Science Weekly Folgen

Although several countries around the world continue to have high rates of Covid-19 infections, including the UK and US, many of their citizens are yet to be infected with the Sars-Cov-2 virus. This includes countless individuals who have knowingly been exposed, often multiple times, but have still never had a positive test. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Linda Geddes about how scientists are trying to solve the mystery of why some people seemingly don’t catch Covid, and what could be behind this phenomenon. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Since Vladimir Putin’s bizarre televised address announcing a ‘military operation’, the Russia-Ukraine war has been rife with disinformation and propaganda. Last week, Facebook and Instagram blocked access to the Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik across the European Union. In retaliation, Russia completely blocked access to Facebook and restricted access to Twitter. At the same time, misattributed videos purportedly showing nuclear weapons and Ukrainian fighter jets have been going viral. Ian Sample speaks to the Guardian’s global technology editor, Dan Milmo, about the ‘war myths’ propagated online, how the information war is being fought, and whose propaganda is having the biggest impact. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

As Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, gas prices remain high around the world. Europe is dependent on Russia for about 40% of its natural gas supplies, and despite the expansion of renewable energy over the past two decades, that dependency is increasing as countries shift to gas from dirtier coal. Putin’s attack on Ukraine has put this reliance into sharp focus as Europe considers how to respond. Madeleine Finlay speaks to our environment correspondent Fiona Harvey about how Putin has weaponised Russia’s fossil fuels, and how Europe could reshape its energy supplies for the future. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod