Although the subject of media frenzy in the immediate aftermath of the 1999 Kosovo conflict, the use of depleted uranium ammunition in Iraq 2003 raised little media attention. How could the use of such a controversial weapon in 1991 go largely unnoticed just four years later? Does this lack of global condemnation necessarily lead to the conclusion that the “dictates of the public conscience” have evolved in regard to the use of this previously controversial weapon of war? This article seeks to analyze the legality of the use of depleted uranium ammunition — the main question being whether the existing laws of armed conflict are already sufficient to address any human and environmental concerns.
Archiv: University of Cambridge
Study identifies genetic changes likely to have enabled SARS-CoV-2 to jump from bats to humans
A new study, involving the University of Cambridge and led by the Pirbright Institute, has identified key genetic changes in SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—that may be responsible for the jump from bats to humans, and established which animals have cellular receptors that allow the virus to enter their cells most effectively.
The genetic adaptions identified were similar to those made by SARS-CoV—which caused the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic—when it adapted from bats to infect humans.