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The Coronavirus is tested to find out if it will make it through the summer?

The spread of the epidemic could be slowed by heat and humidity. Scientists are now trying to find out.

Many viruses are not heat-resistant, which is why the flu season, for example, is winter. We had hoped that this would also be the case for the new coronavirus, but the fact that it has still spread in regions where the temperature is over 30°C, such as Singapore, is not a very encouraging sign.

However, according to a Chinese study, warm temperatures could at least slow it down, noted ZME Science. A statistical study of 4,711 cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 throughout China showed that the higher the temperature and humidity, the less the epidemic spread. If confirmed, this would be good news for the northern hemisphere in the months ahead, and bad news for the southern hemisphere.

Test on a harmless replica

But all this is based on probability. To find out more scientifically, a study has just been launched at the University of Utah in the United States. The researchers are going to test the resistance of the coronavirus to heat, humidity and other environmental changes. To do this, they will recreate synthetic particles of the coronavirus, but without its genome, so that it cannot infect anyone or multiply. The idea is really to see how the physics of its spread can be affected.

As with influenza, SARS-CoV-2 travels between humans in the form of airborne mucus droplets. Observing how these droplets react to temperature and humidity should give us an idea of whether or not the virus will slow down as the warmer weather sets in. And anything that alters the structural integrity of the coronavirus is a good thing. "This is not a vaccine. It won't solve the crisis, but we hope it will inform future policy decisions," said Michael Vershinin from the university's Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Multidisciplinary centre

While previous viruses have been studied for their means and speed of propagation, the influence of climate has rarely been considered. The laboratory at the University of Utah, which has just received a grant of 200,000 Swiss francs to carry out this research, has years of experience in studying viruses on a nanometric scale. In addition, it is part of the University's Centre for Cell and Genome Sciences (CCGS), where physicists, chemists and biologists work together. As a result, interdisciplinary collaboration can easily be set up if required.

Michel Pralong

source: Le Matin

Coronavirus: the world confines itself and Switzerland?

More and more countries are closing their borders, schools, restaurants and non-essential businesses.
But what about Switzerland?
Will she be confined by force of circumstance?

Netflix shares rise on the stock market, despite coronavirus scare sending markets into panic mode

Netflix is not suffering from the coronavirus crisis. The streaming company's shares are on the rise, even though the stock market is falling amid growing fears about the epidemic.

Netflix is not suffering from the coronavirus crisis. Shares in the streaming company are on the rise, even though the stock market is falling amid growing fears about the epidemic. Netflix shares have risen by around 5 % this week, up to this Thursday 27 February, while the S&P 500 index, which brings together the 500 biggest US listed companies, was down by around 5 %. The index is currently on course for its worst weekly fall since the 2008 financial crisis, after fresh warnings from the US Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organisation suggested that the coronavirus was becoming a very real threat to Western countries.

Netflix could be immune to the blow to other stocks, so far, because investors think an epidemic could encourage people to spend more time at home - and watch the streaming service. Netflix shares continued to rise on Thursday afternoon. The stock was trading up 2 % at around $387 at around 7pm (Paris time). Other media stocks, including Comcast, Disney, Discovery, Fox and Roku, fell on Thursday afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were both down around 2 %.

The rise in Netflix shares also comes despite the increased competition the platform is facing from new streaming services such as Disney+ and Apple TV+, and soon-to-be-launched platforms led by Peacock and HBO Max.

Netflix shares have risen by almost 18 % since the start of the year, while the S&P 500 has fallen by around 4 %.

Original version : Ashley Rodriguez / Business Insider

Business Insider

Coronavirus: tonnes of toilet paper in his van...

LONDON Out of fear of an epidemic, a British driver had built up a huge and illegal stock of toilet paper.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), the UK body responsible for road standards and enforcement, posted an image of the van and its load on Twitter. The agency explains that the vehicle was checked on Wednesday near the Blackwall Tunnel in London. It noted that the driver had stocked up on toilet paper and household paper, which it described as "extreme".

The driver was lightened

The total weight of the unthinkable stock is not given. However, the DVSA points out that the vehicle's authorised loading weight was exceeded by "more than a tonne"... And the agency ironically concludes that the driver has been given a £300 (360 francs) reduction, which is the amount of the fine imposed.

Coronavirus. Before and after: in Venice, the water in the canals is clear again

The inhabitants confined, the tourists gone, the gondolas docked: the canals of Venice have regained their tranquillity... and their clarity. In just 10 days, the water has become clear again. A rare piece of good news for the Serenissima, hard hit by the coronavirus.

The cruise ships are gone, the gondolas are docked and the water in the canals of Venice is clear again, after ten days without tourists, driven away by the coronavirus pandemic.

This new-found purity is rare good news for the city and its region, which have been hard hit: according to the latest figures, 94 people have died in the Veneto region, where the number of positive cases has soared in the space of 24 hours (510 more, giving a total of 3,214 and an increase of 20 %).

Following the cancellation of the Venice Carnival, the hotels, restaurants and cafés that bring Venice to life were closed, as in the rest of the country.

The fast boats that criss-cross its canals and lagoon, stirring up the mud, no longer navigate. Only the boats of the police or the hospital services still cut through the waves.

Source: ouest-france.fr

What if Covid-19 gave the environment a break?

Despite the anguish of a health crisis following the spread of the coronavirus around the world, it could be that the Earth will come out on top.

Containment has done its job. Images recently shared by the NASA show a sharp drop in nitrogen dioxide emissions - which come from the combustion of fossil fuels - in China. According to "Estimates to be taken with caution shared by Marshall Burke, a scientist at Stanford University, this reduction is not so surprising. "It has probably saved the lives of 4,000 children under the age of five and 73,000 adults over the age of 70 in China.he said in a press release. But he does not forget that this in no way diminishes the danger of a pandemic. " We learn nothing here, apart from an ounce of satisfaction at this reduction in air pollution in China - the main source of Covid-19.

extract from Rolling Stone

Coronavirus: 7 tips to protect yourself from the "fake news" epidemic

Another scourge is spreading at the same time as the coronavirus: false information. Here are a few simple tips to help you avoid being infected.

A "massive infodemia. This is how the World Health Organisation has described the false information that has been spreading worldwide along with the coronavirus since the epidemic began. To avoid being infected by this "fake news", but also to avoid contaminating your loved ones, franceinfo gives you seven simple tips to protect yourself from disinformation.

Beware of digital word of mouth

The way in which information is shared should make you wonder. There are more reasons to doubt it if it arrives in your e-mail inbox via an e-mail from your grandmother, which she herself has received from someone else, on WhatsApp via a message from your cousin in your family group, sharing content from another group, via a publication by a "friend" that appears in your Facebook feed. There is more reason to believe a piece of information if it is published by a well-known and recognised media outlet (a news website such as franceinfo.fr, a newspaper such as Le Monde(e.g. a television channel like France 2 or a radio station like France Inter).

One of the latest and most viral hoaxes about the coronavirus, which listed a series of increasingly false pieces of advice about the virus and how to protect yourself against it, has spread in the form of chain emails and messages on social networks.

Don't believe arguments from authority

Have you noticed how rumours are often accompanied by a little phrase assuring you that the information comes from an eminent specialist, sometimes anonymous, preferably working on the other side of the world and whom you have never heard of? The mention of this supposedly authoritative figure has only one purpose: to lend credibility to the false information.

Here are some of the formulas used in the latest and most viral "fake news" about the coronavirus: "This information comes from doctors currently on the front line in the fight against the virus...". Or : "Taiwan experts provide simple self-check..." Or better still: "Serious excellent advice from Japanese doctors treating Covid-19 cases".. What are their names? Do they even really exist? The intoxicant won't tell you, of course.

One of the many variants of the Covid-19 protection advice scam began with these words: "Here is new information from a Shenzhen researcher transferred to Wuhan to collaborate with the task force against the coronavirus epidemic."

Control your emotions

False information plays on your feelings to spread. Their authors want you to feel shocked, outraged, worried, concerned or even frightened, so that this emotion prompts you to share their content in turn. Fake news" also uses our "confirmation bias": we want to believe certain things and they lock us into our convictions.

The myths surrounding Covid-19 are no exception to the rule, reminding you that "it can save a lot of people".The first is a new website, like this one, which claims to provide a self-administered breathing test every morning to make sure you're not suffering from a respiratory infection. You'll be tempted to spread the good news around you. But don't do anything. On the contrary, you risk putting them at risk.

Read the comments

It may seem paradoxical, but while you should be wary of what is written and shared on social networks, we also advise you to read the comments written in response to a dubious publication. It very often happens that Internet users question the veracity of content or point out its falsity. Sometimes they even provide a screenshot or a link to a web page confirming that you are indeed dealing with "fake news".

Here, for example, an Internet user is trying to make people believe that he has exchanged text messages with the government, after receiving the government text message "Covid-19 Alert". Another user has spotted the hoax and puts forward two arguments: firstly, you can't respond to this kind of solicitation, and secondly, the replies supposedly made by the government are full of spelling mistakes. Shady, isn't it?

Don't share false information just because it asks you to

False information only exists because it is shared on a massive scale. Without this virality, disinformation has little effect. That's why the vast majority of suspicious messages you receive contain one or more sentences urging you to send them to everyone you know.

In the latest Covid-19 misinformation spotted by franceinfo, for example, we find this kind of formula: "I'm gradually sending it out to all my French-speaking friends, so don't hesitate to forward as many as you can. Or : "Share this information with your family, friends and acquaintances." Or more compelling: "Copy, print, pass on. Or even a locanoid: "Share massively... Our advice: don't do it.

Try to check for yourself whether the information is accurate

When presented with information, you need to think critically. Ask yourself a few simple questions. Who is the author of the message? Is it anonymous or is it a well-known organisation? Do the sources they cite exist? What does the website, Facebook page or Twitter account where you found this publication usually share? Do other serious media also give this information? Is it simply too big to be true?

Inconsistent details in the text, photo or video can often lead you to doubt the veracity of the document. So listen to that little voice in your head that says: "That's a bit odd...". When in doubt, don't share.

By copying and pasting passages from the publication into a search engine, looking for the names and sources it mentions along with the associated subject, you will obtain results that will certainly make you wary. For example, a Google search for "The virus is not heat-resistant and will die if exposed to temperatures of 26-27°C" will bring up a number of well-known news websites, including franceinfo, warning of this falsehood. Our colleagues at AFP Factuel will give you some more technical tips, including how to check photos and videos that you might find suspicious.

Consult a specialist

If, despite all this advice, you still haven't managed to decide for yourself whether or not you are dealing with "fake news", ask a specialist for advice. For example, you can ask the question on franceinfo live using the tag #vraioufake, and one of our journalists will look into the matter. While you're waiting for an answer, don't be too hasty and ask yourself before sharing any information if it's really necessary, if it will be useful and if it won't, on the contrary, fuel fear and psychosis.

Benoît Zagdoun

France Télévisions