Editor's note

The International Court of Justice has ordered Myanmar to protect the Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority in the Buddhist-majority country. The Rohingya have endured mass killings, displacement, fear and brutality at the hands of the Myanmar military. The order was given after The Gambia filed a genocide complaint before the court in November 2019. Hurst Hannum analyses the case to determine whether international law will succeed where diplomacy, politics and sanctions have failed.

When there’s an infectious disease outbreak, epidemiologists want to figure out a few things right off the bat. How contagious is this pathogen? How deadly is it? Are there super spreaders transmitting the disease to others? The answers to these questions are still emerging in the case of the current coronavirus outbreak which the World Health Organisation has declared a global health emergency. In the meantime, Elizabeth McGraw, director of Penn State’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, explains just what a super spreader is and why they can have an outsized role in an epidemic.

In other coronavirus coverage, an infectious disease specialist sets out how to know whether you’re at risk and a biologist compares the epidemic to SARS. From Africa Chikwe Ihekweazu writes about Nigeria’s preparedness while Abdhalah Ziraba looks at Kenya and Peter Kojo Quashie at Ghana.

Catesby Holmes

Religion Editor | International Editor

Top Stories

The Myanmar military’s years-long campaign against the Rohingya Muslims left hundreds of villages a smoldering pile of debris. Warpait village, Rakhine State, Oct.14, 2016. Ye Aung Thu/AFP via Getty Images

Preventing genocide in Myanmar: Court order tries to protect Rohingya Muslims where politics has failed

Hurst Hannum, Tufts University

The International Court of Justice ordered Myanmar to protect its Rohingya minority and preserve any evidence relevant to the genocide charges against it. But compliance is not guaranteed.

Whether by biology or behavior, some people in the crowd will transmit coronavirus to more than the average number of others. AP Photo/Kin Cheung

What is a super spreader? An infectious disease expert explains

Elizabeth McGraw, Pennsylvania State University

The novel coronavirus spreading outward from Wuhan, China, will get an assist from a subset of infected people who transmit it to many others.

Is the coronavirus outbreak as bad as SARS or the 2009 influenza pandemic? A biologist explains the clues

Maciej F. Boni, Pennsylvania State University

Scientists do not yet know the severity of the current coronavirus. A biologist who worked on the 2009 flu pandemic offers insights on that outbreak as well as the SARS outbreak.

Steps Nigeria is taking to prepare for cases of coronavirus

Chikwe Ihekweazu, UCL

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control says it will use lessons from the Ebola outbreak to strengthen its risk communications capacity.

Perspectives from Kenya and Ghana on coronavirus preparations

Abdhalah Ziraba, African Population and Health Research Center; Peter Kojo Quashie, University of Ghana

Airport public health officials have got better at screening at ports of entry especially for international arrivals.

How do I know if I might have coronavirus? 5 questions answered

Catharine Paules, Pennsylvania State University

With coronavirus continuing to spread, you may wonder: How do I know if I might have it? An infectious disease expert explains.

Business + Economy

Post-Brexit trade: public prioritises deal with EU and is most concerned about food

Daniel Keith, University of York; Liisa Talving, University of Tartu; Sofia Vasilopoulou, University of York

How the public ranks different post-Brexit trade partners and which sections of the economy they prioritise.

The US economy produced about $21.7 trillion in goods and services in 2019 – but what does GDP really mean?

Dan Sichel, Wellesley College

An economist who has studied new ways to improve measures of gross domestic product explains what GDP is and how it could better reflect an economy and the well-being of its inhabitants.

Environment + Energy

Modern tomatoes are very different from their wild ancestors – and we found missing links in their evolution

Hamid Razifard, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Ana Caicedo, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Through genetic detective work, scientists have identified missing links in the tomato’s evolution from a wild blueberry-sized fruit in South America to the larger modern tomato of today.

Puerto Rico earthquakes imperil island’s indigenous heritage

Jorge L. Chinea, Wayne State University

Puerto Rico was once home to about 110,000 Taínos, an indigenous people decimated by the Spanish conquest. Their ancient homeland was located in the area hit hard by recent earthquakes.

En français

Qu’a-t-on appris de l’analyse génétique du coronavirus?

Meriadeg Le Gouil, Université de Caen Normandie

Grâce aux progrès technologiques du séquençage, les scientifiques n’ont pas tardé à partager la séquence de ce nouveau virus dans le but de comprendre son origine et de trouver un traitement.

Surestimons-nous les vertus de l’empathie ?

Vanessa Oltra, Université de Bordeaux; Gregory Michel, Université de Bordeaux

Devenue concept valise, souvent synonyme de moralité, l’empathie est présentée comme condition nécessaire et suffisante à l’altruisme et à l’harmonie sociale.

En español

Mi cirujano, el Dr. Robot

Joaquín Olivares, Universidad de Córdoba

¿Se pondría usted en manos de un robot para una cirugía? Los robots que operan existen hace más de lo que imaginamos. Incluso hay algunos que ya son autónomos. El proyecto universitario europeo Hipernav trabaja para que los robots operen tumores.

Por qué los virus son tan duros de roer

Mariano Esteban, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB - CSIC)

El mundo entero anda preocupado por el coronavirus 2019-nCoV, sin escatimar en recursos para contener su avance. Pero no es el único virus que nos pone las cosas difíciles. Estas son las razones.