The RECC’E - DAY 67 | 03.08.22 | PIGS

Day 67 / 365

205YEARS ago today the New York Stock Exchange was founded.

RECC’E OF THE DAY

9PEOPLE have now been killed and a further 16 injured - of which at least 7 are health workers - in 16 verified attacks on health care facilities in Ukraine since 24th Feb. In the town of Hostomel the towns mayor and 2 of his colleagues have been shot dead while distributing aid.

1.7mREFUGEES have now fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries; estimates of total potential refugees have escalated from 4m to 5m if the invasion continues. 

5CITIES could be granted humanitarian corridors today if Ukraine agrees to Russia’s proposal. President Zelenskyy rejected a previous proposal to evacuate people to Russian occupied territory in Belarus and Russia itself. It follows 6 fragile ceasefire assisted corridors put in place on Monday.

500PEOPLE ordinarily run the Chernobyl nuclear site however since it was seized on day 1 of the invasion 100 workers have allegedly been trapped there and forced to work in harsh conditions; its reported they are down to one meal and 2 hours sleep a day. 

5356SANCTIONS for Russia makes it officially the most sanctioned country in the world; Iran in second with 3616. More than half of the sanctions imposed on Russian entities and individuals have been introduced in the last 2 weeks. It now has more sanctions than Iran, Venezuela, Myanmar and Cuba combined. 

$300A BARREL is what the Russian deputy Prime minister has warned oil could top if the west bans Russian exports. He states it would take Europe more than a year to replace Russian deliveries. The Brent international standard hit $139 yesterday before settling around $123. 

$10bnWORTH of damage has now been inflicted on Ukraine’s infrastructure nationwide. 202 schools, 34 hospitals and 1500+ residential buildings have been damaged or destroyed so far.

3rdROUND of peace talks ended yesterday evening without any significant progress. The pentagon has stated 100% of Russia’s 150k massed troops from the borders are now in Ukraine. 

9%OF MCDONALD’S revenue comes from Russia along with 3% of its operating income and the chain has grown to more than 900 restaurants across Ukraine and Russia. Now global calls to boycott the fast food giant are gaining pace as it remains quiet on its stance in the region with restaurants remaining open.

NEED-TO-KNOW

7NEW letters have been added to the existing nucleotide alphabet - the 4 molecules used to encode genetic DNA information; opening the door for extreme levels of data storage capacity within DNA itself. With just these 4 letters, nature can encode the genetic information of every single living organism but scientists have been able to artificially add 7 more meaning DNA - of which a single gram can already hold several petabytes of data - has now become humanity boundless storage device.

41%REVERSAL in brain decline as we age can be achieved by increasing social activity by as little as one event per year according to new research. In fact a better social life was shown to actually reverse memory problems in people with early signs of dementia; face-to-face time being shown to assist brain functioning in returning to normal.

1PARENT babies take a huge step closer as researchers in China create fatherless mice in the lab using only unfertilised mouse eggs. Virgin births, known as parthenogenesis, have been seen in birds, lizards, snakes and fish but never before in mice. The approach hadn’t previously been successful in mammals largely due to genomic imprinting. 

SHOULD-KNOW

36HOURS is how long researchers were able to keep a pig brain alive - after restoring cellular function in it despite it being killed several hours earlier. The breakthrough was performed on 32 dead pigs and opens to door for further research into the viability of prolonging human life however experts warn lawmakers may not be ready for the ethical challenges.

16CHANGES to the DNA sequence of critically ill COVID patients have been identified in the worlds largest genetic study on the severity of the disease. As the human genetic code is three billion letters, scientists expected the study to take 15 years but it took less than one. The findings are being hailed as ‘extraordinary’ given the potential for future life-saving treatments. 

3COMMON house plants - Peace lily, Corn plant and fern arum - have been shown to remove 50% of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) - a common air pollutant - from a test chamber; the equivalent of removing 20% of NO2 from a small office in a polluted area. The mechanism remains unclear, but researchers say it is likely different to the way plants remove carbon dioxide from the air.

GOOD-TO-KNOW

7414RECORDINGS of 414 pigs formed the basis of training an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm allowing scientists to translate grunts into actual mapped emotions. It’s hoped farmers will soon be able to utilise the data in managing the mental health of pigs on their farms.

6mCONFIRMED deaths have now been documented worldwide for COVID-19 from over 445m cases. Experts warn figures are undercounted due to poor reporting with the accurate figure likely to be in the 14m to 23.5m range. The U.S accounts for 16% of all reported deaths. 

50YEARS AGO this year was the last time a human stepped foot on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission. Now for the first time scientists will be examining soil from the lunar surface recovered from that mission to better prepare for their Artemis moon landing in 2025 which will see the first woman to land on the surface of the moon.

SIGN-OFF STAT

8LETTERS LONG, “Aegilops” is the longest word in the dictionary whose letters are arranged in alphabetical order. The term refers to a variety of grass and can also mean stye in the inner corner of the eye.

  

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