Luis Miguel works on cloning the Voynich manuscript. Cesar Manso / AFP
Luis Miguel works on cloning the Voynich manuscript. Cesar Manso / AFP
Luis Miguel works on cloning the Voynich manuscript. Cesar Manso / AFP
Luis Miguel works on cloning the Voynich manuscript. Cesar Manso / AFP

Codebreakers


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For years the Voynich manuscript has intrigued and infuriated scholars. This weathered book, written in a language no one can read, and with illustrations of plants no one can identify, remains a black hole to historians. While some maintain it is a hoax, others have looked at the writing and concluded it is a real language – even if it is one that no one living can understand.

In the internet age, the manuscript has gained a new audience and a new lease of life. It is intriguing that a language, if that is what is written, could emerge without any links to any other known languages. It is unusual that illustrations of plants cannot be correlated with known species.

Yet the real power of the Voynich manuscript may be its indecipherability. In a world where too much about the past is too easily explained, the manuscript reminds us that there are many things still with us that cannot easily be understood. Knowledge is power, but a lack of knowledge gives the great gift of humility.

Company profile

Name: Oulo.com

Founder: Kamal Nazha

Based: Dubai

Founded: 2020

Number of employees: 5

Sector: Technology

Funding: $450,000

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Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

Director: Scott Cooper

Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong

Rating: 4/5

Sinopharm vaccine explained

The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades. 

“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.

"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."

This is then injected into the body.

"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.

"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."

The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.

Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.

“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.

VEZEETA PROFILE

Date started: 2012

Founder: Amir Barsoum

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: HealthTech / MedTech

Size: 300 employees

Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)

Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC

The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

'Morbius'

Director: Daniel Espinosa 

Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona

Rating: 2/5

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Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home. 

The biog

Name: Ayisha Abdulrahman Gareb

Age: 57

From: Kalba

Occupation: Mukrema, though she washes bodies without charge

Favourite things to do: Visiting patients at the hospital and give them the support they need.
Role model: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.

 

Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

Available: Now

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000