There is growing evidence from around the world that some people continue to experience debilitating symptoms of Covid-19 months after contracting the virus. They have been dubbed the ‘long-haulers’. Melissa Davey explains what we know about how patients in Australia who were diagnosed in March and April are recovering more than three months later You can read Melissa Davey’s article about...
Covid-19 is lingering such that the public believes things are getting better, long after they are going wrongAnother day, another sadly predictable U-turn from the government of Boris Johnson. A few weeks ago ministers were encouraging the public to go abroad for their holidays. They did so without a comprehensive airport testing regime for passengers, unlike in many parts of the world. As...
The answers to today’s geometrical riddlesEarlier today I set you the following two puzzles. Here they are again, together with solutions.1. A 12cm x 12cm square piece of paper is marked as below. Continue...
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...
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,...
University of York researchers trace the source of underarm aromas to a particular enzymeScientists have unravelled the mysterious mechanism behind the armpit’s ability to produce the pungent smell of body odour.Researchers at the University of York traced the source of underarm odour to a particular enzyme in a certain microbe that lives in the human armpit. Continue...
Pharmaceuticals company buys global rights to new technology from Japan’s Daiichi SankyoDrugmaker AstraZeneca could pay up to $6bn (£4.7bn) for the global rights to a new Japanese cancer treatment.The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company said it would pay $1bn (£800m) up front to its partner Daiichi Sankyo. Continue...
The Paris agreement threw a lifeline to millions of people of color facing a premature death. Trump is tearing that awayIt’s official – in 100 days the United States will formally withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. The impact of Donald Trump’s decision, taken three years ago, is already being felt by environmental justice communities.Racism is the driving force behind why certain...
Two geometrical riddles It is a truism to say that once you know the answer to a puzzle it becomes trivially easy. Yet this statement is especially true when it comes to geometrical problems, which are often solved with a single insight that, once you know it, seems so forehead-slappingly obvious.Both of today’s two puzzles are unravelled with a joyous ‘aha’. I hope you find them for...
Our Panorama programme shows how Xi Jinping’s government has tried to hide the truth about the spread of Covid-19China has been here before. During the Sars crisis in 2002 and 2003 it hid cases, censored doctors and withheld information from the world for four months. Nearly 800 people died. Related: EU says China behind 'huge wave' of Covid-19 disinformation Continue...
Scientists say people unlikely to reduce one Covid-19 measure when adopting anotherCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageWearing face coverings does not appear to lead people to abandon hand hygiene, researchers say, suggesting people may not trade off the benefits of one public health measure against another.Face coverings are now mandatory in many parts of the world, and...
Social distancing reintroduced to Vietnamese city of Danang; Spain’s Covid-19 deaths could be 60% higher; Global deaths near 650,000. Follow the latest updatesPacific Islanders in US hospitalised with Covid-19 at up to 10 times the rate of other groupsUK could impose more ‘handbrake restrictions’ on arrivals beyond SpainUS records more than 1,000 Covid deaths a day as Republicans mull...
Psilocybin may be safe for treating depression but research is stymied by government controlsPotential treatments for severe depression, addiction and other mental health disorders are being held up by excessive restrictions on psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, scientists and politicians have said.Clinical trials suggest that psilocybin may be a safe and effective medicine for...