The past few weeks in Victoria highlight how quickly things can turn. We have a long way to go Even though it’s been only six months since we first heard about a novel coronavirus circulating in China, so much has happened that it’s all a bit of a blur. What we do know is that we have a long way to go and there are many challenges that lie ahead of us. Although many countries have managed to...

Scientists suggest move may stabilise infections, but stricter rules needed to reduce ratesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageApplying a handbrake to lockdown easing in England is welcome, but may not be enough to stop a rise in infections, experts have said.Sage, the government’s scientific advisory group, said on Friday that it did not have confidence that the...

Academics analyse whether hair and hearing loss may also be linked to coronavirusCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageFrom hearing loss and rashes, to being tall and bald, as the Covid-19 pandemic develops, a host of new symptoms and risk factors are being linked to the virus. We take a look at the evidence. Continue...

First minister allows families to be reunited and says there are no plans to close borderCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageFurther lockdown restrictions are being lifted in Wales to allow families and friends to be reunited, though the government admitted the new regime in northern England had given it pause for thought.The Labour-led government said it had no plans to...

Even Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro have accepted that wearing a face covering in return for saving thousands of lives works. But who nailed the look – and who was left with egg on their face?Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMost politicians – indeed, most adults – have come round to the idea that putting up with having a bit of fabric on your face in exchange...

Reversing decision to relax controls on Saturday, PM says it is time to ‘squeeze brake pedal’ UK coronavirus news – live updates Covid-19 around the world – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBoris Johnson has reversed a decision to relax a range of lockdown restrictions due to come into force in England on Saturday, which would have included the reopening of leisure businesses...

Had Britain devised clear, tough outbreak control measures, the latest Covid-19 restrictions wouldn’t have been necessaryCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMore than 4 million people in the north of England woke up on Friday morning to the news that coronavirus restrictions were being reimposed. This follows the local lockdown in Leicester. Such measures are entirely...

Nasa has successfully launched its next-generation Perseverance rover on a seven-month journey to Mars in search of evidence of ancient microbial life on the red planet. The car-sized robot will attempt to land on the Jezero crater – which may have been a lake more than 3.5bn years ago – where it will gather information about Mars’s geology, atmosphere and environmental...

More than 140 teams of researchers are racing to develop a safe and effective coronavirus vaccineResearchers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, with more than 140 candidate vaccines now tracked by the World Health Organization (WHO). Continue...

Exclusive: scientists demand to see evidence behind decision to drop shielding on 1 August‘I’d rather lose my job than my life’: vulnerable people on the end of shieldingUp to 2 million extremely vulnerable people shielding in England must not be forced to return to their workplaces, trade unions have declared amid concerns over rising coronavirus infection rates.The Trades Union Congress...

Addressing 12 factors such as excessive drinking and air pollution exposure may have significant effect, experts say Excessive drinking, exposure to air pollution and head injuries all increase dementia risk, experts say in a report revealing that up to 40% of dementia cases worldwide could be delayed or prevented by addressing 12 such lifestyle factors.Around 50 million people around the world...

Nasa's most sophisticated rover yet, Perseverance, has successfully blasted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral on a $2.7bn mission to search for traces of ancient life on Mars.Perseverance will travel for about seven months before attempting to land on the Jerezo crater, which scientists suspect could bear evidence of potential past microbial life on Mars.The car-sized, six-wheel scientific vehicle...

Perseverance rover will also trial technologies for future expeditions including oxygen productionNasa’s new car-sized robotic spacecraft is on its way to Mars in a mission to search for evidence of ancient life.The Perseverance rover successfully blasted off from the Cape Canaveral air force station in Florida on Thursday at 12.50pm UK time, aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket....

While England did not have highest peak mortality, it had longest continuous period of excess mortality, data showsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageEngland had the highest levels of excess deaths in Europe in the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, according to data showing the effect of the virus across the continent.The data – which allows comparisons between...

The shill, the grifter, the egomaniac and the ideological fool: each distorts the urgent global debate in their own wayA new book, described as “deeply and fatally flawed” by an expert reviewer, recently reached the top of Amazon’s bestseller list for environmental science and made it into a weekly top 10 list for all nonfiction titles.How did this happen? Because, as Brendan Behan put it,...

Since contracting Covid-19, I have witnessed firsthand the limitations of expert advice for a novel pandemicAs Covid-19 spreads across the United States, it leaves a slew of misinformation and conspiracy theories in its wake. The racist myths and Trumpian attempts to discredit public health officials are driven by a fundamental disbelief in science and the experts who understand it. The rise of...

Decision not based on new evidence but is reaction to rising European infectionsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coveragePeople who have tested positive for Covid-19 or have symptoms will now have to self-isolate for 10 days, rather than seven, the UK government has said.The decision by the chief medical officers is a response to concern at the rising numbers of infections in...

‘Completely unexpected’ finding is significant as harmful effects of plastic might increase as particle size decreasesSmall crustaceans can fragment microplastics into pieces smaller than a cell within 96 hours, a study has shown.Until now, plastic fragmentation has been largely attributed to slow physical processes such as sunlight and wave action, which can take years and even decades....

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,...

A comprehensive look at the experiments that could eradicate cancer. Plus: spiced chicken skewers on chef Tom Kerridge’s barbecue. Here’s what to watch tonight Continue reading...

Research suggests standard definition of life may be too restrictive for complexities of spaceWhen the Perseverance rover takes off from Cape Canaveral in Florida as scheduled on Thursday it will be Nasa’s first mission to the surface of the red planet with the primary goal of finding signs of past life.For astrobiologists, this search for life beyond Earth can be compared to a game of darts....

Perseverance mission aims to land on crater to search for possible microbial MartiansNasa’s most sophisticated rover yet is due to blast off for Mars on a mission to answer one of the most profound questions: did life ever emerge on another planet?Mission controllers have set their sights on the 28-mile-wide (45km) Jezero crater north of the planet’s equator. The landing site is one of the...

State of Victoria reports 723 new cases and 13 deaths; US deaths pass 150,000; Japan lifts ban on re-entry or some foreign residentsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAustralia has reported a record rise in coronavirus infections and deaths, with the state of Victoria announcing more than 700 new cases and 13 deaths, as the state continues to battle significant outbreaks...

Ian Sample speaks to marine biologist Prof Maoz Fine about his surprising research on the relationship between increasing ocean temperatures and the Red Sea’s coral reefs Continue reading...