Thursday, June 15 — 3 significant news stories

Today ChatGPT read 1116 top news stories and gave 4 of them a significance score over 7.

After removing previously covered events, here is today’s significant news:

[8.7] "Patient zero" identified among Wuhan Institute of Virology scientists — PerthNow

Three scientists from the Wuhan Institute of Virology have been identified as the first individuals infected with the coronavirus, potentially marking them as "patients zero". This information, coming from US government sources, supports the theory that the virus could have originated from a laboratory incident in Wuhan. These scientists had worked closely with Dr. Shi Zhengli, who collected samples of viruses from wildlife, including viruses similar to SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19. This revelation provides fresh perspective on the debate surrounding the origins of the virus, previously widely believed to have crossed over to humans from animals.

[7.8] Global sea surface temperatures spike beyond previous records, affecting North Atlantic — The Guardian

Global sea surface temperatures have spiked beyond anything ever recorded since April, with the North Atlantic being particularly affected. The ocean has been absorbing most of the energy trapped by greenhouse gases humans have pumped into the atmosphere in recent decades, leading to ice melt, sea level rise, more intense cyclones, increased flooding risk and damage to marine life. A recent study found that a deep ocean current, known as the Southern Ocean overturning circulation, has already slowed by about a third since the 1990s, far more rapidly than forecast in climate models. The ramifications for regional and global temperatures and weather patterns will take time to unfold, but are expected to be substantial and cascading.

[7.1] Dengue now endemic in 129 countries, with worst outbreak currently affecting Peru — devpolicy.org

Dengue, the fastest spreading infectious disease in the world, is now endemic in 129 countries, with the worst outbreak currently affecting Peru. While 70% of cases are currently found in Asia, prevalence elsewhere is increasing due to anthropogenic factors including rapid urbanisation and globalisation. Africa has suffered Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever and multiple other mosquito-borne viruses, some of which have spread across the world and are causing increasingly frequent outbreaks, especially in urban situations where Aedes mosquitoes thrive. A lack of knowledge of healthcare workers on the symptoms of dengue, as well as an absence of a standardised case definition for reporting dengue cases, means many cases remain unreported or unconfirmed. Appropriate investment at a scale relative to the problem is essential to address this disease in Africa.

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