Bad news about that Delta variant
Real-world data out of Israel shows that it reduces the efficacy of Pfizer vaccines. The vaccine protected 64% of people against the illness between June 6 and early July—which is down from a previous 94%. And that drop coincides with the spread of the variant in the country. The good news: Its effectiveness at preventing hospitalization only fell to 93%—down from 97%. (Bloomberg News)
In other Delta-related news: Another study out of Texas shows that six individuals who attended an Indian wedding became infected by the variant—despite being fully vaccinated. They had variously received Pfizer, Moderna and Covaxin vaccines. The worrying news: The person who received the Covaxin shot died after being hospitalised. But one case doesn’t tell us all that much. (The Telegraph)
In other Covid-related news: Jakarta is like Delhi now… More than 60 people died in a hospital in Indonesia this weekend after oxygen supplies nearly ran out, as the country battles a severe wave driven by the more infectious Delta variant.
Mexican waters are on fire
A fire on the ocean surface west of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula was caused by a gas leak in an underwater pipeline. The company that owns it claims the fire has been totally extinguished. And the head of Mexico's oil safety regulator insists that the incident "did not generate any spill.” But that doesn’t exactly explain this horror show:
Ever Given is finally free!
After three months, the 220,000 ton monster ship—which caused the world’s biggest traffic jam in the Suez Canal—has finally set sail again. It had been parked off the canal for months due to a dispute with Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority (SCA)—which refused to release the ship unless it received $1 billion in damages. After rounds of legal wrangling, the ship’s owners and the SCA have reached an agreement for somewhere less than $550 million—and includes a shiny new tugboat with a pulling capacity of 75 tons (which could come handy for future disasters). (Quartz)
A clutch of interesting studies
One: According to the “Least and Most Stressful Cities Index 2021,” Mumbai is objectively the most stressful city to live in. Of the 100 cities on the list, Reykjavik, Iceland is the world’s least stressful city. The cities’ rankings are based on their scores on 16 factors—including governance, social and financial pressures, pollution and the impact of Covid-19 measures. FYI: In terms of just financial stress, Hong Kong is rated the eighth worst, but Bern in Switzerland the worst in the world. (South China Morning Post)
Two: In a world filled with social hate, here’s something to feel good about: An AI study shows that Pakistanis did indeed feel our pain at the height of the second wave:
“Their study found that tweets containing supportive hashtags originating in Pakistan heavily outnumbered those containing non-supportive hashtags and also had substantially more likes and retweets. Their method also amplified the positive tweets, making it easier to find them quickly.”
Three: A (depressing) World Bank study found that dowry payments across 17 Indian states that contain 96% of India's population has remained remarkably stable between 1960 and 2008:
“And the researchers found that a groom's family spends on average about Rs 5,000 in real terms in gifts to the bride's family. The gifts from the bride's family, unsurprisingly, cost seven times more at about Rs 32,000. This implied an average real net dowry of Rs 27,000. Dowries consume a substantial proportion of household savings and income: in 2007, the average net dowry in rural India was equivalent to 14% of annual household income.”
Four: A massive DNA study has discovered a rare gene that offers protection against obesity—and it may explain why some of us are less likely to gain weight than others. Of the 16 genes tied to BMI, five are expressed in the hypothalamus, a brain region that regulates hunger and metabolism. And variants of just one of these genes—GPR75—had the largest effect on BMI: “Individuals carrying mutations that inactivated one copy of that gene weighed an average of 5.3 kilograms less and had half the odds of being obese compared with those with working versions.” (Science Magazine)
A race row over swimming caps
An international swimming federation—Fédération Internationale de Natation—will not allow swim caps designed for Black hair, claiming they don’t follow “the natural form of the head.” It also said athletes haven’t used, nor do they need “caps of such size and configuration.” Here’s the silly bit:
“The caps created by Black-owned British company Soul Cap are larger than those used at the Olympics, in order to accommodate fuller and longer hair and braids. They’re not expected to provide any competitive advantage because they’re bigger and would likely create more drag, or resistance, for a swimmer.”
After a huge backlash, FINA has decided to review its policy 🙄 . (Huffington Post)
Two things to behold!
One: The Ukraine government flaunted pictures of female troops practising for a parade... in heels! The parade is slated for next month and marks 30 years of independence following the Soviet Union’s breakup. To make matters worse, the government website quoted a woman soldier saying: “Today, for the first time, training takes place in heeled shoes… It is slightly harder than in army boots but we are trying.” Opposition lawmakers suggested the Defence Minister wear high heels to the parade himself. (The Guardian)
Two: Nike has introduced a new line of hands-free sneakers—and they will be worn by winners at the Tokyo Olympics. This line is called Glide FlyEase and has a flexible heel: “you simply step into the shoe and it snaps back into place while an elastic cord goes over the foot for a snug fit.” And that is excellent news for differently abled people! Also: it looks kinda fun! (The Verge)
In our gratitude jar…
A big thank you to Sanjeev Nc, Plessey Mathews, Amith Prabhu, Aishwarya Hariharan, D Seetharam, Vinita Ajila, Ashwin, Lakshmi Rammohan, Pankaj Rai and Sriram G. You have helped splainer grow stronger and better!
