Immune defences in lungs can vary with ethnicity – but doubts remain over data quality and socio-economic factorsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe statistics are stark. In the second wave of the pandemic those with Pakistani backgrounds were more than twice as likely to die from Covid-19 than those from white European backgrounds. For those of Bangladeshi heritage...

Fall for under-18s, logged by Zoe app, may be half-term glitch and older groups still ‘dominate’ hospital cases say other scientistsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageScientists on the Zoe Covid study believe UK cases of coronavirus might have peaked for the year, a suggestion that prompted some experts to warn that it was too soon to know how the epidemic would play...

Finding could partly explain excess deaths seen in some communities in the UK and in south AsiaScientists have identified a gene that doubles the risks of respiratory failure and death from Covid and could explain why people of south Asian heritage are more vulnerable to the disease.The gene, which changes the way the lungs respond to infection, is the most important genetic risk factor identified...

Pill can be taken twice daily at home and priority will be given to elderly patients and those with health vulnerabilitiesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe UK medicines regulator has become the first in the world to approve an oral antiviral pill for Covid in a move that paves the way for tens of thousands of vulnerable patients to receive the treatment from this...

Two people tell us about their experiences with CBT and how it changed their livesThe psychotherapist Aaron Beck, known as the father of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), died on Tuesday aged 100 at his Philadelphia home. CBT is a form of treatment that helps patients to analyse and manage negative thinking patterns rather than focusing on past conflicts. Here, two people tell us about their...

This wildly hagiographic documentary about the billionaires fiddling with their massive rockets will have you cringing all the way into suborbital spaceFor a documentary created with the Washington Post, a newspaper owned by a company controlled by Jeff Bezos, the new Discovery+ special Space Titans has an impressive amount of Elon Musk in it. Maybe the algorithm doesn’t dictate everything quite...

The World Health Organization has granted an emergency use licence to a coronavirus vaccine developed in India; UK warning that virus is spreading from children into more vulnerable age groupsBill Gates calls for huge global effort to prepare for future pandemicsCovid infections in England double in over-65s over past monthUK launches trial of drug to tackle fatigue in long Covid patientsCDC backs...

Among under-18s, vaccine uptake is low, and there is a growing issue with misinformation spread on social media and at school. Is there anything a concerned caregiver can do?Throughout the pandemic, Anna has worked for the NHS. She has seen the effects of Covid-19 first-hand and, although she worked remotely because she was in a vulnerable group, other colleagues – she is a physiotherapist –...

The Science Weekly podcast is in Glasgow, where we are bringing listeners daily episodes from Cop26. Each morning you will hear from one of the Guardian’s award-winning environment team. Today, host Madeleine Finlay talks to the Guardian’s biodiversity and environment reporter, Patrick Greenfield, and shadow Cop26 president Ed Miliband about the announcements from finance dayOn Wednesday,...

Researchers say leaves of the matalafi plant could also potentially be used to treat cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases Leaves from a plant which can be found “in back yards across Samoa” could be as effective as ibuprofen in lowering inflammation and could even be used to treat illnesses such as Parkinson’s and cancer, a new study has found.For centuries, the leaves of the...