Science News Roundup: UK scientific advisor says coronavirus unlikely to be eradicated; COVID-19 complication rates far higher than for flu and more

Test and trace works better when numbers are low: UK science adviser England's test and trace scheme needs improvement and it is hard to run an effective system when there are large and increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases, UK chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said on Thursday.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 23-10-2020 03:05 IST | Created: 23-10-2020 02:26 IST
Science News Roundup: UK scientific advisor says coronavirus unlikely to be eradicated; COVID-19 complication rates far higher than for flu and more
Representative image Image Credit: Flickr

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

UK scientific advisor says coronavirus unlikely to be eradicated

The coronavirus will be around for "evermore" as it is unlikely it will be eradicated, a British scientist on the government's advisory committee for the pandemic said on Wednesday, although a vaccine would help improve the situation. Britain, like other countries in Europe, is currently in the grip of a resurgence in COVID-19 infections, with much of the country under local restrictions and more than 21,000 daily cases reported on Tuesday.

COVID-19 complication rates far higher than for flu; open windows, partitions advised for classrooms

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus Higher complication rate with COVID-19 vs flu.

NASA spacecraft grabs sample of rocks from asteroid

A NASA spacecraft touched down on the rugged surface of the Bennu asteroid on Tuesday, grabbing a sample of rocks dating back to the birth of our solar system to bring home. The minivan-sized OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin , extended its 11-foot (3.35 m) robotic arm toward a flat patch of gravel near Bennu’s north pole and plucked the sample of rocks, the space agency's first handful of pristine asteroid rocks.

Test and trace works better when numbers are low: UK science adviser

England's test and trace scheme needs improvement and it is hard to run an effective system when there are large and increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases, UK chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said on Thursday. "It's undoubtedly the case that test trace and isolation becomes much more difficult to have an impact once numbers are high. So, it's much more effective when numbers are low," he said at a news conference.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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