Gloomiest predictions may have not come to pass, but experts caution that we’re not out of the woods yetCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe family gatherings have disbanded, the new year’s hangovers have lifted. Despite record Covid infection figures over the holiday period, evidence that the rate of increase in cases may be slowing has prompted speculation that...

They say laughter is the best medicine – and trauma patients in Bristol are about to put the theory to the testName: Comedy.Age: The term comedy (from the Greek κωμῳδία, or kōmōidía) originated in ancient Greece, where poets would perform political satire in theatres in order to influence voters. Continue...

Temperature records were broken across all four nations over the new year weekend According to the UK’s Met Office: “The extremely mild spell is driven by a flow of warm, moist air pushing across the UK from the Canary Islands and further south in the Atlantic.” This has resulted in the “unusual situation of one weather system breaking weather records for two days in separate calendar...

Wall Street and Peter Thiel are all investing in psychedelics. But Oxycotin showed the harm profit-hungry corporations can cause with ‘wonder drugs’ The new Hulu series Dopesick is a dramatic reminder of the devastation that has been wrought by the opioid epidemic. Like the book on which it was based, and like other journalism about the Oxycontin crisis, the show makes it clear that members of...

Jeremy Lockwood spent lockdown identifying two specimens – and is a ‘bit obsessed’ in his search for moreSome of us binged on box sets, others grappled with the challenges of home school and zoned out of Zoom meetings: for many, life under lockdown felt glum. But for Jeremy Lockwood, a retired GP turned palaeontologist, 2021 was a standout year featuring two big dinosaur discoveries and...