23 articles from SUNDAY 13.12.2020

Coronavirus: socialising at Christmas 'very risky', say NHS bosses

Fears that relaxing restrictions over festive period will put further pressure on hospitalsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSocialising over Christmas, particularly with those most vulnerable to Covid, will be “very risky” and threatens to put further pressure on hospital beds this winter, NHS bosses have warned.Chris Hopson, the head of NHS Providers, which...

'Autoantibodies' may be driving severe Covid cases, study shows

Scientists find aberrant immune system in patients with virus could also be cause of ‘long Covid’Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage Dramatic levels of “friendly fire” from the immune system may drive severe Covid-19 disease and leave patients with “long Covid” – when medical problems persist for a significant time after the virus has been beaten –...

How artificial intelligence helped me overcome my dyslexia

I rely on apps for help with spelling and grammar as if they were old friends. Now I’m a tech entrepreneurI’m 10 years old. Minutes into a maths lesson and my palms have already begun to sweat. I’ve positioned myself in the back row, but the teacher walks up and down the aisles of the classroom, peering over our shoulders. I don’t understand the rules. The teacher’s voice becomes a blur,...

Fit for a king: true glory of 1,000-year-old cross buried in Scottish field is revealed at last

Part of the Galloway Hoard, found in 2014, the piece is so spectacular it may have belonged to a monarchA spectacular Anglo-Saxon silver cross has emerged from beneath 1,000 years of encrusted dirt following painstaking conservation. Such is its quality that whoever commissioned this treasure may have been a high-standing cleric or even a king.It was a sorry-looking object when first unearthed in...

Vaccine vials, masks: welcome to the first Covid collection, at London's Science Museum

Vial used to give Margaret Keenan the first non-trial dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is among items being used to document UK’s response to pandemicThe vial of the first dose of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to be used outside a trial – administered last Tuesday to 90-year-old Margaret Keenan from Coventry – has been added to a collection of artefacts documenting the pandemic.The empty vial...

Has a year of living with Covid-19 rewired our brains?

The pandemic is expected to precipitate a mental health crisis, but perhaps also a chance to approach life with new clarityShow your support for rigorous, independent Guardian journalismCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageWhen the bubonic plague spread through England in the 17th century, Sir Isaac Newton fled Cambridge where he was studying for the safety of his family...

Science has led us to the brink of beating Covid-19. Let’s not jeopardise it | Patrick Vallance

Rejoice at the worldwide success of research and technology, but if we don’t follow the rules it could all be for nothingNearly a year after the pandemic started, it was a moment of hope when Margaret Keenan – a 90-year-old grandmother, and resident of Coventry for 60 years – received what she described as an “early birthday present”. She was the first person to receive an approved...

Coronavirus live news: South Korea reports highest daily infections as US nears 300,000 deaths after record day

Trump hails start of immunisation programme; Italy overtakes UK for Europe’s highest death toll; Germany expected to close shops before ChristmasHow Covid revealed the truth about our worldFDA chief urged by White House to approve Pfizer vaccine ‘or quit’Scientists warn against Christmas gatherings in UKCalifornia’s ICU beds near capacity as hospitalizations hit recordSee all our...

'Boss' genes could save human hearts - and the reef

UQ researchers have revealed rare decision-making genes in cells, which control how cells develop and respond to stress caused by disease or their environment. Researchers hope that in the future, they may be able to block a cell's bad decisions to prevent disease.

When chemistry with green light mimics what happens in life

Taking inspiration from nature, researchers at Queensland University of Technology in Australia and Ghent University in Belgium created a green light-stabilised 3D polymer structure that unfolds itself when left in darkness - the first reported example of a reversible, light-triggered process to fold polymers into single chain nanoparticles.

Geminid meteor shower to light up Australian skies in stellar week for stargazers

Space party kicks off on Monday with the annual display, followed on Thursday by a once-in-a-20-year event when Jupiter and Saturn ‘kiss’Australian stargazers are set to be treated to a galactic display as planets align and shooting stars light up the night sky through the next week.The space party starts with the annual Geminid meteor shower on Monday morning when the Earth passes through the...