Work on the Orion capsule and the Space Launch System suspended until Covid-19 outbreak has passedWelcome to a new semi-regular column about Nasa’s progress towards landing astronauts on the moon during 2024.This challenging schedule, which was mandated by the White House, has now been made more difficult by the coronavirus outbreak. On 19 March, the Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine announced...

Rolling updates on all the UK developments, as they happened. This blog is now closed, please follow the global coronavirus liveblog 6.20pm GMT For more coronavirus updates, do read our global coronavirus live blog. Related: Coronavirus live news: global death toll passes 20,000, as Spain overtakes China as second worst-hit country 6.18pm GMT Here are the main points from Boris Johnson’s press...

As a teenager I had chronic hypochondria. Yet in the face of a global pandemic I am surprisingly calm. Maybe it’s because we are all in this togetherI have noticed something odd about my anxiety at this time: I am not as anxious as I should be. I have been anxious for as long as I can remember: man, boy, child, baby and, for all I know, foetus. It just seems to be in my nature. I have a physical...

Jet stream appears to have stopped moving south and may be moving back towards normalInternational cooperation on ozone-depleting chemicals is helping to return the southern jet stream to a normal state after decades of human-caused disruption, a study shows.Scientists say the findings prove there is the capacity to heal damaged climate systems if governments act promptly and in coordination to...

The 15-minute coronavirus tests may provide a semblance of normality as UK regions track the spread of coronavirus• Anthony Costello is a former director of maternal and child health at the World Health OrganizationCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSince the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasised the crucial importance of...

Viruses such as Covid-19 wouldn’t emerge in food markets if it wasn’t for factory farming, globalised industry and rapid urbanisationLaura Spinney is the author of The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the WorldWhen I get stressed, a patch of annoying red eczema appears on the inside of my upper right arm. The doctor gives me some cream to rub on it, but I also know that to stop it coming...

Although Trump’s claim about the drug was false it might play a role in tackling the pandemicClaims by Donald Trump regarding the effectiveness against coronavirus of an anti-malarial drug untested against the disease have led to it being hoarded as well as at least one death in the US and a number of overdoses around the world.Trump called the drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine potential...

Dental tissue is revealing in same way annual tree rings can tell much about environment tree grew inTelltale signs of stressful life events can be found in our teeth, say researchers who have found that birth, menopause and even imprisonment appear to leave their mark in tissue that is laid down throughout life.The phenomenon is similar to the way the thickness of annual tree rings can tell us...

Vaccine and drug trials are slow, to account for safety. But in a pandemic time isn’t just money – it’s lives • Coronavirus latest updates• See all our coronavirus coverageThe race is on to find a treatment for coronavirus. This race is split between two approaches: the trialling of pre-existing drugs used for similar diseases, and the hunt for a vaccine. In both instances, important...

Dominic Cummings loves to theorise about complexity, but he’s getting it all wrongCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageWhen, along with applied systems scientist Dr Joe Norman, we first reacted to coronavirus on 25 January with the publication of an academic note urging caution, the virus had infected fewer than 2,000 people worldwide and fewer than 60 people were dead....

Anna Ahmatova, David Malouf, Yukio Mishima and more explore the emotion that tears us apart but leads us into compassion, writes Christos TsiolkasI was an adolescent when I first came across the letters of St Paul. Though I had been raised Greek Orthodox, at 13 I had joined an evangelical church in the hope that God would banish my shame. The shame of being different. The shame of hurting my...

Coronavirus – live updatesFull coronavirus coverageThe number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 continues to grow in the US. Mike Pence, the vice-president, is overseeing the US response to the coronavirus.So far, 80% of patients experience a mild form of the illness, which can include a fever and pneumonia, and many of these cases require little to no medical intervention. That being said, elderly...

UK experts say easing physical distancing would depend on rigorous testing and isolationCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageChina’s tough lockdown and physical distancing measures in Wuhan and other provinces appear to have successfully ended new locally transmitted coronavirus infections and may chart a route back to normal life, according to a report from Imperial...

Human trials will begin imminently – but even if they go well and a cure is found, there are many barriers before global immunisation is feasibleCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageEven at their most effective – and draconian – containment strategies have only slowed the spread of the respiratory disease Covid-19. With the World Health Organization finally declaring...

Latest figures from public health authorities on the spread of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom. Find out how many cases have been reported near youCoronavirus - live news updatesFind all our coronavirus coverage hereHow to protect yourself from infectionPlease note: these are government figures on numbers of confirmed cases - some people who report symptoms are not being tested, and are not...

What are the symptoms caused by the Covid-19 virus, how does it spread, and should you see a doctor?Find all our coronavirus coverage hereCoronavirus – latest updatesHow to protect yourself and others from infectionIt is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has transferred to humans from animals. The World Health...

Modellers have a saying: “If you’ve seen one pandemic, you’ve seen … one pandemic.” But patterns can be established to do with how things spread Did you notice? There was a moment when something shifted, and all topics of conversation besides Covid-19 started to sound trivial. Things will surely shift again, as people realise that the self-confinement could last and escapism becomes our...

As a prostate cancer surgeon, I’m concerned we may be losing sight of those who aren’t getting the treatment they need to stay aliveCoronavirus latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAs a prostate cancer surgeon, my life before coronavirus was pretty predictable. Each day I’d go to work and either operate on patients with prostate cancer, see patients with a new diagnosis of prostate...

Li Keqiang’s comments come as Hubei province - except for Wuhan - lifts travel restrictions for the first time in two monthsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageChinese premier Li Keqiang has warned local governments not to cover up new cases of Covid-19, as low daily rates of infection prompted the relaxing of travel restrictions in Hubei province, where the pandemic...

A bubble has finally been burst – but will we now attend to the other threats facing humanity?We have been living in a bubble, a bubble of false comfort and denial. In the rich nations, we have begun to believe we have transcended the material world. The wealth we’ve accumulated – often at the expense of others – has shielded us from reality. Living behind screens, passing between capsules...

UN urges G20 to adopt ‘wartime plan’; WHO warns US risks could become the centre of the pandemic; EU urged to evacuate refugees from greek camps. Follow the latest updates.Why the US has struggled to tackle a growing crisisAustralia coronavirus live blogCalifornia scrambles to avoid Covid-19’s worst-case scenarioNo 10 criticised after unclear lockdown advice confuses publicSee all our...