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Monkeypox: Time to worry or one to ignore?

If you’re still reeling from the Covid pandemic, well sorry but there’s another virus to get to grips with. This time it’s monkeypox and there are around 80 confirmed cases in 11 countries, including the UK, that would not normally expect to have the disease. So what is going on? Is it time to worry or are we getting overly excited having just lived through Covid? Let’s be clear: this is not another Covid and we’re not days away from lockdowns to contain the spread of monkeypox. However, this is an unusual and unprecedented monkeypox outbreak. It has taken scientists who specialize in the disease by complete surprise and it is always a concern when a virus changes its behavior. Until now, monkeypox was pretty predictable. The virus’s natural home is wild animals, which are actually thought to be rodents rather than monkeys. Somebody in the rainforests of Western and Central Africa comes into contact with an infected creature and the virus makes the jump across species. Their skin erupts in a rash, which blisters and then scabs over. The virus is now outside its usual home and struggles to spread so it needs prolonged close contact to keep going. So outbreaks tend to be small and burn out on their own. Small numbers of cases have cropped up elsewhere in the world before, including in the UK, but all can be immediately linked to somebody traveling to an affected country and bringing it home. That is no longer the case. For the first time, the virus is being found in people with no clear connection to Western and Central Africa It is not clear who people are catching it from Monkeypox is spreading during sexual activities with most cases having lesions on their genitals and the surrounding area Many of those affected are gay and bisexual young men “We’re in a very new situation, that is a surprise and a worry,” Prof Sir Peter Horby, the director of the University of Oxford’s Pandemic Sciences Institute, told me. While he says this is “not Covid-Two”, he said “we need to act” to prevent the virus from getting a foothold as this is “something we really want to avoid”. Dr. Hugh Adler, who has treated patients with monkeypox, agrees: “It’s not a pattern we’ve seen before – this is a surprise.” So what’s going on? We know this outbreak is different, but we don’t know why. There are two broad options – the virus has changed or the same old virus has found itself in the right place at the right time to thrive. Monkeypox is a DNA virus so it does not mutate as rapidly as Covid or flu. Very early genetic analysis suggests the current cases are very closely related to forms of the virus seen in 2018 and 2019. It is too early to be sure, but for now, there is no evidence this is a new mutant variant at play. But a virus doesn’t have to change in order to take advantage of an opportunity, as we have learned from unexpected large outbreaks of both Ebola and Zika virus in the last decade. “We always thought Ebola was easy to contain until that wasn’t the case,” said Prof Adam Kucharski, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It’s not clear why gay and bisexual men are disproportionately affected. Are sexual behaviors making it easier to spread? Is it just a coincidence? Is it a community that is more aware of sexual health and gets checked out? It may also be getting easier for monkeypox to spread. The mass smallpox vaccinations of the past would have given older generations some protection against the closely related monkeypox. “It is probably transmitting more effectively than in the smallpox era, but we’re not seeing anything suggesting it could run rampant,” said Dr. Adler, who still expects this outbreak to burn itself out. Understanding how this outbreak started will help predict what happens next. We know we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg as the cases being detected doesn’t fit into a neat picture of this person passed it on to that person etc. Instead many of the cases appear unrelated, so there are missing links in a chain that seems to spread across Europe and beyond. A recent massive super spreading event, in which large numbers of people gathered and caught monkeypox at the same venue such as a festival and then took it home to different countries, could explain the current situation. The alternative explanation for so many unconnected people getting infected is if the virus has actually been bubbling along unnoticed for quite some time involving a lot of people. Either way, we can expect to continue to find more cases. “I don’t think the general public needs to be worried at this stage, but I don’t think we’ve uncovered all of this and we are not in control of this,” said Prof Jimmy Whitworth, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. But remember we are not in the same situation as we were with Covid. Monkeypox is a known virus rather than a new one, and we already have vaccines and treatments. It is mostly mild, although it can be more dangerous in young children, pregnant women, and people with weak immune systems. But it spreads more slowly than Covid and the distinctive and painful rash makes it harder to miss than a cough that could be anything. This makes the job of finding people who may have been infected and vaccinating those at risk of catching it easier. However, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, has warned that “as we enter the summer season… with mass gatherings, festivals, and parties, I am concerned that transmission could accelerate”. Read more at bbc.com
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Brother and sister find opals worth $1.2million in Australian outback

A brother and sister have found opals in the Outback worth $1.2 million on their first attempt at digging for the precious stones. Isaac and Sofia Andreou teamed up with two others to try their luck near the tiny town of Yorah, population 141, west of Brisbane. One of the most luminous stones they found is museum-quality and the size of a man’s fist. It is even shaped like a giant egg, just in time for Easter. Some 90 percent of the world’s opals found in the Australian outback and they are worth to 500 times more than gold ‘It’s literally every single colour of a rainbow you can imagine to hold within your hand,’ Sofia said. To their astonishment, on their last day of searching, an actual rainbow appeared from nowhere in the middle of the desert. Describing the emotions they felt in finding such treasures, Sofia said: ‘It was a mixture of shock and just pure amazement.’ ‘Words cannot describe the way the heart beats, hairs standing up on end,’ Isaac added. Their incredible discovery is life-changing, the siblings say. They can even afford to buy their very own mine. ‘It will make life a hell of a lot easier and more enjoyable,’ Isaac said. Their friend David Darby has spent decades searching for opals but has never found anything as fabulous as this He is an opal cutter and seller based in Byron Bay, a single dad to five-year-old daughter Xalianna. Sofia, who has an opal shop in the Whitsunday Islands, teaches yoga and music. Both decided to fulfil their dream of getting their hands dirty in mining for opal. They were joined by Sofia’s partner, Chris Daff, and their friend David Darby, who has spent decades searching for opals, but who has never found anything as fabulous as this. They teamed up with local miner Rod Griffin. With 90 percent of the world’s opals found in the Australian outback, and worth up to 500 times more than gold, opal is a prized gem. Most opal miners are excited by the prospect of one day striking it rich and becoming an overnight millionaire. Opal nuts are a type of matrix boulder opal valued for their unique pattern of coloured gem found within cracks intersecting the ironstone in which it has formed Opal fever is at an all-time high, but the risks are real, and the brutal, rugged Australian outback is as unforgiving as ever — with scorching summer heat, tropical storms and some of the deadliest snakes. ‘Australia is such a barren and tough country that all the animals that have managed to survive until now have had to evolve to be dangerous to protect themselves,’ Sofia said. ‘So you’re not just dealing with super-harsh elements, but some of the most dangerous species of animals in the entire world.’ The discovery will be shown on the television series, Outback Opal Hunters, which features miners searching for opals and which is so popular that it is now into its fourth season. In Koroit opal, the prized gem colours are green, blue, purple, and flashes of red peeking through a dark brown backing None of the discoveries in the previous seasons have come close in value. The average find was worth about $18,000, although there were a handful up to $250,000, depending on the colour, clarity, patterning and size. The Andreou siblings were mining for Yowah and Koroit nuts, a specific type of opal found in the region. Opal nuts are a type of matrix boulder opal valued for their unique pattern of coloured gem found within cracks intersecting the ironstone in which it has formed. In Koroit opal, the prized gem colours are green, blue, purple, and flashes of red peeking through a dark brown backing. Source: DailyMail.co.uk
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Peer-to-peer home rental

Understand the implications renting your home to strangers Before you consider renting out your home, your guest room—or even your couch—first contact your insurance professional so you fully understand the financial risks and can take the proper precautions. Here’s some general information to jumpstart your insurance conversation. If you are considering renting out your home, your guest room or even your couch your first step should be to contact your insurance professional. Peer-to-peer home sharing opportunities such as Airbnb can be a great way to bring in extra money and are increasingly popular; however, they can also leave you financially vulnerable. If your renter starts a fire and damages your property or is hurt while renting your home, will you be protected? Peer-to-peer home rental Peer-to-peer home sharing opportunities such as Airbnb are increasingly popular and can be a great way to bring in extra money. However, they can also leave you financially vulnerable. If your renter starts a fire and damages your property or is hurt while renting your home, will you be protected? Standard homeowners and renters insurance policies are designed for personal risks, not commercial risks. Some insurers now offer a home-sharing liability insurance policy that can be purchased on a month-to-month basis, but there may be exclusions and limitations, so read the policy carefully. If you plan to rent out all or part of your home on a regular basis, many companies will consider this a business use and you may need to purchase a business policy—specifically either a hotel or a bed-and-breakfast policy. If you are doing the renting If you are the one using a peer-to-peer network to rent a space from someone else, check your own homeowners or renters insurance policy. In most cases, if your personal possessions are stolen or damaged off-premises, you can simply file a claim with your own insurer. And if you accidentally injure someone, you should also be financially protected. Occasional home rental There may be times when a major event in an area—the Super Bowl, say, or a graduation at a major university—depletes local hotel space. In these cases, it’s fairly common for people to rent out their home or part of it for the extra cash it brings in. Many insurance companies take this situation into account when creating a homeowners or renters policy and, with sufficient advance notice, will extend your coverage to the renter on a one-time basis. Other insurance companies may require the purchase of an endorsement to the policy to provide broader coverage for the renters in your home. In both cases, be sure to let your insurance company know ahead of time, so you can be prepared.
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Philippines orders more than 25 million people into lockdown over Easter as Covid-19 cases soar

The Philippines orders more than 25 million people into lockdown over Easter as Covid-19 cases soar. Millions of people in the Philippines won’t be celebrating Easter as normal this year after the majority Catholic country imposed a strict lockdown in the capital and nearby provinces. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced the lockdown Saturday after the country reported 9,838 new Covid-19 cases — the country’s highest single-day increase, according to official state media Philippines News Agency. The Philippines has reported more than 720,000 coronavirus cases, including 13,170 deaths, making it one of the worst affected countries in Asia. The country has seen a steep rise in daily reported cases since February, and the country is now reporting more than 9,000 new cases a day. There are more than 105,000 active cases, according to the Philippines’ Department of Health. More than 25 million people across Metro Manila and nearby provinces Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal will be affected by the lockdown. The lockdown begins Monday and runs until April 4 — or Easter Sunday, a day when Christians often celebrate with special church services. Religious gatherings are not allowed during the holy week. That’s a blow for the Philippines, where more than 90% of the population are Christian, according to the CIA World Factbook. The measures include a curfew from 6 p.m. until 5 a.m. — tightened from the previous 10 p.m. curfew. Gatherings of more than 10 people outside are not allowed, and non-household members cannot gather indoors, the government said. Diners are not allowed to eat in restaurants, although take-out and delivery services can go ahead. The Philippine National Police has deployed thousands of officers in checkpoint areas to help enforce the rules, according to a PNA report. Vaccines are being rolled out to medical frontlines, and last week the Department of Health urged people who were not health care workers to refrain from jumping the queue. “Do not worry. Our goal is still to ensure that everybody will be vaccinated. But while we do this, the government is prioritizing healthcare workers as they are the most exposed and the most at risk of getting Covid,” National Task Force Against Covid-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar secretary Carlito Galvez said. “More vaccines will arrive, we are sure of that. We just have to wait for our turns to be vaccinated.” Source: CNN.com
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What is Web3? The future of the internet, a ‘marketing buzzword’ or something still to be defined?

The future of the internet is a multi-trillion-dollar question facing the technology industry, including some of the world’s wealthiest companies and investors. At the center of a vigorous debate around how our online experiences will evolve is a concept called Web3. The term has existed for the better part of a decade, but remains a hazy and polarising topic, splitting those who see it as a way to change the world for the better, and others who spy an opportunity to make even more money from a decentralized internet. So what exactly is Web3, and how is it already changing our internet? A brief history of the World Wide Web The first version of the internet, known as Web 1.0, existed between the early nineties and early noughties. During that time, the internet was largely decentralized and spread across numerous web pages, which weren’t very linked or interactive. Internet users also didn’t produce their own content to share online. The current era of the internet, Web 2.0, has been around since the mid-noughties. It’s defined by the centralization of things like communication and commerce on corporate platforms, where we post photos to Facebook that we’ll later find embarrassing, buy stuff on Amazon, and show everyone our breakfast on Instagram. This has led to the creation of a whole lot of data about internet users, including their political leanings and spending patterns, which corporations have sold off to advertisers and even to political campaigns. According to some, the future of the internet will see users take back control, become part-owners of the web, share in the profits made from their content and decentralize it once again. This is where the idea of Web3 comes in. What is Web3? Web3 is a concept for the next iteration of the internet, built around decentralized blockchain technology — that’s the same technology used by cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, where data isn’t managed by a centralized server or authority, but by all of the computer systems that run on the blockchain. The term Web3 was introduced in 2014 by Gavin Wood, a co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain, but the term gained mainstream attention last year, amid hype from blockchain enthusiasts and technology investors. The technologies behind it could allow internet users to earn money, assets, or ownership for making content or otherwise contributing to the web, according to Kelsie Nabben, a researcher at RMIT University’s Blockchain Innovation Hub. “People that are creating value — say when you or I post photos or have video calls — we have no ownership over that value, which is the data we are creating,” she said. “I don’t think there’s consensus on what Web3 is. “The tools can create amazing communities and community dynamics, and then these microcosms of innovation and experimentation have the potential to change economies, the way labor and employment work, as well as access and participation and digital inclusion.” So when will Web3 be here? In a sense, elements of Web3 are already forming part of our current internet, including systems that use blockchain technology such as cryptocurrencies, some of the virtual worlds in the metaverse, and non-fungible tokens or NFTs, which are tokens that assign ownership to things like digital artwork. For example, in Web 1.0 you may have emailed someone a photo of yourself. In Web 2.0, you may have shared a selfie with friends on a centralized social media platform, and that platform might have mined the photo for usable or monetizable data. In a Web3 world, your social media profile photo could, for example, be an NFT of digital artwork or image you own. This is something Twitter actually introduced in January, to a pretty mixed response. Why are some people skeptical of Web3? Despite Web3’s ideals of decentralization and shared ownership, some believe it is also an opportunity for investors to cash in. Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk is known for his interest in cryptocurrencies, but in December he said he thought Web3 seemed to be “more marketing buzzword than reality”. Around the same time, Twitter founder and fellow blockchain advocate Jack Dorsey said Web3 still had “corporate incentives” and was heavily controlled by venture capitalists and their limited partners, or shareholders. We’ve already seen some musicians and artists have their work sold as NFTs without their consent on new Web3-associated platforms. Ms. Nabben said while there were “very transformative ideologies” behind parts of Web3, it was important to think through the potential downsides of any new technologies. This includes the technology’s limitations, who can access it, and how it can be exploited. “That’s obviously what generally went wrong with Web 2.0, or the current internet as we have it — that many of the apps and the platforms that we use have become very extractive and very exploitative,” she said. “But in practice, we see that’s not what happens and there’s still politics, and people will still try to find ways to exploit the system.” Ms. Nabben encourages people to be cautious and investigate the Web3 platforms or products they are interested in before jumping in. “Look at things like whether the source code is publicly available, whether the platform is privately owned, what the business model is, and whether it’s venture-capital-backed or was funded through a new funding model,” she said. “Not everyone would necessarily agree that Web3, as it appears now, is desirable — large players benefit from the way that the internet is structured now, and [there are] still very real commercial interests in some Web3 things, which aren’t necessarily bad, but people should be made aware of them.” What could the future of the internet actually look like? Moxie Marlinspike, the founder of encrypted messaging app Signal, wrote on his website in January that technical and market realities were impacting Web3’s dreams of decentralization, but “you can’t stop a gold rush”. Mr. Marlinspike said he could understand the idealism of Web3’s advocates and the use of blockchain technology was leading to “creativity/exploration that is somewhat reminiscent of early internet days”. >>Read more
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