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With some scientists and politicians calling for another look at the “lab-leak” theory of COVID-19, all eyes are once again on the Wuhan Institute of Virology. It may be a while – even an eternity – before we know if there’s any truth to suggestions the lab was the source of SARS-CoV-2. In the meantime, we thought we should take a look at some of the other labs around the world that deal with the world’s deadliest pathogens, so-called BSL4 labs.
Filippa Lentzos and Gregory Koblentz have taken an audit and the results are – how shall we say? – not comforting. The Global Health Security Index shows that only about a quarter of countries with BSL4 labs received high scores for biosafety and biosecurity. And no lab has yet signed up to the voluntary bio-risk management system (ISO 35001), which aims to reduce biosafety and biosecurity risks.
If fighting the coronavirus and all its variants isn’t hard enough, counterfeiters are making the job all the harder. Apparently, there is a booming trade in counterfeit PPE, COVID-19 testing kits, vaccines and vaccine passports. Welcome to the new abnormal.
Most people equate pyramids with Egypt, but Sudan has a great many of these tombs, too. Unfortunately, due to climate change, they are being covered by shifting dunes. Could a “great green wall” be the solution?
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Clint Witchalls
Health + Medicine Editor (UK edition)
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A virologist stands between rows of cages for laboratory animals in the new high security laboratory (biosafety level 4) at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, Germany.
dpa picture alliance/Alamy Stock Photo
Filippa Lentzos, King's College London; Gregory Koblentz, George Mason University
A large proportion of scientific research on coronaviruses is carried out in countries with no oversight of experiments designed to make pathogens more deadly.
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Counterfeit vaccines, testing kits, and vaccine passports are undermining the global fight against COVID-19.
AnaLysiSStudiO/Shutterstock
Mark Stevenson, Lancaster University
Counterfeit vaccines are undermining the global effort to stop COVID-19. Why are they so prevalent, and how can we stop them?
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Martchan / shutterstock
Ahmed Mutasim Abdalla Mahmoud, University of Nottingham
Desertification and climate change are threatening ancient sites in the Sahara.
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Business + Economy
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Joshua Hobbs, University of Leeds
Apps like Klarna, Clearpay and Sezzle have rocketed in popularity during the pandemic.
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Environment + Energy
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Karen Jackson, University of Westminster; Oleksandr Shepotylo, Aston University
G7's Build Back Better World initiative is designed to finance climate infrastructure projects in developing countries.
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Sue Farran, Newcastle University
Contracts for exploring the deep sea are due to expire before a safe mining code can be agreed.
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Health + Medicine
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Andrew Chadwick, Loughborough University
If we think about the success of the UK’s vaccine rollout to date, and factor in how social norms tend to diffuse, then there's good reason to be optimistic.
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Caroline Colijn, Simon Fraser University; Paul Tupper, Simon Fraser University
It is unlikely that we will reach full herd immunity for COVID-19. However, we are likely to reach a practical kind of herd immunity through vaccination.
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Robin Ireland, University of Glasgow; Christopher Bunn, University of Glasgow
How much longer can we allow unhealthy products to be associated with 'sport mega-events' like Euro 2020?
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Politics + Society
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Chia-Lin Chen, University of Liverpool
The government's plan to shake up the national rail system is ambitious. Whether it will be cheaper for the customer – and for the nation – remains to be seen
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Blerina Kellezi, Nottingham Trent University; Juliet Wakefield, Nottingham Trent University; Mhairi Bowe, Nottingham Trent University
The sustained lack of trust between migrants and health professionals is leading to dire consequences
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Ran Porat, Monash University
Famous for his political wizardry and clever coalition manoeuvres, Israel's longest-serving prime minister ended up losing the trust of almost everyone in the political arena.
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Tony Walker, La Trobe University
Scott Morrison may have found the meeting of the leaders of the world's liberal democracies that aligning himself so closely with former US President Donald Trump was not the most prudent course.
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