THE popularity of comic-book stars such as Superman or blockbuster Hollywood franchises such as The Avengers are testament to the appeal in the popular imagination of having superpowers.
However, the reality is we struggle away in the gym just to lose a little bit of weight, and no matter how many abdominal crunches we do, we never seem to attain the six-pack of our latex-clad heroes.
Surely, we want to get fitter – at least partly – so we can beat back the bugs?
Charles Atlas became the most famous bodybuilder of his day when a series of famous comic-book-style ads ran in newspapers across the US. The cartoon followed the story of a seven-stone weakling, humiliated in front of his girlfriend by having sand kicked in his face by a well-built hunk on the beach. Sick of being pushed around, the skinny kid takes up the Charles Atlas system for building muscles, returning to the seaside to kick the crap out of the original beach bully.
But what if you were told that there is a very simple, practically painless way to take a giant leap into ‘superhuman’ status, and it doesn’t involve any of the exertions required by the Charles Atlas system?
This is the argument of a recent investigation entitled Toward superhuman SARS-CoV-2 immunity?1 published by two eminent scientists, Dennis Burton, professor of immunology and microbiology and Eric Topol, professor of molecular medicine, both from the Scripps Research Institute, USA.
In their analysis published in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine, the two researchers’ argument that in many cases, “natural infection gives better immunity than vaccination” is, in fact, true.
As long as you survive the infection, there are certainly many germs for which natural infection induces stronger immune responses and more long-lived immunity than does vaccination.
Measles is a good example. While there is a clear risk of death, severe inflammation of the brain and pneumonia from the infection, before there was a vaccine, if you survived, you did gain robust lifelong immunity.
Vaccination against measles, on the other hand, requires two shots and may not offer complete lifelong protection. But it has proven to be good enough to keep the disease at bay when widely implemented.
In the case of measles, vaccination is better than just waiting to get infected with the actual disease because it is safer and also prevents transmission, so more effectively stifles the spread of the dangerous and highly infectious bug.
However, in contrast to the measles virus, there are a number of germs for which vaccination generates stronger immune responses and more-effective protection against disease than does natural infection.
In these cases, these scientists argue, man-made vaccines render you, in a sense, ‘superhuman’; that is, it gives immune responses superior to those generated by mere mortals, in response to infection.
Vaccines in a sense, make you ‘bionic’, to refer to a famous TV series from the 1970s, The Six Million Dollar Man. Steve Austin is an astronaut who, after being seriously injured, undergoes surgery which rebuilds damaged bits of his body with machine parts, rendering him better, faster, stronger, than merely human.
The bacterium that causes tetanus is a good example of this ability of vaccines to render you ‘bionic’. Spores of tetanus bacteria are everywhere in the environment, including soil, dust, and manure. They develop into bacteria when they enter the body through breaks in the skin, such as in cuts contaminated with dirt, faeces, or saliva, in particular.
People often call tetanus “lockjaw” because one of the most common symptoms is a frightening tightening of the jaw muscles, leading to being unable to open your mouth, and resulting in severe difficulty swallowing and breathing. Two in 10 cases can be fatal and it is a horrible way to die.
Infection results in production of the highly potent tetanus toxin in small amounts that are sufficient to cause severe disease, but not enough to generate a strong immune response.
The current UK immunisation policy recommends five doses of tetanus and diphtheria vaccines, starting at two months and ending between 13 and 18 years of age.
The vaccine renders you superhuman in the face of tetanus; your body kicks sand in the face of this bacterium every time it comes at you, because you stepped on something sharp penetrating your skin.
Among viruses, two classic cases where vaccines generate immunity superior to that generated by natural infection are the varicella zoster virus (chickenpox), which can lead to shingles; and human papillomavirus (HPV), some strains of which cause various cancers, including cervical, penile and throat malignancies.
Did you not know you can get vaccinated against cancer? If you can no longer get certain cancers because of a vaccine, has it not, in a sense, made you ‘superhuman’?
The varicella zoster virus, or chicken pox, can get re-activated in later life, where it can then lead to shingles. Immunity arising from the primary infection does not prevent the disease in those who develop shingles. After you have had chickenpox, the virus lies inactive in nerve tissue near to spinal cord and brain. If you become immune suppressed for some reason, it can reactivate, causing very painful lesions and, in some cases, permanent scarring of the cornea and glaucoma is the result. One in 100 people over the age of 80 get shingles.
However, the recently developed vaccines, Zostavax and Shingrix, do offer protection against shingles. Effective vaccines are administered to those over 50 years of age in many countries.
Perhaps the best example of immunity superior to that induced by infection is the vaccine against HPV. The strains that cause genital cancers enter the body via skin contact, and the immune responses induced are weak and take a long time to develop.
In contrast, intramuscular injections of one of the vaccines against HPV induce potent neutralising immune responses, blocking entry of the virus into target cells. The vaccines against HPV have been shown to offer complete protection against cervical cancer, the fourth most frequent cancer in women.
Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust2 explains that HPV is a common virus that most of us will have at some point in our lives. There are over 200 types, each with its own number. There are 13 HPV types linked to cancer, called high-risk HPV. The HPV vaccine aims to stop you getting some high-risk types. The HPV vaccine could prevent two-thirds of cervical cancers in women younger than 30 by 2025. But this will only happen if at least eight in 10 (80 per cent) people have the HPV vaccine when offered.
The NHS HPV vaccination drive in schools started in 2008 and was only offered to girls. It was thought this would also be of enough benefit to boys, as they would be protected indirectly thanks to girls being vaccinated (sometimes called herd protection).
In 2018, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises UK health departments on immunisation, decided the HPV vaccine should also be offered to boys. The evidence shows that offering boys the HPV vaccine will help protect against a number of HPV-related cancers and conditions, including head and neck (oropharyngeal) cancers, penile and anal cancer, as well as genital warts. It will also strengthen herd protection – this means helping protect anyone who is not vaccinated or is has not had all the doses.
Among Asians, there are fears that vaccinating adolescent girls against HPV infection will encourage sex due to the protection against sexually transmitted HPV. Vaccinating young adolescent children against HPV appears to more sexually conservative Asians to condone early sexual initiation3.
The HPV vaccine is best given before the onset of sexual activity and the evidence shows no increase in the promiscuity of those who have received the HPV vaccine, compared to unvaccinated girls.
Where does the coronavirus responsible for the current pandemic, referred to as SARS-CoV-2, lie along the spectrum of natural infection versus vaccine-induced protective efficacy?
The initial results from interim analyses by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna of mRNA vaccines showing a reduction in infections of around 95 per cent are very encouraging.
So, if you want to become superhuman, fast, forget the gym. A suitable vaccine can deliver much more powerful immunity than if you got an infection naturally and relied on your body mounting its normal response to future attacks. Vaccines turn you into a superhuman in just weeks, and you don’t have to undergo the Charles Atas muscle strengthening system.
If you don’t want the jab, if you prefer to remain that seven-stone weakling, then remember there are bugs, and buggers, out there, waiting to kick sand in your face.
References: 1Burton, DR, Topol, EJ Toward superhuman SARS-CoV-2 immunity?. Nat Med 27, 5–6 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-01180-x 2
2Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust: www.jostrust.org.uk.
3Multidimensional social and cultural norms influencing HPV vaccine hesitancy in Asia Li Ping Wong, Pooi-Fong Wong, Megat Mohamad Amirul Amzar Megat Hashim, Liyuan Han, Yulan Lin, Zhijian Hu Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics Volume 16, 2020; Issue 7, Pages 1611-1622. Received Jan 30, 2020, accepted Apr 11, 2020, published online May 19, 2020.
King Charles, wearing a black armband to pay respects to the victims of Air India plane crash, attends the Trooping the Colour parade on his official birthday in London. (Photo: Reuters)
A MINUTE's silence for the victims of the Air India plane crash was observed on Saturday during the Trooping the Colour parade in London marking King Charles's official birthday. Some members of the royal family wore black armbands during the ceremony.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said King Charles, 76, had requested changes to the parade “as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy”.
The crash on Thursday involved a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that was taking off from Ahmedabad in eastern India and heading to London's Gatwick Airport. A total of 279 people, including passengers, crew and individuals on the ground, were killed.
Among the victims were 52 Britons. The only survivor identified so far is British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh from Leicester.
Following the disaster, King Charles said in a written statement that he was “desperately shocked by the terrible events” and extended his “deepest possible sympathy”.
Royal family attends parade
Trooping the Colour is a military tradition that dates back over 200 years and marks the monarch's official birthday. The event begins at Buckingham Palace, proceeds down The Mall, and concludes at Horse Guards Parade, where the King receives a royal salute and inspects the troops.
Hundreds of people gathered along The Mall and outside the palace to view the event. A small group of anti-monarchy protesters were present, carrying yellow signs that read “not my king” and “down with the crown”.
King Charles, who continues weekly treatment for an unspecified cancer, was accompanied by Queen Camilla. Also present were Prince William, 42, his wife Catherine, and their children George, 11, Charlotte, 10, and Louis, seven.
No appearance by Harry and Meghan
Catherine, 43, the Princess of Wales, had earlier announced in March 2024 that she had been diagnosed with an unspecified cancer. In January 2025, she said she was “in remission” and has since gradually resumed public engagements.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan did not attend the event. The couple stepped down from royal duties in 2020 and now live in the United States. Reports in the UK media suggest that relations between Harry and other members of the royal family remain strained, with minimal communication between him and his brother William.
Although Trooping the Colour is held in June, King Charles was born in November. The tradition of a second birthday celebration was introduced in 1748 by King George II to ensure the monarch’s birthday could be marked in better weather.
Saturday's parade coincided with a major military parade in Washington led by US President Donald Trump on his 79th birthday.
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They were all remanded in custody, except Bashir, who absconded before the trial began. (Photo: Greater Manchester Police)
SEVEN men were convicted on Friday in the UK’s latest grooming trial, after a jury heard that two girl victims were forced to have sex “with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and on rancid mattresses”.
Jurors at the court in Manchester, northwest England, deliberated for three weeks before finding the seven men, all of whom are of South Asian descent, guilty of rape.
Mohammed Zahid, 64, Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, Kasir Bashir, 50, Mohammed Shahzad, 44, Naheem Akram, 48, Roheez Khan, 39, and Nisar Hussain, 41, will be sentenced at a later date, but judge Jonathan Seely warned that they face “lengthy prison sentences”.
They were all remanded in custody, except Bashir, who absconded before the trial began.
Operation Lytton and police investigation
The men were prosecuted as part of Operation Lytton, an investigation launched by Greater Manchester Police in 2015 into historical child sexual exploitation in Rochdale, a town near Manchester.
The issue has long been seized upon by far-right British figures, including notorious influencer Tommy Robinson, but has also been adopted as a rallying cry by the Conservatives and Nigel Farage’s hard-right Reform UK party.
The issue of grooming gangs received international attention earlier in the year when US tech billionaire Elon Musk launched incendiary attacks on his X platform against the UK government after it resisted calls for a national inquiry.
Over the course of several decades, men of mostly South Asian origin in various English towns are suspected of having sexually abused thousands of mostly white girls from working class families, often from troubled homes.
Court testimony on abuse
Prosecutor Rossano Scamardella said during the trial that the men had abused the two girls for several years from the age of 13 — between 2001 and 2006.
“They were often forced to have oral sex and vaginal sex with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and on rancid mattresses,” he said.
“On other occasions they would be required to have sex in cars, car parks, alleyways or disused warehouses. Wherever and whenever these men wanted it.
“They were children passed around for sex; abused, degraded and then discarded,” he added.
One of the alleged victims was also “being exploited and abused by many other Asian men” not in the dock, said Scamardella.
Police response and apology
Following the verdicts, detective superintendent Alan Clitherow, of Greater Manchester Police, apologised for not acting earlier.
“There was information at the time that police and other agencies could, and should, have done something with, and we didn’t,” he said.
“The way those victims were dealt with at the time is indefensible and inexcusable. We have made comprehensive apologies for that.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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Karun Thakar is a leading textile collector with a lifelong focus on Asian and African textiles
THE KARUN THAKAR FUND, established by textile collector Karun Thakar in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), supports the study of Asian and African textiles and dress through scholarships and project grants.
The fund offers one-time Scholarship Awards of up to £10,000 for university students worldwide focusing on any aspect of Asian or African textiles and dress. Undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students from any accredited university are eligible, provided their research or practice is clearly linked to these areas. The next round of Scholarship Award applications opens on 1 May 2025 and closes at 23:59 on July 15, 2025.
Karun Thakar is a leading textile collector with a lifelong focus on Asian and African textiles. He began collecting in the early 1980s and has built an extensive private collection ranging from 14th-century Indian trade cloths to West African loom weavings.
“From July 2021, The Karun Thakar Fund will offer scholarships to student practitioners and researchers studying any aspect of Asian or African textile/dress design or history,” the fund states. “Awardees’ work will be shared here, creating a platform for international conversation and knowledge exchange.”
Project Grants of up to £5,000—and up to £10,000 in exceptional cases—are also available for projects focused on Asian or African textiles or dress. The last round of Project Grants was allocated in 2024. These grants are open to emerging and early-career researchers, curators, practitioners, community leaders, and small not-for-profit groups operating in the UK or internationally.
“I am really excited to see what light we can shine through this fund,” said Karun. “The committee is looking at innovative ways to reach potential applicants who have new and radical approaches.”
The Selection Committee includes Karun Thakar, Gus Casely-Hayford, Christine Checinska, Ben Evans, Avalon Fotheringham, Lulu Lytle, Divia Patel, and Siddhartha Shah.
Ambulance are seen parked near the post-mortem room at a hospital before transferring victims' dead bodies to a mortuary in Ahmedabad on June 13, 2025, a day after Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area.
GRIEVING families waited on Saturday for updates after one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent decades, as the death toll from the Air India crash rose to 279.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner issued a mayday call shortly before crashing around midday on Thursday. The aircraft burst into flames as it hit residential buildings in the northern Indian city of Ahmedabad.
A police source confirmed to AFP on Saturday that 279 bodies had been recovered from the site. The crash is among the worst aviation disasters of the 21st century.
There was one survivor among the 242 passengers and crew members on board. The tail section of the aircraft remained lodged in a hostel for medical staff.
At least 38 people on the ground were also killed.
"I saw my child for the first time in two years, it was a great time," said Anil Patel, whose son and daughter-in-law had come to visit before taking the flight.
"And now, there is nothing," he said, breaking down. "Whatever the gods wanted has happened."
Search for black box continues
Relatives of the victims have been providing DNA samples in Ahmedabad. Some family members have flown in to assist in the identification process.
The final casualty figure will only be confirmed once DNA testing is completed.
According to Air India, the aircraft was carrying 169 Indian nationals, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian citizen, along with 12 crew members.
The victims included a senior politician and a teenage tea seller.
The only survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, spoke to national broadcaster DD News from his hospital bed. A British citizen, Ramesh said, "Initially, I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive."
Aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said on Friday that a flight data recorder had been found. "It would significantly aid" the investigation, he said.
Forensic teams are still searching for the second black box as investigators try to determine why the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, reaching a height of only 100 metres (330 feet).
US aircraft manufacturer Boeing said it was in contact with Air India and "ready to support them" regarding the incident. A source close to the investigation said this was the first crash involving a 787 Dreamliner.
(With inputs from agencies)
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A view shows the wreckage of the tail section of an Air India aircraft, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, which crashed during take-off from airport in Ahmedabad. (Photo: Reuters)
THE INVESTIGATION into the Air India crash that killed more than 240 people is focusing on the aircraft's engine, flaps, and landing gear.
The Indian aviation regulator has ordered safety checks on the airline’s entire Boeing 787 fleet, reported Reuters.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, with 242 people on board and headed to Gatwick Airport near London, began losing altitude shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad. CCTV footage showed the aircraft crashing into a residential area and erupting into a fireball after hitting buildings.
Only one passenger survived. Local media reported that up to 24 people on the ground were also killed when the plane hit a medical college hostel during lunchtime.
This is the deadliest aviation accident globally in the past ten years.
Probe focuses on aircraft components
A source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters the investigation is examining several factors, including engine thrust, flap deployment, and why the landing gear was still down during take-off. The plane lost height and crashed moments after leaving the runway.
The probe is also looking into possible maintenance issues and whether Air India was at fault, the source said.
A bird-hit is not among the primary areas being investigated, the source added. Anti-terrorism teams are also involved in the probe.
The Indian government is considering whether to ground the Boeing 787 fleet during the investigation. Air India, Boeing, and the aviation ministry have not commented on this yet.
Air India operates more than 30 Dreamliners, including Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft. An Air India source said the airline has not received any communication about grounding the fleet so far.
Safety checks ordered on Dreamliner fleet
India’s aviation regulator has directed Air India to carry out additional maintenance checks on its Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft with GEnx engines. This includes a "one-time check" of take-off parameters before each flight starting from midnight on 15 June.
The regulator also asked the airline to add flight control system checks during transit inspections and to complete power assurance checks within two weeks. These are aimed at confirming the engine can generate the necessary power.
Flight data recorder recovered
The aviation ministry said investigators have recovered the digital flight data recorder from the rooftop of the building where the plane crashed. The cockpit voice recorder, the second black box, has not yet been found.
The Tata Group, which took over Air India from the government in 2022 and later merged it with Vistara, is part of the investigation. Tata Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said in an internal memo that investigators from India, the UK, and the US have arrived. “We don’t know right now,” he said. “We want to understand what happened and will be fully transparent.”
GE Aerospace, which manufactures the aircraft engines, said it supports the regulator’s actions. “Safety is our top priority,” a GE Aerospace spokesperson said. “We are committed to providing all technical support necessary to understand the cause of this accident.”
Rescue operations completed
On Friday, rescue workers completed search operations at the crash site. Teams were searching buildings for missing people, bodies, and aircraft parts that could assist the investigation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the site in Gujarat, where he was briefed on rescue operations and met some of the injured in hospital. “The scene of devastation is saddening,” he said on X.
This is the first crash involving a Boeing Dreamliner since the aircraft began commercial service in 2011, according to the Aviation Safety Network. The aircraft involved in Thursday’s crash first flew in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014, according to Flightradar24.
The passengers included 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian.