Category: General Interest

After the warmest summer, Europe has also experienced the warmest October ever measured since records began this year.This was reported by the E.U. climate change service Copernicus on Tuesday. According to the report, temperatures averaged nearly two degrees above the average for the reference period from 1991 to 2020, with daily records set in the western continent. On a national level, no October as warm as this has ever been measured in Austria, Switzerland, and France. Also, record temperatures in CanadaThis was also true for large parts of Italy and…

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It’s getting colder again, and we’re spending more time indoors. That’s why, even in the third pandemic fall, people are increasingly reaching for masks to protect themselves from infection with Sars-CoV-2, influenza, and other pathogens. “FFP2 masks have been proven to be very effective and are therefore important means of protection against infection with coronaviruses and other pathogens that enter our respiratory tract via droplets, such as influenza viruses,” says environmental physician and specialist in hygiene and microbiology, Hans-Peter Hutter. According to a survey of 500 Austrians, 58 percent change…

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We all know that unpleasant feeling that overcomes us when we get too close to pepper…. A little pepper in the nose and we are overcome by a sneezing crisis that is hard to suppress. But why does pepper have this effect on our noses? Chemical components in pepperContrary to what you might have guessed, the form of the pepper makes no difference to the sneezing sensation. So whether the pepper is ground or in whole grains, the effect is always the same. Pepper contains certain chemical ingredients. And they…

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It’s not just a matter of good manners: A study shows that having your finger up your nose can also bring health problems. According to “indy100”, an Australian study that examined the bacterium “Chlamydia pneumonia” now warns against picking the nose. This type of chlamydia mainly affects the respiratory tract and causes pneumonia. For the first time, however, the effects of infection with the pathogen on the human brain have now been studied. In the process, researchers came across astonishing results in Alzheimer’s research. Is nose-picking dangerous?Of course, picking the…

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After the fantastic weekend, sunny and exceptionally mild weather is coming back to Austria. Already on Tuesday, sunshine is back on the daily schedule. Up to 18 degrees are expected. On Monday, a few scattered residual clouds will appear in the northern foothills of the Alps. Otherwise, the wind will blow mostly weakly. Early temperatures will reach up to 8 degrees. During the day, temperatures will range between 9 and 16 degrees. A highly mild southwesterly current moves over all of Austria on Tuesday. This will be accompanied by mostly…

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According to company data, the booster with Biontech and Pfizer’s Corona vaccine adapted to BA.4/BA.5 is significantly more effective against the Omicron variant than the original vaccine. New data from an ongoing clinical trial showed an increase in neutralizing antibodies in the over-55 age group of about fourfold compared to people vaccinated with Biontech/Pfizer’s original Corona vaccine. Study on booster vaccination with Corona vaccine adapted to BA.4/BA.5Both measurements were reportedly obtained one month after the booster. Compared with the values before booster vaccination, a 9.5-fold increase in so-called antibody titers…

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In western Austria, winter sends its greetings at higher altitudes. The extended “Indian summer” ends in Austria: a cold front brings rain and cold weather to Austria over the weekend. A cold front and an Italian low bring dense clouds and widespread rain on Friday, “higher up” temporarily also wintry conditions, for example, on mountain passes. According to the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG), by Sunday at the latest, the weather will be dry again in most of the country, and the sun will also show itself. A…

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Clinical trials are starting in the U.S. for a combination vaccine made by German biotech company Biontech and its partner Pfizer against Corona and the flu. The combination vaccine candidate combines the already approved Corona vaccine against BA.4 and BA.5 from both Biontech and Pfizer with a flu vaccine candidate from Pfizer that is currently being tested in Phase 3 clinical trial. 180 people in the U.S. testing a combination of Corona and influenza vaccineThe Phase 1 trial of the combination vaccine is expected to enroll 180 people in the…

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Starting November 3, WhatsApp is shipping its new Communities feature worldwide. As announced in April, “Communities” allows multiple groups to be placed “under one umbrella.” Since then, the quality has been tested in individual countries. However, it may take time before everyone can access the new function. The feature should be handy for schools, clubs, or neighborhoods. Different school groups, such as “homework,” “field trip,” “parent-teacher conferences,” etc., can be housed in the shared community “school,” for example. Administrators can also send out announcements to the community as a whole.…

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