Exclusive: Easter weekend will be major test of compliance, say forces as they encourage public to report breachesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coveragePolice chiefs want the government to consider toughening coronavirus lockdown restrictions, the Guardian has learned, as they head into the Easter bank holiday weekend with concerns that a growing minority will flout the...

NHS has 10,000 available but needs 18,000 to deal with rising number of cases Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe NHS is scrambling to get foreign-made ventilators into hospitals, so that there are enough available ahead of the estimated peak in UK coronavirus cases in around seven to 10 days’ time.There are around 10,000 ventilators available to the NHS at present...

After an initially slow reaction to the virus, the UK is now firmly in its grip. Here are key moments so farCoronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Eighty-three British passengers are flown from Wuhan to RAF Brize Norton and transported to Arrowe Park hospital in Wirral, where they are monitored around the clock for 14 days. One of them later contributes a diary to the...

Debes Christiansen adapted his salmon-testing lab to test for disease among humansCoronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage A scientist who adapted his veterinary lab to test for disease among humans rather than salmon is being celebrated for helping the Faroe Islands avoid coronavirus deaths, where a larger proportion of the population has been tested than anywhere in the...

Not enough people yet known to have recovered from virus to provide sufficient bloodCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBritish companies are being held up in their work to create antibody tests for the coronavirus because they cannot access enough blood samples from patients who have recovered from the disease.Antibody tests will be crucial to identifying people who have...

Findings from Bolivia show plants were domesticated in region shortly after last ice ageThe Amazon basin was a hotspot for the early cultivation of plants, with inhabitants having munched on squash and cassava more than 10,000 years ago, researchers have revealed.The team say the new findings from Bolivia offer direct evidence such plants were grown in south-west Amazonia, meaning the region has a...

Radiocarbon test of early Neolithic remains can pinpoint dates to a human life span 5,500 years agoIt is perhaps best-known for its hipsters, but long before Shoreditch became avant garde, it was a place of agriculture and farmers according to evidence from a radiocarbon dating technique that has revealed details about Neolithic London.The technique proved that the most significant early Neolithic...

Bacterial enzyme originally found in compost can be used to make high-quality new bottlesA mutant bacterial enzyme that breaks down plastic bottles for recycling in hours has been created by scientists.The enzyme, originally discovered in a compost heap of leaves, reduced the bottles to chemical building blocks that were then used to make high-quality new bottles. Existing recycling technologies...

Global cooperation, intermittent lockdowns and contact-tracing could all play a role in the race to stop the pandemicDevi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of EdinburghCoronavirus latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIn an alternative universe, a new virus emerges in China. The country quickly identifies the pathogen, closes its borders, launches an unprecedented...

Mayor says capital has ‘capacity to deal with our needs’, as Cambridge University sets up new testing labJohnson to stay in hospital amid concerns about political vacuumGlobal coronavirus updates – liveAt a glance: latest developmentsVolunteering: how can I help in the UK?See all of our coronavirus coverage 12.50pm BST The Welsh government has confirmed the lockdown will be extended in...

Scientists predict UK will be worst-hit country in Europe; Trump threatens to stop WHO funding; Global cases pass 1.4 millionBoris Johnson to stay in hospital amid concerns over political vacuumUK coronavirus updates – liveAustralia coronavirus updates – liveAt a glance: latest developmentsSee all of our coronavirus coverage 12.41pm BST Health authorities in Ukraine have reported 206 new...

Mauro Ferrari condemns EU’s ‘deeply disappointing and disturbing’ reaction to pandemicCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe EU’s most senior scientist has resigned with a passionate denunciation of the bloc’s reaction to the coronavirus pandemic, claiming he has been blocked from funding treatments and vaccines.Mauro Ferrari, the president of the European...

Facility in Bobcaygeon, Ontario, emerges as one of most tragic stories in country’s struggle against Covid-19Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA retirement home in Canada that lost nearly half its residents to coronavirus is scrambling to protect the remaining healthy inhabitants who lived alongside infected neighbours for nearly two weeks. Pinecrest nursing home, a...

They are time-keepers, normality-bringers and playthings. Here’s the science behind how cats and dogs help support our mental healthLet’s start with some live updates from pets across the country. As I write this, I’m informed that Oscar the dog is delighting in hoovering up the extra scraps from under the kitchen table after the kids have eaten their home-school snacks and lunches. Morph,...

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 call 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...

The largest, brightest full moon in nearly seven decades started to show on Tuesday evening over Europe, Latin America, the US and the Middle East. This year, the supermoon was expected to come nearer to Earth than at any time since 1948, astronomers have said. A supermoon occurs when the timing of a full moon overlaps with the point in the moon's 28-day orbit that is...

Full moon to be around 40,000km closer to Earth than usual, but it won’t actually be pinkOn Wednesday night Australians will be able to see the biggest and brightest moon of the year.It has been called the “pink supermoon”, but Monash University astronomer Michael Brown says it won’t be pink, and in fact, it might not be that super but, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look. Continue...

It’s likely Covid-19 originated in bats, scientists say. But did it then jump to pangolins?In the public mind, the origin story of coronavirus seems well fixed: in late 2019 someone at the now world-famous Huanan seafood market in Wuhan was infected with a virus from an animal.The rest is part of an awful history still in the making, with Covid-19 spreading from that first cluster in the capital...