Buckle up folks, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
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Nature moves at its own pace
We bought two bags of our usual dou miao and noticed the small photos on the bottom left of the back label. Apparently, the sprouts could actually be re-grown by placing the roots and remaining stalks into a container of water.
The sprouts shot up at quite an amazing pace and after only seven days, they were ready to be harvested and eaten again. It’s unclear if the Totoro had any significant impact on their speed of growth.
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Let’s hope we don’t run out of Greek letters anytime soon
The World Health Organisation decided in May 2021 to name Covid-19 variants using the Greek alphabet, which contains 24 letters starting with alpha (α) and ending with omega (ω). And so far, exactly half of them have been used.
Given the rate at which mutations are happening, it’s almost a certainty that the remaining 12 letters will be utilised at some point in time. Let’s just hope that it doesn’t happen too quickly.
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So, we got our jabs. Now what?
“E” is for endemic.
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It’s a marathon, not a sprint
Studies seem to be pointing to the outcome that any vaccine will not impart lifelong immunity, but will only offer protection for only 5-7 months.
This increases the likelihood of Covid-19 becoming endemic, joining the four other endemic human coronaviruses (229E, NL63, OC43 and HKU1) which circulate indefinitely within the human population.
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Yes, penguins actually do have knees
Something that the kids will love: Penguins have an oil gland near their butts, and they collect the oil with their beaks and spread it all over their feathers to make them waterproof. Ok, on second thoughts, maybe don’t tell them this fact. In case, you know…
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It’s not just a respiratory disease
When the virus first spread, the prevailing consensus was that it was a respiratory disease, but more and more reports are indicating that the virus attacks more than just our lungs. Science published an article on 24 April 2020 that foreshadowed this development. It was morbidly, but aptly, titled “A rampage through the body”.
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Spending an entire day at the Osaka Kaiyukan
The Osaka Kaiyukan (海遊館) is one of the largest aquariums in the world and is a great place to spend an entire day when you’re visiting Osaka. It has dolphins, penguins, sea lions, whale sharks, capybaras and all sorts of marine life from around the world.
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This is going to take a while
Reuters has recently compiled a list of on-going global efforts in finding effective treatments and vaccines against Covid-19. It provides a useful reference and gives a good stock-take of current activity.
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Dorscon almost red, but not actually red
Today is Day One of the not-lockdown in Singapore, which is currently scheduled to end on Star Wars Day. Global infection stands at 1,347,235 with 74,767 deaths. Singapore has 1,375 infections and six deaths. These are dark days, but I have faith that science will lead us back into the light.
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