My aunt Margaret Waddy, who has died aged 77 of a pulmonary embolism, was a horticulturist and a teacher, a quiz fan and a committed volunteer with Samaritans in Cambridge.Margaret was born in London but her early life was spent in the Gold Coast, now Ghana, where her parents, Bernard (known as BB) Waddy, a doctor in tropical medicine, and Mary (nee Lawrence), worked for the Colonial Service. At...

Research in South Africa raises hopes that similar responses may be present with other vaccinesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSouth African researchers examining how the body’s immune system responds to the Omicron variant have identified that T-cells in people who have had the Pfizer vaccine continue to be robust in potentially protecting against severe illness...

Officials issue product alert and say ‘quantum pendants’ could damage DNA with prolonged usePeople who wear “anti-5G” pendants to “protect” themselves from radio frequencies emitted by phone masts have been told by the Dutch nuclear authority that their necklaces are dangerously radioactive.Owners of “quantum pendants” and other “negative ion” jewellery have been advised to...

Analysis: If the spread continues at this rate, a small proportion of Covid hospitalisations is a serious matterWith the booster programme at full tilt across the UK, immunity against Covid is rising – so it is perhaps not surprising that the concern shown by experts over the steep rise in Omicron infections has left some bemused. For while the new variant is believed to dodge Covid vaccines to...

Exclusive: Vessel may have held a perfume or other potion used to anoint kings or in religious ceremoniesWhen the Galloway hoard was unearthed from a ploughed field in western Scotland in 2014, it offered the richest collection of Viking-age objects ever found in Britain or Ireland. But one of the artefacts paled in comparison with treasures such as a gold bird-shaped pin and a silver-gilt vessel...