Another Covid survey in Delhi
According to Delhi’s latest serological survey—which detects past infections not active cases—29% of the population have been exposed to the virus. That’s up from 23% last month. Want to know what these results mean? Read our explainer on that last survey.
Also testing positive: 26 good samaritans who helped rescue Air India passengers from the crash site in Kozhikode.
An Apollo-sized scam: As per Twitter, the Apollo Hospital charges visitors Rs 300 for a temperature scan—each time they enter the lobby. Damning evidence here and here.
Greenland's losing its ice… maybe forever
The country lost 586 billion tons of ice in 2019—a melt large enough to cover California in more than four feet (1.25 meters) of water. The usual yearly average: 259 billion tons. According to the latest study: “Not only is the Greenland ice sheet melting, but it’s melting at a faster and faster pace.” And that momentum may be irreversible:
"The ice sheet is now in this new dynamic state, where even if we went back to a climate that was more like what we had 20 or 30 years ago, we would still be pretty quickly losing mass."
Why this matters: ice melt in Greenland is the greatest single contributor to global sea level rise.
Talks with Beijing fail, again
The fourth round of border talks ended once again in a stalemate. The reason: China is refusing to step back in Pangong Tso and the Gogra-Hot Springs area. But this time around, the External Affairs Ministry didn’t try to airbrush the failure. As Indian Express notes, there was no reference to “progress” or “disengagement process”or—unlike previous statements—any mention of “early and complete disengagement.”
Google had a mini meltdown
Gmail and nine other Google apps went down yesterday across the world—and were disrupted for more than seven hours. Main pain point: not being able to send or attach a file to emails. Everything is now back to normal, but the company has so far not offered any explanation for what happened. Verge has details of the disruption. News.com.au has the latest details.
Florida’s big mosquito experiment
The state will release 750 million genetically engineered mosquitoes as part of a campaign to decimate machhars entirely. These male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes—which carry Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever—are designed to produce female offspring that will die at the larval stage. And since only the females bite humans, their population will soon be wiped out over successive generations.
The plus side: This is way more ecologically friendly and effective than toxic sprays. The possible downside: “a risk that the engineered mosquitoes could cross-breed with native species, creating hybrids that might be more resistant to insecticides.” (Fast Company)
Indian matchmaking: the Pradhyuman complaint
The commitment-phobic jewellery maker—and designer of puja room couture—is upset at folks for questioning his sexuality. In a ‘Humans of Bombay’ profile, he said:
“Unsolicited comments assumed I was gay or bisexual, and urged me to come out of the closet. I felt anger and resentment, but gradually I gained my composure and began to question their reasoning. I tried to understand the mind-set of a ‘hater’, only to realize that they had based their assumptions on my interests in things like fashion, cooking, and the societal pressure of taking time to choose a life-partner… I’m straight, but I am being stereotyped due to a deep seeded mindset of Indian society.”
His parting shot: “I just have one question, ‘Can men not be beautiful?’” Translation: don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.
In equally silly news: A Punjab organisation is suing Ekta Kapoor and Balaji films for their TV series ‘XXX’ because:
“The scene in the web series shows uniformed Indian Army personnel in an objectionable manner and also shows disrespect to the National Emblem…Defendant no.2 Ekta Kapoor, founder of ALT Balaji Telefilms which are showed by her production house Balaji Telefilms not only shows the lady tearing off the uniform but has also created a wrong myth in the society that Army men or wives of Army men do not possess good moral character in Indian society.”
Having checked out the trailer, the only crime we can detect is excruciatingly bad taste.
In surprising entertainment news: The American Civil Liberties Union has offered to help Britney Spears free herself from the control of her father—who has been her legal conservator for 12 years due to her mental health issues. Why this matters: “People with disabilities have a right to lead self-directed lives and retain their civil rights.” Buzzfeed News has more on Spears’ lawsuit and the #FreeBritney movement that’s gathering steam.
Women’s bodies can sabotage sperm
We’ve always been told that the fastest and strongest wigglers get the egg. But new research shows that women’s cervixes produce chemicals that can either help or hurt their chances of winning that race: "The whole reproductive tract of the female seems to have evolved to filter out 'unwanted' spermatozoa." Our bodies reward sperm that is most genetically dissimilar to ours, and punish those that are not. This—'gamete-level incompatibility’—may also explain why perfectly healthy couples have problems conceiving a baby. (CNN)
