Forever Covid, Our Universe Is A Donut, Trump Tells Super Lies … and More

Most viruses, including the four seasonal coronaviruses, other common-cold viruses, and the flu, haven’t been eradicated; scientists describe them as “endemic,” a term derived from the Greek word éndēmos, meaning “in the people.” Endemic viruses circulate constantly, typically at low levels, but with occasional, more severe outbreaks. We don’t shut out these endemic viruses with quarantines and stay-at-home orders; we live with them. What will it be like to live with endemic sars-CoV-2? That depends on the strength of our immune memories.

The United States is in an “unnecessary predicament” of soaring COVID-19 cases fueled by unvaccinated Americans and the virulent delta variant, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert said Sunday. “We’re going in the wrong direction,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, describing himself as “very frustrated.” He said recommending that the vaccinated wear masks is “under active consideration” by the government’s leading public health officials. Also, booster shots may be suggested for people with suppressed immune systems who have been vaccinated, Fauci said.

The German government is considering imposing a health pass, similar to those announced in France and Italy, should COVID-19 cases rise in the coming months. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff has warned that restrictions for unvaccinated people may be necessary if case numbers reach new heights. Germany’s vaccine efforts have slowed in recent weeks and that has led to discussions about how to encourage those who haven’t yet received a vaccine to do so. More than 60% of the German population has received at least one dose while over 49% are fully vaccinated.

Over nearly two hours, Trump revisited his touchstones of grievance, leveling allegations of fraud that election officials and judges have systematically refuted or brushed aside. It was Trump’s most explicit effort to insert himself into the widely discredited Arizona audit as he tries to increase the pressure on other states to embark on similar efforts. He spoke of untold thousands of dead people voting — no such phenomenon surfaced in post-election audits. He alleged 168,000 Arizona ballots were fraudulent — there is no support for that.

In a paper recently published on the arXiv preprint server, a team of astrophysicists and cosmologists from Ulm University and the University of Lyon have studied the leftover light from the Big Bang—known as the Cosmic Microwave Background, or CMB—and determined that the universe may not be a flat plane, as many scientists currently believe. “The example in our paper is… a donut shaped universe model,” explained Thomas Buchert, a professor of cosmology at the University of Lyon and coauthor on the new paper, in an email. This shape is also known as a three-torus, Buchert wrote, AKA a three-dimensional donut. The idea that the universe has a torus shape is at the center of some pretty far-out stuff, such as the CIA’s 1980s Gateway report on psychic phenomena. This paper has not yet been peer-reviewed, but Buchert said it has been submitted to journals for consideration.

Hulu's "McCartney 3, 2,1" is, quite simply, the most engaging documentary ever made about the songwriting exploits of popular music's most successful composer. Directed by Zachary Heinzerling — the filmmaker behind Beyoncé's "Self-Titled" web doc — the six-part series finds Paul McCartney and producer Rick Rubin deconstructing one great Beatles tune and McCartney solo composition after another. With Rubin acting as the former Beatle's bearded guru, "McCartney 3, 2,1" is served up in half-hour, bite-sized episodes. Often standing in front of a mixing desk, which he uses to great effect throughout, Rubin draws McCartney in conversation about the nuts and bolts of music-making, Beatles- (and post-Beatles) style. The result is an insider's look at the musical composition and recording artistry behind history's most vaunted pop-music catalogue.