Coronavirus Covid-19

Health
Seattle scientist digs up deleted coronavirus genetic data, adding fuel to the covid origin debate
A vendor sells pork at an open market in Wuhan, China, on May 31. A renewed interest in the origins of the coronavirus pandemic has sparked fervent discussions among scientists. (Getty Images)
By
Joel Achenbach
,


The Washington Post
Seattle scientist digs up deleted coronavirus genetic data, adding fuel to the covid origin debate
The Washington Post
The scientific significance of Bloom's research remained unclear Wednesday, but it stirred instant online reaction, favorable and unfavorable alike, among scientists who have been debating the flurry of theories about the initial coronavirus outbreak.



Ben Guarino
and
Yasmeen Abutaleb

June 24, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. GMT+12

whatever
2020 ww
8 billion plus huh
humankinds so damn clecer huh
 
Last edited:

James Ross/Dan Himbrechts (AAP)
Contrasting NSW and Victoria lockdown coverage reveals much about the politics of COVID – and the media

Denis Muller, The University of Melbourne

It's not as simple as NSW is good and Victoria is bad, but it's not a long way from it, either.

f'wit dictator aussies,destroy your country,like the poms and yanks
govts/pseudo leaders,that is

democracy huh
best in the wold
self professed,be buggered

lockdown your countries fot years,who cazres
apparently singapores come up with a clever/sensible idea
ya'all wont follow huh
 
Last edited:
some
of you aussies werer laughing at nz two years ago,look at your country now,well ever since
fkn lockdowns galore




Academic rigour, journalistic flair

The difference between media coverage of Sydney’s current two week lockdown and Melbourne’s recent lockdown has been stark. As Denis Muller writes, it reveals much not only about how the media operates in this country, but also about politics. While the focus of the media coverage in NSW has been largely informational – where are the outbreaks, what are the stipulations of the lockdown, for example – the Victorian press conferences have been noticeably more political.

But it’s not just a simple matter of NSW is good and Victoria is bad (in media terms). It is partly to do with the way a certain “take” on an issue – that Victoria is bad at managing outbreaks – comes to be “true”. It is also partly to do with the way the broader politics of the pandemic are playing out, most notably people’s increasing frustration with the painfully – even dangerously – slow vaccine rollout.

And there’s no getting away from how the media itself has responded, says Muller, and the “frankly rabid bias of the Murdoch tabloids”. We shall see if this changes as the pandemic, and inevitable lockdowns, drag on.

Speaking of Sydney’s lockdown, many have wondered if the New South Wales government waited too long to lock down and whether their hesitation will prolong their time inside.

Is it best to “go early” with a lockdown just in case? As Catherine Bennett writes, it’s not that simple. Instead, she argues we should “go with the data” when contact tracers are very close to keeping up with the virus, as they were in NSW. She says we should assess the data in real time and be prepared for a rapid change in response if contact tracing falls behind.

And, as this financial year draws to a close, we want to thank the 19,596 of you who have generously donated this year. That so many of you have come through has buoyed everyone in the newsroom. If you haven’t already, there is still time to make a tax deductible donation before June 30, here or by calling 1300 554 350.

Amanda Dunn

Section Editor: Politics + Society


James Ross/Dan Himbrechts (AAP)
Contrasting NSW and Victoria lockdown coverage reveals much about the politics of COVID – and the media
Denis Muller, The University of Melbourne

It's not as simple as NSW is good and Victoria is bad, but it's not a long way from it, either.


Mick Tsikas/AAP
Did Sydney’s lockdown come too late? Here’s why it’s not that simple
Catherine Bennett, Deakin University

There's always an element of 'hindsight being 20/20' whenever we're evaluating a lockdown.


Janaka Dharmasena/Shutterstock
Intergenerational reports ought to do more than scare us — they ought to spark action
Danielle Wood, Grattan Institute

It's not enough to deliver what the treasurer calls "sobering news", there are things we can do.


Shutterstock
Voluntary assisted dying will begin in WA this week. But one Commonwealth law could get in the way
Charles Corke, Deakin University

Under the Commonwealth Criminal Code, it's an offence to use a 'carriage service' — which includes phone, videoconferencing or email —for the purposes of conveying 'suicide related material'.



just saying
no one else will
we are a hell of an observant bunch ha
 
"It is also partly to do with the way the broader politics of the pandemic are playing out, most notably people’s increasing frustration with the painfully – even dangerously – slow vaccine rollout."
Given australia has managed to contain covid at all,it propbably started with natural advantages compared to Europe. It seems likely that if it had allowed a widespread infection then the death rate would have been more like the 0.01% of Japan and India. Its possible they locked down for no gain.

Moreover, as covid has evolved around the world it has been changing to be more effective against pre exisiting immunity amongst humans. So its edge must have increased in places like Austrlia, so its ability to spread must be streadily increasing. Over time you would expect it to eventually become good enough to overcome their restrictions and spread uncheckably as has happened in Europe.

Against this, a lot of austrlia seems to be hot so more ventilation and outdoors life (unless its closed up for the air con), and generally things are less crowded together, which are also naturally protective against spread.
 
[QUOTe
Against this, a lot of austrlia seems to be hot so more ventilation and outdoors life (unless its closed up for the air con), and generally things are less crowded together, which are also naturally protective against spread.[/QUOTE]

been no reports of such/no,reports whatsoever,as a possible cause
more so intense fer ad paranoia ala uk/usa,the countries that continually ridicule all ekse and sundry,start wars for there benefit,amd,likwely pro-longing this happening,for whatever long term advantage
at its populaces expese

politicians ww,have a lot to answer to
do they care,no

ps
i can be selective also,in what i want to comment on huh
 
lack hole and a neutron star — twice.


Viruses come in all shapes and sizes, such as the giant mimivirus (top right) and the lunar-lander-shaped bacteriophage (centre). Credit: False-colour electron micrographs (not to same scale). Top row L–R: smallpox virus; Acidianus bottle-shaped virus; Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus. Centre row L–R: rabies virus; T4 bacteriophage; rotavirus. Bottom row L–R: ebola virus; tobacco rattle virus; HIV-2. (SPL; M. Häring et al./J. Virol.; E. Ghigo et al./PLOS Pathog.; Frederick A. Murphy/CDC Global)
Virus discoveries are transforming biology
Scientists estimate that there are about 1031 individual viral particles inhabiting the ocean at any given time — 10 billion times the estimated number of stars in the known Universe. But we’ve officially named only 9,110 virus species. Now, we are seeing an explosion in viral classification, thanks to changes that allow scientists to judge viruses on the basis of their genomes, instead of having to culture them and their hosts. The wealth of information is feeding a new wave of discovery about how endless variations of viruses propel evolution by shuttling genes between hosts.

Nature | 13 min read

 

COVID scare reaches Alice Springs, deep in Australia's outback
While the Northern Territory recorded no cases of coronavirus, there are concerns over the potential impact on Indigenous communities



doing better than new zealand huh
boastful ausses

remember the underarm
some of us wont forget

part of our global ballsup with this is non co-operation
s3elfush arseholes determined to try and become heres by finding a solution
 
Mix-and-match COVID vaccines: the facts
Evidence is building that one dose of the Oxford–AstraZeneca jab and one dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine trigger an immune response similar to — or even stronger than — two doses of either vaccine. Mixing the two types of vaccine — one based on an adenovirus, the other on messenger RNA — could provide best-of-both-worlds protection: a strong T-cell response and high levels of antibodies. Mixing could also keep roll-outs on track when there are supply issues. Scientists emphasize that there is still more to learn about the real-world efficacy and safety of this mix-and-match approach.

Nature | 8 min read
Reference: SSRN preprint, medRxiv preprint 1 & medRxiv preprint 2

Long-sought marker for vaccine success
For the first time, researchers have identified a ‘correlate of protection’ for a COVID-19 vaccine. The team found that people who got the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine and did not develop a symptomatic infection had higher levels of virus-blocking ‘neutralizing’ antibodies than did vaccinated people who got COVID-19. “The power of a correlate in vaccines is profound,” says vaccine researcher Dan Barouch. “If there’s a reliable correlate, then it can be used in clinical trials to make decisions as to what vaccines are likely to work, what form of vaccines are likely to work, or how durable the vaccines are going to be.”

Nature | 6 min read
Reference: medRxiv preprint

Notable quotable
“Someone aged 80 who is fully vaccinated essentially takes on the risk of an unvaccinated person of around 50 — much lower, but still not nothing.”
Statisticians David Spiegelhalter and Anthony Masters explain why the majority of people dying in England with the now-dominant Delta (B.1.617.2) variant have been vaccinated. (The Guardian | 3 min read)


Promising live-parasite malaria vaccine
An experimental vaccine containing live malaria parasites protected nearly all recipients from infection in a small clinical trial. People were given a shot containing Plasmodium falciparum parasites, along with drugs to kill any parasites that reached the liver or bloodstream, where they can cause malaria symptoms. Participants were then intentionally infected with malaria three months later to test the vaccine’s efficacy. Producing this type of vaccine on the scale needed to combat malaria would present a challenge: the parasites would have to be harvested from mosquito salivary glands and then stored at extremely low temperatures.

Nature | 5 min read
Reference: Nature paper

COVID-19 coronavirus update



ooohh oo poo

words countrys again,not collectivelly working towards a freedom of cv gal
any wonder the world is where its at
suffer the consequences'
 
Mix-and-match COVID vaccines: the facts
vaccines made from whole virus work better than ones from parts of viruses, at least in creating immunity against new variants. Assuming different vaccines have made different choices of which parts to include, then I would have expected a mix of different vaccines to do better too.
 
vaccines made from whole virus work better than ones from parts of viruses, at least in creating immunity against new variants. Assuming different vaccines have made different choices of which parts to include, then I would have expected a mix of different vaccines to do better too.


incredible that you needed to pass a commet on such dands,means nothing really


btw
am qute annoyed at australia
now raving theyre hard done by with what theyve allo2wed to happen,from the outset
talking almost 2 years now
virtually 1 death.,and still paic and fear thruout the country

sad
 
incredible that you needed to pass a commet on such dands,means nothing really
Why?

Dont you care that other kinds of vaccine are known to work more effectively against future variants? The problem is they are more tricky to make. Right now the UK has vaccinated everyone at serious risk, 2/3 of all adults have been fully vaccinated, so thats everyone old enough to be at real risk. Yet we are still under restrictions and the claimed reason is the fear of new future mutations. Its very relevant that different kinds of vaccine might work better, and just as relevant that natural immunty after catching covid might work better too. (thats because it is more diffuse and attacks different targets on a virus, not just the ones the scientists making the vaccine picked)

We are in a situation where our chances of resisting future outbreaks might be better if the safe young catch covid right now. It isnt them at risk whatever we do now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: malakos
btw
am qute annoyed at australia
now raving theyre hard done by with what theyve allo2wed to happen,from the outset
talking almost 2 years now
virtually 1 death.,and still paic and fear thruout the country
The risk if yuo try to keep it out is that each successive variant is better at overcoming our pre existing inmmunity. So whereas Australi originally faced a fairly weak strain compared to the immunity it already had, the advantage is slipping away from Australians.

if they had let it in from the start, the might have had a 0.01% death rate like Japan. But if it gets in now it could kill rather more.

The end point in this is to have covid circulating freely in society, but few deaths because we are all immune.
 
  • Like
Reactions: malakos
Why?

Dont you care that other kinds of vaccine are known to work more effectively against future variants? The problem is they are more tricky to make. Right now the UK has vaccinated everyone at serious risk, 2/3 of all adults have been fully vaccinated, so thats everyone old enough to be at real risk. Yet we are still under restrictions and the claimed reason is the fear of new future mutations. Its very relevant that different kinds of vaccine might work better, and just as relevant that natural immunty after catching covid might work better too. (thats because it is more diffuse and attacks different targets on a virus, not just the ones the scientists making the vaccine picked)

We are in a situation where our chances of resisting future outbreaks might be better if the safe young catch covid right now. It isnt them at risk whatever we do now.

re why

no intention to be suckeredd into pointless conservations re anything/any of that crap dands
damn pointless,evident by how much its all carried on for
 
feeling for our fguturer gernerations
dont,just blame china,ignoramus humanity
we are asll guilty
i say,most say f'alllwe dont know where we are/duh



Janaka Dharmasena/Shutterstock
Intergenerational reports ought to do more than scare us — they ought to spark action

Danielle Wood, Grattan Institute

It's not enough to deliver what the treasurer calls "sobering news", there are things we can do.


Dan Peled/AAP
National cabinet makes jabs compulsory for aged care workers and AstraZeneca will be available for all who want it
Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

All workers in residential aged care facilities will be required to have at least a first COVID vaccination by mid-September under a decision at an emergency national cabinet meeting on Monday.


YONHAP/AAP
Pentagon report says UFOs can’t be explained, and this admission is a big deal
Adam Dodd, The University of Queensland

Some UFO sightings appear to demonstrate 'advanced technology'. The Pentagon has confirmed some threaten flight safety, and potentially national security.


AAP/Mick Tsikas
Another day, another rorts scandal – this time with car parks. How can we fix the system?
Yee-Fui Ng, Monash University

Rorting scandals are nothing new in Australian politics. But the regulatory system has too many loopholes and needs urgent reform if we're serious about stopping it.


Shutterstock
Voluntary assisted dying will begin in WA this week. But one Commonwealth law could get in the way
Charles Corke, Deakin University

Under the Commonwealth Criminal Code, it's an offence to use a 'carriage service' — which includes phone, videoconferencing or email —for the purposes of conveying 'suicide related material'.


Wayne Lawler/Australian Wildlife Conservancy
This adorable mouse was considered extinct for over 100 years — until we found it hiding in plain sight
Emily Roycroft, Australian National University

The remaining populations are threatened by a lack of genetic diversity, which makes them less likely to bounce back from new pressures such as climate change.


Featured jobs
mAe_atHh2dRRu6IKt3e32EDQw7U0nDckcGjrQyWPXdOPcOsaqtPktYZteozL8dRqF7MdzcVgRUULQ9NZVh_W6zB405dYCIKXFerLTEYpys8RIYaaEdhCR_mnC5cQNwzzQw=s0-d-e1-ft

Associate Professor/Professor and Deputy Head in Applied BioSciences
— North Ryde NSW, Australia

MORE JOBS
 
Unvaccinated aged care staff labelled 'a disgrace' after three residents at Sydney nursing home get COVID-19


Three residents at a Sydney aged care home where at least one unvaccinated worker tested positive for COVID-19 last week have contracted the virus, with one of their daughters describing the situation as "a disgrace".



Finance Minister promises Pfizer vaccine for under-40s 'within months' but refuses to set date
Liberal senator Simon Birmingham says younger Australians will get access to the Pfizer jab soon, but the Labor leader says his inability to set a timeline shows government "incompetence".



Tasmanian Labor leader David O'Byrne resigns amid sexual harassment allegations investigation
Less than a month after taking the job, David O'Byrne resigns as Tasmanian Labor leader over allegations he sexually harassed a junior union employee more than a decade ago.



Juliet will soon have major surgery for breast cancer. Border closures mean she may face it without her husband
Juliet Wilson wants to be reunited with her Canadian husband before she has breast cancer surgery in August. But four applications have been rejected and she's pleading for compassion.



Residents urged to be 'honest' about movements as NSW records 16 new local COVID-19 cases
Health authorities say some COVID cases have been caught breaching lockdown rules and are urging people not to "redouble that mistake" by lying to contact tracers.



Meet Jezza, the thrill seeker changing New Zealand's tourism industry
New Zealand's adventure tourism industry is being transformed to make it available to everyone, and it's not as hard as it might seem.



One new community case of COVID-19 in Queensland
As Brisbane and Moreton Bay residents enjoy their first full day out of lockdown, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says it is a relief that only two new COVID-19 cases have emerged overnight, one of them from community transmission.



Dragons confirm players under investigation for COVID breaches
A week after the Bulldogs were fined for COVID breaches, the Dragons confirm several players are under police and NRL Integrity Unit investigation for breaking NSW government and league rules.



WA records one new local COVID-19 case as woman's partner tests positive
Western Australia has recorded one new local case of COVID-19 on the second day of interim post-lockdown restrictions, with the partner of a previous case testing positive for the virus.



What is behind the Vatican's London real estate scandal?
Top Vatican officials and businessmen are set to face trial over allegations of extortion, embezzlement, abuse of office and corruption over a 350 million euro investment. Here's what you need to know.




he/she woke are all fun and games downiunder re the cv crisis
am sure youi will/can find something tyhere to associateme with dands