As a result, we concluded that the formation of a part of Omicron isolates BA.1, BA.1.1, and BA.2 was not the product of genome evolution, as is commonly observed in nature, such as the accumulation of mutations and homologous recombinations. Furthermore, the study of 35 recombinant isolates of Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2...
Given what we know about the infectivity of Omicron, the combinatjion "Omicron was around in 2020" seems pretty astonishing. Combine this with "Omicron variants were formed by an entirely new mechanism that cannot be explained by previous biolog" and I'm going to suggest that the most likely explanation is that they cocked up their data somewhere.
I'm not qualified to peer review this - and it looks like no-one else has yet.
It's simply because a headline like this is much more useful for people coming to the story for the first time, or who aren't deeply familiar with the story. It's not a sleight on her. Also at the time of publication, I think her name had only recently been released by the police.
The latest poll conducted by the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor found that nearly half of all adults in the U.S. plan to get the newly recommended COVID-19 vaccine.
Good stuff in the UK the NHS is only offering Covid boosters to those in front-line medicine/caring and the over 65s. In that context 50% of the US population planning to get jabbed sounds (literally) quite healthy
Not if you are looking at mitigating heat in cities. A 6ft tree will be giving a decent amount of shade after 5 years' growth if you pick the right species. The trick is looking after them.
What does it matter whether it was a lab leak or zoonotic transmission at this point?
Well, possibly quite important if you want to assess the risk posed by wet markets. And if it was a lab leak (personally, I think less likely) you'd want to know where processes failed, and possibly some heads to roll.
An explanation of how this works from the article:
JWST is able to analyse the light that passes through the faraway planet's atmosphere. That light contains the chemical signature of molecules in its atmosphere. The details can be deciphered by splitting the light into its constituent frequencies - rather like a prism creating a rainbow spectrum. If parts of the resulting spectrum are missing, it has been absorbed by chemicals in the planet's atmosphere, enabling researchers to discover its composition.
Note that they say the identification is ‘tentative’ and not robust yet.
Harris Wolobah, a healthy 14-year-old from Worcester, Massachusetts, tragically died last Friday, hours after eating a single ultra-spicy tortilla chip seasoned with two of the hottest peppers in the world.
Mbin: A kbin fork that promises to never review PRs before merging them (kbin.social)
Somebody who was previously active on the kbin codeberg repo has left that to make a fork of kbin called mbin....
Unnatural evolutionary processes of SARS-CoV-2 variants and possibility of deliberate natural selection (zenodo.org)
As a result, we concluded that the formation of a part of Omicron isolates BA.1, BA.1.1, and BA.2 was not the product of genome evolution, as is commonly observed in nature, such as the accumulation of mutations and homologous recombinations. Furthermore, the study of 35 recombinant isolates of Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2...
Pictured: Hero schoolgirl, 15, stabbed to death in Croydon 'when she stepped in to protect her friend' (www.lbc.co.uk)
A hero schoolgirl who was stabbed to death while protecting her friend from an ex has been identified as tributes were paid to the “beautiful soul”.
Almost half of US adults plan to get new COVID-19 vaccine, survey finds (abcnews.go.com)
The latest poll conducted by the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor found that nearly half of all adults in the U.S. plan to get the newly recommended COVID-19 vaccine.
Half-million-year-old wooden structure unearthed in Zambia (www.bbc.co.uk)
Ancient timber preserved in a riverbed suggests humans were building wooden structures 500,000 years ago.
NASA clears the air: No evidence that UFOs are aliens (arstechnica.com)
NASA’s independent study team released its highly anticipated report on UFOs on September 14, 2023....
US launches $1bn tree-planting scheme to mitigate effects of climate crisis (www.theguardian.com)
Federal effort will focus on marginalized areas in all parts of country and aims to reduce extreme heat and benefit health
CIA bribed its own COVID-19 origin team to reject lab-leak theory, anonymous whistleblower claims (www.science.org)
Agency denies allegation as congressional panel demands information from CIA probe into pandemic’s start
BBC: Tantalising sign of possible life found on faraway world (www.bbc.co.uk)
Nasa's James Webb Telescope may have discovered a molecule thought only to be produced by life.
Red fire ant colonies found in Italy and could spread across Europe, says study (www.theguardian.com)
Researchers identify 88 nests of destructive invasive non-native species near Syracuse in Sicily
Teen’s death after eating a single chip highlights risks of ultra-spicy foods (arstechnica.com)
Harris Wolobah, a healthy 14-year-old from Worcester, Massachusetts, tragically died last Friday, hours after eating a single ultra-spicy tortilla chip seasoned with two of the hottest peppers in the world.
are these periodic infuxes of bots (first porn, and now pharmaceuticals) a kbin-specific problem, or a wider fediverse issue? (kbin.social)
and is there anything we, kbin, or the wider fediverse can do to combat them?...
Ukraine war: Russia moves to take direct control of Wagner Group (www.bbc.co.uk)
It appears to be the latest in a public falling out between the Wagner boss and Russian officials.