The moon moves through Leo the lion every month, and this week is a good time to identify the constellation and the blue-white star RegulusEvery month the moon slips past the bright star of Regulus in Leo, the lion. It is a good opportunity to identify the constellation, which doesn’t need too much imagination to turn it into a lion. This month the pairing takes place on 25 June. The chart shows...

Doug Loverro conducted unauthorized discussions with Boeing while it was bidding for Nasa contract, Washington Post saysIn May, against the excitement of America’s imminent return to human spaceflight, the abrupt resignation of a senior Nasa executive was barely a sideshow. Related: Nasa finalises deal for design of lunar Gateway crew cabin Continue...

I can’t help being sceptical about government rules, but I will cover up when I’m told to. Over to you, eyesIts not only ethnonationalists who myth-make around the second world war – any idiot can make use of mass destruction for parable purposes.One of the favourite tales of my kind of idiot was about saucepans. In 1940, the story goes, Lord Beaverbrook, the press baron turned minister of...

Our photojournalists explain how the pandemic has changed their practice – and why physical distancing is no barrier to producing intimate portraits Throughout the pandemic it has been important to show our readers and viewers what’s happening in the world outside, to make a historical document and to chart the progress of those on the frontline. During the first weeks, it was difficult to...

What lessons can we learn from Laurie Santos, the Yale professor whose ‘happiness’ course became a global hit? And could the current health crisis lead to a wellbeing revolution?In January 2018, a Yale University professor named Laurie Santos launched a course, Psychology and the Good Life, which quickly became the most popular class in the institution’s 319-year-history. After 13 years at...

One man in custody after three people die and three are seriously injured in Berkshire townFull story: Reading stabbings declared terrorist attack 11.29am BST 11.19am BST Counter-terrorism police have declared the Reading stabbings, in which three people were killed and three people were seriously injured, is a terrorist incident.| UPDATE- Murder investigation Reading@TerrorismPolice can now...

The truth is out there. Only this probably isn’t itThe US presidential election night of 2000 is the only one I’ve ever properly watched on TV. I didn’t have much else to do that evening and my middle-aged intoxication with the prospect of an early night was years ahead of me. Also, thinking about it, the lovely general election of 1997 was still a recent memory; I probably fancied another...

In the battle against the virus, we have an unlikely ally. Already used to detect drugs and weapons, dogs are now being trained to sniff out when humans have the virus. Tim Lewis meets the trainers and their houndsAsher was a problem dog. A hyperactive and unruly chocolate-brown cocker spaniel with ears like pittas and a Rudi Völler frizzy shag, he was shunted from owner to owner, maybe as many...

Your questions answered on what type of mask to wear to cut the risk of getting Covid-19Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageYes. Different types of mask offer different levels of protection. Surgical grade N95 respirators offer the highest level of protection against Covid-19 infection, followed by surgical grade masks. However, these masks are costly, in limited supply,...

Thanks to the success of the Human Genome Project, 20 years ago this week, scientists can track biology and disease at a molecular level Twenty years ago this week, an international group of scientists announced it had put together the first genetic blueprint of a human being. After 10 years of effort, the team – made up of thousands of scientists working on both sides of the Atlantic –...