It's not 'just fatigue', it's a disability

As disruption from the COVID pandemic continues to ripple through our society, you likely know someone who has – or has had – long COVID, unable to shake the symptoms for months or even years.

More than 200 symptoms of long COVID have been recorded, making the condition difficult to pin down, but its impact is real and serious. Deeply fatigued and unable to focus, people miss out on work and become unmoored from their family and friends.

With no formal diagnostic test, it’s easy to underestimate just how severely it can hurt someone’s quality of life. But a new Australian study has captured the daily experiences of people with long COVID and the profound disability it brings. It also shows a path forward for how we can better restore the dignity and health of those affected.

Until next week,

Signe Dean

Science + Technology Editor

Long COVID is more than fatigue. Our new study suggests its impact is similar to a stroke or Parkinson’s

Danielle Hitch, Deakin University; Genevieve Pepin, Deakin University; Kieva Richards, La Trobe University

Long COVID isn’t just a bunch of lingering symptoms. A new study shows it can stop peoole doing what they want to do, and need to do.

Astronomers have glimpsed the core of a dying star – confirming theories of how atoms are made

Orsola De Marco, Macquarie University

An ‘extremely stripped supernova’ confirms the existence of a key feature of physicists’ models of how stars produce the elements that make up the Universe.

The most powerful tool in an astronomer’s arsenal is a lens – but not the kind you might think

Tania Barone, Swinburne University of Technology

Everything bends space-time. Sometimes, we can even see this effect – and learn a lot from it.

Humans keep building robots that are shaped like us – what’s the point?

John McCormick, Swinburne University of Technology

They’re not in our homes yet, but it might be just a matter of time as tech companies bet big on humanoid robots.

Why does Australia have earthquakes? The whole continent is under stress from distant forces

Mojtaba Rajabi, The University of Queensland; Abbas Babaahmadi, The University of Queensland; Dee Ninis, Monash University

Australia is a long way from the tectonic plate boundaries where most earthquakes happen – but we can’t escape the forces they create.

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