Analysis: the vaccine strategy and staggered easing of restrictions have worked well. The next step is crucial

Chemist who made a breakthrough in developing the anti-cancer drug cisplatin and brought about advances in spectroscopyAndrew Thomson, who has died aged 80 after a stroke, played a crucial role early in his career in the discovery of a widely used anti-cancer drug, cisplatin, before going on to do pioneering work in the field of spectroscopy, enhancing our understanding of the functioning of substances vital to life, such as haemoglobin.As an Oxford research chemist with a background in platinum chemistry, in 1967 Andrew was invited to Michigan State University by a group of biophysicists who had found that passing an electric current, using platinum electrodes, through a culture of the bacterium E coli had an inhibiting effect on the cell replication. They needed a chemist to determine the active substance. Andrew solved their problem by suggesting and synthesising two potential inhibitors and identifying the active one – now known as cisplatin. Continue reading...

In the runup to Cop26, public knowledge about the crisis is shallow, with few understanding the scale of the threatOne of the key lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic is that strong policies require strong public engagement: people needed to understand the nature of the virus before they would tolerate constraints on their lives or provide the government with a mandate for action.Yet the world faces another major problem that is already transforming economies, infrastructure and way of life: the climate crisis. And in this case, governments have miserably failed to inform or consult their citizens. Not one of the highest-polluting nations attending Joe Biden’s climate summit last week has a coherent strategy or dedicated national budget for public engagement. Continue reading...

Epidemiologist says he feels optimistic country will feel ‘a lot more normal by summer’

A study of fossilised insects suggests a correlation between their body size and the temperatureMost of us want to run a mile when the midges arrive, but not so for Viktor Baranov, who whips out his microscope to measure the insects. As well as measuring modern midges, Baranov has been looking at fossilised midges, and found that their size can be used to understand the climate going back hundreds of millions of years ago.Baranov, a palaeontologist at Lüdwig Maximilians University in Munich, chose to measure the non-biting Diptera midge. It is already well known that warm-blooded animals become larger as the climate becomes colder – for example, polar bears are much bigger than bears living in the tropics – so Baranov and his colleagues decided to see if the so called “Bergman rule” would hold for insects too. Continue reading...

Minna’s pancreatic surgery was cancelled as a result of the pandemic. By the time treatments resumed, her tumour was too big for doctors to operateWhen Minna Heeraman’s friends knew that she was dying, they made a video for her to watch from the hospital bed she had set up in her living room. It was a goodbye video. One after another, her friends spoke to the camera with tears in their eyes. They shared their memories of times spent together. Wine in the garden on sunny afternoons. Hen dos. Weddings. Christmas meet-ups. “I don’t know what more to say, Minna,” says one friend, choking back sobs. “I love you so much. And you’ll always be with us.”At this point, in September 2020, Minna had been stuck in bed for months. Her one shot at treatment would have been the Whipple procedure. A complex operation to remove the head of Minna’s pancreas – Apple’s founder, Steve Jobs, also underwent the procedure – it can extend the life expectancy of pancreatic cancer patients in about one-fifth of cases. But Minna’s surgery had been cancelled in the first wave of the pandemic. By the time hospitals resumed elective surgeries, it was too late. The tumour had grown to the point where it was inoperable. Whether the Whipple procedure would have saved her life, prolonged it or done nothing at all, is impossible to know. Minna was one of the hidden victims of the Covid-19 pandemic. She didn’t die from the virus, but it affected how she died. Continue reading...

Long March 5B is doing 27,600km/h in failing orbit, with eventual crash site unknown, after launching space station hubPart of a huge rocket that launched China’s first module for its Tianhe space station is falling back to Earth and could make an uncontrolled re-entry at an unknown landing point.The 30-metre high core of the Long March 5B rocket launched the “Heavenly Harmony” unmanned core module into low Earth orbit on 29 April from Wenchang in China’s Hainan province. Continue reading...

US pharmacy chains responsible for vast majority of the recorded 182,874 wasted doses, according to Kaiser Health NewsUS pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens are responsible for the vast majority of wasted vaccine doses, which total more than 180,000 reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to a story from Kaiser Health News.As of late March, the CDC recorded 182,874 tossed doses. CVS and Walgreens combined wasted 128,500 doses – CVS wasted about half and Walgreens 21%. Continue reading...

The solutions to today’s puzzlesEarlier today I set you four puzzles by Paulo Ferro, a Portuguese puzzle maker.1. Trapezium or trap-not-so-easy-um? Continue reading...

Even short, temporary increases in airborne particles can damage brain health, research suggestsTemporary rises in air pollution may impair memory and thinking in older men, according to research that indicates even short-term spikes in airborne particles can be harmful to brain health.Scientists found that the men’s cognitive performance fell following rises in air pollution during the month before testing, even when peak levels remained below safety thresholds for toxic air set by the World Health Organization and national regulators. Continue reading...

Indian government accused of complacency, with shortage of jabs likely to continue ‘for months’

Jeffrey Karp is at the forefront of a new generation of scientists using nature’s blueprints to create breakthrough medical technologies. Can bioinspiration help to solve some of humanity’s most urgent problems? By Laura Parker Continue reading...

Our South Asia correspondent reflects on a catastrophe that is now affecting the lives of almost everyone in the country

The crisis in India forced the west to respond. But without an ambitious global plan, other nations may suffer similar fatesAs the number of Covid-19 cases rose dramatically in Europe and the US during the early part of last year, something strange seemed to be happening in the global south. South Africa’s entire death toll was less than 100 at the same time that Britain was losing more than 1,000 lives a day. India’s death rate during this period was so low that it was termed a “mystery”. More confident conclusions were drawn about Africa’s fate; some thought it had been spared the worst of Covid-19 because it took decisive action early on in the pandemic, while others said the continent had been saved by its warm climate, its low elderly population and its “good community health systems”. There was even brief excitement about the curative potential of homegrown sweet wormwood, a plant that the president of Madagascar claimed was a treatment for Covid-19.Most of this reasoning was speculative. But by the late summer of 2020, two clear trends were emerging. While parts of western Europe were enduring a devastating first wave of Covid-19 cases, Africa and south Asia were experiencing a slow-moving, sometimes stalling rate of infection and a comparatively low death toll. Those trends are now being reversed. Continue reading...

The Eta Aquarids may not be the most spectacular meteors of the year but they are fun to seeThis week, keep an eye open for the Eta Aquarids meteor shower. Shooting stars from this annual display can usually be seen between 19 April and 28 May. This year they are expected to peak in the pre-dawn sky of 5 May, but the morning before and after are worth a try too. Continue reading...

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Custard tarts for the brainToday, four tasty treats from Paulo Ferro, a puzzlesmith from Porto.1. Trapezium or trap-not-so-easy-um? Continue reading...

Event at Sefton Park attended by 5,000 people with no distancing or masks as part of research programme

Readers reflect on the role of chance, randomness and responsibility in their own livesWhat high-quality letters (29 April) on free will. My A-level psychology students always found this fascinating and usually thought that free will was obvious until they had examined their own lives and realised that “soft determinism”, well-expounded by Robert Dimmick, was the likely answer. However, there is a big role for chance.For example, I probably wouldn’t have been born in 1949 if my father hadn’t dropped a large tin of paint and shattered his foot while painting the cruiser that he was on during the second world war. His ship sailed without him and was sunk by Japanese bombers with massive loss of life. My father didn’t choose to drop the paint pot, but thereafter there were broad deterministic tramlines to his and my life.

Covid crisis spurs growing interest in drugmakers, diagnostics and medical equipment firmsUK drugmakers, diagnostics, medical equipment and other life sciences companies have raised £10.6bn from private funding rounds and stock market flotations in the first three months of the year, more than half of last year’s record total, according to a report.Last year, investment into life sciences companies, including mergers and acquisitions, public listings, venture capital, and private equity, amounted to a nearly £20bn. Continue reading...

It’s taken 17 years, with many setbacks and some deaths, and still Richard Branson’s space mission is yet to launchRichard Branson was running almost 15 years late. But as we rode into the Mojave desert on the morning of 12 December 2018, he was feeling upbeat and untroubled by the past. He wore jeans, a leather jacket and the easy smile of someone used to being behind schedule.Branson hadn’t exactly squandered the past 15 years. He’d become a grandfather, moved to a private island in the Caribbean and expanded Virgin’s business empire into banking, hotels, gyms, wedding dresses and more. But he was staking his legacy on Virgin Galactic, the space tourism company he formed in 2004. The idea was to build a rocketship with seats for eight – two pilots, six passengers – that would be carried aloft by a mothership, released about 45,000ft in the air and then zoom just beyond the lower limit of space, float around for a few minutes, before returning to Earth. He was charging $200,000 a seat. Continue reading...

SpaceX safely returned four astronauts from the International Space Station on Sunday, making the first US crew splashdown in darkness since the Apollo 8 moonshot in 1968. The Dragon capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, just before 3am, ending the second astronaut flight for Elon Musk’s company

Capsule parachutes into Gulf of Mexico at 3am, the first night-time US crew splashdown since 1968SpaceX safely returned four astronauts from the International Space Station on Sunday, making the first US crew splashdown in darkness since the Apollo 8 moonshot.The Dragon capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, just before 3am, ending the second astronaut flight for Elon Musk’s company. It was an express trip home, lasting just six and a half hours. Continue reading...

Works inspired by messages from staff, volunteers and jab recipients will go on display at the Francis Crick Institute in London

On the centenary of his death, admirers hope to win recognition for the Bristol photographer’s motion picture camera

Vaccinated people can still get infected, but they are less likely to pass it onThere are two ways that getting vaccinated can slow the spread of the virus. First, it can help prevent you getting infected. Second, even if you are unlucky and catch the virus, it may reduce the risk of passing it on. It is crucial to understand how big these benefits are.Two huge new studies have taken advantage of the successful UK vaccine rollout. An Oxford-ONS analysis of more than 370,000 survey participants found infections were reduced by 65% after a single dose. For protection against the virus, one dose was similar to having had a prior infection. There was no major difference between the two available vaccines. Continue reading...

Officials say cases of South African and Brazilian variants picked up in Tower Hamlets

Care and repair is an invaluable mantra for your wardrobe, your mental health, your wallet and the planetIn today’s society, many of us go through our whole lives without ever working with our hands; we live, we work, we eat, we buy, we repeat. Everything is made and delivered at a blistering rate, from fast food to fast fashion and, although this may keep the economy buoyant, it’s not necessarily good for our mental health, or for our planet.But during the past year of lockdown, we have been forced to stay still. The hamster wheel has stopped, and for some of us – without young children to keep entertained – this has provided a unique moment of quiet contemplation. We have suddenly found ourselves with time to spare; time to tackle those half-finished projects and abandoned hobbies – and an increasing desire to be creative, and make things with our hands. Continue reading...

The Green New Deal, formerly seen as radical, is now in mainstream debate. And renewable energy becomes more efficient every day

Vaccine rollout and reduction in cases means family and friends could be allowed to hug in a fortnight

Those who are vaccinated still need to take precautions. Experts advise on the social etiquette

Rate of coronavirus is decreasing across the UK, according to latest ONS figures. This live blog is now closed – please follow the global coronavirus live blog for updates

Leading UK expert says loss of funding certain to damage attempts to tackle virus and variants

Small number have died after being vaccinated, mostly having caught virus before dose could take effectA small number of people vaccinated against Covid have been admitted to hospital with the disease and died, researchers have found, but most were frail and elderly and caught the virus before the jab could take effect.Scientists say their findings are reassuring. They bear out the conclusions of trials of the vaccines in use in the UK, which showed that the jabs are highly effective but do not protect everyone. Continue reading...

My husband, Nicholas Britton, who has died aged 67 of bone cancer, was a pioneering mathematical biologist whose research covered a huge range of subjects, from how malaria is transmitted to the growth of tree rings, and dialects in bird song.His teaching and work on modelling techniques made an important contribution to inspiring and training the generation of researchers who are currently applying these skills and knowhow to solving the problems of the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading...

China has sent into space the core module of its space station at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern province of Hainan, kicking off a series of key launch missions with one of the goals to create a national space laboratory.

Nasa’s sole choice of Elon Musk’s company for mission has been blamed on budget constraints

When the fearless, open-hearted athlete took her own life in October, the shock was immense. Now her family is determined to find out why

Analysis of bones from sixth to 16th centuries reveals the disease was 10 times more prevalent than expectedIt was a time when battles, plagues and ghastly accidents caused many a misery, but now research suggests the inhabitants of medieval Britain were no strangers to another tribulation: cancer.According to Cancer Research UK about 50% of people in the UK born after 1960 will receive a diagnosis of cancer during their lifetime. However, such diseases were thought to be relatively rare in medieval times. Continue reading...

Oliver Burkeman’s long read pitches philosophical readers against the more scientifically minded onesI read the online version of Oliver Burkeman’s long read that raises the question of whether free will is an illusion, and shortly afterwards read the same article again in print (The clockwork universe, Journal, 27 April). I was surprised when I realised that the brief reference to quantum physics online was missing in the printed version. Was it simply a matter of space, or was it left out because it made the whole argument too complicated? Either way, its omission was unfortunate.Most physicists would not regard the events in our universe as deterministic, or clockwork if you insist; they are in fact considered probabilistic and would leave Laplace’s demon scratching its head when attempting to make any long-term predictions. Quantum theory is fundamental to our understanding of reality, and those “tiny fluctuations” that the article mentions are an essential part of our reality. They allow the stars to shine, for instance. The argument for determinism implies a first mover, the unmoved mover, as Thomas Aquinas put it. Perhaps the quantum universe injects a multiplicity of unmoved movers, all that is needed to disrupt a predictable, in theory at least, deterministic universe and restore the possibility of free will.

Dr Dominic Salisbury says poor-quality evidence lies behind some treatments such as CBTIn reviewing the possible role of psychology in treating long Covid (Long Covid is very far from ‘all in the mind’ – but psychology can still help us treat it, 27 April), Dr Carmine Pariante misrepresents why many ME/chronic fatigue syndrome patients remain sceptical about psychological interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). It is not because we deny the important overlap between mental and physical illness, but rather because these interventions are offered as treatments based on poor-quality evidence of short-term marginal improvements in some patients.No cancer patient is offered psychotherapeutic interventions as treatment; rather, these therapies play a supportive role for patients who require them. In contrast, CBT has been recommended as a first-line treatment for ME/CFS for more than a decade. Indeed, the dominance of the biopsychosocial model of ME/CFS – with its emphasis on the roles of thoughts and behaviour, rather than pathology – is one of the reasons why long Covid patients are now facing such limited options in clinics.

Study of 11,584 staff found hesitancy was higher among BAME workers, as well as younger staff

Archaeologists studying Warsaw’s national collection of mummies expected to uncover a male priestPolish researchers examining an ancient Egyptian mummy that they expected to be a male priest were surprised when X-rays and computer tests revealed instead that it was a mummy of a woman who had been seven months pregnant.The researchers said on Thursday it was the world’s first known case of such a well-preserved ancient mummy of a pregnant woman. Continue reading...

Astronaut and pilot of the command module Columbia during 1969’s Apollo 11 missionOn 20 July 1969, Michael Collins, who has died aged 90, became the most solitary human in the universe – even if he derided that categorisation as “phony philosophy”. He orbited the moon alone, inside Apollo 11’s command module Columbia, and out of touch with ground control for 48 minutes on each orbit. Meanwhile, and more famously, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were becoming the first men to set foot on that rock, some 240,000 miles away from Earth.As the command module pilot, on $17,000 a year, Collins was, he later wrote half-jokingly, “the navigator, the guidance and control expert, the base-camp operator, the owner of the leaky plumbing – all the things I was least interested in doing”. He was also, thought Aldrin, probably Nasa’s best-trained command module pilot. Continue reading...

China has successfullylaunched the first moduleof its new space station, part of an ambitiousplan for Beijing to have a permanenthuman presence in space. The Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony, unmanned core module, launched fromWenchang in China’s Hainan province, is expectedto become fully operational in 2022, with about 10 more missions requiredto launch and assemble parts

Hormones, steroids and antibiotics intended for use on dogs, horses, pigeons and farm animals intercepted by officialsThe government has been urged to open an investigation into illegal imports of veterinary drugs, after the number seized at the UK border increased dramatically last year.The Veterinary Medicines Directorate, the executive agency that regulates animal drugs, seized more than 40 different illegal medicines in the year to March 2021, compared with just one in 2019, one in 2018 and three in 2017. Continue reading...

Impact is on par with adult punch and larvae can move fast enough to capture prey, researchers observedThere’s a small, iridescent crustacean you might have heard of: its powerful punch can crack holes in aquarium glass and be deployed at the speed of a bullet. These aggressive critters – called mantis shrimp – can also be trigger happy, keen to pummel prey, predators and even their own kind if the need arises.So how old do offspring have to be to unleash blows? Pretty young it turns out. Mantis shrimp larvae can bludgeon their dinner nine to 15 days after hatching, researchers have found. Continue reading...

The space station is expected to become fully operational in 2022 after about 10 missions to bring up more parts and assemble them in orbitChina has launched the first module of its new space station, a milestone in Beijing’s ambitious plan to place a permanent human presence in space.The Tianhe or “Heavenly Harmony” unmanned core module, containing living quarters for three crew, was launched from Wenchang in China’s Hainan province on a Long-March 5B rocket on Thursday. Continue reading...

Over her career, first as a forester and then as a professor of forest ecology, Suzanne Simard has been uncovering the hidden fungal networks that connect trees and allow them to send signals and share resources. Speaking to Suzanne about her new book, Finding the Mother Tree, Linda Geddes discovers how these underground webs allow plants to cooperate and communicate with each other Continue reading...

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