Category: Feature Stories

Daylight Saving Time ends on October 31. Clocks will be turned back to 2 a.m. in Europe at 3 a.m., and thus to standard time. In March 2019, the European Parliament had voted by a large majority in favor of abolishing daylight saving time as of 2021 – or one year later if there are difficulties for the single market. However, a majority of member states must still agree to this for it to become a reality. It is still unclear when the vote will take place, EU Council circles…

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Cell culture studies show these variants are better at infecting lung cells and worse at being inhibited by antibodies. The finding came to a German research team in the lab: delta is actually better at penetrating lung cells compared to the virus of origin (the virus that spread during the lead phase of the pandemic). In addition, Delta is better at fusing infected lung cells with uninfected cells. Stefan Pöhlmann and Markus Hoffmann from the German Primate Center (DPZ) in Göttingen wanted to know why the delta variant spreads so…

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U.S. scientists have shown for the first time that coronavirus vaccines and infections can confer immunity to other, similar coronaviruses. Mice vaccinated against 2003 SARS virus were protected from COVID-19 virus Humans vaccinated with SARS-CoV-2 vaccines may be protected against SARS-CoV-1 and colds. Results provide rationale for developing universal vaccines for each coronavirus family“Until our study, it was not clear whether, when exposed to one coronavirus, you could have cross-protection against other coronaviruses. We have now shown that this is the case.” Pablo Penaloza-MacMaster, assistant professor of microbiology-immunology at Northwestern…

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A new study shows that you should also wear a mouth mask outdoors. Especially on windy days, the risk of infection increases. A new study shows that windy weather can accelerate the spread of coronaviruses. As researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay discovered, gusts of wind can carry pathogens from people who are coughing. The findings were published in the journal Physics of Fluids. Airborne viral load increases due to windFor the study, the experts wanted to test how viruses are spread by coughing and wind. “Mimicking real…

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For years, butter was considered unhealthy. Several studies have now disproved butter’s bad reputation. Which is now healthier: butter or margarine? It seems to be a question of faith and taste whether you prefer butter or margarine on your bread. Some people prefer to eat margarine because it is supposedly better for blood cholesterol, while others prefer butter because it tastes better and is a natural dairy product. We wanted to know what’s behind all the myths and whether butter or margarine is the healthier spread. Differences between butter and…

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In most “classic” vacation countries, restrictions have now been relaxed because of the CoV pandemic. However, the “3-G rule” applies practically everywhere when entering the country. Most countries also require electronic registration, and different regulations apply to tests. In any case, autumn vacationers should familiarize themselves with the state of affairs – especially since it can change quickly. The decisive factor is, of course, the respective current situation with regard to the number of new infections, and that looks quite different. In Italy, with its very high vaccination coverage rate,…

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“New voicemail,” the text message says, for example, or “You have a missed call.” This is followed by a link to a website. Anyone who receives such messages should be wide awake and under no circumstances click on the link – this is a scam. Because the website behind the link is not a voice recording at all, but a request to install a new app. The app can, for example, copy and steal data from the smartphone, send unnoticed SMS via the cell phone number or cause other damage.…

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In a study published today, AGES determined the effectiveness of COVID vaccines licensed in Austria: The mRNA vaccines showed the best protection against infection across all age groups, even against the delta variant. In the over-60s, AstraZeneca’s efficacy was nearly equal, beaten by J&J. “This current study shows once again that vaccination works,” emphasized Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens). In Austria, the mRNA vaccines (from BioNTech and Pfizer as well as Moderna) as well as AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have been used so far. For the entire study period…

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As before, the effectiveness of the Covid vaccination is the dominant topic in vaccine-critical circles. On Facebook, for example, it is said that the number of vaccination breakthroughs in Austria is massively increasing. The same development had been shown in Israel. The fact that the “pandemic of the unvaccinated” is nothing but an advertising slogan can also be seen in the number of vaccinated people in Tyrolean hospitals. It is suggested that these data are evidence of insufficient vaccination effectiveness. But the data do not show that the Covid vaccination…

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