28 articles from SATURDAY 14.3.2020

Scientists urge government to enforce social distancing now

Hundreds of scientists have supported an open letter pressing for ‘more restrictive measures’ to contain coronavirusCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageHundreds of scientists have written to the government urging immediate “more restrictive measures” be brought in to enforce social distancing, following the action plan it announced on Thursday.The 245 UK people...

Brexit means coronavirus vaccine will be slower to reach the UK

And it will cost more here because of the UK pulling out of the European Medicines Agency on 30 December• Three experts explain why Brexit leaves the UK less able to respond to pandemic• Coronavirus – latest updates• See all our coronavirus coverageThe UK faces having to wait longer and pay more to acquire a coronavirus vaccine because it has left the EU, health experts and international...

Ex-Obama official warns US health system faces 'tsunami' over coronavirus

Andy Slavitt, formerly Medicare and Medicaid administrator, tweets outline of threat after ‘Trump’s months-long denial’Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageHospitals in the US could be overrun by coronavirus cases in little more than a week, a former Obama administration senior health official has warned, fearing a “tsunami-like” escalation that would leave tens...

Brexit threatens UK’s ability to respond to a future pandemic

The coronavirus should remind us of just why international cooperation is so important in reducing the threat of infectious disease• Coronavirus – latest updates• See all our coronavirus coverageBrexit threatens the UK’s ability to respond to the novel coronavirus and future pandemicsThe coronavirus pandemic could not have come at a worse time for the UK and its citizens. Just as UK...

What is a pandemic and does it change the approach to coronavirus?

The WHO has declared the Covid-19 outbreak to be a pandemic. But what does that mean?Coronavirus latest - live updatesHow to protect yourself from infectionDeclaring a pandemic has nothing to do with changes to the characteristics of a disease, but is instead associated with concerns over its geographic spread. According to the World Health Organization, a pandemic is declared when a new disease...

The great divide is between the well and the sick – as we’re all learning | Nick Cohen

It’s only when we run out of luck that we comprehend how precarious life can beSpeaking to parliament in 1855 as the carnage of the Crimean war grew, the radical MP John Bright produced an imperishable image. “The angel of death has been abroad throughout the land, you may almost hear the beating of his wings.”Death’s wings are beating countless millions towards the world of the sick...

My autism led me to become a champion of outsiders

Charlotte Amelia Poe grew up knowing she was different. Now it’s her mission – through her art and writing – to bring about changeFor artist and writer Charlotte Amelia Poe, 30, every day feels like a walk across a frozen pond. “It’s how it’s always been,” she explains. “You’re trying to navigate it and stay safe, but you’re aware that at any moment the ice is likely to crack,...

Fake news about Covid-19 can be as dangerous as the virus | John Naughton

We’re fighting an ‘infodemic’ as well as a pandemic. A bit of online self-discipline is urgently requiredOn 15 February the director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, addressed the Munich Security conference. At that moment, there were 66,000 cases of Covid-19 in China, and only 505 in the rest of the world. So most of us were probably still assuming...

Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should I see a doctor?

What is Covid-19, how does it spread, what are the symptoms, and at what point should you call a doctor?Coronavirus - live news 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. Continue...

Anti-inflammatories may aggravate Covid-19, France advises

French minister says patients should take paracetamol rather than ibuprofen or cortisoneCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageFrench authorities have warned that widely used over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs may worsen the coronavirus.The country’s health minister, Olivier Véran, who is a qualified doctor and neurologist, tweeted on Saturday: “The taking of...

Hitting the Books: Disney's influence on America's first stealth planes

Welcome to Hitting the Books. With less than one in five Americans reading just for fun these days, we've done the hard work for you by scouring the internet for the most interesting, thought provoking books on science and technology we can find and delivering an easily digestible nugget of their...

Stormy weather targets California before official start of spring

The final days of winter will bring more stormy weather across much of California.A storm started off the weekend along the Northern California coast, helping to produce snow and blizzard conditions across the Cascades and northern Rockies.The storm will shift southward along the California coast through Tuesday night and cause precipitation to spread into Southern California. Fresno has...

Social Distancing? You Might Be Fighting Climate Change, Too

As the nation shifts abruptly into the fight against coronavirus, a question arises: Could social isolation help reduce an individual's production of greenhouse gases and end up having unexpected consequences for climate change?The biggest sources of carbon emissions caused by our lifestyles come from three activities, said Kimberly Nicholas, a researcher at the Lund University Center for...

Coronavirus: who’s most at risk, what we can do and will we see a vaccine soon?

Dr Tom Wingfield of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine answers our questions on Covid-19• Coronavirus latest updates• See all our coronavirus coverageWhat is the best way to strengthen the immune system?The answer to this question is straightforward: the normal approach to healthy living. Have a balanced diet, try to get as much sleep as you can, exercise, don’t overwork. If you smoke,...

The singleton's search for love in the time of coronavirus | Elle Hunt

Dating has always carried risks, but now the stakes for ‘putting yourself out there’ are higher than everIn opposition to the smug marrieds, we singletons have always liked to position ourselves on the frontline of life, squaring off against creeps and weirdos in our valiant search for love. Already shut out of the property market and two-for-one meal deals, we’re now unfairly burdened by...

Coronavirus latest updates: New Zealand tells arrivals to self-isolate, Trump declares emergency

Saudi Arabia suspends all international flights; China records 11 new cases; WHO says Europe is at centre of pandemic. Follow live newsQueen forced to cancel engagements for first time Spain to enter state of emergency as EU nations step up measuresHow many will die of coronavirus in the UK?Social distancing: is it risky to go to the pub or gym?Share your experiences 5.05am GMT Australia’s chief...

Italians sing patriotic songs from their balconies during coronavirus lockdown

Neighbours from Naples to Tuscany make harmonies across empty streets to lift spirits and pass the time during quarantineItalians have been singing from their balconies across the country, in an effort to boost morale during its nationwide lockdown that began this week, due to Covid-19.Videos of Italian neighbours singing together have been appearing on social media after Italy’s prime minister...

A seven-gene-deleted African swine fever virus is safe and effective vaccine in pigs

African swine fever (ASF) is severely threatening the global pig industry. An efficacious vaccine is urgently required. Using the Chinese ASFV HLJ/18 as a backbone, Chen and his colleagues generated a series of gene-deleted viruses. The virulence, immunogenicity, safety, and protective efficacy evaluation in specific-pathogen-free pigs, commercial pigs, and pregnant sows indicated that HLJ/18-7GD...

Can traumatic memories be erased?

Tokyo, Japan - Scientists from Tokyo Metropolitan University have discovered that Drosophila flies lose long-term memory (LTM) of a traumatic event when kept in the dark, the first confirmation of environmental light playing a role in LTM maintenance. The team also identified the specific molecular mechanism responsible for this effect. LTMs are notoriously difficult to erase; this work may lead...