Scientific modelling shows different approaches to testing could catch up to 94% of casesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageTesting travellers a week after their arrival in the UK could catch 94% of coronavirus cases and halve quarantine times, scientific modelling has suggested, as ministers consider proposals to reduce the 14-day self-isolation for those coming from...

Microbes had lain dormant at the bottom of the sea since the age of the dinosaurs Scientists have successfully revived microbes that had lain dormant at the bottom of the sea since the age of the dinosaurs, allowing the organisms to eat and even multiply after eons in the deep.Their research sheds light on the remarkable survival power of some of Earth’s most primitive species, which can exist...

Project aims to show clean fusion power can be generated at commercial scaleThe world’s largest nuclear fusion project began its five-year assembly phase on Tuesday in southern France, with the first ultra-hot plasma expected to be generated in late 2025.The €20bn (£18.2bn) Iter project will replicate the reactions that power the sun and is intended to demonstrate fusion power can be...

Hand-washing aside, James Hamblin has not used soap for five years. He warns that our obsession with being clean is harming the microbiome that keeps us healthyWhen James Hamblin tells people he has not used soap in the shower for five years, they tend not to hold back in expressing their disgust. “It’s one of the few remaining things for which we feel fine telling someone that they’re...

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...

Reducing deforestation and the exploitation of wildlife are the first steps in breaking the chain of disease emergence Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIn late 2013, in the village of Meliandou in rural Guinea, a group of children playing near a hollow tree disturbed a small colony of bats hiding inside. Scientists think that Emile Ouamouno, who later became the first...

What do you do when your loved ones flout the law – or nag you about going out? As lockdown eases, attitudes to Covid-19 seem more polarised than everMichael, a 35-year-old university lecturer from Sheffield, barely speaks to his brother nowadays. For years, they had been drifting apart over political differences such as Brexit. “He hates my leftwing, liberal beliefs as much as I hate his way...

With evolving evidence on airborne transmission of Covid-19 and early super-spreading events linked to choir practices, musicians have been left wondering how risky it is to sing and play instruments in person. Investigating a listener question, Nicola Davis speaks to Prof Jonathan Reid about the science of aerosols and why he’s getting musicians to sing into funnels — in the middle of an...