A historic flight over Mars

Here’s an upbeat story before we enter the pandemic hellhole. NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter successfully completed a historic 40-second flight over Mars. The 4-pound helicopter spun its two 4-foot blades, rose three meters in the air, hovered, took a photo, and touched back down. This little guy had been transported to the surface in the belly of the Perseverance rover. Also read: a profile of Bob Balaram, the NRI who led this mission. See the photo it took of its own shadow on Mars’ surface:

The great pandemic: A long-ish roundup

First, the numbers: We added 2,56,828 new cases and recorded 1,757 deaths (which is likely a gross undercount). The three leading states: Maharashtra (58,924) Uttar Pradesh (28,211) and Delhi (23,686). In Mumbai, 90% of the cases were recorded in buildings and high-rises—and not in the slums.

Point to note: A Lancet study has finally and conclusively confirmed that the virus does indeed spread through the air—and rarely via large droplets on surfaces. So mask up!

About that variant: A third mutation has been found in the made-in-India double mutant variant called B.1.167. There are now three varieties of this ‘triple mutant’ version—and two of them were found in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi and Chhattisgarh, all states with surging numbers. The level of genome sequencing remains shockingly low. The Health Ministry did not release any figures for the number of double-mutant cases, saying “higher transmissibility of this variant is not established as yet.”

Vaccines for all: After the Health Minister wrote a rather cranky response to ex PM Manmohan Singh’s letter, the government embraced most of his suggestions to expand vaccination coverage. Everyone above the age of 18 is now eligible for the jab. And 50% of the vaccine supply will be available for private sale and direct sale to state governments. Also a big change: The government will prioritise allocating its share of the vaccines based on immediate need and performance. 

Some worry that the decision leaves the state governments at the mercy of vaccine manufacturers—who are free to set high prices. Unhappy postscript: Manmohan Singh has since tested positive, and has been admitted to a Delhi hospital. Happy postscript: Johnson & Johnson has already applied for an import licence.

Point to note: Only 37% of healthcare workers—who were the target of the first phase back in January—have been vaccinated thus far. So fingers crossed! Related good read: Rohan Venkat in Scroll raises a number of very good questions about the government’s vaccine strategy (scroll down for the vaccination bit). 

Speaking of other vaccines: The situation in Chile is exposing the weak protection offered by the Chinese Sinovac vaccine. The country rolled out one of the fastest vaccination campaigns—and nearly half its population has already been inoculated. Yet, cases and deaths are surging. One reason: people have relaxed all social distancing after just one jab. The other: the vaccine is only 16% effective after one dose—going up to 67% after two. In comparison, just one jab of Pfizer offers 85% protection. (Wall Street Journal)

As for lockdowns: Delhi has been shut down until 5 am on Monday. Here is the list of restrictions. The Allahabad High Court stepped in to order a lockdown in five cities—Prayagraj, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur and Gorakhpur—while slamming the state government for the “present chaotic health problems” adding: “We can’t shirk away from our constitutional duty to save innocent people from the pandemic which is spreading due to the negligence of a few.” But the UP government has declined to follow the directive. Also in lockdown: Rajasthan. Related good read: Quartz on how small businesses are imposing self-lockdowns to break the Covid chain.

Migrant workers: are fleeing Delhi again—despite CM Kejriwal’s ‘main hoon na’ assurances. See the scenes at the Anand Vihar bus terminal:

Meanwhile in London: PM Boris Johnson has cancelled his trip to India “in view of the prevailing Covid situation”—surprising nobody. Reminder: Johnson developed a very serious case of Covid last year. So yeah, he isn’t taking any chances. Also: The UK has added India to its ‘red list’—banning all travel from the country. So there’s that.

Meanwhile in Oxford: Researchers plan to deliberately reinfect participants in a study that will help vaccine makers figure out the levels and types of immunity needed to prevent reinfection, and how long protection persists. (Bloomberg News via Hindustan Times)

Meanwhile in Georgia: Otters at an aquarium in Atlanta have contracted Covid from an asymptomatic member of the staff: "They began exhibiting mild respiratory symptoms such as sneezing, runny noses, mild lethargy, and some began coughing”—but are expected to recover fully.

Covid idiot alert: This is a woman who railed angrily at Delhi cops for insisting that she and hubby mask up in their car. They were immediately booked for violating Covid rules. This is the hubby throwing his wife under the bus lol! Also: Some BJP leaders in Bhopal staged photo-ops with mortuary vans. Nope, we aren’t making this up

European football meltdown continues

Earlier this week, 12 of the biggest clubs announced they were forming a breakaway European Super League (ESL)—an exclusive tournament to be eventually played among 15 founding teams. This would essentially destroy the pyramid structure of global football—where wealthy teams at the top finance smaller teams at the bottom. And it would end the concept of ‘relegation’—where every team has to qualify in order to play in a Championship or Premier League, or is ‘relegated’ to a lower division. The fan associations are furious, and UK ministers are vowing to do “whatever it takes” to stop English football clubs from joining the league. Staying out of the line of fire: Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund—which will not be joining the ESL. Also: in the midst of the chaos, José Mourinho was sacked as the manager of Tottenham Hotspurs.

No Castro in Cuba

Raúl Castro has stepped down as head of Cuba’s Communist Party, leaving the nation without a Castro in charge for the first time in over 60 years. Raúl had taken the place of his more (in)famous brother Fidel in 2008. He will be replaced by Cuba’s current president, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez—but most expect that the new leader will not usher in any radical changes. (New York Times)

Speaking of strongmen: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny—who was near death after a three-week hunger strike—has been transferred to a prison hospital. He is still not eating but will accept vitamin therapy. His supporters have called for a protest on Wednesday. And US government officials are taking a tough line: “What happens to Mr. Navalny in the custody of the Russian government is the responsibility of the Russian government, and that they will be held accountable by the international community.” Don’t know who Navalny is? Read our explainer on Vladimir Putin’s great nemesis. (Associated Press)

In other Russia-related news: The country has been amassing troops on the Ukraine border. And the UK just sent two warships to show solidarity with Ukraine. (Reuters)

An alarming Tesla crash

Two people were killed in a horrific accident, and there was no one in the driver’s seat. One person was in the front passenger seat, while the other was in the rear. The car was traveling fast, failed to make a turn and ran off the road—when it hit a tree and burst into flames. It took firefighters four hours and roughly 32,000 gallons of water to put out the fire—because the Tesla’s high-voltage batteries kept reigniting. The model definitely had the advanced driver-assistance system, known as Autopilot—which still needs driver supervision. It isn’t clear yet what happened, but safety advocates say such accidents are a result of Tesla overselling its cars:

“Some safety advocates have said that the company doesn’t do enough to keep drivers from depending too much on the features or using them in situations for which they aren’t designed. They also have criticized the company for the language it uses to describe its features, saying that terms such as ‘Autopilot’ and ‘full self-driving’ risk giving drivers a false sense of the vehicle’s abilities.”

CEO Elon Musk recently tweeted: “Tesla with Autopilot engaged now approaching 10 times lower chance of an accident than average vehicle.” (CNN)

The whitest paint on earth

Scientists have created the whitest shade on Earth—which reflects 98.1% of light. The paint is primarily made of barium sulfate, a compound used in cosmetics and ultrawhite paper products. So why do we care? Climate change. As temperatures heat up, using paints like these to coat the outside of homes can make a huge difference in their internal temperature. Just look at the data:

“The paint can keep surfaces 19 degrees Fahrenheit (10.5°C) cooler than their ambient surroundings at night. It can also cool surfaces 8 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4°C) below their surroundings under strong sunlight during noon hours. The paint’s solar reflectance is so effective, it even worked in the middle of winter. During an outdoor test with an ambient temperature of 43 degrees Fahrenheit (6.1°C), the paint still managed to lower the sample temperature by 18 degrees Fahrenheit (10°C).”

A McDonald's X BTS combo 

The fast food company has been teaming up with celebs to promote signature items on their menu—which are beloved to said celeb. In the US, a Famous Orders promotion with Travis Scott caused a shortage of Quarter Pounders. Now, the company is hoping to recreate that magic in almost 50 countries (presumably including India?) with BTS. This Famous Order will include Chicken McNuggets, medium World Famous fries, a medium drink, and Sweet Chili and Cajun dipping sauces inspired by recipes from McDonald’s South Korea. (CNBC)

Undies for science!

As part of a study codenamed Proof By Underpants, Swiss researchers are sending thousands of pairs of white, cotton underwear to volunteers—to bury in their gardens. The aim: to measure soil health. The undies will be dug up later and inspected: “They’ll look at the extent to which tiny organisms in the earth have eaten away at the fabric. The holier the better.” (BBC Science Focus)