33 articles from SUNDAY 8.3.2020
Starwatch: blood-red Antares, the brightest star in Scorpio
This week will offer an opportunity to see the giant star that is 750 times the diameter of the sunEarly risers should look south this week for a nice view of blood-red Antares above the horizon. Often referred to as the heart of the scorpion, Antares is the brightest star in the constellation Scorpio, the scorpion. The star is a red supergiant about 12 times the mass of the sun, 750 times the...
Italy's coronavirus death toll shot up to 366 in a day as the country put 16 million people on lockdown
The 366 identified deaths in the country make the country home to the largest number of infections outside China, where the virus...
Wind-fueled wildfire destroys structures in Oklahoma
Residents in Beaver and Forgan, Oklahoma were urged to evacuate when a quick-moving wildfire ignited on Saturday.The National Weather Service in Amarillo detected a hot spot around 10 a.m., Saturday on Fire Temperature satellite imagery, and tweeted it asking people to avoid the area.> A hot spot has been detected as seen on this Fire Temperature satellite imagery. Please avoid the area. phwx...
Coronavirus: should we keep calm and carry on? | Letters
Readers are pragmatic in the face of growing panic over the spread of Covid-19Simon Jenkins gives a list of “scares” that have not reached the predicted body count (Let them wash your hands, but not your brain, Journal, 7 March). He does not discuss HIV/Aids and the 1918 flu epidemic, which had devastating consequences. All the medical experts he speaks to are “calm”. Yet the World Health...
The Guardian view on scientific progress: it’s important to get things wrong | Editorial
A scientific theory aims to understand the world. It is only when nature reveals an error that it can be refinedAlbert Einstein once remarked that God is subtle, but not malicious. The material world, he thought, was unpredictable. This made the world interesting but not impenetrable. Einstein, who brought lucidity to the deeply hidden, reasoned that “nature hides her secret because of her...
A Yotam Ottolenghi miracle in wildest Suffolk | Brief letters
The Pale Blue Dot | Misheard interview question | Breakdown coach | Marmalade gin | Tahini chicken schnitzelYour report (6 March) suggests that astronauts have seen the Earth “as a pale blue dot”. The Earth will have appeared large to any human spacefarers, as none have travelled beyond the moon. The famous image known as Pale Blue Dot was taken, at the instigation of Carl Sagan, by one of the...
Coronavirus: Foreign Office advice over Italy confuses British holidaymakers
FCO still says travel to Lombardy is largely safe despite quarantine of 16m inhabitantsCoronavirus: live updatesLeaked plan to quarantine 16m Italians sparks chaosThe Foreign Office is facing a backlash over its lack of clear advice for British people with holidays booked in northern Italy and those currently in areas locked down as a result of its escalating coronavirus crisis.The department is...
Parents are struggling to cope as coronavirus worries shut down schools, leaving kids scared and confused
Nearly 300 million children worldwide are facing school closings due to the coronavirus. Parents say managing their kids' unstructured days is...
Sports bodies and TV bosses summoned for coronavirus crisis talks
Government officials to discuss plans for staging sporting events without fans if crisis worsensCoronavirus – live updatesSports bodies and broadcasters have been summoned by the government to discuss plans for staging sporting events without fans if the coronavirus crisis worsens.Officials at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will host the meeting on Monday to look at how to...
Will wet weather erase the April-like conditions across the Northeast this week?
A storm will replace the sunny conditions in the Northeast with wet weather, but how will the recent mild conditions endure?The same storm spreading wet weather across the center of the country and into the Midwest on Monday will move through the Ohio Valley and Northeast for the first few days of the week."Mild air will surge ahead of the wet weather, bringing midspring warmth to cities...
An 88-year-old woman separated from her husband by coronavirus quarantine now talks to him through a nursing home window
The Life Care Nursing Center in Washington is under quarantine. 14 people affiliated with the center have died with the new...
How to boost your immune system to avoid colds and coronavirus
You’re washing your hands 10 times a day and have stopped touching your face. What else can you do to improve your health and avoid bugs?It’s been a long, wet winter. Everybody has got colds, and now we are braced for a coronavirus epidemic. Boosting our immune system has rarely felt more urgent, but, beyond eating more tangerines and hoping for the best, what else can we do?Sheena...
Yukoner's wolverine pics up for 'huge' photojournalism award
Yukon photographer Peter Mather has won awards before for his work, but says his latest nomination is for "the Academy Awards of...
My wardrobe is bursting with sequins – what does that say about me?
How do our clothes affect our mood? Sharon Walker delves into her wardrobe with fashion psychologist Dawnn Karen and finds a poignant explanation for her love of party dressesFriday night, 11pm. I am snapping a selfie in the bedroom mirror. Not for Instagram I hasten to add – no one over 40 should do that – but for my “Best Dressed” folder of outfits. Next to me on a chair is a mountain of...
Rishi Sunak: NHS will get whatever it needs to deal with coronavirus
Chancellor indicates he is willing to write blank cheque to cope with a pandemicCoronavirus – live updatesRishi Sunak, the chancellor, has promised to give the NHS “whatever it needs” to tackle the coronavirus crisis, as he looks at loosening the fiscal rules to allow for more borrowing and spending.Before this week’s budget, Sunak did not say how much in additional resources the NHS would...
Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should I see a doctor?
What are the symptoms caused by the virus from Wuhan in China, how does it spread, and should you call a doctor?Follow our latest coronavirus blog for live news and updatesFind all our coronavirus coverage hereHow to protect yourself from infectionIt is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. Many of...
Lego's colourful plastic bricks to go green
There may be a global revolt against plastic, but Danish toymaker Lego, famous for its multi-coloured plastic building bricks, remains a raging success, even if it, too, aims to go green.
Climate crisis on back-burner as pandemic threat looms
Economic shock waves from the coronavirus outbreak have curbed carbon pollution from China and beyond, but hopes for climate benefits from the slowdown are likely to be dashed quickly, experts say.
Coronavirus won’t end globalisation, but change it hugely for the better | Will Hutton
An unregulated world can be blamed for its spread, but collective action based on evidence could be the best way to stop itIn 2008, the world successfully pulled together – with Britain playing a catalytic role – when faced with the threat of financial collapse. In 2020, confronted with the threat of a global pandemic, it is every country for itself. There has been no international health...
The experts who have guided the British public through coronavirus outbreak
Advisers such as chief medical officer Chris Whitty have restored the public’s faith in officialdomThe public has relied on a number of key individuals to keep them informed of developments in the spread of the coronavirus, including doctors, epidemiologists, researchers and health officials. Here are five of the main players who have helped to restore British faith in the value of...
'Green grandmother' rounds up thousands of pens for recycling
A woman from Blandford, N.S., is trying to make the world a greener place — one pen at a time. Claudia Zinck started collecting pens, markers, highlighters and mechanical pencils for recycling in 2017, and has so far amassed roughly...
Baby agaves carry on legacy of Halifax's most famous plant
Little agaves are sprouting in some Nova Scotia homes, tiny legacies of the Halifax Public Garden’s famous succulent that gained an affectionate following nearly two years...
‘We’re concerned but calm’: five voices from the frontline against Covid-19
In a week when the UK’s defences were ramped up, five workers describe coping with a climate of fearHeadteacher of a primary school in Nottingham Continue reading...
Canada's cyber intelligence agency working on 'Holy Grail' of encryption
Canada’s cyber security centre says it’s working on the “holy grail” of encryption to protect government data from security breaches.
Fears of virus risk to grandparents offering emergency childcare
School closures could force parents to call on older relatives for help – perhaps exposing them to infectionGrandparents are expected to come under pressure to step in to provide childcare if schools shut as a result of the coronavirus, but this could increase their already heightened risk of contracting the illness.Boris Johnson last week played down the prospect of widespread school closures,...