​Wearing a mask makes us better and more responsible ● Should we be worried about the next wave of Covid? ● How intelligent were ichthyosaurs? ● The British screwed up, the Egyptians want the Rosetta Stone back

Wearing a mask makes us better and more responsible

You fussed for nothing about not wanting to wear a mask. You have no idea what beneficial effects it has, besides reducing the risk of infection with covids and other pathogens. This is according to researchers from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), taking at least ten studies conducted in China from the beginning of the pandemic to today.

The result suggests that wearing a mask, at least in China, has significantly reduced criminal cases. Chinese experts monitored cases of minor violations of the law. For example, parking in unauthorized places, running a red light at a traffic light, small chicken coops, etc. It turned out that since the mandatory wearing of masks, their number has decreased by 4%.

It seems not much, but still there is something. The bottom line is that wearing a mask increases the degree of responsibility. That’s why you don’t run red lights anymore, that’s why people don’t fool each other in the bazaar, plus other things. Even so, the effects are complex and need to be studied in the future, experts say, to see what else is discovered. For example, it would be very interesting to know why the crime rate has decreased since they were locked up in the houses. Or why the Chinese don’t run red lights anymore because they picked a fight and talked to themselves when they wanted to get out of their own homes.

Should we be worried about the next wave of Covid?

An increase in cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as new variants of the coronavirus, is expected in the autumn-winter period, mainly in the northern hemisphere. This is reported by Nature, taking over the research of several research centers in the USA and Europe.

The Omicron variant undergoes mutation after mutation, and its sub-variants (BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5) also undergo changes that increase their transmissibility. For example, variants BQ.1, BA.2.75, BA.2.75.2, BA.2 or BA.2.3.20, which have already been reported in the UK, India, Singapore, Denmark and Australia, are being closely monitored.

There is a risk that one of these or even new variants will cause a new wave of infection, especially early in the flu season.

Fortunately, all the evidence we have suggests that vaccines still provide a high degree of protection and significantly reduce the number of serious cases. A booster may still be needed, especially among those categories that are prone to severe infections, but this is currently being worked on. In conclusion, keep calm! Will be good.

How smart were ichthyosaurs?

Give it to Kovid, because you will get bored like sour apples! Better to explore other scientific fields, because look what vital news comes from the University of Bristol! More specifically, paleontologists there tell us, in a study published in the Journal of Anatomy, ichthyosaurs exhibited the behavior of falling on their backs when you see how smart they are.

For those who didn’t already know, ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles, a kind of large, dagger-like dolphin, that lived in the Mesozoic, the age of the dinosaurs. Analysis of their fossils showed that some had short and strong snouts, while others had long and less strong snouts. The highlight is that they lived in the same places.

How did experts translate these morphological differences? Well, because of specialization in a certain type of food since the juvenile period. More precisely, longnoses preferred fast prey, and longnoses followed the wind (please, in the sea currents) for slow prey, but which required much more bite force.

This tells us that compared to today’s top aquatic predators, sharks and killer whales, ichthyosaurs specialized on different types of prey. Today, these people eat everything they catch, as if they were desperate. Now that ichthyosaurs didn’t actually use their specialization, we can easily make sure that you can’t even find one to hit with a cannon anymore. But it is good to remember that you never know when he will use you in life.

The British screwed everything up, the Egyptians want the Rosetta Stone back

In case you missed it until now, the Rosetta Stone is one of the most important artifacts associated with the history of Ancient Egypt. Accidentally discovered during the fortifications of the fort shortly after Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt, the stele contained text written in both Greek and demotic and hieroglyphic systems typical of Egypt. Starting with this discovery, Jean-Francois Champollion took a decisive step towards deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs.

The problem is that as early as 1801, the French were forced to hand it over to the British as war booty after the Treaty of Alexandria. Since then, the Rosetta Stone has remained in the British Museum. And now the Egyptians want it back. To succeed where hundreds of other petitions have failed, Egyptian experts led by the dean of the Cairo Academy of Sciences, Dr. Monica Hanna, resorted to the most brutal form of attack. In particular, they created an online petition.

They say, that is, the experts who initiated the campaign, that public pressure will be the decisive factor for the return of the artifact to its country of origin. Caught off guard, the English officials still haven’t responded. We seem to guess how the work will end, but we prefer to wait for the result. If you want justice done, you can strike back at British imperialism by signing this petition.

Photo source: Dreamstime.com.