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8 articles from Guardian Unlimited Science

Solar storm confirms Vikings settled in North America exactly 1,000 years ago

Analysis of wood from timber-framed buildings in Newfoundland shows Norse-built settlement 471 years before ColumbusLong before Columbus crossed the Atlantic, eight timber-framed buildings covered in sod stood on a terrace above a peat bog and stream at the northern tip of Canada’s island of Newfoundland, evidence that the Vikings had reached the New World first.But precisely when the Vikings...

Why is it business as usual in England while Covid infections rise?

Analysis: a winter plan has been set out but implementing it could be hampered by political squeamishnessCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMore than 20 months into the Covid pandemic and with a tough winter looming, the public could be excused for having a distinct sense of deja vu.Infection rates are rising sharply, scientists and senior NHS figures are sounding the...

UK Covid live: Sajid Javid warns country could hit 100,000 cases per day and urges people to get jabs

Latest updates: health secretary says ‘pandemic is not over’ but confirms UK will not implement its ‘plan B’ measures just nowJavid vows to protect NHS but says Covid cases could hit 100,000 a dayNo 10 to buy new antiviral treatments for Covid in time for winterComplacency holding back booster rollout in England, says NHS bossMorocco bans flights from UK, Germany and NetherlandsCoronavirus...

No 10 to buy new antiviral treatments for Covid in time for winter

Trials show one of the drugs cuts risk of hospitalisation or death for patients by halfCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageNo 10 has made deals to buy hundreds of thousands of doses of two new antiviral treatments for coronavirus, ministers have announced, with the hope they will be approved for use in the UK ahead of the winter.One deal covers 480,000 courses of...

Your green credentials may be linked to your genes, scientists say

Identical twins have more similar views on environmental issues than non-identical ones, study findsSome people are more environmentally conscious than others, and scientists say the reason could be in their genes.A study has found that identical twins had more similar views on conservation and environmentalism than non-identical twins. The researchers say this suggests there could be a link...

Surgeons successfully test pig kidney transplant in human patient

Researchers in US say trial on dead person is a ‘significant step’ toward animal-to-human organ transplantsSurgeons have attached a pig’s kidney to a human and watched it begin to work, a small step in the decades-long quest to one day use animal organs for life-saving transplants.Pigs have been the most recent research focus to address the organ shortage, but a sugar in their cells, which...

Jane Goodall on fires, floods, frugality and the good fight: ‘People have to change from within’

The climate emergency has been a wakeup call to everyone, and the ethologist and environmentalist is working as hard as ever to defeat it. She discusses horror, hope and heroism in her late 80sIn Jane Goodall’s new book, there is a vivid description of her “deep bond” with a beech tree in the garden of her childhood home in Bournemouth. She would climb into its branches to read, hauling...

Floating props and little sleep: Russians describe filming world’s first movie in space

Film crew say shooting was a ‘huge challenge’ and they had to learn to walk again after 12 days in orbitTheir movie props floated around, sleeping was difficult and they used Velcro to keep objects in place but Russia’s first film crew in space said they were delighted with the result and had “shot everything we planned”.Yulia Peresild, one of Russia’s most glamorous actors, and film...