My years teaching in universities – and my own children – have changed my attitude to the storm of disability our young people faceI’ve been teaching at Australian universities for 25 years now. I began when I was 27 – I’m now 52. This means I’ve been next to university students since 1996, and if you’re curious about these things, you see patterns begin to emerge.Every parent, every...

Omicron may have affected risk in England, but other factors could include vaccination and severity of previous infectionCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAnecdotal reports of Covid reinfection in the UK are growing, including people testing positive just weeks apart in December and January, or having had the virus three or even four times. Children are also being seen...

In the 1980s we learned that public health messaging divorced from people’s values simply doesn’t work Since the beginning of the pandemic, communication from the government, epidemiologists and health statisticians appears to rely on the belief that if people are shown enough graphs, enough models, enough statistics, enough information, they will all act rationally and do the right thing....

Tiny particles including tyre dust found in ice cores stretching back 50 years, showing global plastic contaminationNanoplastic pollution has been detected in polar regions for the first time, indicating that the tiny particles are now pervasive around the world.The nanoparticles are smaller and more toxic than microplastics, which have already been found across the globe, but the impact of both...

Females whose grandfathers began smoking at early age tend to have more body fat, Children of the 90s study suggestsWomen and girls whose grandfathers or great-grandfathers began smoking at an early age tend to have more body fat, research that taps into the extraordinary 30-year-old Children of the 90s study has found.In an earlier piece of work it was discovered that if a father started smoking...

Analysis: Experts say when the rules are relaxed there tends to be a gradual erosion of protective behavioursAll plan B measures in England will be lifted next week, meaning an end to compulsory mask-wearing in shops, vaccine certificates for entering venues, and guidance to work from home. But are the public ready to embrace these freedoms just weeks after Covid cases in the UK hit a record high...

Rocket strapped to wing of 747 takes off from California space port to launch site above PacificVirgin Orbit has conducted its third successful commercial launch using a rocket strapped to the left wing of a modified 747 aircraft. The flight took off on 13 January from the Mojave Air and Space Port, California, at 1339 PST (0939 GMT). It then flew to the launch site above the Pacific, about 50...