Google AI
The Times Australia

Times Media

LB.1, or D-FLiRT, is the newest COVID subvariant. What do we know about it? Where has it come from?

  • Written by: Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of South Australia
LB.1, or D-FLiRT, is the newest COVID subvariant. What do we know about it? Where has it come from?Mayboon/Shutterstock

Headlines are again warning of a new COVID variant in Australia. This time it’s LB.1, or as some experts have dubbed it, “D-FLiRT”.

Emerging evidence suggests LB.1 could be more transmissible than earlier Omicron subvariants, though there’s nothing to suggest it will cause more severe disease.

But before...

Read more: LB.1, or D-FLiRT, is the newest COVID subvariant. What do we know about it? Where has it come from?

Times Magazine

The computer is disappearing — because computing is moving into everything around us

For most of the history of computing, using a computer has involved going to one. The first compu...

Old Phones, Big Impact: Queensland Councils Turn Tech Junk Drawers Into Recycling Wins

Cairns Regional Council has topped MobileMuster’s FY26 council collection figures in Queensland, w...

Why Extending the Life of Mobile Phones Matters for Australia

Extending a phone’s life begins with preparing it for reuse, repair or responsible recycling. Image ...

Technology

The computer is disappearing — beca…

For most of the history of computing, using a computer has involved going to one. The first compu...

Local News

Psychology clinic in Tasmania opens…

In response to Tasmania’s growing mental health crisis, a new purpose-built, multi-disciplinary me...

Culture

The computer is disappearing — because comput…

For most of the history of computing, using a computer has involved going to one. The first compu...

Travel

Cairns Esplanade Lagoon — the stage where Cai…

“All the world's a stage.” Shakespeare wasn't writing about Cairns when he penned that famous lin...

The Times Features

You joined social media to communicate — when did you a…

There was once a fairly simple bargain at the heart of social media. You joined a network. You c...

Psychosocial Risk Rules Have Changed: As an Employer, A…

Since 1 July, Australian organisations have faced strengthened expectations around how they manage...

Why Spring Is the Real Deadline for a WA Lawn Renovatio…

Every spring, I watch the same thing happen. A homeowner looks at their lawn properly for the firs...