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Thanks to last December’s restrictions, I didn’t exchange Christmas presents with my family until May. The only thing on my wishlist this year is to avoid a similar write-off.
But with COVID hospitalisations high and pressure mounting on the NHS, more restrictions can’t be ruled out. So we should do everything possible to prevent another lockdown, argues Simon Williams. Whether it’s taking vaccines when they’re offered or mixing with people a bit less, there are steps everyone can take to stop the pandemic getting out of control.
In Utah, 47,000 genetically identical aspen trees share the same root network – making them collectively the largest single organism on the planet. Named Pando, the organism is 14,000 years old, but it faces an uncertain future. Climate change, disease and hungry deer are all existential threats.
And the euro has plunged in value. With COVID cases, political tensions and inflation all rising in Europe, it probably won’t be rebounding any time soon.
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Rob Reddick
Commissioning Editor, COVID-19
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To go ahead this year, Christmas celebrations may need to be more low key than they would usually be.
PorporLing/Shutterstock
Simon Nicholas Williams, Swansea University
Countries across Europe are reintroducing lockdowns, but the UK can keep Christmas and New Year on track by following these sensible steps.
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Lance Oditt / Friends of Pando
Richard Elton Walton, Newcastle University
These 47,000 aspen trees are genetically identical clones with shared roots.
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E as in ebbing.
kentoh/Shutterstock
Keith Pilbeam, City, University of London
To understand the euro’s weakness, you have to look at the US as well as Europe.
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Science + Technology
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Per Ola Kristensson, University of Cambridge
The idea seems to make sense: if the system can predict your intended word before you type it, this should save you time. But that’s not necessarily the case.
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Maggie Lieu, University of Nottingham
Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus all have rings.
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Politics + Society
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Patricia Canning, Utrecht University
Police officers are tasked with summarising accounts of violent incidents. And the language they use is extremely important.
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Lauren Gould, Utrecht University; Jolle Demmers, Utrecht University; Nora Stel, Radboud University
Western militaries all too often try to hide the fact of civilian casualties as they spoil the popular narrative of a “clean” war.
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Business + Economy
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Samuel Kwok, Xi'an Jiaotong Liverpool University
A disagreement between L'Oréal and two leading Chinese influencers shows how brands can run into difficulties in the modern era.
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Featured events
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— Online, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, Warwickshire, B15 2TT, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Birmingham
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— Egham Hill, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Royal Holloway University of London
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— Online, Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Southampton
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— Online, Zoom, Cardiff [Caerdydd GB-CRD], CF10 3BA, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Cardiff University
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