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THE CLIMATE CLUB MEETS AGAIN… AND AGAIN… AND AGAIN…
Whenever groups of leaders gather together, it’s become customary to issue some sort of climate change pledge. If they are to be taken at their word, they really care about the environmental apocalypse looming just past the horizon. The latest iteration of the Government-Leaders-For-Climate-Change has taken shape among G-7 members. Per the Associated Press, “Members of the Group of Seven major economies pledged Tuesday to create a new ‘climate club’ for nations that want to take more ambitious action to tackle global warming. The move, championed by G-7 summit host German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, will see countries that join the club agree on tougher measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with the aim of keeping global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) this century compared to pre-industrial times.” As we like to say every chance we get, a pledge is just a pledge – no more, but often less. Show me the money. https://bit.ly/3nleYlp
CHINA’S mRNA VACCINE IS… ALMOST BUT NOT QUITE.
After almost three years of stiff-arming Western pharmaceutical companies eager to sell mRNA Covid-19 vaccines in the Middle Kingdom, the first locally developed mRNA vaccine is inching closer to a reality. There are a number of candidates at various stages of clinical trials. Per Nature, “China is getting closer to approving its first mRNA vaccine to protect people against COVID-19. In a small clinical trial, the Chinese vaccine candidate triggered a stronger antibody response in vaccinated adults when given as a booster shot than did a jab containing inactivated SARS-CoV-2, the vaccine platform that the country has mostly relied on so far. The experimental jab, called ArCoV, is a strong candidate to become China’s first approved mRNA vaccine.” Unfortunately, as good as mRNA vaccines are, they are unlikely to get the country anywhere the zero-Covid goal Beijing sorely wants. Why? Because virus gonna virus. https://go.nature.com/3y2Tej0
COVID-19 KEEPS KEEPIN’ ON.
Speaking of Covid-19… Even though the pandemic appears to be fading into a more manageable spread, it’s still lingering and infecting people and having serious effects on people’s lives. Just have a look over at Wimbledon where a number of players have been forced to withdraw due to testing positive. Per the Associated Press, “Matteo Berrettini, last year’s runner-up at Wimbledon, dropped out of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament hours before he was scheduled to play his first-round match Tuesday, saying that he tested positive for COVID-19.” The takeaway: Don’t drop your guard. Keep vigilant. https://bit.ly/3QSWUfV
BEST FRIENDS? SMELL YOU LATER.
People always talk about having “chemistry” with people they get along with. Turns out, they might not be that far from the truth. In this case, the mix of chemicals that compose a person’s scent may play major role in who their friends are. According to an article in The Scientist, “Through a series of experiments designed to uncover the effects of body odor on social dynamics, researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel found that existing pairs of same-sex, nonromantic friends who reported having clicked when they first met emitted similar odors. Additionally, a sensor that the study describes as an “electronic nose” was able to predict above chance levels whether strangers would feel a click upon meeting, based on the chemical signature of their natural body odors.” That said, there is a lot of crossover in the study’s data and the evidence is on the weaker side. So, don’t go around sniffing strangers searching for your next bestie just yet. https://bit.ly/3OqVQ0Z
Thanks for reading. Let’s be careful out there.
IMAGE CREDIT: Office of the President of the United States.