She has always maintained her four children died of natural causes. Now 90 scientists argue she may be rightLeading scientific experts are petitioning for the pardon of the woman dubbed Australia’s worst female serial killer, arguing that all four of her children had rare genetic conditions that could explain their deaths.Kathleen Folbigg is in jail for killing her children as infants between...

Forty years after the mutant genes that cause the deadliest cancers were discovered, drugs that target them could be approvedIn the early 1980s, Channing Der was just beginning his career as a scientist at Harvard Medical School when he happened upon a discovery that would change the course of cancer research. At the time, the holy grail of cancer biology was discovering so-called oncogenes –...

A difficult pregnancy meant the only item I dared buy for my unborn child was a book. When she arrived we read it to her every dayNine years ago, I gave birth to a little girl. And now that little girl has grown into a bookworm. It began, as all stories about books should really begin, in a bookshop. I was several months pregnant and I picked up an American picture book I had never come across...

Contradictory death figures in Russia; WHO warns against relaxing guard due to vaccinesFrom Pfizer to Moderna, the companies making billions from vaccinesEU indecision led Cyprus to allow in UK visitors, says ministerUp to a million long Covid patients may need treatment after pandemicNadiya Hussain urges British Bangladeshis to get Covid vaccineSee all our coronavirus coverage 10.47am GMT...

The companies in line for the biggest gains – and the shareholders who have already made fortunesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe arrival of Covid-19 vaccines promises a return to more normal life – and has created a global market worth tens of billions of dollars in annual sales for some pharmaceutical companies.Among the biggest winners will be Moderna and...

Vehicle had no problem going 6.5 metres, turning and backing up, then photographed its own wheel marks on planet’s surfaceNasa’s Mars rover Perseverance has taken a short drive two weeks after touching down, mission managers have said.The six-wheeled, car-sized probe went 6.5 metres (21.3 feet) during a half-hour test within Jezero crater, an ancient lake bed and river delta. Continue...