Joe Biden wins his first primary of the 2020 campaign, securing victory in South Carolina. The former vice-president achieved a much needed primary win and told supporters: ‘We just won and we won big’.
Category Archives: News
Calendar News: “Leap Years And Why We Need Them” (BBC Video)
It’s a leap year which means there’s an extra day in the calendar – 29 February 2020. But why do we need it? The answer is a little more complicated than you may think.
Politics: Mark Shields And David Brooks On South Carolina, Coronavirus
Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week in politics, including whether former Vice President Joe Biden will have a decisive win in the South Carolina Democratic primary, what’s at stake for 2020 Democrats on Super Tuesday and how the Trump administration is responding to the threat of novel coronavirus.
Tributes: “Maverick Genius” Freeman Dyson Dies At 96 (1923-2020); Said That “Life Begins At 55”
Excerpts from a New York Times article (Feb 28, 2020):
“Life begins at 55, the age at which I published my first book,” he wrote in “From Eros to Gaia,” one of the collections of his writings that appeared while he was a professor of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study — an august position for someone who finished school without a Ph.D. The lack of a doctorate was a badge of honor, he said. With his slew of honorary degrees and a fellowship in the Royal Society, people called him Dr. Dyson anyway.
Freeman J. Dyson, a mathematical prodigy who left his mark on subatomic physics before turning to messier subjects like Earth’s environmental future and the morality of war, died on Friday at a hospital near Princeton, N.J. He was 96.
As a young graduate student at Cornell University in 1949, Dr. Dyson wrote a landmark paper — worthy, some colleagues thought, of a Nobel Prize — that deepened the understanding of how light interacts with matter to produce the palpable world. The theory the paper advanced, called quantum electrodynamics, or QED, ranks among the great achievements of modern science.
Podcast: “Nature” Reviews Worldwide Reporting On “Coronavirus / Covid-19”
In this edition of Backchat we take a deep dive into Nature’s coverage of coronavirus. As cases climb, what are some of the challenges involved in reporting on the virus?
Health: What To Expect From The Spread Of Coronavirus (Covid-19)
In public health, honesty is worth a lot more than hope. It has become clear in the past week that the new viral disease, covid-19, which struck China at the start of December will spread around the world. Many governments have been signalling that they will stop the disease. Instead, they need to start preparing people for the onslaught
Political Interview: Mike Bloomberg Discusses His 2020 Campaign (PBS)
Michael Bloomberg was New York’s Republican mayor from 2002 to 2013 and is now vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Although he entered the race relatively late, Bloomberg has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into political advertising. Bloomberg sits down with Judy Woodruff to discuss COVID-19 preparation, management experience, surveillance of Muslim Americans and more.
Journals: “Research Highlights” From Science Magazine (Feb 28, 2020)
Fitness: 62-Year Old Man Sets World Record For Holding Plank Position
From a New York Times online article (Feb 27, 2020):
Mr. Hood, a former Marine and Drug Enforcement Administration agent, held the plank on Feb. 15 for more time than an average day’s work.
The plank is a feat of static, but strenuous, exercise. The torso is sustained in a horizontal position, anchored by the toes on one end and the forearms on the other. The abdominal and thigh, back and arm muscles are among those firing away, turning most of the human body into a gravity-defying platform.
George E. Hood, a 62-year-old retiree from Naperville, Ill., strapped a heart monitor band across his chest, attached a catheter to his body, climbed onto a custom-built table covered with a lambskin and dialed up a curated rock ’n’ roll playlist on his phone.
And then he raised himself into a plank — and held the position for eight hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds to set a Guinness World Record.
Health News: England Offers “Drive-Thru” Coronavirus Testing
“Drive-thru” coronavirus testing is to be introduced on the NHS – with suspected cases swabbed in their own cars.
The new scheme is part of efforts to relieve pressure on ambulance and hospital services, amid concern they could soon be overwhelmed by the number of tests they are carrying out.
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