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Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar said that the Indian Premier League (IPL) has emerged as a big reason for lessening the animosity between players from different countries. He also said there is a misconception that in order to come across as tough, one should not applaud the opponent when the latter comes up with a match-changing performance. “There is this false belief that you have to be so tough that you must not appreciate the opponent when a batsman reaches a half-century or century, you see players of teams have their hands behind their backs and not even applaud.  “I am happy to say that the Indian team is not one of them. What does it take to applaud aContinue Reading

COVID vaccines focus on the spike protein – but here's another target

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Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock The latest results from the phase 3 COVID-19 vaccines trials have been very positive. These have shown that vaccinating people with the gene for SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can induce excellent protective immunity. The spike protein is the focus of most COVID-19 vaccines as it is the part of the virus that enables it to enter our cells. Virus replication only happens inside cells, so blocking entry prevents more virus being made. If a person has antibodies that can recognise the spike protein, this should stop the virus in its tracks. The three most advanced vaccines (from Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna) all work by getting our own cells to make copies of the virus spike protein. The Oxford vaccineContinue Reading

Chuck Yeager was a Hollywood idea of a brave test pilot – today they must be skilled engineers too

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Test pilot Chuck Yeager in the cockpit of the Bell X-1, in which he became the first recorded pilot to break the sound barrier – although others had likely died trying. Jack Ridley/USAF Charles “Chuck” Yeager, who has died aged 97, epitomised the movie test pilot of the 1940s and 1950s. A fighter pilot hero of the second world war and later Korea, he was dashing, loyal and supremely skilled. In a life that was pure Hollywood, he named his various fighter aircraft “Glamorous Glenn” after his then fiancee, later wife, Glennis Dickhouse. Brigadier General Chuck Yeager, before his retirement in the 1970s. United States Air Force Parts of his life were featured in the Oscar-winning movie The Right Stuff,Continue Reading

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Adam Le Fondre smashed in a 75th-minute winner to help Mumbai City FC win 2-1.© Instagram Mumbai City FC came from behind to inflict a 2-1 defeat on Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the GMC Stadium, on Wednesday. Adam Le Fondre smashed in a 75th-minute winner after Hernan Santana (45”) had canceled Jakub Sylvestr’s first goal. The result saw Sergio Lobera’s team win their fourth game in a row and maintain their spot atop the ISL table. Chennaiyin FC had a perfect start and would have been ahead in the second minute if it was not for Sylvestr missing a sitter. Rafael Crivellaro delivered a perfect corner which was flicked in by Enes Sipovic and foundContinue Reading

Oxford COVID-19 vaccine: newly published results show it is safe – but questions remain over its efficacy

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Syda Productions/Shutterstock Full interim analysis of the safety and efficacy of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine – developed in partnership with AstraZeneca – has been published in the Lancet. This paper represents the most comprehensive set of results from any of the phase 3 trials of COVID-19 vaccines to date. These are still only interim results, meaning they show only how the ongoing phase 3 trial has progressed so far. The final results may differ. But what this analysis reveals is how the Oxford team calculated its vaccine’s efficacy, which it announced in late November. This interim analysis included 11,636 people, of whom 7,548 were in the UK and 4,088 in Brazil. All participants received two injections, but as has beenContinue Reading

Men deported to Jamaica are being set up for failure

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Andy Rain/EPA For the second time in 2020, the media spotlight has fallen on the deportation of a group of men to Jamaica, many of whom had lived in Britain for a substantial part of their lives. As with the Home Office’s deportation flight in February 2020, some of these men had been convicted of offences and had served sentences handed down by the British legal system. As Jamaican-born, “foreigners”, their status never allowed for redemption. Instead, the state’s decision to resort to deportation means they are punished twice: first, through a prison sentence, then, sometimes years later, through a sentence of exile and separation from their relatives, partners and children in Britain. Despite legal challenges and campaigning, many ofContinue Reading

The Conversation

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Since becoming leader of the Labour party, Keir Starmer’s approach to the politics of Brexit has been a simple one: please everybody, we need to talk about something else. But the time may soon arrive when the topic can no longer be avoided. Should Boris Johnson secure a Brexit deal in last-minute negotiations with Brussels, there will be votes in parliament – reportedly in the form of a “future relationship bill”. This puts Starmer and his colleagues in an unenviable position: they can’t change what this deal looks like (because they don’t have the votes), but they must come to a judgement about whether a Boris Johnson deal should be endorsed or not. Voting against the deal has very limitedContinue Reading

What psychology can tell us about why some people don’t wear masks – and how to change their minds

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Marina Biryukova/Shutterstock While the world is eagerly waiting for COVID-19 vaccines to bring an end to the pandemic, wearing a mask to help prevent viral transmission has become more or less mandatory globally. Though many people embrace mask wearing and adhere to public health advice, some rebel and argue that wearing a mask has been imposed upon them against their will. With mask wearing and social distancing, it’s down to the individual to decide whether or not to comply, yet what influences compliance isn’t straightforward. Demographic factors such as income level, political affiliation and gender have all been associated with whether people choose to wear a mask and socially distance. However, psychology can go some way to explaining why behaviouralContinue Reading