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The Enigma: That’s the name of a huge black diamond that just sold for $4.3 million to an anonymous buyer. Little is known about the history of the 555-karat diamond, which was estimated to be more than 800 karats when it was sold in the 1990s. It is more than 2.6 billion years old, Nat Geo reports.
The latest variant: Should you be worried? Experts are concerned about the spread of the “stealth” Omicron subvariant, officially known as BA.2. It has even higher transmission potential and possibly a greater ability to evade the immune response, perhaps prolonging the pandemic, Sanjay Mishra writes. Worldwide, more than 5.7 million people have been recorded as dying from COVID-19.
Face masks made for eating: Tired of moving your mask up and down while eating? In South Korea, an anti-virus mask that covers only the nose is for sale online, the Guardian reports. The “kosk,” a combination of ko, the Korean word for “nose,” and mask, is attracting lots of attention—and criticism—for its removable parts. Some studies have suggested that the nose is the easiest way for COVID to enter the body, so perhaps a face bra isn’t as bad as it looks.
Does snow smell different? The aroma of snow is getting stronger. Blame climate change, the Washington Post reports. As the ground and air get warmer, so does the circulation and intensity of odor molecules trapped in the blankets of fallen snow.
Hope for paralysis: Swiss researchers have been working on a groundbreaking treatment to reverse paralysis in people with spinal cord injuries. Now, an electrode device implanted on the spinal cord has given three paralyzed men the ability to walk, swim, and move within hours. “I am free,” Michel Roccati from Italy told CNN. “I can walk wherever I want to.”
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