Myanmar is under military rule
Yes, it’s official. The nation is back under a dictatorship after a brief dalliance with democracy which started in 2011. All that has ended in the sudden ouster and arrest of Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi—though given her appalling treatment of the Rohingyas, some may not think it much of a loss. Power has been handed over to the army chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. Interestingly, the new Biden administration immediately issued a warning that it will “take action” if the military does not step back. New York Times explains why the military—which was never under Suu Kyi’s control—kicked her out. Also in NYT: a photo gallery of the day’s events.
The great pandemic: a quick update
- The UK’s pandemic woes seem never ending. Already saddled with a domestic variant that is more infectious and likely more lethal, the government announced it has now detected 105 cases of the South Africa variant. More worrying: at least 11 cases have no travel history. In other words, it is now circulating within the community. (We explained the variants here)
- Also: A leading expert predicts that the UK variant will soon become dominant within the next 6-14 days in the United States: “That hurricane is coming.”
- Related read: Axios on the chilling effects of the mutations which may prolong the pandemic and the associated economic hardship.
- We know that Covid destroys the senses of smell and taste. Doctors are now resorting to smell-training—a DIY zero cost therapy—to help patients recover. Inverse explains how it works.
- BBC News has a fun story on how Zoom calls have led to skyrocketing sales of books. Lol!
WhatsApp stages a comeback
Signal enjoyed a brief moment in the sun thanks to WhatsApp’s clumsily rolled out privacy policy update (explained here)—especially due to a huge spike in India downloads. But that moment has now passed. In the last week of January, WhatsApp’s daily downloads were back to normal at 7.4 million, Signal recorded only 3 million— down from 15.5 million between January 6-10. OTOH, Telegram is still going strong. (Entrackr)
Gamestop movie is coming!
File this under ‘least surprising news’. After a fierce bidding war, MGM has acquired the rights to a book proposal (not a book) by Ben Mezrich—whose previous book ‘The Accidental Billionaires’ was adapted for screen, giving us the wildly popular anti-Zuckerberg flick ‘The Social Network’. No surprise then that the Gamestop saga will be called ‘The Antisocial Network’. Deadline has more details. ICYMI: our explainer on Gamestop.
The odd link between fingers and taste
A Scandinavian study reveals that the length of our digits—specifically the ratio between our ring and index fingers—influences what we eat when we’re really hungry:
“People who have a ring and index finger similar in length—a biomarker of masculinity— are more likely to reach for stodgy and meaty foods when their stomach is rumbling..those with a longer index finger are more likely to crave ‘feminine’ foods such as fish and salads.”
Note: the researchers are careful to describe dishes like hamburgers and chips as “food options with a masculine gender image.” The Telegraph has more on this odd discovery.
AI revives voices of the dead
It was only a matter of time. We already have AI-generated cameos by dead actors, music concerts that feature holograms of dead artists. Now, a music show in South Korea used an artificial intelligence tool called Singing Voice Synthesis to recreate the voice of a famous folk singer. This is quite a feat, as the lead producer makes clear:
“It’s about singing a song with emotions. And each note should be connected naturally, hence emotions can be delivered, which is the key point of the technology. The developers trained the AI to exactly imitate human’s vocal organs.”
Well, if we’re doing this now, our vote goes to Mohammed Rafi. (Reuters)
Two animal things
One: A tigress has given birth to two cubs outside the protected tiger reserve in Ranthambore—which is now “overcrowded.” This is the second such birth in the nearby Sarmathura forest range, and activists are pushing for the government to declare it a critical tiger habitat. They point out that though the area is “infested with bandits,” there is no risk of that far greater threat to tigers: illegal mines. (Times of India)
Two: Thylacine—aka Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf—is the last known carnivorous marsupial, and was thought to have gone extinct in 1936. But new research has uncovered sightings as recent as 2019—giving hope that there may still be some of them out there. Why this would be awesome: “Thylacine is a marsupial, which evolved to have an external pouch, like kangaroos and koalas. It also had a stiff tail like the kangaroo, which it was able to use to prop itself up on its hind legs.” Also, it looks like this:
