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By Ariel Bernal

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The science of boredom (and how to deal with it)

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The science of boredom (and how to deal with it)

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What do you think of this podcast?
Don't forget to leave your comments!

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The Science of Boredom (and how to deal with it) by buddyupteaching

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Remember to follow the guidelines described in the e-mail you received.

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The science of boredom (and how to deal with it)

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The science of boredom (and how to deal with it)

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Are you more of a visual person? Here's the video I have prepared (if you only want to listen, check the podcast under the same name).
Don't forget to leave your comments!

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The Science of Boredom (and how to deal with it)

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Pandemic and travel experience

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My travel experience during the pandemic

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Have you ever wondered how much ads impact on our self-esteem? Watch the video and reach your conclusions. 

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Have you ever wondered how much ads impact on our self-esteem? Watch the video and reach your conclusions. 

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Have you already watched "Killing Us Softly"? I invite you to read this essay. What do you think?

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Have you already watched "Killing Us Softly"? I invite you to read this essay. What do you think?

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New perspectives for educational institutions in XXI century

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New perspectives for educational institutions in XXI century

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A newly identified variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus appears to be more contagious than established ones. Here's what scientists know.

A deserted Regent Street in central London on Monday. Credit... Andrew Testa for The New York Times

In recent days, the world has watched with curiosity and growing alarm as scientists in the U.K. have described a newly identified variant of the coronavirus that appears to be more contagious than, and genetically distinct from, more established variants. Initial studies of the new variant prompted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to tighten restrictions over Christmas, and spurred officials in the Netherlands, Germany and other European countries to ban travel from the U.K.

The new variant is now the focus of intense debate and analysis, and countries around the world are scouring their own databases to see if it is circulating within their borders. On Wednesday, health officials in Hong Kong reported that two students who returned from the U.K. this month appear to have been infected with the variant; and authorities in Italy reported a case there, with no apparent link to the U.K. Here's some of what scientists have learned so far.

No. It's just one variation among many that have arisen as the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has spread around the world. Mutations arise as the virus replicates, and this variant - known as B.1.1.7 - has acquired its own distinctive set of them.

The variant came to the attention of researchers in December, when it began to turn up more frequently in samples from parts of southern England. It turned out to have been collected from patients as early as September.

When researchers took a close look at its genome, they were struck by the relatively large number of mutations - 23, all told - that it had acquired. Most mutations that arise in the coronavirus are either harmful to the virus or have no effect one way or another. But a number of the mutations in B.1.1.7 looked as if they could potentially affect how the virus spread.

It appears so. In preliminary work, researchers in the U.K. have found that the virus is spreading quickly in parts of southern England, displacing a crowded field of other variants that have been circulating for months.

However, a virus lineage becoming more common is not proof that it spreads faster than others. It could grow more widespread simply through luck. For instance, a variant might start out in the middle of a crowded city, where transmission is easy, allowing it to make more copies of itself.

Still, the epidemiological evidence gathered so far from England does seem to suggest that this variant is very good at spreading. In places where it has become more common, the overall number of coronavirus cases is spiking. Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, estimates that the variant has an increased transmission rate of 50 to 70 percent compared with other variants in the United Kingdom.

MUTATIONS

that led to the

B.1.1.7 variant

MUTATIONS

that led to the

B.1.1.7 variant

Some scientists have raised the possibility that the increase in transmission is at least partly the result of how it infects children. Normally, children are less likely than teenagers or adults to get infected or pass on the virus. But the new variant may make children "as equally susceptible as adults," said Wendy Barclay, government adviser and virologist at Imperial College London.

To confirm that the variant truly is more contagious, researchers are now running laboratory experiments on it, observing up close how it infects cells.

Researchers have already used such experiments to investigate a mutant that arose earlier in the pandemic, called 614G. That variant proved to be more transmissible than its predecessors, studies in cell culture and animals found.

But disciplined containment measures worked just as well against 614G as other variants. The same is likely true for B.1.1.7. "According to what we already know, it does not alter the effectiveness of social distancing, face masks, hand washing, hand sanitizers and ventilation," Dr. Muge Cevik, an infectious disease specialist at the University of St. Andrews School of Medicine, said on Twitter.

There is no strong evidence that it does, at least not yet. But there is reason to take the possibility seriously. In South Africa, another lineage of the coronavirus has gained one particular mutation that is also found in B.1.1.7. This variant is spreading quickly through coastal areas of South Africa. And in preliminary studies, doctors there have found that people infected with this variant carry a heightened viral load - a higher concentration of the virus in their upper respiratory tract. In many viral diseases, this is associated with more severe symptoms.

That is now a question of intense debate. One possibility is that the variant gained its array of new mutations inside a special set of hosts.

In a typical infection, people pick up the coronavirus and become infectious for a few days before showing symptoms. The virus then becomes less abundant in the body as the immune system marshals a defense. Unless patients suffer a serious case of Covid-19, they typically clear the virus completely in a few weeks at most.

But sometimes the virus infects people with weak immune systems. In their bodies, the virus can thrive for months. Case studies on these immunocompromised people have shown that the virus can accumulate a large number of mutations as it replicates in their bodies for a long period of time.

Over time, researchers have found, natural selection can favor mutant viruses that can evade the immune system. Researchers have also suggested that the evolution of the variant might have been additionally driven by medicine given to such patients. Some mutants might be able to withstand drugs such as monoclonal antibodies.

Other scientists have suggested that the virus could have gained new mutations by spreading through an animal population, like minks, before re-entering the human population. Such "animal reservoirs" have become a focus of intense interest as more animal infections have been detected.

Not yet, as far as anyone knows. But that does not mean it hasn't already reached the United States. British scientists have established a much stronger system to monitor coronaviruses for new mutations. It's conceivable that someone traveling from the United Kingdom has brought it with them. Now that the world knows to look for the variant, it may turn up in more countries.

No. Most experts doubt that it will have any great impact on vaccines, although it's not yet possible to rule out any effect.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized two vaccines, one from Moderna and the other from Pfizer and BioNTech. Both vaccines create immunity to the coronavirus by teaching our immune systems to make antibodies to a protein that sits on the surface of the virus, called spike. The spike protein latches onto cells and opens a passageway inside. Antibodies produced in response to the vaccines stick to the tip of the spike. The result: The viruses can't get inside.

It is conceivable that a mutation to a coronavirus could change the shape of its spike proteins, making it harder for the antibodies to gain a tight grip on them. And B.1.1.7's mutations include eight in the spike gene. But our immune systems can produce a range of antibodies against a single viral protein, making it less likely that viruses can easily escape their attack. Right now, experts don't think that the variant will be able to evade vaccines. To confirm that, researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research are analyzing the changes to the structure of its spike protein.

Dr. Moncef Slaoui, the head scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed, the federal effort to deliver a vaccine to the American public, said that the new variant reported in Britain was unlikely to affect the efficacy of a vaccine.

At some point - "some day, somewhere" - a variant of the virus may make the current vaccine ineffective, he said, but the chance of that happening with this vaccine is very low. Nevertheless, he said, "we have to remain absolutely vigilant."

But Kristian Andersen, a virologist at Scripps Research Institute, thinks it is too early to dismiss the risk to vaccines. If the U.K. variant evolved to evade the immune system in immunocompromised patients, those adaptations might help it avoid vaccines. The vaccines would not become useless, but they would become less effective. Fortunately, experiments are underway to test that possibility.

"We don't know, but we'll know soon," Dr. Andersen said.

Benjamin Mueller and Katie Thomas contributed reporting to this article
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The U.K. Coronavirus Variant: What We Know

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A newly identified variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus appears to be more contagious than established ones. Here's what scientists know. In recent days, the world has watched with curiosity and growing alarm as scientists in the U.K. have described a newly identified variant of the coronavirus that appears to be more contagious than, and genetically distinct from, more established variants.

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Bill Gates on LinkedIn: I read a lot of excellent books this year on a wide range of topics | 759 comments

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I read a lot of excellent books this year on a wide range of topics: http://gatesnot.es/2Kqb8HJ... 759 comments on LinkedIn

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Bill Gates says 2021 should be an improvement on 2020.
Credit: Elaine Thompson/AP Photo

"This has been a devastating year."

Bill Gates opened his end of year post on Tuesday in his personal blog, GatesNotes, by stating the obvious. The coronavirus pandemic, the billionaire and philanthropist writes, has killed 1.6 million people worldwide while infecting 73 million, and has caused trillions in economic damage. The killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, rampant wildfires and a "presidential election unlike any other" contributed to upheaval across the country.

But, Gates says, "there is good news coming in 2021." Citing stunning scientific advances made in developing and distributing effective vaccines against Covid-19, Gates writes, "Humans have never made more progress on any disease in a year than the world did on [coronavirus] this year." Despite vaccines taking up to 10 years to develop, scientists created multiple Covid-19 vaccines this year-just one of multiple scientific developments Gates says people should be hopeful about for 2021.

By the spring, Gates writes, the vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, with emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, should reach "the scale where they'll have a global impact." The number of deaths and cases should decline in wealthy countries as a result, he writes, meaning "life will be much closer to normal than it is now."

Gates adds that the success of the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines bodes well for other candidates still in development, because they all attack the same part of the coronavirus. The spikes that stick out of the coronavirus (which also gave the virus its name) are made from a protein, Gates writes, that the two successful vaccines attack. "Now that researchers know attacking that particular protein can work, they have reason to be optimistic about other vaccines that do the same thing," he writes.

The two successful vaccines both use mRNA technology, Gates notes. "It's no accident that mRNA vaccines were the first out of the gate," he says, because those kinds of vaccines can be created faster, because it's easy for scientists to make large quantities of RNA that codes for the virus' spike protein. According to the Centers for Disease Control, mRNA vaccines "teach our cells how to make a protein-or even just a piece of a protein-that triggers an immune response inside our bodies." Gates writes that his charitable foundation has been working on mRNA vaccines since 2014 to use against HIV and malaria, and the technology is now allowing "unprecedented progress" against Covid-19.

Another challenge: producing enough doses for the entire world. Between five to ten billion doses will be needed, depending on whether vaccines require one or two doses for full efficacy. For context, Gates says, the world's vaccine companies typically produce a total of 6 billion doses annually, for flu shots and childhood immunizations, among others.

In order for Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing to ramp up without sacrificing the other, routine shots, Gates writes that his foundation is connecting vaccine companies in wealthy countries with high-volume producers in developing countries in what are called "second source agreements." The producers create safe and affordable vaccines in huge quantities, while the vaccine companies supply a viable candidate, with the agreement making "the most of both skill sets."

Gates also takes the opportunity to call out "false" conspiracy theories surrounding Covid-19 vaccines-including "some that involve [my wife Melinda Gates] and me." "It doesn't help," he writes, adding that the couple will continue to publicly discuss funding vaccines because "we're passionate about saving lives and making sure all children have a chance to grow into adulthood...[we] feel a responsibility to give our wealth back to society, and we believe that no outlet for our giving returns more value to the world."

Another hope for 2021, Gates writes, is that the "uncomfortable" Covid-19 test-the nasopharyngeal swab, which recipients often say feels like their brain is being tickled-could soon be a thing of the past. The FDA approved the first at-home test last week that uses a nasal swab, but doesn't go as far back in the nose, which Gates points to as an example of a better, more efficient means of testing, because people won't have to wait for labs to process samples. Gates adds that a study funded by his foundation revealed that letting people swab the tips of their own noses yielded test results that are just as accurate as the more invasive, brain-tickling one. And several companies are working to develop other rapid, non-invasive tests that provide results in as little as 15 minutes. Not only is the experience more comfortable for the patient, the fast results will help researchers track the spread of the virus, Gates writes. "The pace of innovation in this field really is impressive and is going to benefit everyone."

Gates wraps up with a different, yet significant scientific challenge: climate change. He's releasing a book in February on the subject, titled How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, in which he shares 15 years of learnings from funding studies on the phenomenon. Plus Gates appears to see the incoming Biden administration as more focused on climate change, writing that "the U.S. is poised to resume a leading role" in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions next year. And, he adds, an upcoming November 2021 United Nations meeting will bring together world leaders to discuss climate change for the first time since the Paris summit in 2015.

"I see promise in the next 12 months," Gates writes. It might not be "enormous," but "it will be a noticeable, measurable step forward" for the world, and an "improvement on 2020."
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Bill Gates Has Big, Scientific Hopes For 2021. Here's Why.

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"This has been a devastating year." Bill Gates opened his end of year post on Tuesday in his personal blog, GatesNotes, by stating the obvious. The coronavirus pandemic, the billionaire and philanthropist writes, has killed 1.6 million people worldwide while infecting 73 million, and has caused trillions in economic damage.

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Fancy a cup pf coffee? Give this nootropic a second chance.

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Fancy a cup pf coffee? Give this nootropic a second chance.