The origin of modern dogs lies tens of thousands of years ago, but how does a wolf become a pomeranian?Now renowned as a steady family pet, the labradoodle was invented in the 90s to be a low-allergen seeing-eye dog. The breed’s recent origin and portmanteau name makes it rather obvious that labradors and poodles were blended in the creation of the labradoodle. But what about the other 400 or so...

Do you find it hard to say no? Are you always trying to second guess what someone else wants you to do? It’s time you learned to stop being so eager to please“Can you come to this meeting?” No. “Yes.”“Are you free on Saturday night?” No, I’m watching Spiral. “Yes.” Continue...

The scientist whose modelling influenced the UK-wide lockdown says family meetups ‘risk some transmission’Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe scientist whose modelling led to the original UK lockdown has said it would be a political judgment whether restrictions on households mixing should be relaxed over Christmas.Prof Neil Ferguson said policymakers would have...

The prime minister is trying to pretend that nakedly political decisions are driven by data. But almost no one buys itWhat happened to following the science? In the spring, when Boris Johnson and his scientific advisers were proceeding in lockstep, there was no disagreement about the necessity of shutting the country down. Now the government is coming to its own conclusions about what is needed,...

Dr Fauci says White House task force meeting less despite rising infection rates; WHO warns of ‘exponential’ rise in cases. Follow updates 7.05am BST Thailand reported one more locally transmitted case of the coronavirus on Saturday, after confirming five domestic infections last week.The new patient is a 57-year-old French woman in the southern province of Surat Thani who tested positive for...

Scientists call for information campaign as evidence on role of poor ventilation mountsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBritons could be urged to throw open the windows in an effort to keep coronavirus at bay as scientists call for a public information campaign to stress the importance of ventilation in reducing its spread.A paper by the Environmental and Modelling...

AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson get go-ahead from Food and Drug Administration after pausing studies when volunteers became illTwo drugmakers have announced the resumption of US testing of their Covid-19 vaccine candidates.Testing of AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate had been halted since early September, while Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine study was paused at the beginning of last week....