feed info

17 articles from Guardian Unlimited Science

First human trial results raise hopes for coronavirus vaccine

Eight initial volunteers in US produced an antibody response from Moderna’s RNA vaccineCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe first results from human trials of a vaccine against Covid-19 have given a glimmer of hope after a US firm’s study produced positive results in a group of eight volunteers.These results – which come a day after the UK government revealed a...

UK coronavirus: daily death toll rises by 160 to 34,796 — as it happened

Health secretary Matt Hancock says anyone with symptoms – now including anosmia – over the age of five can be tested for Covid-19Coronavirus tests advised for people who lose taste or smellUK coronavirus testing extended to anyone over age of fiveCoronavirus global updates – liveCoronavirus latest: at a glanceSee all our coronavirus coverage 7.22pm BST We’re closing this UK liveblog now....

Face visors may protect wearer but not other people against Covid-19

Public health experts not convinced of plastic shields’ benefits for general usersCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageFace visors and shields could protect workers who have close contact with others against infection from Covid-19, but may not prevent the wearer spreading the virus, experts have said.Linda Bauld, a professor of public health at the University of...

Coronavirus cases fall in Belgium amid row over nurses' pay

Staff turned backs on prime minister in protest during weekend hospital visitCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageCoronavirus cases in Belgium continued to fall amid a simmering political row over nurses’ pay and conditions after hospital staff turned their backs on the prime minister during a weekend hospital visit.Nurses protesting over wages, staff numbers and a...

The Sage advice must be published now to find where Britain got coronavirus wrong | Anthony Costello

The public deserves to know what happened in the secretive scientific debates that have informed government policyCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA week ago Jeremy Hunt, the chair of the health select committee review of the UK’s Covid-19 response, said that some actions represented “the biggest failure of scientific advice to ministers in our lifetime”.Last...

London care homes report possible fresh Covid-19 outbreaks

Residents also testing positive more than 30 days after showing first symptomsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageDoctors have reported possible fresh outbreaks of Covid-19 in care and nursing homes in west London, two months after the area was a hotspot in the first days of the coronavirus crisis.“Just when we thought there might be light at the end of the tunnel, two...

Dust bowl conditions of 1930s US now more than twice as likely to reoccur

Climate breakdown means conditions that wrought devastation across Great Plains could return to regionThe agricultural conditions known as a “dust bowl”, which helped propel mass migration among drought-stricken farmers in the US during the great depression of the 1930s, are now more than twice as likely to reoccur in the region, because of climate breakdown, new research has found.Dust bowl...

The 'lockdown sceptics' want a culture war, with experts as the enemy | Peter Geoghegan & Mary Fitzgerald

The dismissal of coronavirus expertise, the pitting of ‘elites’ against ‘the people’ – it’s Brexit all over again for the high-profile contrariansWithin days of Boris Johnson announcing lockdown restrictions in late March, Toby Young – self-appointed general secretary of the Free Speech Union – had his own take on the government’s tripartite slogan. “Stay sceptical. End the...

Human breath taking its toll on Munch's The Scream, say scientists

Art lovers may have to give 1910 version space due to damaging effect of humidity on impure paintIt is a masterpiece that seems to speak to the later horrors of war in the 20th century and even the anguishes of the 21st. Now Edvard Munch’s The Scream has another claim on modernity, after it emerged that an oversight by the artist means the 1910 version of the work needs to practise some physical...

UK coronavirus tests advised for people who lose taste or smell

Anosmia is third symptom - in addition to cough and fever - justifying a test under revised guidanceCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coveragePeople who experience a loss of smell or taste are being advised to get tested for Covid-19, in a change of guidance from the UK government that experts say is well overdue, warning that thousands of cases have already been missed.Anosmia...

Coronavirus UK: the latest deaths and confirmed cases in each region

Latest figures from public health authorities on the spread of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom. Find out how many confirmed cases have been reported in each of England’s local authoritiesCoronavirus - 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...

DRC has seen epidemics before, but Covid-19's toll on older people leaves me sleepless

Many of the people I support in Kinshasa have no money, no soap, no water – and when they are struggling to breathe, no ventilatorsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageWe’re used to emergencies and people dying in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whether it’s a result of the long-running conflict or Ebola, cholera and malaria. But coronavirus has knocked us for...

Can you solve it? Sudoku as spectator sport is unlikely lockdown hit

Millions tune in to watch British puzzlers solve the Miracle and other spectacular gridsIt may not be as hair-raising as Formula 1, nor as dramatic as Premier League football, but Sudoku solving is acquiring a niche following as a spectator sport.It’s surprisingly thrilling, believe me. Just ask fans of the puzzle-solving YouTube channel Cracking the Cryptic, which has seen its viewing figures...

Coronavirus live news: record daily cases in South Africa as India extends lockdown

Daily death tolls fall in UK, Spain and Italy; Qatar makes masks mandatory on pain of prison; global infections pass 4.7 million. Follow the latest updatesCovid-19 cases in Brazil surpass Italy South Africa reports highest daily increase in casesAustralia coronavirus updates – liveCoronavirus latest: at a glanceSee all our coronavirus coverage 5.00am BST Summer weather is enticing much of the...

Night at the museum: Sydney man charged after allegedly breaking into dinosaur exhibit

CCTV footage shows man strolling through exhibits at closed Australian Museum and posing for selfies with head inside mouth of T-Rex skull A Sydney man will face court on Monday after allegedly breaking into Australia’s oldest museum and snapping selfies with the dinosaur exhibit.The man broke into the heritage-listed Australian Museum in Sydney’s CBD just after 1am on Sunday 10 May, and was...