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With COVID vaccines rolling out, the next question is how long they’ll protect people for. With coronaviruses, immunity goes one of two ways. Against those that cause the common cold, immunity is fleeting, but against the viruses that cause Sars and Mers, it’s longer lasting.
Thankfully, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, seems to fall in the latter camp. Six months after being infected, people still have antibodies, and they also show signs of having “memory” immune cells, which could provide decades of protection. This gives us a real chance of suppressing COVID with vaccines.
But as the new variants in the UK and South Africa show, viruses can mutate. The current vaccines will protect against these variants, but if the virus mutates sufficiently, it could become resistant to them. Luckily, because of how vaccines work and how they’re used, vaccine resistance is rare – much rarer than drug resistance.
Some of the most striking images of last week’s US Capitol riots were of a bare-chested, fur-clad activist – it turns out his highly visible tattoos could provide clues to the political ideology of some of those involved. And, whether it’s low-carb, no sugar or no fat, people have been using fad diets since the beginning of the 20th century to try to get slim – here’s a run down of how they’ve evolved.
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Rob Reddick
Commissioning Editor, COVID-19
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EPA-EFE
Sheena Cruickshank, University of Manchester
Long-term protection will depend on the 'memory response' developed by our immune systems – and the initial signs are promising.
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Arrested: the far-right ‘Nordic Shaman’ has been identified as QAnon follower Jake Angeli.
Alex Gakos via Shutterstock
Tom Birkett, University College Cork
What did all those weird tattoos mean?
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Bon appétit.
alex74/ Shutterstock
Myriam Wilks-Heeg, University of Liverpool
20th-century fad diets didn't look all that different from those popular today.
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Health + Medicine
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Celia Souque, University of Oxford; Louis du Plessis, University of Oxford
How resistance to drugs originates, and why it's different for vaccines.
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Education
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Ayse Guveli, University of Essex; Sait Bayrakdar, King's College London
Remote work provided by schools is particularly important to underprivileged families.
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Business + Economy
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Sandy Brian Hager, City, University of London; Joseph Baines, King's College London
New research reveals how talk of a K-shaped recovery misses the point.
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Politics + Society
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Dan Taylor, The Open University
With the third national lockdown under way, how can E.M. Forster's neglected masterpiece help us survive the next few months?
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Julie M Norman, UCL
What can Biden's picks for his cabinet tell us about his administration?
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Science + Technology
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John McAlaney, Bournemouth University; Deniz Cemiloglu, Bournemouth University; Raian Ali, Hamad Bin Khalifa University
During lockdowns, we live our lives through our screens. Here, tech experts share their tips on when - and how - to switch off.
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Deborah Wells, Queen's University Belfast
From long walks to dangerous foods, you could be damaging the health of your puppy without realising.
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Sarah Schiffling, Liverpool John Moores University; Liz Breen, University of Bradford
With reports emerging of vaccine wastage across the world, medical supply chain experts explain why that's to be expected.
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Environment + Energy
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Richard Hall, University of Bristol
Sudden warming more than 10 km above the north pole can mean sudden freezing down here.
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Ian D. Rotherham, Sheffield Hallam University
The UK's marshes, bogs and fens provided the bare necessities of daily life for many centuries.
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Juan Torres-Batlló, University of Surrey; Belen Marti-Cardona, University of Surrey
It's an ecological disaster, but my research shows we should not lose hope.
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Featured events
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Online, York, York, YO10 5DD, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of York
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East Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB11PT, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Anglia Ruskin University
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Online, Birmingham, Warwickshire, B15 2TT, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Birmingham
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East Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB11PT, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Anglia Ruskin University
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