Analysis of brain scans finds increase in white and grey matter in regions involved in physical movementBrain scans of cosmonauts have revealed the first clear evidence of how the organ adapts to the weird and often sickness-inducing challenge of moving around in space.Analysis of scans taken from 11 cosmonauts, who spent about six months each in orbit, found increases in white and grey matter in...

Exclusive: Britain approaching ‘pivotal moment’ in attempt to avoid surge in cases, scientists say Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coveragePolice forces across the country are dealing with thousands of potential violations of quarantine rules involving holidaymakers who may not be self-isolating after trips abroad, the Guardian can reveal.The requests for “further...

Daily case numbers have been rising for two months now, with 1,940 more today. This live blog has now closed - please follow the global live blog for the latest updates 6.24pm BST The latest seven-day infection figures show Leeds as having a rate of 32.4 cases per 100,000 people and a positivity rate on testing of 3.5%.The latest data suggests that a lot of the cases are in different areas of the...

A generous act by the creator of the detective Vera reminds us that reading can help people in the hardest times The library of Pharaoh Ramesses II is said to have borne the inscription “the house of healing for the soul”. Dylan Thomas reportedly liked to relax by reading Agatha Christie while he sucked sweets in the bathtub. The novelist Yiyun Li turns to War and Peace in the toughest times;...

The Oscar winner falters on a pioneering mission to Mars, in a glossy, saccharine Netflix series that’s more mundane than out of this worldThere is an unexpectedly old-fashioned feel to Away (Netflix), the glossy and ambitious new space drama led by two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank. At times, it resembles a blockbuster film from the 90s, at others, a big, mainstream television show from the...

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...

Former Italian PM hospitalised as a precautionary measure after testing positive for Covid Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageItaly’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is being treated in hospital for Covid-19.Berlusconi, who turns 84 this month, was taken to the San Raffaele hospital in Milam on Thursday night as a precautionary measure. He has not been admitted...