16 articles from SATURDAY 27.11.2021

Boris Johnson ‘ignored’ my plan to tackle deadly Covid variants – senior official

Former head of vaccine taskforce says No 10 has not acted on his blueprint to prepare UK for new strainsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBoris Johnson has been accused of ignoring a senior official’s plan to prepare Britain for the emergence of vaccine-resistant Covid variants, the Observer can reveal.With the government announcing on Saturday that the first UK cases...

Early action against Omicron is imperative to avoid devastating consequences | Ewan Birney

Scientists have sprung into action to identify the new Covid variant. We don’t yet know if it is a major threat - but we should not take any chancesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIt was only a matter of time before a new Sars-CoV-2 variant of concern emerged, requiring an urgent global response. It would seem that the Omicron variant, identified by scientists...

'Gangotri wave' connecting two of Milky Way's spiral arms discovered

A team of researchers from Germany, France and the U.K. has discovered a long thin filament of dense gas connecting two of the Milky Way galaxy's spiral arms. In their paper published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the group describes their work studying carbon monoxide gas in the galaxy.

The James Webb space telescope: in search of the secrets of the Milky Way

Billions of dollars over budget and years late, the most expensive, complex telescope to be sent into space will launch next month. What will it learn?In a few weeks, the most ambitious, costly robot probe ever built, the £6.8bn James Webb space telescope, will be blasted into space on top of a giant European Ariane 5 rocket. The launch of the observatory – which has been plagued by decades of...

A 3D ink made of living cells for creating living structures

A team of researchers from Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, has developed a type of living ink that can be used to print living materials. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the group describes how they made their ink and possible uses for it.

Omicron’s full impact will be felt in countries where fewer are vaccinated

Analysis: the new coronavirus variant seems highly transmissible, but the big question is whether it causes severe disease. Either way, poorer nations will be hit hardestCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIn early August Gideon Schreiber and a team of virologists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel began playing around with the spike protein of the Sars-CoV-2...

Giving male Bornean rock frogs testosterone found to exaggerate their kicking gestures

A team of researchers from Brown University, the University of Vienna and Smith College has found that giving male Bornean rock frogs testosterone pushes them to exaggerate their provocative kicking gestures. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group suggests their experiments show that the kicking gesture evolved as a means to intimidate other males by taking...

How can our brain still perceive familiar objects even when they become indistinct?

Researchers have explored the brain neuronal mechanism that allows the perception of familiar images even if they are indistinct. They found that the number of neurons responding to low-contrast rather than high-contrast visual stimuli increased in rats performing a visual orientation discrimination task after repeated experiences. These neurons showed stronger activities in correct-choice than...

Omicron Covid variant: Greg Hunt backflips as Australia shuts border to southern Africa

Australians attempting to return home from southern Africa will be allowed into the country, but ordered into mandatory hotel quarantineAustralia has suspended flights from nine southern African countries and closed its borders to any foreign nationals who have been to the region, amid concern about the emerging Covid-19 variant of concern, Omicron.The announcement, made by the federal health...