It is right that MPs represent a spectrum of opinion, but there is precedent for Conservative governments being hijacked by a factional minorityIt is unusual for prime ministers to apologise for their policies the way Boris Johnson seeds his lockdown announcements with regret and reluctance. Some of that tone is understandable, but it too often shades into evasion of responsibility. He sounds...

Evidence is now strong enough that preventive action should be taken, scientists sayCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA small rise in people’s long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with an 11% increase in deaths from Covid-19, research has found. Another recent study suggests that 15% of all Covid-19 deaths around the world are attributable to dirty...

Oregon to decriminalize all illegal drugs in historic first, while voters in many states vote to abolish penalties for possessionOn Tuesday night, a number of US states voted in favor of decriminalizing drugs in an unprecedented drug law overhaul. Thanks to a push by drug reform advocates, in every state where the ballot was proposed, people voted to abolish criminal penalties for possession....

Mutated virus infects 12 humans, sparking concerns that effectiveness of future vaccine could be affectedCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe world’s largest mink producer, Denmark, says it plans to cull more than 15 million of the animals, due to fears that a Covid-19 mutation moving from mink to humans could jeopardise future vaccines.At a press conference on...

The system is inefficient and wasteful, writes a contact worker. Local authority initiatives are doing better, says Austen LynchI am a clinical contact worker for test and trace. Dr David Maisey (Letters, 1 November) should realise that the clinical level (tier 2) of contact tracers – those who call the cases themselves – has been made up of clinical staff at a band 6 level or higher since the...

First fast radio burst found in our galaxy is traced to magnetar 30,000 light years awayFor more than a decade, astronomers have puzzled over the origins of mysterious and fleeting bursts of radio waves that arrive from faraway galaxies.Now, scientists have discovered the first such blast in the Milky Way and traced it back to its probable source: a small, spinning remnant from a collapsed star...

Tantra, spirit mediums, Obeah – why have things become ‘a bit witchy’ in the art world of late? Our writer takes a trip into deep space to find outLast night, Suzanne Treister took me on a 400bn light-year journey into space. The purpose was to visit her Museum of Black Hole Spacetime, and so, along with a couple of dozen fellow travellers, we jetted off – via a seance led by Treister....

An asteroid hidden behind Mars has been found to closely resemble our moon. Is is a fragment that broke off billions of years ago?Name: (101429) 1998 VF31 (AKA: the Moon’s Sister).Age: 4.5bn years, give or take. Continue...

Study of Mount Pleasant site suggests it was constructed over decades, not centuriesAn intense burst of building work took place in Britain at the end of the neolithic period, possibly as a “final hurrah” by stone-age man and woman as they sensed the approach of fundamental change, research on a prehistoric monument in Dorset has suggested.A study of the Mount Pleasant “mega henge”, a...

Prof Andrew Pollard tells MPs of need for careful scrutiny of clinical trial resultsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe head of the Oxford University group developing one of the leading Covid vaccine contenders has played down the chances of vaccinating people by Christmas.“I think there is a small chance of that being possible, but I just don’t know,’’ said...

The team behind a new documentary full of incredible footage of the secret life of mushrooms explain how fungi could help us stave off future pandemicsWatching the anemone stinkhorn sprout from the soil is a wondrous – and terrifying – thing. Emerging from a pod that looks like a truffle, the mushroom unfurls half a dozen arms, all a throbbing scarlet, like a collection of tongues. Each of...

Latest updates: Some Tory MPs critical of a lack of engagement with Conservative backbenchers before a Commons vote on England’s lockdownUK can expect at least three Covid waves with lockdowns, Mordaunt saysSix NHS staff contract Covid after car sharing without wearing masksCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage 9.39am GMT Good morning. MPs will vote on the regulations...