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Researchers found ‘nice, generous’ people advanced at work just as much as bulliesThe question has puzzled humans from the earliest philosophers to the ranks of home workers who have swapped water cooler gossip for rants on Zoom: does being a jerk help people get to the top?Now, after a study lasting more than a decade, researchers believe they finally have the answer. Nasty colleagues are no...

Statisticians would welcome an inquiry into their role in this crisis – they have done a good jobDavid Spiegelhalter is the author of The Art of Statistics“Sooner or later we are going to have to have an inquiry into the role of statisticians in the Covid-19 crisis,” declared the journalist Ross Clark in the Daily Telegraph recently. “They will have to be put in the hot seat and grilled as...

This common condition can lead to relationship breakdown and unnecessary surgery. So why is treatment still so poor and underfunded? I was just a few weeks into a new relationship when the pain started. Whenever my boyfriend and I started to have penetrative sex, it felt as if there were razor blades inside me. At first I laughed it off, but soon I became terrified of intercourse. My body would...

Tui launches investigation after almost 200 passengers told to isolate after outbreakCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA flight from the Greek island of Zante was “full of selfish ‘covidiots’ and an inept crew”, according to a passenger among the almost 200 who were onboard who have been told to self-isolate after a coronavirus outbreak.Tui said it had launched...

More than 170 teams of researchers are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine. Here is their progressResearchers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, with more than 170 candidate vaccines now tracked by the World Health Organization (WHO). Continue...

The close encounter will be seen all around the world, and in much of South America the moon will actually pass in front of MarsThis week, the moon and Mars come together for a close encounter. So close, in fact, that from certain parts of the world, the moon will actually obscure the planet. The pairing takes place in the zodiacal constellation of Pisces, the fish. Continue...

We are tantalisingly close to eradicating the disease. Things may slip backwards because of science, thugs and exponents of ignorancePolio arrives, if it announces itself at all, as a high temperature. Or a sore throat. Maybe a headache, or an upset stomach. It can go within a week or so, and be mistaken for flu. It is transmitted by poor hygiene, largely affects children under five, and many...

Experts say strong evidence of efficacy needed to avoid approval of inferior vaccinesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe rush to immunise populations against Covid-19 could lead to the rollout of a vaccine that is not very effective and risk worsening the pandemic, leading scientists have said.Politicians and commercial companies are competing to be the first to...

Forces called to house parties and unlicensed music events across the countryCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coveragePolice received dozens of reports of illegal gatherings over the weekend and seized sound systems as new rules in England imposing £10,000 fines on organisers came into force.Officers in the West Midlands, Essex, Norfolk, West Yorkshire and South Wales dealt...

Steve Barclay issues plea to employers amid words of caution from unions and industry bodyCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageStaff should start to return to offices where possible from next week to help the economy “get back to normal”, the UK’s Treasury secretary, Steve Barclay, has argued, saying businesses should liaise with employees to make them feel...

I grew up thinking I just didn’t fit it. Now, I immediately tell people I can’t recognise faces – and their response is a good measure of kindness versus egoSunday morning. I walk down to the beach with the dog straining at her lead. I’m already on high alert. It’s the moment in the week when people are most likely to be wandering along the seafront, feeling chatty. I’m mentally...

Minister rules out resignation as he issues plea for pupils in England to return despite coronavirus fearsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe education secretary has said parents in England who do not send their children back to school risk putting a “huge dent in their future life chances”, ahead of pupils returning to classrooms this week.Gavin Williamson has...

Scientists worldwide are working against the clock to find a viable coronavirus vaccine – but are corners being cut for the sake of political gain and profit? Global coronavirus updates - liveTo begin with, it felt like a sleek performance from a well-honed relay team. On 11 January, only 10 days after reporting a new respiratory disease, the Chinese published the genome sequence of the virus...

Researchers to tell UN that loss of biodiversity enables rapid spread of new diseases from animals to humans Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageScientists are to warn world leaders that increasing numbers of deadly new pandemics will afflict the planet if levels of deforestation and biodiversity loss continue at their current catastrophic rates.A UN summit on...

Demonstrations in Germany and UK against coronavirus restrictions; Australian opposition calls for wider care home inquiry; Turkey sees two-month high in cases. Follow all the developments live UK care homes still denied Covid test despite minister’s pledgeNew York: pandemic lays bare city’s problems Germany: far-right extremists try to storm ReichstagWorld map: which countries have most...

A previous generation understood the destructive power of humanity. We would do well to heed their insightsMonths after the end of the second world war, Albert Einstein gave an interview to urge Americans to imagine the third one. It was vital, he said, “to recognise that unless another war is prevented it is likely to bring destruction on a scale … even now hardly conceived, and that little...

Premier Daniel Andrews says it is ‘too early’ to allow people who live alone to visit other householdsNSW reveals 14 new cases and sacking of quarantine guards as Queensland infections climbFollow today’s coronavirus blogAustralia’s state by state lockdown rules and restrictionsMelbourne and Victoria trend mapMelbourne stage 4 restrictionsThe number of new Covid-19 cases in Victoria has...

Steven Miles says border closures do not apply to those seeking emergency healthcare after Scott Morrison calls for explanationNSW reveals 14 new cases and sacking of quarantine guards as Queensland infections climbFollow today’s coronavirus blogAustralia’s state by state lockdown rules and restrictionsMelbourne and Victoria trend mapMelbourne stage 4 restrictionsThe Queensland health...

France racks up post-lockdown high in new infections; Australian state sees 18 deaths and 94 cases; India sets new daily record with more than 77,000 cases. Follow all the updates liveGlobal report: India sets new daily case recordRepatriating 100,000 stranded Australians could take six months Locals rediscover streets and beaches absent of foreign touristsUK businesses offer incentives to lure...

It is unlikely Sunny will ever work again. How could he explain to any potential employer that his only crime was the ‘crime’ of schizophrenia?As a child, his grandmother nicknamed him Sunny because he was always so bright and happy. On leaving primary school, he achieved a “band 6” in both maths and English. His mother was optimistic; perhaps he would be a scholar like his grandfather. It...

Without global collaboration, the nation would be ‘in really serious trouble’, Universities Australia head saysAustralian scientists have been vilified for working with Chinese researchers even though the nation would be “in really serious trouble” without international partnerships, top representatives of the sector have warned.In an emphatic defence of global research efforts, the...

Boris Johnson says in video Q&A that English schools will close as a last resort this winter Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBoris Johnson has stressed that ministers will prioritise keeping schools open this winter as they tackle any upsurge in coronavirus cases.The government intends to continue using local lockdowns to control the spread of the virus in the...

A discovery in the Isle of Wight should remind us that we are living in a golden age of palaeontologyIt could be said that we live in the age of the dinosaurs. It is, of course, 66m years since a great extinction wiped out three-quarters of the animals on Earth, including non-avian dinosaurs. The first fossil was described in scientific literature around two centuries ago, and Richard Owen coined...