Perhaps the single biggest implication of reopening national economies is that responsibility and thus liability for dealing with the covid-19 pandemic will shift from the public to the private sector. Fortune 500 CEOs right through to small business owners will soon be making decisions that affect not only the health of their business but also their people—employees, contractors, customers,...

World’s largest vaccine maker in talks with governments over manufacturing expansionCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageGlaxoSmithKline plans to produce 1bn doses of vaccine efficacy boosters, or adjuvants, next year for use in Covid-19 treatment.The world’s largest vaccine maker said it was in talks with governments to back a manufacturing expansion that would help...

About a month after shelter-in-place orders began in her area, Shaylee Mansfield—an 11-year-old deaf actress in Austin, Texas—posted a video on Twitter. For over 30 years, DHH people fought for captioning. More people r now relying on technology during coronavirus. Shaylee Mansfield, Deaf girl, had enough! She sends a loud message to @instagram to add #instacaptioning on their platform for...

Nearly two dozen states and several cities on Wednesday filed a legal challenge to the Trump administration's rollback of Obama-era mileage standards, saying science backed up the old regulations developed with the help of the nation's car makers.

Perennial warm-season grasses do not provide high-quality forage during mid to late-summer, which limits yearling stocker cattle from maintaining high rates of growth in the Southern Great Plains. This shortage has resulted in a continual search by researchers for annual legumes that can provide sufficient amounts of nutritious forage during August through September.

Council leaders warn they lack powers to make local lockdowns work, as Tory MPs resist PM’s call to move on from the Dominic Cummings furoreTory anger at Cummings grows as dozens of MPs defy Boris JohnsonHancock: it is public’s ‘civic duty’ to follow test-and-trace instructionsGovernment target of 200,000 Covid-19 tests ‘meaningless’ – expertsGlobal coronavirus updates - liveSee all...

From social media addiction to the discovery of musical genius – is the alleviation of boredom what really drives the world?According to the great proto-existentialist philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, the life of a human or other beast “swings like a pendulum back and forth between pain and boredom”. Indeed, pain (or want) and boredom are the two main constituents of existence, and not...

A summary of the biggest developments in the global coronavirus outbreakFollow our latest coronavirus blog for live news and updatesKey developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include: Continue...

Senior scientists say published data on testing doesn’t adhere to basic rules of statisticsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe government’s target of hitting 200,000 Covid-19 daily tests by Monday has been described as “meaningless” by senior scientists, who say that the published data on testing does not adhere to the basic rules of statistics.Experts told...

Test and tracing is launching today but, as the lockdown eases, it will need to be massively stepped up to have a significant impact David Hunter is professor of epidemiology at the University of OxfordCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageWe all now know the basics – the R is the average number of people someone infected with Covid-19 passes the virus on to. If it...

New archaeological discoveries in the Bacho Kiro cave in Bulgaria have revealed that modern humans co-existed with Neanderthals for several thousand years. Nicola Davis speaks to Prof Jean-Jacques Hublin about the excavations, and what their findings tell us about when modern humans first arrived in Europe Continue...

Early exposure to anesthetics may make adolescents more susceptible to developing alcohol use disorder (AUD), according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.

Type 2 diabetes, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, affects American Indians and Alaska Natives at three times the rate of white Americans.American Indians and Alaska Natives face additional environmental and socio-economic challenges, including historical marginalization, less access to health care and exposure to toxic metals in the water.

State and federal lawmakers have expressed interest in creating a public health insurance option, with four different bills that would create a federal public option being introduced in the Congress in 2019.A new study that modeled four scenarios for offering a government-sponsored health plan finds that a public option could lower the cost of premiums, but on its own it is unlikely to...

Research identifies tepary bean and guar as potential summer forages.

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports have demonstrated that physical activity prompts a clean-up of muscles as the protein Ubiquitin tags onto worn-out proteins, causing them to be degraded. This prevents the accumulation of damaged proteins and helps keep muscles healthy.

The amount of scarring in damaged kidneys as a result of diabetes or acute injury, is a key factor in determining treatment. But it has not been possible, using traditional techniques, to quickly and accurately assess how widespread this kind of wounding extends within the organ. Now, however, a physicist and chemist at Georgetown University Medical Center has shown that a microscope he began...

Study finds 89% of people working from home want to stay there, at least part time, when workplaces reopenCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA study of New Zealanders working from home during coronavirus lockdown has found many were just as productive as when they were in the office, and a majority were reluctant to return to traditional workplaces.New Zealand went into...

Exclusive: Australian researchers query origin of data used for Lancet study, but stress there is no evidence drug is a safe or effective treatment• Sign up for Guardian Australia’s daily coronavirus email• Download the free Guardian app to get the most important news notifications Questions have been raised by Australian infectious disease researchers about a study published in the Lancet...