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Editor's note
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You’ve heard of flattening the curve, now meet “flatten the peak”. The peak in question is the usual surge of electricity demand in the morning as people wake up, turn on the lights, use the kettle and so on. But the coronavirus lockdown has disrupted normal patterns of working and commuting, so it seems this electricity peak has flattened out. A lockdown-weekday now looks much like a typical weekend. That’s just one of the things Grant Wilson and colleagues found when they examined Britain’s recent energy use.
A pandemic is a particularly stressful time for pregnant women and their loved ones. Helen Cheyne, a professor of midwifery research, can hopefully provide some reassurance. Don’t panic, she says, maternity services are rapidly adapting to provide safe care while minimising the risks of COVID-19.
And to take your mind off corona, why not read about one of the most thorough surveys of animals in remote African rainforests? Scientists placed camera traps in 743 spots and spotted elusive and endangered species such as the giant pangolin and the Congo peafowl. Mattie Bassone and Barbara Fruth report.
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Will de Freitas
Environment + Energy Editor
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dcurzon / shutterstock
Grant Wilson, University of Birmingham; Noah Godfrey, University of Birmingham; Shivangi Sharma, University of Birmingham; Tom Bassett, Swansea University
Three ways coronavirus is already impacting Britain’s energy systems.
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Svetlana Iakusheva/Shutterstock
Helen Cheyne, University of Stirling
It's a very unsettling time, but don't panic, keep abreast of the guidance, find time for you and stay in touch with your midwife.
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PNS Survey
Mattia Bessone, Liverpool John Moores University; Barbara Fruth, Liverpool John Moores University
A new method of using camera traps has brought good and bad news for conservationists.
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Environment + Energy
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Åke Fagereng, Cardiff University
Earthquakes happen over seconds to minutes. Slow slip events on the other hand can last for weeks or months.
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Dana M Bergstrom, University of Wollongong; Andrew Klekociuk, University of Tasmania; Diana King, University of Wollongong; Sharon Robinson, University of Wollongong
The heatwave highlights the connectedness of our climate systems: from the monsoon tropics to the southernmost continent.
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Derek Armitage, University of Waterloo; Ella-Kari Muhl, University of Waterloo; Merle Sowman, University of Cape Town; Philile Mbatha, University of Cape Town; Wayne Stanley Rice, University of Cape Town
With the 2020 deadline for conserving biodiversity almost past, communities must now play a larger role in conservation.
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Health + Medicine
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Anthony Wrigley, Keele University
Trying to maximise lives saved will inevitably be contentious and imperfect.
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Mike Trott, Anglia Ruskin University; Lee Smith, Anglia Ruskin University
Exercise addiction describes an obsessive or compulsive need to exercise – even when you're injured.
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Kim Walker, Royal Holloway; Cassandra Quave, Emory University; Nataly Olivia A Canales, University of Copenhagen
Cinchona bark, the flavouring in tonic water, is not a natural source of chloroquine.
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Business + Economy
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Sajid Mukhtar Chaudhry, Aston University
Beijing might have been ultra-tough on the pandemic, but it has been horizontal in response to the economic shock.
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Chris Stiff, Keele University
Psychological research suggests several ways in which socially-responsible behaviour might be encouraged.
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Dimitris Andriosopoulos, University of Strathclyde
'Helicopter money' payments would benefit everyone.
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Arts + Culture
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Adam Behr, Newcastle University
Davis's 1970 album Bitches Brew turned jazz on its head and paved the way for fusion. More recently, Radiohead cited it as a key influence.
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Cities
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Miri Rubin, Queen Mary University of London
In the aftermath of the plague, division and discord spread in medieval cities.
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Politics + Society
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Shir Shimoni, King's College London
Despite an increasingly positive representation of old people in the media, it is not the reality for the majority whose frailty and vulnerability disturb society to the point of denial.
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Klaus W. Larres, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Germans are struggling like the rest of the world with the coronavirus. And while Germans have a strong safety net and medical system, one thing may fall victim to the virus: relations with the US.
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Claus Oberhauser, University College of Teacher Education Tyrol
The dangerous legacy of a letter received by Augustin Barruel, a French Catholic priest and famous conspiracy theorist, in the early 1800s.
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Science + Technology
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Chaminda Hewage, Cardiff Metropolitan University
Emails offering advice about COVID-19 might actually be "phishing" attacks trying to steal your data.
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Featured events
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Julian Study Centre Lecture Theatre, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of East Anglia
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