News

Scientists have developed a virus-killing plastic that could make it harder for bugs, including Covid, to spread in hospitals and care homes.

The end result is a dead and useless virus. These react with ultraviolet light - even the tiny amount released from a fluorescent bulb - to release molecules called reactive oxygen species. The metal copper has been shown Norovirus - known as the winter vomiting bug - [can survive outside the body for two weeks](https://extension.umn.edu/sanitation-and-illness/norovirus-step-step-clean-vomit-and-diarrhea#:~:text=Norovirus%20is%20spread%20through%20person,remove%20and%20destroy%20the%20virus.) while waiting for somebody new to infect. The material was tested in the laboratory against four types of virus - two influenzas, the Covid virus and a picornavirus, which has the traits that make a virus highly stable outside the body. The idea is to make a material so hostile to a virus that it cannot survive there.

And no wonder, with all that has happened in the world over the past few years. But might this habit be harming our health? Medical News Today assessed the ...

His suggestion was “that people consume news that is of relevance to who and how they are in the world, that is relevant to [their] values and how [they] want to be, to take the time to take the perspective of others that are in the stories and to feel what they feel.” The most important thing is for people to become more aware of how consuming the news is making them feel, and the impact it is having on their day-to-day lives.” Even though this may be difficult to believe, he noted that “[t]here’s less violence in the world now than there’s ever been, there’s less poverty, there’s less starvation.” Hayes agreed: “Some of the dangers are that you will become numb to the pain of others, or you will become cynical or depressed about what’s happening in the world. I guess the difficulty is that it is in the news channels’ interests to keep people watching.” “Because we tend to get more traumatized by events where we cannot take any action, it might help to do one small thing that could make a difference — e.g. “Consider staying off all news channels or outlets for 3 or 4 days and see how this changes your mood and thinking. “Problematic news consumption may be particularly harmful because the news consistently focuses on negative and threatening issues and events. Sensationalist news content is designed to elicit an emotional response from audiences, and thereby increase viewing or reading figures. Medical News Today assessed the evidence and spoke to experts to find out what we can do to prevent becoming overwhelmed by the news. And for 16.5%, severely problematic news consumption was impacting other aspects of their lives. We all do it — reach for the phone first thing in the morning to check the news.

72% of internet users in the European Union now get their news online. But a new survey finds that interest in news has fallen sharply around the world.

This type of what the report authors describe as “selective avoidance”, has doubled in both Brazil (54%) and the UK (46%) over the past five years. Users in Nordic countries as well as the UK still have strong connections to direct news providers, “while people in Japan and South Korea tend to access news via powerful aggregators and search engines”. The report says that “media outlets often struggle to garner audience attention” when it comes to climate change stories. Finland remains the country with the highest level of overall trust at 69%. Breaking it down by countries, the highest percentages of people reading news online were found in Finland (93%), Lithuania and the Czech Republic (both 92%) and Croatia and Greece (both 90%). The figures also show the percentage of users increased most in rural areas, up to 69% from 65% in 2016. The report says the smartphone continues to be the most important digital device for accessing news across countries. [ interest in news has fallen sharply around the world](https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2022/dnr-executive-summary), from 63% in 2017 to 51% in 2022. It says on average 42% of respondents say they trust news most of the time. The Eurostat data also shows that between 2016 and 2021, online news use increased slightly more among women than men. [ social media preference has surged ahead at 28% compared to 23% for direct access.](https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2022-06/Digital_News-Report_2022.pdf) However, it stresses there are major differences across markets. A separate global survey digs deeper into internet users' news habits revealing more detailed insights.

The UK press reflect on the end of an era, in their first editions after the Queen's death.

"He [Huw Edwards] was speaking very, very slowly, but with exactly the layer of gravelly Welsh gravitas the occasion demanded. It chooses a photograph of then-Princess Elizabeth, taken in 1952, looking straight into the camera with a determined gaze. [The Guardian points out](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/08/queen-elizabeth-ii-obituary) that her reign saw some of the greatest changes in industrial, economic, technical and social development of any era. [its lead story](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/queen-elizabeth-ii-dies-sfcmbcqgc), reporter Valentine Low says "history will deliver its verdict in the fullness of time but it is hard to conceive of her being remembered as anything other than one of the greatest monarchs in our history". Its front page carries a black and white portrait of the Queen in her later years with a still, gentle smile. But you couldn't help admire how the Queen did her duty, got on with her job and never complained." [The Financial Times abandons business news ](https://www.ft.com/content/a30366d6-998b-4b32-9193-11d2d66203cb)for its front page, dedicating it almost entirely to a beaming Queen. The Times' back cover carries a quotation from the Queen's Christmas broadcast in 1957, the first to be televised: "I cannot lead you into battle. [the paper says](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-11195469/JAN-MOIR-Solemn-Bible-BBC-caught-moment-best.html) the mood on-screen on the BBC was "as solemn as a Bible". It describes her death as a "watershed moment in the life of the nation". Here are their historic front pages. [lets the striking picture of the newly-crowned monarch stand alone](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/08/queen-elizabeth-ii-britains-longest-reigning-monarch-dies-aged-96) - other than her name and dates of her reign - while the Times adds the words: "A life in service."

Stephanie Gilmore is chaired up the beach at Lower Trestles, California, after claiming her ... The death of Queen Elizabeth II marked one of the biggest news ...

[ appealed to the world](/news/2022-09-09/pakistan-floods-un-secretary-general-appeal/101425108) to help Pakistan after months of deadly record floods wreaked climate-induced devastation nationwide. [won her eighth world surfing title](/news/2022-09-09/stephanie-gilmore-wins-eighth-world-surfing-title/101421726), making her the most successful women's champion in history. [operating in emergency mode](/news/2022-09-09/ukrainian-nuke-plant-operating-tenuously-as-war-persists/101425404) with elevated risk.