30 articles from SATURDAY 11.7.2020

With 120 countries making masks compulsory in public, shouldn’t England?

Scientists still divided on the issue as PM hints he will make face coverings mandatory for shoppersCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageScientists remain divided over the effectiveness of masks in providing protection against the Covid-19 virus in the wake of Boris Johnson’s hints that he would soon make face coverings compulsory in shops in England.Some senior...

The medical profession has failed when women in agony are dismissed as hysterics | Barbara Ellen

The vaginal mesh scandal betrayed the intimate trust that should exist between doctor and patient, whatever their sexWhatever comes next in the vaginal mesh scandal, let’s hope that it spells the end of the “shut up and put up” medical culture when it comes to female healthcare.The Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, led by Baroness Julia Cumberlege, spent two years...

Conservation groups upset by North Cascades grizzly decision

The forested mountains in and around North Cascades National Park in north central Washington state have long been considered prime habitat for threatened grizzly bears, so environmental groups are upset the Trump administration scrapped plans to reintroduce the apex predators there. U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt on Tuesday announced his agency will not conduct the...

Global ‘catastrophe’ looms as Covid-19 fuels inequality

Job losses, homelessness, school closures and acute hunger set to rise dramatically without urgent support, Christian Aid warnsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe pandemic has exposed and reinforced deep inequalities across the world, with the true extent yet to be seen, according to a major new report.The crisis in the poorest countries threatens to escalate into a...

Lockdown has been a bumpy ride towards rediscovering the joy of our marriage

I looked forward to spending more time with my wife – but it took a while before romance found its way back inIt felt like we were embarking on a new adventure. It was late March and Boris Johnson had announced that Britain would, in response to the threat of Covid-19, be going into lockdown. Life as we knew it was about to grind to a halt. I would be working from home as the British Library was...

HS2 works unearth skeleton of possible iron age murder victim

Other finds include lead lined Roman coffin and Stonehenge-like wooden structureA skeleton believed to be a murder victim from the iron age has been discovered by archaeologists working on the HS2 project in Buckinghamshire.HS2 said the find was made during excavation work at Wellwick Farm, near Wendover. Archaeologists found the skeleton of the adult male buried face down in a ditch with his...

If the coronavirus is really airborne, we might be fighting it the wrong way

This was the week airborne transmission became a big deal in the public discussion about covid-19. Over 200 scientists from around the world cosigned a letter to the World Health Organization urging it to take seriously the growing evidence that the coronavirus can be transmitted through the air. WHO stopped short of redefining SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes covid-19) as...

The quest to find signs of ancient life on Mars

Mars may now be considered a barren, icy desert but did Earth's nearest neighbour once harbour life? Now three space exploration projects are gearing up to launch some of the most ambitious bids yet to find an answer. The new Mars probes from the United States, United Arab Emirates and China will launch this...

Coronavirus Australia: Victoria reports 216 new Covid-19 cases and death of man in his 90s

Daniel Andrews says effects of lockdown won’t be reflected for weeks as NSW cases linked to Casula pubSign up for Guardian Australia’s coronavirus emailDownload the free Guardian app to get the most important news notificationsVictoria has recorded another 216 cases of coronavirus and one additional death, a man in his 90s, as the state tries to contain the second wave of the virus that...

Jurassic fossils from northeastern China reveal morphological stasis in the catkin-yew

Dong and colleagues studied well-preserved plant fossils from the Middle-Late Jurassic Daohugou Bed in eastern Inner Mongolia, northeastern China. These fossils closely resemble the extant catkin-yews Amentotaxus. They provide unequivocal evidence that the catkin-yews have undergone little morphological change over at least ~160 million years. Like ginkgo, the catkin-yews are living fossils that...

Coronavirus live news: Australian state of Victoria reports 216 new cases as France exceeds 30,000 deaths

San Quentin prison in US has seven deaths and 1,500 positive tests; Serbia has record 18 fatalities; Australia caps incoming flights and charges for quarantine 2.28am BST As Victoria, Australia, has just announced new cases in the hundreds, the state’s health minister Jenny Mikakos has moved to reassure people that the health system is prepared for the ongoing struggle to contain the virus.With...

Like humans, beluga whales form social networks beyond family ties

A groundbreaking study is the first to analyze the relationship between group behaviors, group type, group dynamics, and kinship of beluga whales in 10 locations across the Arctic. Results show that not only do beluga whales regularly interact with close kin, including close maternal kin, they also frequently associate with more distantly related and unrelated individuals. Findings will improve...