Category: General Interest

Austria has joined the international “High Ambition Coalition to drive the end of global plastic pollution.” In early March 2022, the UN Environment Assembly paved the way for the first time for an international and legally binding instrument to end global plastic pollution by 2040. According to an Environment Ministry statement, the convention is now to be drafted by 2024. According to the statement, the convention will regulate all types of plastic waste, including microplastics, and the entire life cycle of plastics – from production and consumption to waste and…

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Cheers! A laboratory in Zurich has detected alcohol in five of 25 soft drinks. The test was intended to show whether the promises made on the label were true. Supposedly alcohol-free beers have a low alcohol content more often than assumed, the cantonal laboratory reports. Among other things, beers, wines, and alternatives to spirits were examined. Specific product names were not given. Mushroom produces alcoholTwo kombucha drinks came off particularly badly. Although they are considered classically alcohol-free, they have a 1.5 percent alcohol content. The producers had overlooked the fact…

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U.S. biotech company Moderna has released additional clinical trial data on its Omicron booster vaccines. The data from the Phase 2/3 study of more than 500 adults supported that the BA.4/5 booster resulted in significantly higher neutralizing antibody titers against BA.4/BA.5 than booster vaccination with Moderna’s original Corona vaccine, Spikevax. The company’s BA.4/5 and BA.1 booster also produced “robust” neutralizing titers against the BQ.1.1 subline, Moderna reports. Compared with BA.4/5, however, the antibody response dropped nearly fivefold. This is the most extensive study involving more than 500 adults aged 19-89,…

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Vienna is in for a winter weekend. The cold front provides frosty temperatures; rain now turns into white snow, even in the capital. “In the night to Saturday, cold continental air will flow in from Slovakia and the Czech Republic,” forecast the experts of “Alpinwetter.” They already foresee a white winter coat over Vienna and Lower Austria: “The rain is increasingly turning into snow in Vienna and Lower Austria.” As the meteorologists’ new Super HD model shows, “1 to 3 cm of snow” could be on Saturday morning, especially in…

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Black Friday’s annual discount battle will likely attract many Austrians to retail stores again this year. According to a survey by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), more than one in two respondents (55 percent) plan to go bargain hunting during the shopping event. At the same time, a good one in three wants to spend less money on it than in the previous year. On average, only about 250 euros are budgeted, which is 29 percent less than the international average. BCG surveyed 9,000 consumers in nine countries, including over…

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The question remains: Is it more environmentally friendly to turn on the dishwasher? Supposedly, it uses much less water, right? We clarify. Some claim that the dishwasher is more environmentally friendly than hand washing because it cleans all the dishes in one wash, in the truest sense. Of course, such a device also needs energy, and not a little at that. The question that arises now is, what is better for our environment? Rinsing or dishwasher? A dishwasher saves water and energy.According to the National Top Runner Initiative of the…

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With its new iPhone 14, Apple has also introduced an emergency call function that works independently of the mobile network. The SOS signal is sent via satellite instead. So if you get into an emergency in remote areas, you can still call for help. Apple is partnering with Globestar to do just that. The company operates 48 satellites in Earth orbit. All iPhone 14 models have the necessary hardware to enable a satellite connection. In an emergency, for example, location data, the emergency passport of the company’s Health app, and…

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Corona virus does not affect nerve cells, yet the disease can affect brain functions. Researchers at the University and University Hospital Basel have now identified an “exaggerated immune response” as the cause. General long-term neuronal damages of a Covid-19 infection are the loss of the sense of smell and taste or even more severe consequences such as persistent concentration deficits up to strokes, the University of Basel announced on Monday. Corona can impair the blood-brain barrierResearchers led by Gregor Hutter of the Department of Biomedicine have published new findings on…

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An altitude low will cause unsettled weather this week, especially in the west – in some places, even snow is to be expected—the forecast in detail. Monday will be cloudy away from the Alps and in the southeast due to high fog-like clouds, which will only clear up here and there during the day. From Vorarlberg to Upper Carinthia, clouds dominate and bring rain from time to time. The sun will appear mainly along the Northern Alps from Innsbruck to the Mostviertel; here, the southern foehn will strengthen temporarily in…

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