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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...