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A host of new measures have been announced in the UK in a bid to try to bring rising numbers of coronavirus cases under control. These include encouraging more people to work from home, requiring pubs to close early and preventing mixing between households. What does this mean for the future of the pandemic? Public health expert Andrew Lee says the UK could still be in for a challenging winter in which COVID-19, influenza and other
respiratory viruses could take a tragic toll.
As our tactics to fight the pandemic evolve, is the virus itself mutating? Lucy van Dorp, a computational geneticist, is tracking the genome changes of the virus for signs that they confer evolutionary advantages. “While adaptive changes may yet occur,” she says, “all the available data at this stage suggests we’re facing the same virus since the start of the pandemic.” While that may sound like bad news, a stable coronavirus is actually
good news for vaccine development.
And researchers in Indonesia are working on a novel way to recycle plastic, by mixing it with natural materials such as sawdust, to make biodegradable composites.
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Megan Clement
Commissioning Editor, COVID-19
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Yui Mok/PA
Andrew Lee, University of Sheffield
Here's what you need to know about the UK's new coronavirus rules – and what else might be needed.
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ImageFlow/Shutterstock
Lucy van Dorp, UCL
...and why Professor Chris Whitty is right.
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Bubbers BB/Shutterstock
Deirdre McKay, Keele University
By combining plastic waste with durian wood sawdust, we may have found a way to slow the rise of plastic pollution in Indonesia.
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Politics + Society
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Karl Pike, Queen Mary University of London
Boris Johnson was the target of heavy criticism, but so was Starmer's own party.
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Greg Raymond, Australian National University
Protesters in Thailand are demanding changes to the power structures in the country, including a reform of the monarchy — a topic long deemed unmentionable.
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Marcus Holmes, College of William & Mary; Mark NK Saunders, University of Birmingham; Nicholas John Wheeler, University of Birmingham
When diplomacy is done online, it's hard to pick up on the gestures and micro-expressions that help create trust.
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Arts + Culture
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Howard Hurst, University of Central Lancashire; Jack Hardwicke, University of Winchester
Cycling remains a leading example of athletes sacrificing their bodies for sporting glory.
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Robert Stone, University of Birmingham
Recreating the Mayflower and its crew and passengers from a few vague accounts took a lot of technical know-how.
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Business + Economy
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Enrico Bonadio, City, University of London
How Banksy's glib response to a trademark challenge backfired and lost him a two-year legal battle.
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Featured events
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Lecture Theatre 1, Richmond Building, Portland Street, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 3DE, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Portsmouth
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Blavatnik School of Government, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 6GG, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Oxford
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