With the arrival of the new coronavirus, the lights on the transmission of viruses between animals and humans have turned on again: let’s understand how this jump occurs and what are the causes, with a new awareness of the human responsibility in the big picture.
The recent emergence of the novel coronavirus behind the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a spotlight on the risks that animals can pose to humans as the source of new viruses. The virus in question, known as SARS-CoV-2, has been linked to a “wet market” for wild animal trade in Wuhan, China, although it’s by no means certainthis was the source of the human version of the virus. …
Opened to the public for the first time on 19 November 1819 and initially built to house the Cabinet of Natural History, it is today one of the most visited museums in the world and strongly oriented towards innovation, thanks also to the recent implementation of innovative solutions, semantic web and artificial intelligence.
The building that now houses the Prado National Museum was designed by the architect Juan de Villanueva in 1785 and was initially built to house the Cabinet of Natural History, by order of King Charles III. Thanks to the decision of King Ferdinand VII, encouraged by his wife, Queen Maria Isabel de Braganza, to make it the new Royal Museum of Paintings and Sculptures, soon renamed the National Museum of Paintings and Sculptures and finally in the National Museum of Prado. …
Since the sixteenth century, masked ‘types’ have acquired a complex set of symbologies and cultural behaviors in Venice, becoming a fundamental part of the image of the city and another symbol by which it is recognised (just like the gondola or winged lion). Their current use has turned them, instead, into various ‘costumes’.
A centre for the production of masks since the Middle Age, and home to private collections of this kind of item (evidently prematurely freed from their theatrical functions to become carnivalesque and assume a singular aesthetic value), masks in Venice have acquired a complex set of symbologies and cultural behaviors since the sixteenth century, becoming a fundamental part of the image of the city and a symbol of its recognition (just like the gondola or winged lion). …
Dedicated to mountain, polar, coastal, oceanic ecosystems and the consequent impact of changes on human life, the report should be launched on 25 September 2019.
A few months after the previous reports, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the United Nations Commission created to monitor and report on climate change, is about to release a new report called Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate which is part of the Sixth Assessment Cycle.
The new document assesses the physical processes and impacts of climate change in mountain, polar, coastal, oceanic ecosystems and how much this will impact (and is already impacting) on human communities, as well as assessing options for people to adapt to climate change for a more sustainable future. …
We reached Fionn via e-mail, at his home in Ballydehob, a small village in the South of Ireland with a great history and vitality, to understand more about his research and the future of its possible application. Here’s what he told us.
Hi Fionn, first of all congratulations for the research. How do you feel as a main winner of the 2019 Google Science Fair edition?
I felt in disbelief but also excited. This award has made me feel excited because I think that there is an outlook for my project! …
🔥 3 milioni di ettari bruciati: questo è quanto accade in Siberia e Alaska a causa delle centinaia di incendi che stanno danneggiando quei territori. Praticamente, è come se l’intera Sicilia fosse in fiamme.
🌫 La stima di CO2 emessa per i soli incendi di giugno è di *50 milioni di tonnellate*
🔄 Questa massiccia immissione di CO2 va ad alimentare ulteriormente il riscaldamento globale, che a sua volta può produrre ulteriori eventi simili, che a loro volta possono immettere massicciamente nell’atmosfera ulteriore CO2 e così via. …
💧In Antartide lo scioglimento dei ghiacci è molto più rapido che nell’Artico. E potrebbe portare ad un ulteriore e maggiore riscaldamento globale (questo stando al paper pubblicato in PNAS dal titolo: A 40-y record reveals gradual Antarctic sea ice increases followed by decreases at rates far exceeding the rates seen in the Arctic).
〽️ In pratica, in questi ultimi 4 anni, l’Antartide ha perso tanto ghiaccio quanto l’Artico in 34 anni.
Più precisamente da Longyearbyen, nell’arcipelago di Svalbard (sì, tra Narnia e Games of Thrones).
🔥 La temperatura media si è alzata di 4°C dal 1971 ad oggi, con un picco incredibile dagli anni ’90 ad oggi (il grafico pare un trampolino di lancio), con picchi da 7°C sopra la media.
🌱 Qui è dove è installato anche il Global Seed Vault, ovvero il mega “caveau” dove sono stoccati circa 1 milione di semi provenienti da tutto il mondo, come scorta di emergenza per le generazioni future (e sì, soprannominato per l’occasione anche doomsday vault).
Nel 2017 è stato vittima di pericolose infiltrazioni d’acqua a causa dello scioglimento del permafrost e del non perfettamente isolato edificio (progettato per l’ambiente originalmente freddo, ma non a totale difesa di inflitrazioni d’acqua). …
Universal Basic Income is not a recent idea, we know.
But, the new way the entire humanity is called to go through, make the UBI — again, Universal Basic Income, making it short — a fascinating and powerful idea to, at least, we can refer to.
Now more than the past we really need a powerful-interconnected-good-applicated-solutions to build a better future for all, in a way that needs to be at the same time: quick, sustainable and distribuited.
The majority of peoples are busy to get sufficient money to reach the end of the month, to build a relative comfortable life for themselves, for their families and, above all, for their sons and daughters. …
About
