Exclusive: Prof Sir Tim Gowers says ‘things will get bad very quickly’ after June if variant spread underestimatedGowers’ herd immunity document sent to Dominic CummingsSee all our coronavirus coverageThe Cambridge professor whose argument against a herd immunity strategy helped trigger England’s first lockdown has voiced concerns about the risks of easing restrictions next month.Prof Sir...
Business secretary says residents ‘were protected as far as we could’ during early days of pandemicCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe UK business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has defended Matt Hancock against criticism that he failed to protect people in care homes at the outset of the Covid pandemic, saying residents “were protected as far as we could”.The...
Latest updates: Boris Johnson facing pressure to delay lifting of Covid restrictions in England from 21 June over threat of third wave caused by India variantCovid bereaved demand public inquiry and end to ‘political pantomime’Three-quarters of new UK cases could be India variant, says HancockHancock faces calls to explain Covid test failings at care homesGlobal coronavirus updates – live...
A navigation error sent Nasa’s Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, on a wild ride through the Martian atmosphere. The issue is the first major problem since its maiden voyage in April. The technical issue occurred one minute into Ingenuity’s sixth test flight after one of the pictures taken by onboard cameras did not register in the navigation system - confusing the helicopter about its location. It...
Trees communicate with each other, store memories and respond to attacks. They have a profoundly positive effect on our emotions … but can we know how they feel about us?Why can’t we communicate with trees the same way we communicate with, say, elephants? Both live in social groups and look after not only their young but also their elders. That famous elephant memory is also found in trees,...
The annual Milky Way photographer of the year competition features the best photos of our galaxy as selected by Capture the Atlas. This year’s images were taken from around the world by 25 photographers of 14 different nationalities. The best time to see and photograph the Milky Way is usually between May and June with maximum hours of visibility on both hemispheres Continue...
SpaceShipTwo rocket plane soars above Earth on successful test flight to edge of spaceVirgin Galactic has performed its third voyage to the edge of space using the SpaceShipTwo rocket plane. This flight, which took place on 22 May, was the first to take off from the company’s Spaceport America facility in New Mexico.Virgin Galactic’s system comprises two parts: the rocket ship VSS Unity and...
Problem with camera-based navigation system saw helicopter wobble through the air in biggest tech issue Ingenuity has facedA navigation timing error sent Nasa’s Mars helicopter on a lurching ride, its first major problem since it took to the Martian skies last month.The experimental helicopter, named Ingenuity, managed to land safely after the problem occurred, officials at the Jet Propulsion...
Medical experts explain how much quarantine breaches, cold weather and pure chance contribute to the spread of coronavirus cases in MelbourneVictoria has started its seven-day circuit-breaker lockdown – its fourth lockdown since the coronavirus pandemic began.Other states have also imposed snap lockdowns or restrictions as a result of Covid cases in the community, most recently New South Wales,...
Archaeologists say White Monument in Tal Banat was tribute to war dead of 3rd millennium BCA burial mound in northern Syria has been identified by researchers as perhaps the world’s oldest known war memorial.The site, known as the White Monument, in the town of Tal Banat had previously been thought to be an ancient mass grave of enemy fighters. However, a report published in the journal...