What is a ‘novel’ coronavirus?

A novel coronavirus (CoV) is a new strain of coronavirus.

The disease caused by the novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China, has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – ‘CO’ stands for corona, ‘VI’ for virus, and ‘D’ for disease. Formerly, this disease was referred to as ‘2019 novel coronavirus’ or ‘2019-nCoV.’

The COVID-19 virus is a new virus linked to the same family of viruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and some types of common cold.

COVID-19 has been described as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. What does that mean? 

Characterizing COVID-19 as a pandemic is not an indication that the virus has become deadlier. Rather, it’s an acknowledgement of the disease’s geographical spread.

UNICEF has been preparing and responding to the epidemic of COVID-19 around the world, knowing that the virus could spread to children and families in any country or community. UNICEF will continue working with governments and our partners to stop transmission of the virus, and to keep children and their families safe.

There’s a lot of information online. What should I do?

There are a lot of myths and misinformation about coronavirus being shared online – including on how COVID-19 spreads, how to stay safe, and what to do if you’re worried about having contracted the virus.

So, it’s important to be careful where you look for information and advice. This explainer contains information and recommendations on how to reduce the risk of infection, whether you should take your child out of school, whether it’s safe for pregnant women to breastfeed, and precautions to take when traveling. UNICEF has also launched a portal where you can find more information and guidance about COVID-19. In addition, the WHO has a useful section addressing some of the most frequently asked questions.

It’s also advisable to keep up to date on travel, education and other guidance provided by your national or local authorities for the latest recommendations and news.

How does the COVID-19 virus spread?

The virus is transmitted through direct contact with respiratory droplets of an infected person (generated through coughing and sneezing), and touching surfaces contaminated with the virus. The COVID-19 virus may survive on surfaces for several hours, but simple disinfectants can kill it.

What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

Symptoms can include fever, cough and shortness of breath. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia or breathing difficulties. More rarely, the disease can be fatal. 

These symptoms are similar to the flu (influenza) or the common cold, which are a lot more common than COVID-19. This is why testing is required to confirm if someone has COVID-19. It’s important to remember that key prevention measures are the same – frequent hand washing, and respiratory hygiene (cover your cough or sneeze with a flexed elbow or tissue, then throw away the tissue into a closed bin). Also, there is a vaccine for the flu – so remember to keep yourself and your child up to date with vaccinations. 

why life insurance ?

What is life insurance?

Life Insurance - this accumulation of funds, for example, for retirement, adulthood, marriage or other events in the life of the insured.Endowment life insurance - the kind of long-term life insurance, in which the sum insured is paid to the policyholder when the survival of them before the deadline or in case of death of the insured to his heirs.Life insurance for a certain period of time (Term Life Insurance) can be very convenient and cheapest way to protect your family and save money on insurance premiums.Life insurance contract is usually concluded for a period not less than one year, so life insurance can be combined accumulative and risk functions (such type of insurance is an endowment insurance in case of death and endowment, it may also include also accident insurance).

What determines the cost of life insurance on Average?

Rates for life insurance account for 4-10% of the sum insured, depending on the age (the younger the policyholder, the lower rate), sex (female tariff is lower than that of men), and the health of the insured. In determining the value of a life insurance mortality tables used, which is calculated based on the expected size of the insurance payment.The most expensive and the most important thing in life - it's a family for which you work hard and strive for success, as relatives and people close to you first of all need your protection and care. Therefore, one of the main tasks - to secure the most expensive and the people with dignity and a stable future.Therefore, it is worth thinking ahead and create financial protection, which is one of the options - it is cumulative or risk life insurance.If you have got a job, which is more dangerous than your previous one, for the term of your work you will be more profitable to have a life insurance policy. Once you leave a dangerous work, feel free to cancel his temporary insurance without any penalty payments.The advantages of insurance for a certain period a lot. First of all, this type of insurance is very simple and intuitive, making it accessible to virtually everyone.

Risks that covers life insurance:

The main risk, which protects the life insurance is a risk of death of the insured person and related financial losses of beneficiaries. Normally, the risk of death include the risks of death from an accident, illness or wrongful acts of third parties. The risk of suicide can be included in the contract, but only in exceptional cases, such as credit insurance. The inclusion of this additional risk must be accompanied by reservations. In addition, may be included in the contract risks permanent disability, survival, etc.

The insured event on the program of life insurance is:

- Survival to the end of the insurance period;
- Death of the insured (can be "for any reason");
- Death of the insured due to an accident, an accident (insured amount is doubled);
- Loss of health and disability from an accident (disability).


How does life insurance?

The policyholder pays the insurance payment, calculated by the actuary of the insurance company on the options outlined in a life insurance contract. And the insurer, in turn, under the contract (10 or 20 years) is committed to the money made to protect the policyholder, the insured earn investment income, the average value of which before the crisis was 14-17% in UAH (including 4% guaranteed ).Insurance companies, according to the Law of Ukraine "On insurance", guaranteed investment return of up to 4%, and the remaining bonuses - accrued to the insurer as a result of the investment of the insurance company.
Contract classical life insurance is that in case of death of the insured to provide the specified beneficiary compensation for the loss. In the classical life insurance contract we are talking about insurance in case of death. By signing this agreement, the period of insurance can be chosen in such a way that it covers, for example, the repayment period of the loan or the time when your kids are still growing themselves do not work.

Pandas in China

Does China own all pandas?Are the world’s pandas all owned by the global superpower? Not quite. In the wild, giant pandas only live in China but captive ones have been sent to zoos around the world as gifts since the Fifties. None of those pandas are still alive though and, since 1984, almost all pandas have been given to zoos on a tenyear lease. They remain Chinese property and so do any cubs born in captivity from the leased pandas.There are a few exceptions, however.In 2008 China gave, rather than leased, a pair of pandas to Taiwan and in August 2013 they were successfully bred to produce a third Taiwanese panda, called Yuan Zai.

What causes double rainbows?

What causes double rainbows? How these colourful meteorological phenomenons are caused? Regular rainbows occur when moisture in the air refracts sunlight in such a way that it is broken up into its constituent colours. The phenomenon occurs when the Sun is positioned behind you and sunlight passes through the airborne water. The light refracts (bends) inside the droplets and the white light is broken up.Each colour has a different wavelength so, depending on the angle of refraction, a different colour of light will be reflected outwards; theresult of this process is what we observe when we see a rainbow.
Every rainbow is accompanied by another, secondary rainbow,but it’s usually too dim to see. This double rainbow effect is due to the continued reflection of light inside each water drop. Sunlight is actually reflected twice inside a drop: once to produce the primary rainbow and a second time at the back of the drop. This second reflection inverts the light but undergoes the same refraction, so exits in the same way as before – though upside down. This second reflection reduces the intensity of the sunlight, but it also produces a second inverted rainbow, creating a double arc of multicoloured light.

How deep is the deepest cave?

Do you know Where is the planet’s deepest subterranean network and what have cavers found? In 2007, a team of 41 cavers worked their way into the limestone of the Arabika Massif in the Western Caucasus, Georgia, to descend to new depths of the Voronja Krubera cave system. Two branches of this subterranean warren were discovered to reach 1,775 metres (5,823 feet) and 1,920 metres (6,299 feet), but the deepest point – a sump dubbed ‘Two Captains’ – exceeded the two-kilometre (1.2-mile) mark to become the deepest natural cave in the world at 2,191 metres (7,188 feet). Essential kit used for casual spelunking (or potholing) includes a hard hat, headlamp, waterproofs, thermals, climbing gear and basic rations for longer expeditions. But the 2007 Krubera caving trip was comprised of professional spelunkers, known as speleologists, who weren’t just experienced at exploring caves but specialists in cave sciences including biology, hydrology and geology. The 41 team members spent a total of 29 days mapping out the cave network, as well as recording the temperature and sampling sediments, microorganisms and speleothems (which include cave formations such as stalagmites). So as well as standard camping gear, sample containers and more unusual scientific devices such as ground-penetrating radar were used to help plan the best possible route ahead. Georgia (specifically the disputed region of Abkhazia) is home to the top three deepest caves on Earth and, incredibly, Two Captains is known to go deeperstill. Ropes and carabiners in the hands of expert climbers are essential for exploring these incredible depths, as the Voronja-Krubera system includes drops like the Big Cascade, which alone plummets 152 metres (499 feet).

How do pearls form? How does a speck of dirt turn into a precious gem?

Pearls develop inside molluscs – including oysters, mussels and clams – whenever a foreign particle enters its shell and irritates the soft inner tissues. If the animal can’t expel the irritant, it will engage a unique defence mechanism. To protect itself from the particle, the mollusc produces a substance called nacre,or mother-of-pearl, which also lines the inner surface of the creature’s shell. Layer upon layer of the hard crystalline nacre is then used to smother the invading object so it cannot harm or contaminate the mollusc. A pearl’s iridescent appearance is due to the many layers of nacre that consist of many microscopic crystals. The thickness of one layer of calcium carbonate plates is similar to the wavelength of visible light. Some of the light passing through the top layer of nacre will be reflected, but some will continue to travel through to the bottom layer where further light is reflected. Multiple reflections interfere with each other at different wavelengths, causing colours to be reflected and scattered in all directions, creating an iridescent finish.

'Pokémon Go' updated version makes it harder to cheat

Almost a month after the app took the world by storm, Pokémon Go has now been updated with some major changes that should make it more difficult to cheat in the game.Developer Niantic pushed out versions 1.1.0 and 1.1.1 of the game over the weekend, and there are some notable upgrades and downgrades.For starters, the footprints that used show up below Pokémon inside of the "Nearby" section of the game have been removed.Players had complained that the footprints system didn't make any sense. Some claimed it just didn't work. It was believed the number of footprints (1-3) was supposed to show how close you were to a Pokémon. Speaking from experience, I can't say the footprints mechanic ever worked. Good riddance!

Another feature that got removed was the battery saver mode. With battery saver mode turned on, the screen would go black when your phone was held upside down, and then it'd vibrate only when a new Pokémon spawned or when you were at a PokéStop. Also speaking from experience, the mode frequently glitched and didn't work. Sayonara. You're better off getting a battery pack or battery case for your phone to extend playing time.With version 1.1.0, you can also re-tweak your Pokémon trainer avatar. Previously, you couldn't. You were stuck with whatever look you picked at the beginning. It's a good change. Niantic also adjusted a number of Pokémon stats in an effort to balance the game.

The most controversial change to Pokémon Go might be the nuking of third-party Pokémon tracking services like the popular PokéVision, which showed maps for where to find the monsters. The site, which used to have a map populated with Pokémon, states its "services are currently unavailable" and to defer to its Twitter.To be fair, Pokémon-tracking services aren't technically cheats. They're more like game guides. But, hey, any violation of the game's terms and services is a violation.