26 articles from SUNDAY 30.8.2020

Starwatch: Moon to pass close to Mars in Pisces constellation

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...

The Guardian view on African success: a step closer to conquering polio | Editorial

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...

Covid vaccine rush could make pandemic worse, say scientists

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...

AstraZeneca diabetes drug improves survival in kidney disease patients study shows

The British drugmaker said Farxiga was shown in a study to cut the risk of dying from any cause for people suffering from chronic kidney disease by 31% when compared to a group on placebo. Farxiga is among AstaZeneca's five best-selling drugs and brought in revenues of $1.54 billion in 2019 for treating diabetes. It also reduced the risk of deteriorating kidney function by 39% in the...

Police in England and Wales break up illegal raves as Covid fines introduced

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...

UK treasury minister calls for return to work to help economy recover from coronavirus

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...

My face blindness is embarrassing – but it tells me a lot about other people

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...

Elon Musk’s Neuralink is neuroscience theater

Rock climb without fear. Play a symphony in your head. Superhuman vision to see radar. Discover the nature of consciousness. Cure blindness, paralysis, deafness and mental illness. Those are just a few the applications that Elon Musk and employees at his neuroscience company Neuralink, formed in 2016, believe that electronic brain-computer interfaces will one day bring about. While none of...

Gavin Williamson: not sending children back to school risks 'huge dent in life chances'

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...

How the race for a Covid-19 vaccine is getting dirty

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...

Rampant destruction of forests ‘will unleash more pandemics’

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...

A soft-hearted approach to healing

Researchers at the University of Tsukuba and Keio University have clarified the roles of matrix stiffness and mechanotransduction as well as the signaling pathways in the transformation of cardiac fibroblasts into contractile cardiomyocytes and show that soft substrates comparable to native myocardium improve the efficiency of this cardiac reprogramming. This has potential for research into...

Red, green and blue single-mode lasing in heterogeneously coupled system

Tunable microlasers that span the full visible spectrum, particularly red, green and blue (RGB)colors, are of crucial importance for various optical devices. Towards this goal, scientist in China proposed a heterogeneously coupled structure composed of three spherical microcavities. With each resonator serving as lasing source and filter simultaneously, tunable red, green and blue lasing was...

Coronavirus live news: Queensland steps up alert; protesters try to storm the Reichstag building

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...