By Naveen
Thukral
SINGAPORE
(Reuters) - Oil rose on Tuesday, for the third time in four sessions, on
expectations for rising fuel demand as the United States may expand their
pandemic aid payments and a final Brexit deal is set to stabilize trade between
Europe and the UK.
Brent crude climbed 23 cents, or 0.5%, to $51.09 a barrel, as of 0410
GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures added 23 cents, or
0.5%, to $47.85 a barrel.
“Markets feel very rangy into the New Year but should find support today
from broader risk markets as stocks are soaring on the prospects of larger
stimulus checks,” aid Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at Axi, a
broker.
“However, for oil markets gains could be limited due to the new COVID
variant and OPEC meeting overhangs.”
Crude rose along with a gains in Asian shares, with Japanese stocks
hitting a 30-year high, on rising investor risk appetite as the U.S. House of
Representatives voted to raise pandemic relief payments to $2,000 from $600.
The Senate still needs to vote on the measure.
Forecasts for tightening U.S. crude oil stocks also added support to
prices.
U.S. crude oil stockpiles are expected to have declined last week, while
refined products inventories likely rose, a preliminary Reuters poll ahead of
this week’s data showed on Monday.
Five analysts polled by Reuters estimated, on average, that crude stocks
likely fell by 2.1 million barrels in the week to Dec. 25.
More
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil/oil-rises-on-hopes-u-s-pandemic-stimulus-to-spur-fuel-demand-idUKKBN293056?il=0
In other, less bubbly news, the
coronavirus crisis isn’t going away anytime soon.
UK variant linked to high viral
loads, Neanderthal gene offers protection December 28, 2020
10:23 PM
(Reuters) - The following is a roundup of
some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to
find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.
UK coronavirus variant associated with higher
viral loads
The highly infectious COVID-19 coronavirus
variant that has been circulating in Britain is linked to higher loads of the
virus in the blood, according to a research report published on medRxiv on
Sunday ahead of peer review. Around 35% of patients infected by the variant
form had very high levels of the virus in their samples, compared to 10% of
patients without the variant, study leader Michael Kidd of Public Health
England and Birmingham University told Reuters. Higher viral loads have been linked
with worse COVID-19 outcomes. The tests were conducted at the Birmingham
Turnkey Lab. Kidd said additional study was needed to confirm or refute the
findings. If confirmed, he hopes scientists will investigate how this
particular variant manages to make more copies of itself in infected patients.
(bit.ly/3nUEJrr
Neanderthal gene protects against COVID-19
A specific form of a protein passed down
from Neanderthals protects against severe COVID-19, and medications that boost
levels of this protein could potentially help treat the disease, according to a
study reported on medRxiv on Thursday ahead of peer review. The protein, called
OAS1, is involved in the body's response to viruses. People with higher levels
of the Neanderthal-related form of OAS1 are less susceptible to COVID-19, and
if they do become infected, they are at lower risk for hospitalization,
intubation and death, the researchers found. "This protective form of OAS1
is present in sub-Saharan Africans but was lost when the ancestors of
modern-day Europeans migrated out of Africa. It was then re-introduced into the
European population through mating with Neanderthals" who lived more than
40,000 years ago, said coauthor Brent Richards from the Jewish General Hospital
and McGill University in Montreal. An earlier study linked a cluster of genes
inherited from Neanderthals to higher risks of hospitalization from COVID-19.
"These findings further implicate Neanderthal ancestry in COVID-19
severity," Richards said. (bit.ly/2KxrQVP
Early antibody production key to COVID-19
recovery
The
speed of patients' antibody production - rather than the volume of antibodies
they produce to fight the new coronavirus - determines whether they will
survive COVID-19, new data suggest. Researchers who studied more than 200
COVID-19 patients, including 179 who were hospitalized, found those who
produced so-called neutralizing antibodies within 14 days of developing
symptoms eventually recovered, while those who did not produce neutralizing
antibodies until more than 14 days had elapsed developed higher viral loads and
more severe disease. "It is unclear why antibodies generated after this
time point are unable to promote viral clearance and recovery in COVID-19
patients," the researchers said in a report posted on medRxiv ahead of
peer review. Study leader Akiko Iwasaki of the Yale University School of
Medicine tweeted on Saturday, "It's possible that virus somehow becomes
resistant by hiding in inaccessible tissues." The new findings, she added,
suggest therapy with so-called monoclonal antibody drugs - such as those from
Regeneron given to U.S. President Donald Trump -- is likely to work only if
used soon after infection. (bit.ly/3pv6qaB )
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-science/uk-variant-linked-to-high-viral-loads-neanderthal-gene-offers-protection-idUKKBN2921Z7
When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the
television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed. He said, 'Look,
here's what happened.'
Joe Biden
Covid-19 Corner This
section will continue until it becomes unneeded.
Southern California Lockdown
Likely to Be Extended: Virus Update Bloomberg News December
27, 2020, 11:05 PM GMT Updated on December 28, 2020, 10:02 PM GMT
Covid-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. reached new highs,
testing the nation’s health-care workforce, as officials warned of a
post-Christmas surge in infections. In Southern California, health officials
plan to extend a regional stay-at-home order.
Germany is seeking to expand production
Singapore began relaxing virus rules Monday as the
city-state moves into the final phase of curbs. Indonesia imposed a temporary ban
on all foreigners from visiting the country, while Taiwan will increase the
quarantine period for flight crews to seven days.
Why the U.K.’s Mutated Coronavirus Is Fanning Worries: QuickTake
Key Developments: Global Tracker : Cases pass 81.1 million; deaths
surpass 1.77 millionVaccine Tracker : More than 4.4
million shots givenU.S. Hot Spots: Surge sidelines
health workers when they’re neededChina’s struggling to get the world to
trust its vaccines China jails ex-lawyer for four years
over virus reports in Wuhan California Uber drivers , teachers vie for Covid
vaccine priority Covid’s devastation
reflected in the breadth of one family’s loss U.S. Treasury Checks Set to Go
Out (5 p.m. NY) The U.S. Treasury Department intends to start issuing $600 direct payments
But it was unclear how many Americans would receive payments
before the New Year, and the official provided no further information. The
House of Representatives planned to vote Monday evening to increase the
payments, but the Republican-controlled Senate may block the effort.
Southern California Lockdown Extension
Likely (3:55 p.m. NY) Health officials on Tuesday likely will announce an
extension of the regional stay-at-home order in place for Southern California
as a surge in cases has overwhelmed hospitals and left few, if any,
intensive-care unit beds left available, Governor Gavin Newsom said.
Los Angeles County has been seeing 12,000 to 15,000 new
cases per day over the past few weeks, Newsom said Monday.
Newsom said more than 261,672 vaccine doses have been
administered in California so far. He said that by end of this week, the state
should have received all 904,000 Moderna vaccine doses and 858,000 Pfizer doses
the state was expecting by this point.
More
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-27/u-s-cases-slow-in-holiday-amid-warnings-of-worse-virus-update?srnd=coronavirus
Fauci: US taking hard look at
variant of coronavirus December
27, 2020.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials believe
the coronavirus mutation that set off alarms in parts of Britain is no more apt
to cause serious illness or be resistant to vaccines than the strain afflicting
people in the United States but it still must be taken “very seriously,” the
government’s top infectious disease expert said Sunday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci endorsed the decision of U.S.
officials to require negative COVID-19 tests before letting people from Britain
enter the U.S. He declined to weigh in on whether that step should have been
taken sooner. He said the variant strain is something “to follow very
carefully” and “we’re looking at it very intensively now.”
He said: “Does it make someone more ill? Is it more serious virus in the
sense of virulence? And the answer is, it doesn’t appear to be that way.”
British officials are telling their U.S. colleagues it appears that the
vaccines being rolled out will be strong enough to deal with the new variant
but, Fauci said, “we’re going to be doing the studies ourselves.”
Fauci said the U.S. is at a critical phase of the pandemic, with the
worst probably still ahead. He predicted the general population would be
getting immunized widely by late March or early April — beyond the front-line
workers, older people and certain other segments of the public given priority
for the vaccines.
https://apnews.com/article/international-news-anthony-fauci-coronavirus-pandemic-infectious-diseases-united-states-461c8be0487095236ede0619fc65df16?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=December28_MorningWire_Automated&utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers
Next, some vaccine links
kindly sent along from a LIR reader in Canada. The links come from a most
informative update from Stanford Hospital in California.
World
Health Organization - Landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines . https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines
NY
Times Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker . https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html
Stanford
Website . https://racetoacure.stanford.edu/clinical-trials/132
Regulatory
Focus COVID-19 vaccine tracker . https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker
Some other useful Covid links.
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus resource
centre
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
Rt Covid-19
https://rt.live/
Covid19info.live
https://wuflu.live/
Centers for Disease Control
Coronavirus
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
The Spectator https://data.spectator.co.uk/city/national
Technology Update.
With events happening
fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section.
Updates as they get reported.
The biggest battery breakthroughs
of 2020 By Nick Lavars December 23, 2020
As
the engine room of so much of the modern world, there is an intense focus on
boosting the performance of today’s batteries and researchers are exploring all
kinds of avenues in pursuit of that aim. Whether it is crafting the world’s
fastest electrodes, building battery parts out of nuclear waste or preventing
fire danger with the help of sound waves, 2020 showed us just how imaginative
scientists can be when it comes to developing technologies for next-generation
energy storage.
This
year, we’ve looked at numerous creative ways to improve the functionality of
electrodes, seen how dashes of graphene can make electrolytes tougher and how
advanced materials might help batteries charge faster or offer far greater
densities. Let’s have a look at these research highlights, along with some more
radical battery designs that are the result of thinking outside the box.
When it comes to boosting batteries by bringing in new
materials, all options are on the table, but one with huge potential is lithium
metal. Described by some as a “dream material,” using lithium-metal as the
anode in place of the graphite and copper currently used could significantly
boost the density of today’s batteries, enabling them to run far longer and
hold far more energy.
The problem is safety. As the battery is charged, growths
known as dendrites tend to form on the surface of the lithium metal anode,
causing electrical shorts, fires and ultimately the failure of the device. We
saw a few innovative approaches to solving this problem in 2020, including one
from scientists at Washington State University whose approach to preventing
dendrites involved adding a few key chemicals to the cathode and electrolyte
solution.
This
led to the formation of a protective layer on the surface of the lithium metal
anode, enabling it to remain stable while being charged across 500 cycles.
Working in the team’s favor as it eyes commercialization is that the process
can be integrated into existing manufacturing procedures.
In December, Californian battery-maker QuantumScape announced some
performance numbers for its solid-state lithium-metal battery designed for use
in electric vehicles, and they certainly caught our attention. Could a flat
electric car one day be charged to as much as 80 percent in as little as 15
minutes?
The company claims that indeed it could, thanks in part to the use of a
solid electrolyte rather than a liquid one, and an anode made from lithium
metal that forms itself around the current collector as the battery is charged.
This solid state lithium-metal battery also avoids the dendrite problem thanks
to a separator between the anode and cathode made from solid ceramic material.
More.
Much more.
https://newatlas.com/energy/biggest-battery-breakthroughs-of-2020/
History proves... that a smart central bank can protect the
economy and the financial sector from the nastier side effects of a stock
market collapse.
Ben Bernanke
