Coronavirus Covid research

Research: The pandemic has aged our brains faster

Brains that have lived through the corona pandemic have aged an average of 5.5 months faster than normal. This also applies to people who never got sick, shows a new study published in Nature Communications.

1,000 people who were included in the study had their brains scanned both before and after the pandemic.

The aging was particularly evident in the elderly, men and people with socioeconomic vulnerability.

Researchers at the University of Nottingham link the results to stress, isolation and everyday disruptions rather than the virus itself.

No planes in London were allowed to take off after a technical fault

All of London's airspace was forced to close after a technical fault in the air traffic control center in Swanwick, reports The Telegraph.

No planes were allowed to take off in connection with this, but at 17:30, Swedish time, the British air traffic control service NATS announced that the problems had been resolved. However, consequential delays in air traffic are to be expected.

“We continue to work closely with airlines and airports to minimize disruption,” Nats said, apologizing for the incident.

The air traffic service Flightradar24 showed at 5:45 p.m. that aircraft had begun taking off from Heathrow.

Reuters writes that Edinburgh Airport was also affected by the stoppage. 

Deadly drug kills hundreds – worse than fentanyl

A deadly drug, which is clearly more dangerous than fentanyl, has killed hundreds of people in Europe, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Nitazener is a very potent synthetic opioid that is often imported from China. It is estimated to be about five times as potent as fentanyl and 50 to 250 times stronger than heroin. Even a very small dose poses an “enormous risk” and can kill a person.

Europe has dodged the fentanyl crisis that has hit the United States hard, but this time the United Kingdom and the Baltic states are early adopters. At least 400 Britons have died in an 18-month period.

“This is probably the biggest public health crisis for people who use drugs in the UK since the AIDS crisis in the 1980s,” says Vicki Markiewicz of treatment company Change Grow Live.