A month ago, the G7 supported “affordable and equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, reflecting the role of extensive immunization as a global public good”. Not walking the talk, this week, the G7 blocked the intellectual property waiver proposed by India and South Africa – and backed by a large number of developing countries – to increase the production of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics in emerging markets. WTO Director General Okonjo-Iweala pointed to access inequalities and recalled how they had materialized for HIV-AIDS treatments and H1N1 vaccines in the past. Sadly, we are back to the old North/South divide…
 
Octopuses and naked mole rats have my attention, for different reasons. Robin Crook’s “Behavioral and neurophysiological evidence suggests affective pain experience in octopus” provides evidence that vertebrates are not the only animals experiencing pain. Before this, the common view was that invertebrates’ neurological systems were too simple for complex emotional states. Crook shows that octopuses experience pain pretty much like mammals do. This is fascinating. Like many, I started to look of octopuses differently after watching My octopus teacher which blew my mind.
 
My graph this week is from Statista’s “The countries with the most women in national parliament” because, for once, Nordic countries do not make the top of the list. I only knew Rwanda was at the top and would never have guessed which were others in the top five.

My quote this week is from Manfred Kets de Vries: “The best leaders are the ones who act and reflect. I sometimes ask them: ‘Can I see your agenda?’ And every moment is full. I ask them: ‘Are you out of your mind?’ Cross out some afternoons, walk around and think.”