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233 articles from Guardian Unlimited Science

Coronavirus: US bars foreign nationals who have recently travelled to China

CDC says situation in China ‘serious’ but risk to US public lowTemporary ban for non-Americans travelling from ChinaWhat is the coronavirus and how worried should we be?The Trump administration has declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus outbreak and announced it will temporarily bar entry to the US for people traveling from China unless they are Americans or immediately...

Britons on evacuation flight from Wuhan tell of relief and confusion

Some forced to leave behind loved ones due to short notice after China lifted restrictionsCoronavirus: live updatesBritons who were on board the evacuation flight from Wuhan have spoken of the confusion surrounding their departure, with some still having to leave loved ones behind.The flight, carrying 87 Britons and 27 foreign nationals from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city, touched down at RAF...

University apologizes for saying xenophobia is 'common reaction' to coronavirus spread

University of California, Berkeley said on Instagram that spread of the illness may lead to ‘fears about interacting with those who might be from Asia’Coronovirus - latest updatesThe University of California, Berkeley apologized on Thursday evening for an Instagram posting that listed xenophobia and “fears about interacting with those who might be from Asia” as a common reaction to the...

Coronavirus outbreak: Britons fly out of Wuhan as death toll passes 200

Flight carrying 83 British people and 27 foreign nationals will land in the UK on Friday as US tells citizens ‘don’t go to China’Coronavirus – latest updatesA plane carrying more than 100 British and other EU nationals trapped in Wuhan, the city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, has left for the UK after Chinese spouses and partners were given permission to travel.The chartered...

The race to the deep – Science Weekly podcast

Sixty years ago, explorers first descended the 11,000 metres to the Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench, the deepest known point in the ocean. In the intervening decades we have discovered more about this mysterious and peculiar environment and its inhabitants. Nicola Davis speaks to Dr Jon Copley about the race to the ocean floor and what is lurking down there in the deep. Continue...

A man lies dead in the street: the image that captures the Wuhan coronavirus crisis

‘These days, many have died,’ says bystander as image shows workers in protective suits and masks taking body awayCoronavirus – latest updatesIt is an image that captures the chilling reality of the coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan: a grey-haired man wearing a face mask lies dead on the pavement, a plastic shopping bag in one hand, as police and medical staff in full...

Poorer countries suffer most from global health crises, we need help to handle coronavirus | Dr Claude Posala

Pacific nations, still reeling from a devastating measles outbreak, have watched news out of Wuhan in panicAs Pacific Islanders watched updates about the coronavirus outbreak over the past few weeks, unease soon gave way to panic.Still reeling in shock from a measles outbreak in Samoa, Pacific Islanders’ fears were stoked as it became apparent that even large, well-developed countries were...


THURSDAY 30. JANUARY 2020


WHO declares coronavirus a global health emergency

Organization’s head says move no reflection on China and warns against travel bans to countryThe Wuhan coronavirus outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared, but he warned governments not to impose travel or trade restrictions on China.Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization decided to declare an...

Coronavirus: what other public health emergencies has the WHO declared?

Five previous emergencies declared since 2009 with some still active The Wuhan coronavirus is just the latest disease that the World Health Organization (WHO) has labelled as a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC). In the past 10 years there have been five other such announcements, covering four diseases.However, the Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers) coronavirus,...

Birds, insects, animal poo: citizen science search for data to make sense of bushfire devastation

Scientists call on the public as they scramble to understand the impact of unprecedented fires across Australia Australians are being asked to join a mass citizen science program to photograph how the nation’s habitats and wildlife are responding in the wake of the unprecedented bushfire crisis.The scale of the bushfires that have so far burned about 11m hectares across the country has...

Neanderthal genes found for first time in African populations

Findings suggest human and Neanderthal lineages more closely intertwined that once thoughtAfrican populations have been revealed to share Neanderthal ancestry for the first time, in findings that add a new twist to the tale of ancient humans and our closest known relatives.Previously it was believed that only non-African populations carried Neanderthal genes due to interbreeding that took place...

Wilbur Ross says coronavirus outbreak could bring back jobs to the US

Commerce secretary says ‘I think it will help accelerate the return of jobs to North America, some to the US’The US commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, said in an interview on Thursday that the coronavirus outbreak could bring back jobs to America.In controversial comments on morning TV, Ross remarked that the deadly illness that has broken out in China and is spreading internationally could lead...

Coronavirus: 6,000 locked down on cruise ship off Italy – live news

WHO says whole world must be on alert for Wuhan virus as UK citizens in Hubei told they will be flown home on FridayDisabled teenager in China dies alone after relatives quarantinedCoronavirus: Britons stuck in Wuhan to be flown home on Friday6,000 passengers stuck on cruise ship in Italy over coronavirus fearsShare your stories 3.22pm GMT Hello world. This is Damien Gayle taking on the live blog...

When old films go viral: how coronavirus gave Contagion an unexpected afterlife

Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 thriller about the spread of a deadly virus has been back in the iTunes Top 10 – so is this epidemic another thing we can blame on Gwyneth Paltrow?Conventional wisdom has it that audiences flock to escapism in troubled times, but an unexpected new entry on the UK iTunes movie rental chart suggests otherwise. Nestling among the current hits is a film made nine years ago...

What is coronavirus and how worried should we be?

What are the symptoms caused by the virus from Wuhan in China, how is it transmitted from one person to another, and at what point should you see a doctor?Coronavirus: how to protect yourself from infectionIt is a novel coronavirus – that is to say, a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. Many of those...

The US government claims I'm a 'domestic terrorist'. Am I? | Ken Ward

I shut down an oil pipeline as part of a peaceful protest. The government thinks this is violent extremismIn the early hours of 11 October 2016, I closed a safety valve on an oil pipeline in Skagit county, Washington.I was acting as part of the “Valve Turners” direct action against climate change. Five of us, in locations across four states, succeeded in shutting down all five pipelines...

Wuhan coronavirus grown by scientists in Melbourne – video

Scientists at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne have grown the novel coronavirus from a patient sample, which they plan to share internationally under advice from the World Health Organization to provide data to fight the virus.The virus has also been grown in cell culture in China, but the breakthrough in Melbourne will allow accurate investigation and diagnosis...


WEDNESDAY 29. JANUARY 2020


The Guardian view on China and the coronavirus: scrutiny, not stigma | Editorial

It’s right to scrutinise the official response to the outbreak, but that does not justify spreading wild rumours or discriminating against Chinese peopleThe coronavirus outbreak that began in Wuhan has shown how far and fast a disease can travel in our globalised age. It has also shown us how quickly fear, misinformation and blame can spread, only hindering the fight against the...

Scientists build robot hand that can sweat

Fingers made of hydrogels layers have pores that ooze water to cool downNever mind their cold, hard logic and tireless dedication to the task at hand – the most unappealing aspect of robots to come may well be their personal hygiene.In a demonstration of how to build machines that do not overheat, researchers have created a robot hand that regulates its temperature naturally – by breaking into...

Africa’s colonisation of the English language continues apace | Afua Hirsch

The British empire forced its colonies to abandon their own languages. Now they are making English their ownThere is one expression I have grown up hearing from relatives of a certain age, but never been able to accept. It’s the description of Twi – the Akan language spoken by my family – as “the vernacular”, a term which implicitly compares it with the colonial language, English, and...

Telescope captures most detailed pictures yet of the sun

First observations from Inouye telescope bring previously hazy star into sharp focusThe sun’s turbulent surface has been revealed in unprecedented detail in the first observations by the Inouye solar telescope in Hawaii.The striking images reveal a surprising level of structure hidden within the churning plasma exterior, bringing a previously hazy impression of the sun’s patchwork surface...

Iraqi discoveries help shed light on British Museum treasures

Work of trainees in Iraq has enabled new understanding of objects going on show in UKFor decades they have been part of the collection of the British Museum, appreciated for their individual significance but in many cases shorn of much of their context owing to the circumstances of their discovery and retrieval during the buccaneering period of early archaeology.Now dozens of important artefacts...