Headlines: science needs to know where Covid-19 came from

Let’s imagine. If you are told that the virus that is bringing the planet to its knees could come from a laboratory leak? It’s a conspiracy thesis, you will surely answer… Well not only because there is ” flight of ideas “, tell us Release. Yes, ” the lab leak trail is no longer taboo among the scientific community, confirms Le Figaro. So of course, this track is neither the majority nor the most probable, but no, it is not a conspiracy theory”insists The world.

In effect, ” new elements cause trouble on the origin of the virus, explains the newspaper. Reason why, ” about twenty scientists publish in the journal Science, a letter calling for exploring [cette] hypothesis of a laboratory accident in Wuhan. The Chinese city is considered the focus of the pandemic.

Leaders among the signatories

The signatories are far from being enlightened but, rather, luminaries. Far from fantasy The world note in the list of names the presence of a certain Ralph Baric, microbiologist from the University of North Carolina in the United States. ” Not only is he one of the most renowned coronavirus specialists in the worldreports the daily, but it has already worked closely with the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). In 2015, alongside Chinese researchers, Ralp Baric was precisely ” managed to build, on the basis of a bat coronavirus, a highly pathogenic virus for humans “. His study had hit the headlines »review Nature described his work as ” risky “. Ralph Baric therefore calls today to investigate the thesis of a leak in Wuhan.

Yes, scientists need to know. Especially since The world also returns to Chinese cover-ups “. Concealments brought to light by the publication of three academic works: “ A doctoral thesis and two master’s theses carried out in recent years at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. » Written in Chinese and “ disclosed on the Twitter account of an anonymous scientist accustomed to startling revelations “, the three works contain” important information » affirms The world. ” They question certain data on the number and nature of the coronaviruses preserved in Wuhan, on the experiments carried out on these viruses and even on the integrity of the viral genetic sequences published by the Chinese Institute.

The alarming impact of screens on children and adolescents

It is an effect of the Covid-19, precisely, and there it is the parents who need to know. What impact have screens had on children during the crisis? As much to be clear right away, the result is not brilliant. It’s a ” alarm signal » that launches Le Figaro this Saturday in One. Certainly, scientists had already warned about the risks associated with the intensive use of screens by the youngest, ” but after a year of confinement and distance learning, the results are worrying “, valued Le Figaro. Children and teenagers are forced for more than a year to face to face with their machines “. Between studies, games, series and social networks, they are “ intoxicated ” and ” young people develop alarming behaviors “, we read.

For sure, ” confinements have radicalized screen addictions », develops Professor Richard Delorme, head of the child psychiatry department of the Robert Debré hospital in Paris. To the point, he says, that some young people can develop suicidal tendencies when they are asked to stop, when their smartphone or tablet is taken away from them… These are extreme cases, but more broadly, writes Le Figaro, the use of screens during confinement has developed depression, concentration disorders and learning difficulties. We can never say it enough: read a book! Or go to the theater. It will soon be possible, the world of culture is precisely preparing its return for this Wednesday, May 19, tells us this Saturday the front page of Release. In a few days, end of the ” couch culture “.

Is there extraterrestrial life?

Also need to know. ” The truth is elsewhere “, would say the fans of the series X Files. In any case, it is certain, the hunters of UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) have ” need to know “. ” Encounter of the Third Kind » this Saturday in The cross. The Catholic daily devotes its front page and a file of about ten pages to it. ” After the CIA declassified on January 2 000 pages of documents on my UFOs, after the ex-director of American intelligence announced the publication of a report on the subject for June 1 », the newspaper went to discuss with those who, in France, « take very seriously what are also called UAPs, unidentified aerospace phenomena.

” Men and women who dissect testimonies and scan the sky to unravel its mysteries. “Volunteers, reports The cross, who sometimes investigate in conjunction with the very serious National Center for Space Studies, Cnes. Yes, if you did not know, there is even in France ” a public UFO service “. Attached to Cnes is GEIPAN, the study and information group for unidentified aerospace phenomena. He treats ” up to 600 testimonials per year “, teaches us The cross. Its mission is ” to find a pragmatic explanation » to the observations, and it turns out « sometimes not possible “, we read again. Yes, the truth may well lie elsewhere.

A mystery of history

Another mystery to read in Le Parisien – Today in France : a bottle overboard possibly thrown from the Titanic before its sinking in 1912. It was found four years ago on a beach in Canada. Inside was a letter possibly written by a French teenager who was traveling on the liner. So, “real find or big hoax ? » wonders The Parisian. Scientists are there too hard at work, those from the University of Quebec in Rimouski. They have just published their first conclusions and, whether it is the glass of the bottle, its cork, the paper or even the ink used, nothing for the time being allows them to dispute the authenticity of this letter, they explain to the Parisian. Not enough to authenticate it with certainty either.

From viruses to space, via the sea, science still has many mysteries to solve.