MONKEYPOX CONTINUES TO SPREAD GLOBALLY.

There’s some sobering news about the monkeypox outbreak. The list of countries that have positive cases is expanding by the day. Per the Associated Press, “The World Health Organization says nearly 200 cases of monkeypox have been reported in more than 20 countries not usually known to have outbreaks of the unusual disease, but described the epidemic as ‘containable’ and proposed creating a stockpile to equitably share the limited vaccines and drugs available worldwide. During a public briefing on Friday, the U.N. health agency said there are still many unanswered questions about how the current epidemic arose, but there is no evidence that any genetic changes in the virus are responsible for the unprecedented epidemic.” Making matters worse, several countries have reported cases that are not associated with travel abroad. This means that there is community transmission, making the outbreak slightly harder to contain. https://bit.ly/3z2gArb

CORONAVIRUS BLUES.

The Sars-CoV-2 strain currently dominating huge patches of the world appears to have a mutation commonly seen in Delta strains. According to the AP, “The coronavirus mutant that is now dominant in the United States is a member of the omicron family but scientists say it spreads faster than its omicron predecessors, is adept at escaping immunity and might possibly cause more serious disease. Why? Because it combines properties of both omicron and delta, the nation’s dominant variant in the middle of last year. A genetic trait that harkens back to the pandemic’s past, known as a ‘delta mutation,’ appears to allow the virus ‘to escape pre-existing immunity from vaccination and prior infection, especially if you were infected in the omicron wave,’ said Dr. Wesley Long, a pathologist at Houston Methodist in Texas. That’s because the original omicron strain that swept the world didn’t have the mutation.” The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be a roller coaster of emotion. https://bit.ly/38solMg

AN INVITATION TO STEAL NFTs.

Twitter recently allowed users to officially use NFTs as their profile picture. A diamond shape confirms that the image is indeed an NFT owned by the account holder. This is great for people who love boasting about their crypto holdings. However, it’s also announcing to the shady side of the Interweb that there’s something to be stolen. So far, they haven’t disappointed. An article in Indian Express takes a look at the phenomenon and the various ways criminals hack Twitter accounts in order to appropriate NFTs. According to the article, “Cryptocurrency scammers are determined to find creative ways to gain access to crypto-wallets and steal digital assets. These cybercriminals tag users in replies across hundreds of tweets. Hackers hijack verified and unverified accounts on Twitter to impersonate popular NFT projects, including Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Azukis, MoonBirds and OkayBears, to steal users’ crypto assets by driving them to phishing sites. Another NFT enthusiast, Kaushal V, confirmed that these scam messages are everywhere in the comment section.’The premise is simple. You tweet with popular keywords like #NFT, #NFT community, #crypto, etc. There’s always some bot that monitors these tweets and quickly retweets your tweet—after which the scam account shares a malicious link as a free giveaway,’ he said. ‘What’s surprising is the kind of engagement these scam messages get.’” https://bit.ly/3z10Jco

GAUNTLET THROWN. NOW WHAT TESLA?

Move over Tesla, there’s a new electric truck in town and it’s a version of an extremely popular vehicle – the Ford F-150. The first delivery took place yesterday to a good amount of online fanfare. Per Futurism, “According to EV news site Drive Tesla Canada, the customer pre-ordered a decked out F-150 Lightning in May of 2021. The reservation converted to an order this January, and the truck was delivered today — almost exactly one year following his pre-order. Industry pub Electrek reported today that Ford vastly underestimated demand for its F-150 Lightning after 200,000 reservations poured in last year. The company ramped up production and is hoping to make 40,000 total units this year, and a total of 150,000 before the end of 2023.” Tesla has yet to deliver its first Cybertruck. Interestingly, the new Ford F-150 Lightning owner had originally had an order for a Cybertruck but cancelled it. He planned on buying whichever truck came out first.  https://bit.ly/3MOdWcF

Thanks for reading. Let’s be careful out there.

IMAGE CREDIT: Ford.