https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed A woman in Milan was positive for the new coronavirus in November 2019, researchers have found, making her the earliest known patient in Italy to date. https://www.thelocal.it/20210112/italys-new-patient-1-identified-milan-woman-had-coronavirus-in-november-2019 Tue, 12 Jan 2021 11:24:33 +0100 italys-new-patient-1-identified-milan-woman-had-coronavirus-in-november-2019 More than 100 Italian academics have written to the government calling for urgent restrictions to avoid thousands more cases and hundred of deaths in Italy from Covid-19. https://www.thelocal.it/20201023/italian-scientists-call-for-drastic-measures-within-days-to-contain-covid-19-surge Fri, 23 Oct 2020 15:37:58 +0200 italian-scientists-call-for-drastic-measures-within-days-to-contain-covid-19-surge Brain cells have been found in exceptionally preserved form in the remains of a young man killed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius almost 2,000 years ago, an Italian study has revealed. https://www.thelocal.it/20201021/study-2000-year-old-brain-cells-of-man-killed-in-vesuvius-eruption Wed, 21 Oct 2020 14:31:09 +0200 study-2000-year-old-brain-cells-of-man-killed-in-vesuvius-eruption Venice may be famed for Saint Mark's Square or the Bridge of Sighs, but the Italian city has another jewel that is often overlooked: its lagoon. https://www.thelocal.it/20200813/how-italian-researchers-and-fishermen-are-working-to-restore-venices-lagoon Thu, 13 Aug 2020 10:30:49 +0200 how-italian-researchers-and-fishermen-are-working-to-restore-venices-lagoon A hospital in Rome said on Tuesday it had separated two-year-old twins joined above the nape of their necks, in what's believed to be the first successful operation of its kind. https://www.thelocal.it/20200707/italian-hospital-separates-twins-conjoined-at-the-head-in-world-first Tue, 07 Jul 2020 18:55:34 +0200 italian-hospital-separates-twins-conjoined-at-the-head-in-world-first The coronavirus was already present in northern Italy in December, more than two months before the first case was detected, a national health institute study of waste water has found. https://www.thelocal.it/20200619/coronavirus-was-already-in-italy-by-december-waste-water-study-shows Fri, 19 Jun 2020 12:54:25 +0200 coronavirus-was-already-in-italy-by-december-waste-water-study-shows Italian anthropologists have discovered that a fragment of what they first thought was black rock is actually part of an exploded brain from an unfortunate victim of the volcanic eruption of Italy's Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. https://www.thelocal.it/20200123/mysterious-rock-from-vesuvius-eruption-found-to-be-piece-of-exploded-brain Thu, 23 Jan 2020 15:26:59 +0100 mysterious-rock-from-vesuvius-eruption-found-to-be-piece-of-exploded-brain A DNA study of inhabitants of ancient Rome found some surprising results, and helps chart mass migration dating back 9,000 years. https://www.thelocal.it/20191108/ancient-romans-had-overwhelming-genetic-diversity-study-finds Fri, 08 Nov 2019 11:43:15 +0100 ancient-romans-had-overwhelming-genetic-diversity-study-finds Conservationists have successfully created two northern white rhino embryos in a key step towards pulling the species back from the brink of extinction, scientists in Italy said on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20190911/an-italian-lab-could-hold-the-key-to-saving-the-northern-white-rhino-from-extinction Wed, 11 Sep 2019 15:03:13 +0200 an-italian-lab-could-hold-the-key-to-saving-the-northern-white-rhino-from-extinction The president of Italy's national health research organisation on Wednesday January 2nd said he had been driven to resign due the "anti-scientific" policies of the country's populist government including efforts to undermine confidence in vital vaccinations. https://www.thelocal.it/20190102/italy-health-czar-resigns-and-blames-anti-science-government Wed, 02 Jan 2019 12:20:49 +0100 italy-health-czar-resigns-and-blames-anti-science-government Each year Mount Etna in Sicily slides a little closer to the sea. Researchers believe the effect is caused by gravity – making it more likely that the volcano could collapse altogether, as Dr John Murray of The Open University explains. https://www.thelocal.it/20181011/mount-etna-is-sliding-towards-the-sea-and-now-we-know-why Thu, 11 Oct 2018 15:50:02 +0200 mount-etna-is-sliding-towards-the-sea-and-now-we-know-why Scientists said on Wednesday they had tracked down the oldest known lizard, a tiny creature that lived about 240 million years ago when Earth had a single continent and dinosaurs were brand new. https://www.thelocal.it/20180531/scientists-find-the-oldest-known-lizard-in-the-italian-alps Thu, 31 May 2018 11:12:56 +0200 scientists-find-the-oldest-known-lizard-in-the-italian-alps Two Italians were named in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.it/20180419/italian-astrophysicist-marica-branchesi-surgeon-giuliano-testa-time-influential-gravitational-waves Thu, 19 Apr 2018 18:35:01 +0200 italian-astrophysicist-marica-branchesi-surgeon-giuliano-testa-time-influential-gravitational-waves An Italian company will help try to save the northern white rhino after the last surviving male of the species died, according to reports on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20180321/an-italian-company-hopes-to-save-the-white-rhino-through-ivf Wed, 21 Mar 2018 12:41:18 +0100 an-italian-company-hopes-to-save-the-white-rhino-through-ivf When and how seriously will Italy's Mount Etna next erupt? Two volcanologists explain how they're using crystals to learn more about what's going on in the depths of Europe's most active volcano. https://www.thelocal.it/20180126/how-volcanic-crystals-easier-predict-future-eruptions-mount-etna Fri, 26 Jan 2018 12:07:36 +0100 how-volcanic-crystals-easier-predict-future-eruptions-mount-etna Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli returned to Earth on Thursday after 139 days in space. https://www.thelocal.it/20171214/italian-astronaut-paolo-nespoli-returns-to-earth-after-139-days-in-space Thu, 14 Dec 2017 11:52:23 +0100 italian-astronaut-paolo-nespoli-returns-to-earth-after-139-days-in-space Eat spaghetti, cheat death: it might sound too good to be true, but Italian researchers say they’ve cracked a recipe that could help reduce deaths from heart attacks. https://www.thelocal.it/20171018/barley-pasta-heart-attacks Wed, 18 Oct 2017 19:58:36 +0200 barley-pasta-heart-attacks Why do people live longer in southern Italy than southern Sweden? A group of Swedes will swap lives with Italians for three months as part of a study which aims to find out. https://www.thelocal.it/20171016/swedes-and-italians-to-swap-lives-for-three-months-for-a-study-into-longevity Mon, 16 Oct 2017 18:33:32 +0200 swedes-and-italians-to-swap-lives-for-three-months-for-a-study-into-longevity A fourth gravitational wave has been detected - this time with help from Italy-based equipment - after two black holes collided, sending ripples through the fabric of space and time, researchers said on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20170928/scientists-in-italy-have-detected-a-fourth-gravitational-wave-black-holes-collision Thu, 28 Sep 2017 11:08:01 +0200 scientists-in-italy-have-detected-a-fourth-gravitational-wave-black-holes-collision The world’s largest all-women expedition to Antarctica will set sail next year, with 80 scientists travelling to the globe's southernmost continent. Italian physicist Elena Joli tells The Local about the goals behind the mission to what she calls "a magical, iconic, wild and remote place". https://www.thelocal.it/20170712/meet-the-italian-physicist-preparing-to-set-sail-for-antarctica Wed, 12 Jul 2017 10:10:52 +0200 meet-the-italian-physicist-preparing-to-set-sail-for-antarctica