Free Republic

A UK government adviser and former Communist Party member Susan Michie says that mask mandates and social distancing should continue “forever” and that people should adopt such behaviour just as they did with wearing seatbelts. Michie, who is a Professor of Health Psychology at UCL and a leading member of SAGE, said such control measures should become part of people’s “normal” routine behaviour. Vaccines are a really important part of pandemic control but it is only one part. [A] test, trace and isolate system, [as well as] border controls, are really essential. And the third thing is people’s behaviour. That...

An ancient folk remedy from County Fermanagh could help scientists in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria. According to local belief, the soil from a churchyard in Boho can cure infections. A microbiologist who took samples to see if there was any scientific basis for the cure has made an astonishing discovery. Dr Gerry Quinn found a unique strain of streptomyces, a microorganism used to produce antibiotics. It was found to kill the top three pathogens (organisms that cause disease) identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a major threat to human health. "When we brought the soil back to...

LOS ANGELES - Nicole Richie irritated a local family during taping of "The Simple Life" by asking an 11-year-old boy, in graphic language, if she looked attractive. The boy was playing basketball Wednesday in the driveway of his home. Richie, pushing a baby carriage, approached and questioned the youth about how she looked, using a profane word. Two camera operators and another crew taped the exchange. The boy's father refused the crew's request that he sign a release giving them the right to use the clip with his son. Instead he complained to the show's production company. "The Simple Life,"...