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9 articles from Guardian Unlimited Science

Demand for flu vaccine soars as countries plan for second Covid-19 wave

Manufacturers warn they will struggle to meet demand as governments seek to ease pressure on health servicesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageFears of a second wave of coronavirus have sparked a global scramble for influenza shots from countries that hope to vaccinate great swathes of the population to reduce pressure on their health services.Health officials in the UK...

Scientists report flaws in WHO-funded study on 2-metre distancing

Mistakes mean findings should not be used as evidence for relaxing rule, say professorsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSenior scientists have reported flaws in an influential World Health Organization-commissioned study into the risks of coronavirus infection and say it should not be used as evidence for relaxing the UK’s 2-metre physical distancing rule.Critics of...

UK coronavirus news: easing two-metre distancing rule is decision for ministers not scientists, says Rishi Sunak

News updates: chancellor suggests he is in favour of reducing rule; man arrested on suspicion of urinating on memorial dedicated to PC Keith PalmerPrime minister is risking basic right to an education, says children’s tsarLancet’s editor: ‘UK response is greatest policy failure for generation’PM has not hosted Cobra committee for over a monthCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our...

Family planning: how Covid-19 has placed huge strains on all stages of surrogacy

Bringing a child into the world is a big decision. But now? With a surrogate and a travel ban? Could it be more complicated?The spectre of Covid-19 has cast its shadow over most things, including family planning – in the broadest sense of the term. Pregnant parents are facing dramatically different births than those they’d planned for; IVF, too, has been on hiatus; and anyone hoping to create...

The past three months have proved it: the costs of lockdown are too high

Governments now know the economic, social, health and educational costs of full Covid-19 lockdowns scar too deeplyCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe past three months have been a global experiment to test whether modern economies built on social interaction are compatible with methods for tackling a pandemic that haven’t moved on much since the Black Death.The...

Lancet editor attacks UK government for 'catastrophic' handling of Covid-19 pandemic

Richard Horton describes the management of the outbreak as ‘the greatest science policy failure of a generation’ Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMissed opportunities and appalling misjudgments by the government over its handing of the Covid-19 pandemic have led to the avoidable deaths of thousands of people. That is the stark view of Lancet editor Richard Horton...

British farmers need all the help science can offer. Time to allow gene editing | Sir David Baulcombe

Plant scientist Sir David Baulcombe argues we must adapt the way we produce food to meet future agricultural challengesThe agriculture bill, now going through parliament, could influence whether we use gene editing on our farms. At present, this country is out of line with the USA, Argentina, Brazil, Australia and Japan in that our regulatory framework prevents gene editing in crops and farm...

The Lancet’s editor: ‘The UK's response to coronavirus is the greatest science policy failure for a generation’

Richard Horton does not hold back in his criticism of the UK’s response to the pandemic and the medical establishment’s part in backing fatal government decisionsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThere is a school of thought that says now is not the time to criticise the government and its scientific advisers about the way they have handled the Covid-19 pandemic....