of Doshi’s book in Mint or read her interview in Indian Express.
India dominates app downloads
Numbers for June show that Indians accounted for the highest percentage (29.5%) of Amazon Prime Video downloads. We came in #2 in YouTube’s numbers and are the third-biggest market for Netflix after the United States and Brazil. Also: ZEE5 is the only Indian app among the top 10 downloaded streaming apps. (Entrackr)
Dunzo’s got competition
Flipkart Quick is the new kid in town in the local delivery business—and guarantees all orders will be completed within 90 minutes. The minimum delivery fee: Rs 29. The new biz has currently been rolled out only in Bangalore. (Business Insider)
#ChallengeAccepted to do what exactly?
An Instagram challenge asks women to post pretty black-and-white photos of themselves, and tag friends so they can do the same. While it's spreading like wildfire—and there’s lots of talk of women’s empowerment—no one knows exactly what this activity achieves. One criticism:
“Though the portraits have spread widely, the posts themselves say very little. Like the black square, which became a symbol of solidarity with Black people but asked very little of those who shared it, the black-and-white selfie allows users to feel as if they’re taking a stand while saying almost nothing. Influencers and celebrities love these types of ‘challenges’ because they don’t require actual advocacy, which might alienate certain factions of their fan base.”
In related Insta news: Doctors are posting bikini selfies to clapback at a study that called out “unprofessional social media content” among vascular surgeons. For example: “provocative posing in bikinis/swimwear.” Translation: the medical journal version of slut-shaming. And the fact that most of the authors were men didn’t help either. Hence, #MedBikini.
Sharks are now ‘functionally extinct’
The latest research shows that nearly 20% of the world’s sharks have vanished from coral reefs. And they are ‘functionally extinct’, as in they are so rare in certain areas that they cannot perform their assigned role in the food chain. The big reasons for these dwindling numbers: poaching and pollution. Alarming fact: No sharks were detected on any of the reefs in the Dominican Republic, the French West Indies, Kenya, Vietnam and Qatar. Forbes has more details.
