Good morning,

• A German study has shown for the first time a correlation between lockdowns and a drop in IQ among school children. In the study conducted by Trier University, children's IQ was evaluated after they had been put into home schooling and compared to results from the years 2002 and 2012. Researchers found a reversal of the so-called Flynn effect (whereby IQ has risen from generation to generation). Whereas average IQ in 2002 was 112, it dropped in 2020 to 105. Researchers say that, while they can't prove causation, there is reason to believe that lockdowns made children less smart. “The pandemic has resulted in students either not having classes at all or having many fewer classes. This has had an impact, as our research suggests, not only on their learning but also on their intelligence test performance,” the head of the study said.

  • BACKGROUND: Are German children getting dumber?

• Germany's former royal family have given up its long-running legal battle to get back its palaces