17 articles from SATURDAY 27.6.2020

'Blown away’: Australian coronavirus researchers examine everything from breastfeeding to explosives technology

A new report by Research Australia details more than 200 ongoing Covid-19 studies that extend far beyond the search for a vaccineSign up for Guardian Australia’s coronavirus emailDownload the free Guardian app to get the most important news notificationsMore than 200 Australian studies into Covid-19 are under way, extending far beyond the search for a vaccine.Almost every Covid-19 research...

Massive Saharan dust aerosol blanket

Dust storms from Africa's Saharan Desert traveling across the Atlantic Ocean are nothing new, but the current dust storm has been quite expansive and NASA satellites have provided a look at the massive June plume. NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite showed the blanket of dust had moved over the Gulf of Mexico and extended into Central America and over part of the eastern Pacific Ocean.

‘Parents can look at their foetus in real time’: are artificial wombs the future?

Scientists are currently pushing on an ethical boundary. Will out of body gestation ever replace the experience of human birth?The lamb is sleeping. It lies on its side, eyes shut, ears folded back and twitching. It swallows, wriggles and shuffles its gangly legs. Its crooked half-smile makes it look content, as if dreaming about gambolling in a grassy field. But this lamb is too tiny to venture...

Coronavirus Australia: Victoria reports jump of 41 cases and sends emergency alerts to hotspots

New South Wales makes Covid-19 tests mandatory for returned travellers and reports six new casesCoronavirus live blog: India passes 500,000 cases as Victoria reports surgeSign up for Guardian Australia’s coronavirus emailDownload the free Guardian app to get the most important news notificationsVictoria has reported another Covid-19 jump with 41 new cases reported on Saturday as the Australian...

A supermassive black hole lit up a collision of two smaller black holes

Astronomers from Caltech have reported that they’ve observed a collision between two black holes. Normally such an event is invisible, but this time a more massive black hole sitting nearby helped illuminate the other two as they collided. If confirmed, the findings, published in Physical Review Letters, would be the first optical observations ever made of a black hole merger. What happened:...

Student nurses will be paid until the end of their NHS frontline contracts

Royal College of Nursing welcomed the clarity following a period of ‘confusion and distress’ Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe Royal College of Nursing has welcomed an assurance that student nurses drafted into frontline NHS services battling coronavirus in England will have their contracts honoured following a period of “confusion and distress”.It comes...