Travelers from tjh United States are barred from entering the European Union again, thanks to the ongoing spike in COVID-19 cases. Per the Associated Press, “The European Union recommended Monday that its 27 nations reinstate restrictions on tourists from the U.S. because of rising coronavirus infections there, but member countries will keep the option of allowing fully vaccinated U.S. travelers in. The decision by the European Council to remove the U.S. from a safe list of countries for nonessential travel reverses the advice that it gave in June, when the bloc recommended lifting restrictions on all U.S. travelers before the summer tourism season.” Talk about whiplash. https://bit.ly/3zy2ivU
A recent study brought some good news for people previously infected with the novel coronavirus. Per Science, “The study demonstrates the power of the human immune system, but infectious disease experts emphasized that this vaccine and others for COVID-19 nonetheless remain highly protective against severe disease and death. And they caution that intentional infection among unvaccinated people would be extremely risky… The researchers also found that people who had SARS-CoV-2 previously and received one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine were more highly protected against reinfection than those who once had the virus and were still unvaccinated.” That us undoubtedly welcome information. However, it does not negate the need for vaccinations. People against the idea of so-called COVID-19 passports are using the findings to argue against them. Rather than do away with proof of vaccinations, proof of prior infection should be added to the document. How’s that for a plan? https://bit.ly/3BtrDb2
3D-printed meat has taken another step forward. According to futurism, “Scientists at Osaka University in Japan have managed to print lab-grown steak that they say greatly resembles products made from the world-renowned breeds of Wagyu beef cattle — an environmentally conscious and sustainable alternative to a genuine delicacy. The team harvested two types of stem cells from Wagyu cows, incubated them, and then converted them into muscle, fat, and blood vessel cells.” Question is whether it tastes like flavored cardboard. https://bit.ly/3jvrT2Y
Apparently Europeans really want to be astronauts, at least if you use the applications flooding the European Space Agency as an indicator. According to space.com, “Thousands of would-be space travelers hoping to be among the next-generation of astronauts to fly with the European Space Agency (ESA) will have to wait until at least November to find out if they’ve got the right stuff after a flood of applicants, agency officials have said. Applications for ESA’s astronaut corps and a new program for ‘parastronauts’ with physical disabilities closed on June 18, but potential candidates are being asked for their patience as the number of applicants wildly exceeded the space agency’s initial expectations.” For what it’s worth, we’d apply if we were European.
Thanks for reading. Let’s be careful out there.