Half of UK adults have had a first jab, and future supplies of millions of doses look assured

Number fully vaccinated in UK passes 5m milestone; Argentina’s leader tests positive. This blog has now closed. Follow our coronavirus news below:

There is plenty of evidence that empathy can be taught in childhood, but it gets more complicated when it comes to adults, especially when it is forcedCan people change?That’s the question behind the multibillion-dollar self-help industry, the proliferation of blogs and podcasts that promise to make you a better human, and the ubiquitous and vacuous “inspo” memes. Continue reading...

Spreading fears over the Oxford vaccine undercuts science and public healthIt has been a disquieting week for those concerned about the lifting of Covid restrictions. Numbers of cases and deaths may be declining but the news that the AstraZeneca vaccine has been linked to cases of rare blood clots and has been suspended for use in younger people in Germany and the Netherlands is a disturbing development. The AstraZeneca jab is the prime hope we have of clearing Britain of this disease and is now, once again, under hostile scrutiny. Not for the first time, this vaccine has become enmeshed in geopolitics and its usefulness questioned. It is a grim story.In this case, fears have been raised that the vaccine may be linked to seven deaths among a total of 30 rare blood-clotting cases that arose after administration of the vaccine. That is of obvious concern, but a quick look at the arithmetic puts those fears into perspective. Those 30 cases occurred among 18 million recipients of the AstraZeneca jab, a risk of less than one in 500,000. Now run this simple thought experiment and ask what would happen if we stopped the vaccination of 500,000 middle-aged people, say, for a month? About 85 would be hospitalised and about five would die from Covid, it is estimated. Those figures reveal the power of vaccinations that have already prevented more than 6,000 Covid deaths in the UK, with tens of thousands of lives likely to be saved this year. Continue reading...

The physicist on Newton finding inspiration amid the great plague, how the multiverse can unite religions, and why a ‘theory of everything’ is within our graspMichio Kaku is a professor of theoretical physics at City College, New York, a proponent of string theory but also a well-known populariser of science, with multiple TV appearances and several bestselling books behind him. His latest book, The God Equation, is a clear and accessible examination of the quest to combine Einstein’s general relativity with quantum theory to create an all-encompassing “theory of everything” about the nature of the universe.How close do you believe science is to accomplishing a theory of everything?

Country has registered more than 12.9 million cases; 10,000 appointments scrapped, reports Dutch news agency citing Netherlands health ministry

At the end of last year, a crack team of British scientists discovered a new coronavirus strain that would spread across the world. As new variants emerge, can they keep them at bay?In late November last year, the people of Swale in Kent were being lambasted for disobedience. They were being Covid-shamed. The district, home to a large number of apple orchards, as well as the historic towns of Faversham and Sittingbourne, had the highest infection rates in the country. Close behind was nearby Thanet, the two areas totalling a little less than 500 sq km. The rules on wearing masks and social distancing were being “wilfully disregarded”, said Swale council leader Roger Truelove at an emergency meeting. Afterwards he told reporters: “We do get reports of crowding in supermarkets, and so we will be writing to supermarkets.” The council planned to “supercharge the messaging” that people should follow the rules. But they were not to know – how could they? – that the coronavirus had played a particularly nasty trick on their coastal borough.At least two months before anybody spotted that the UK had a problem, a new variant of the virus had emerged without any warning. The hunt for what would later be dubbed the Kent variant took over the lives of some of the UK’s leading scientists for many urgent weeks, leading to the cancellation of Christmas and the UK’s third lockdown. The variant spread so fast, it now accounts for most of the Covid cases in the UK. Continue reading...

The acting chief medical officer says it is ‘likely’ the 44-year-old Victorian man’s condition is related to the vaccine

Chief medical officer Jeannette Young says state will stop sending Covid-19 patients to Princess Alexandra hospitalQueensland will temporarily stop sending Covid-19 infected patients to Brisbane’s highly-regarded Princess Alexandra hospital after authorities discovered it was the source of two separate clusters which forced the city into a three-day lockdown last week.The news came as the state reported one new locally acquired Covid-19 case. Continue reading...

SN11 explodes after high-altitude flight over Texas, the fourth prototype in a row to failFor the fourth time in a row, SpaceX has lost one of its Starship prototypes during a high-altitude test launch.Starship Serial Number 11 (SN11) launched from the company’s test site in Boca Chica, Texas, on 30 March at 8am local time (2pm BST) in thick fog. Similar to the three previous attempts, SN11 climbed to roughly 10km (6.2 miles) in altitude using three methane-fuelled Raptor engines, developed by the company. Continue reading...

Government commitment to Horizon Europe fund averts immediate threat to science, say universitiesThe government has stepped in at the 11th hour with an additional £250m in funding to help pay for the UK’s association with Horizon Europe, the European Union’s funding programme for research and innovation.Universities welcomed the move as “a significant affirmation of the government’s belief in research” which would avert the immediate threat to UK science. Continue reading...

The team behind Once Upon a Time in Iraq has compiled a moving and sometimes hopeful three-parter that offers a global perspective on the crisisLike the virus itself, the programmes about it have moved from localised subjects to a slightly wider field and now have expanded to take in a global view. It hasn’t been a perfectly linear progression, of course, but most of the first documentaries were composed largely of footage recorded by medical professionals themselves, at work and then – exhausted and tearful – at home.After that came socially distanced films recording the impact on local communities and bereaved families, the experiences of survivors and the long-term consequences for those who do not make a full recovery. Alongside that have come considerations and critiques of the UK response to the crisis and comparisons – not generally favourable – with that of other countries. Continue reading...

An adolescence of shame about being LGBTQ+ can have lingering effects on our behaviour that stretch well into adulthoodGuilt and shame can be addictive. In certain religious and traditional contexts, it can even be venerated, honoured – the requisite emotion that subdues human ego and maintains humility at the feet of a far higher power. But it can also leave an indelible stain on our character, our personality, and our mental health that endures for years, particularly for those brought up in such conservative environments where guilt and shame were measurements of our own self-worth.“It’s good to cry when you pray. Tears wash away your sins,” an aunt – a devout Maronite Catholic – once remarked to me as a child. I took those words and held them close to my chest, and for many years in my adolescence, Good Friday was the moment of repentance, of a dive deep into my own being in search of guilt. I’d sit, in darkness, burrowing into the corners of my mind, scouring the memories of the previous year in search of acts or incidents that would render me guilty, that would strike the emotional cords, and activate the stress hormone that made tears well up in my eyes. Continue reading...

Growing diagnosis of the condition needs to be matched by increasing acceptance and support

Findings based on two doses three weeks apart are first to show shot remains effective for many months

With public art collections closed we are bringing the art to you, exploring highlights from across the country in partnership with Art UK. Today’s pick: Brown Dog by Nicola Hicks, in Battersea Park

BMJ analysis of 48,000 records also finds one in eight patients die within four months of discharge

In part two of The Age of Extinction takeover of Science Weekly, Patrick Greenfield and Phoebe Weston explore a relatively new and controversial technology called DNA barcoding that is helping scientists to differentiate between species – including fungi, which we heard about in part one. As the catastrophic loss of biodiversity around the world continues, could DNA barcoding at least allow us to accurately record the species that are perishing? Continue reading...

Emmanuel Macron announces three-week shutdown of schools after leaving restrictions ‘until last moment’

Research carried out during Covid spectator bans suggests support is not a key factor in match resultsWhile football players sweat it out on the field, their supporters in the stadium shout and sing, giving those playing at home an advantage. When Covid-19 hit, some expected that home advantage to disappear when spectators had to watch games on screens – but research suggests home teams retain a statistical advantage over their visitors.Researchers have long investigated the home advantage phenomenon – implicating crowd support, referee bias, psychological effects of expectations, travel fatigue, familiarity, territoriality, and tactical behaviour as factors, but there is no consensus on which are the main drivers. Continue reading...

Leading virologist says country is in ‘serious and complicated’ stage of pandemic

They may seem grandiose, but some narcissists are just compensating for their deep-set insecurities. Others are out-and-out psychopaths

Readers respond to Lucy Foulkes’ article on what we are getting wrong in the conversation around mental healthIt is pleasing that Lucy Foulkes’ experience (What we’re getting wrong in the conversation about mental health, 29 March) of supporting her friend through a relationship breakdown leads her to question the helpfulness of applying psychiatric diagnoses uncritically in this and other situations. Critical approaches to psychiatry, and indeed psychology and psychotherapy, now form a substantial body of work. Most importantly, this includes the experiences of service users who have found themselves to have been treated badly by traditional mental health services.One example, thankfully gaining visibility, is the cultural insensitivity of models of practice that have been developed in Europe and America, but which are then applied uncritically to people from a wide range of backgrounds. A forthcoming book, Racism in Psychology, edited by Craig Newnes, covers this ground in relation to psychology and psychotherapy practice. I know from many years of experience in mental health services that psychiatry and psychology/psychotherapy can be enormously helpful to people when their needs and wishes are carefully listened to and given the highest priority, rather than the insensitive application of theory.

Study finds testosterone associated with risk of developing potentially deadly skin cancer, but causation not provedMen with high levels of testosterone have an increased risk of developing a potentially deadly skin cancer, researchers have found.According to Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, one in 36 UK males and one in 47 UK females will be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in their lifetime. It said 86% of melanoma cases were preventable, typically caused by use of sunbeds or staying out in the sun, but other factors played a role in who is most at risk, including age and genetics. Continue reading...

Archaeologist says neolithic discovery may be among oldest salt-processing sites in western EuropeNeolithic people were manufacturing salt in Britain almost 6,000 years ago, before the building of Stonehenge and more than two millennia earlier than was first thought, a new archaeological discovery suggests.Excavations at a site at Street House farm in North Yorkshire have revealed evidence of the earliest salt production site ever found in the UK and one of the first of its kind in western Europe, dating to around 3,800BC. Continue reading...

Research finds lower risk among those who drink up to 14 units a week – especially if they drink red winePeople who consume up to 14 units of alcohol a week have less chance of developing cataracts, especially if they drink red wine, a new British study has found.Antioxidants found in wine could help explain why moderate drinkers are at up to 23% less risk of having to have cataract surgery than people who shun alcohol, the researchers believe. Continue reading...

Loss of grants, driven by deep cuts to foreign aid, threatens research and international collaborationsSenior scientists fear that deep cuts to government research spending will have “catastrophic” consequences for the UK, with projects cancelled midway through and some of the brightest minds moving to other countries.Hundreds of research projects tackling issues from the Covid pandemic to antimicrobial resistance and the climate crisis are already being axed after the country’s main science funder, UK Research and Innovation, told universities its budget for official development assistance (ODA) grants had been cut from £245m to £125m. Continue reading...

Planned IPO of life science group will test LSE’s appetite for funding high-growth tech

Study by Office for National Statistics based on data from blood test results

Commission security proposal would restrict UK access to Horizon Europe quantum computing projectBritain will join China in being locked out of research with the EU on cutting-edge quantum technology, such as new breeds of supercomputers, due to security concerns under a European commission proposal opposed by academics and 19 member states.At a meeting on Friday, commission officials said the EU needed to keep control of intellectual property on key projects and that working with even close allies such as the UK and Switzerland opened up an unacceptable risk. Continue reading...

Heatwaves to double and many properties will be uninsurable if global heating reaches 3C, Australian Academy of Science says

Whether you are a seasoned astronomer or new to stargazing, we’d like to see your photos from the last few weeksHave you taken a recent photograph of the cosmos that you’re particularly proud of? Whether you are a seasoned astronomer or new to stargazing, we would like to hear from you. Continue reading...

Mega-constellations could cause scientists to miss out on crucial discoveries, warn researchersArtificial satellites and space junk orbiting the Earth can increase the brightness of the night sky, researchers have found, with experts warning such light pollution could hinder astronomers’ ability to make observations of our universe.There are more than 9,200 tonnes of space objects in orbit around the Earth, ranging from defunct satellites to tiny fragments, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). Now it seems space junk not only poses a collision risk but, together with other space objects, is contributing to light pollution. Continue reading...

Spasms, memory loss and hallucinations among symptoms of 43 patients in Acadian region of New Brunswick provinceDoctors in Canada are concerned they could be dealing with a previously unknown brain disease amid a string of cases involving memory loss, hallucinations and muscle atrophy.Politicians in the province of New Brunswick have demanded answers, but with so few cases, experts say there are far more questions than answers and have urged the public not to panic. Continue reading...

Stanford University scientists determine sequences of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines from vials set to be discardedScientists have determined the “recipes” for two Covid-19 vaccines using leftovers in vials bound for the trash and published the mRNA sequences on Github, the online repository for software code.The group of scientists from Stanford University were able to determine the sequences of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and included the mRNA sequences in a post they published on Github last week, tech news site Motherboard first reported. Continue reading...

Two separate clusters of UK variant spread in Brisbane when unvaccinated health workers contracted coronavirusThe Queensland hospital system was already “stressed” before the latest Covid outbreak partly because everyone with the virus is moved from hotel quarantine into hospital, but not all hospital workers have been vaccinated yet, experts say.There are now two separate clusters of the infectious UK variant of coronavirus in Brisbane that spread when unvaccinated health workers contracted the virus. The cases have forced Brisbane into a snap three-day lockdown. Continue reading...

Last August, Pape and his family went on a city break to Birmingham, making the most of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s discount scheme. The day after he arrived home, his symptoms beganAmanda Pape didn’t want to go on a city break to Birmingham during a pandemic, but her husband, Bob, a 53-year-old lawyer, insisted. “Bob was convinced that the government would not allow people to travel if it wasn’t safe,” says Amanda, a 56-year-old former teacher. Bob was persuasive – he was a lawyer, after all – so she relented. Along with her daughter, Jazzy, 19, one of Jazzy’s friends and a child Bob and Amanda were fostering, they booked three nights in a Holiday Inn from 2 August 2020.The family, from Altrincham, Greater Manchester, stayed from Sunday to Wednesday, to make the most of the government’s “eat out to help out” (EOTHO) scheme, which offered food and soft drink discounts on Mondays to Wednesdays in August. Right until they left for Birmingham, Amanda was uneasy. She was on the verge of cancelling. It felt wrong. Continue reading...

Immunisation panel says there is ‘substantial uncertainty about the benefit’ of the vaccine given risk of rare type of blood clot

Adults can enhance their empathy but successful patients need ‘a certain base level’ to begin with, according to psychologists• Former branch secretary surprised Laming revelations ‘didn’t happen sooner’Experts have warned “there is no quick fix” for improving empathy, as besieged Coalition MP Andrew Laming takes leave to undertake an empathy training course the government has ordered him to complete.Psychologists from Monash University and the University of Western Australia have said that any meaningful behavioural change requires prolonged and “intense” therapy with a specially trained psychologist. “You can’t just walk into a workshop and come out with empathy” following a six-week course, they said, although this is the length Laming has suggested he hopes his will take. Continue reading...

Much-delayed report from team that visited Wuhan all but rules out lab leak theory

Cambridge researchers find prevalence varied by ethnicity and levels of deprivation in largest data analysis yetAutism is more common among children in England than previously thought, with rates higher among Black pupils than their white peers, researchers have revealed.Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects communication and behaviour and is thought to affect 1-2% of people around the world, with diagnoses more common among males than females. However, there has been little large-scale research into its prevalence, and whether it differs with ethnicity. Continue reading...

Increased use of psychiatric language means ordinary distress is being medicalised, while the seriously ill are not being heardMany years ago, in the fading hours of a house party, I sat outside in the garden with an old friend. From inside came the distant thud of music and pockets of laughter – a thousand miles from the conversation we were having. My friend’s relationship had ended a few weeks previously, and that night his heartbreak was palpable and raw. He told me how disconnected he felt from the people inside the house, from his life, and then he said something that made my heart sink. “When I look into the future,” he said, avoiding eye contact, “I can’t see anything ahead of me.” At that moment – I thought – something became clear: he was clinically depressed.Over the following days and weeks, I told my friend what I knew about the disorder, and the benefits of therapy and antidepressants, and encouraged him to go to the doctor. Even though he was reluctant, I was sure of how much he would benefit, so I persisted. But then, after about a month of checking in with him, something strange happened: he started to feel better, without any professional help at all. I distinctly remember the moment, a disintegration of what I thought I understood about mental health. Evidently, since my friend’s acute distress passed within a few weeks, he didn’t sit clearly in the territory of what we might call “mental illness”. But he certainly wasn’t mentally healthy for those weeks either. Instead, I realised, he sat somewhere in the vast grey plains between the two. Continue reading...

Now is the best time of year to see glow caused by sunlight scattering off dust particles in spaceNow is the best time of the year to see the zodiacal light in the evening sky from the northern hemisphere. It’s a subtle glow that takes some effort to notice, but is always worth your time because of its gossamer beauty. Continue reading...

People infected after having vaccine may also be less likely to transmit virus, initial findings show

Nadhim Zahawi hails milestone of 30m first doses and says UK still on track to protect all adults by July

Frank Land touches on the new opportunities provided by technology for exploration and novel experiences, while Ya’ir Klein says the pandemic has given us time for reflection, and Louise Smith uses science to explain strange happeningsI can appreciate Richard Friedman’s concerns about the damage lockdown can do to our brains and mental states (If you’re ecstatic after a trip to the shops, it’s your brain thanking you for the novelty, 25 March), but am surprised that he does not mention the new opportunities provided by technology for exploration and novel experiences.Each day brings an array of conferences, discussions and debates, bringing people from around the globe together in ways undreamed of only a short while ago. Using Zoom or Microsoft Teams, I have been able to attend, learn and contribute to a range of topics, some totally new to me, but fascinating – and opening new interests. Continue reading...

Twins unravel their family history when their mother dies; myths, science and the origins of the universe; and a harrowing account of postpartum psychosisClaire Fuller

The professor of environmental medicine explains how chemicals in plastics are causing our fertility to decline – and what we can do about itShanna Swan is a professor of environmental medicine and public health at Mount Sinai school of medicine in New York City, studying fertility trends. In 2017 she documented how average sperm counts among western men have more than halved in the past 40 years. Count Down is her new book.You’ve spent more than 20 years examining the effects of hormone disrupting chemicals on reproductive health. Are you now sounding the alarm?

A new book celebrates the trailblazing work of the English aristocrat, who successfully inoculated her daughterIt was a daring and dangerous experiment that paved the way for the development of the first safe vaccine and saved countless lives. Yet when Lady Mary Wortley Montagu deliberately infected her own daughter with a tiny dose of smallpox – successfully inoculating the three-year-old child in 1721 – her ideas were dismissed and she was denounced by 18th-century society as an “ignorant woman” .Three hundred years later, on the anniversary of that first groundbreaking inoculation on English soil, a new biography will aim to raise the profile of Wortley Montagu and reassert her rightful place in history as a trailblazing 18th-century scientist and early feminist. Continue reading...

The company has struggled, like its rivals, to keep up with demand. But it has achieved great things at low pricesAstraZeneca is one of the shining stars of the pandemic. Not only did it produce a vaccine where other big players failed, the UK-Swedish company has pledged to sell it at cost until it is able to declare the pandemic over.Because the vials that contain Astra’s vaccine can be kept in a normal refrigerator, it has managed to keep the cost down to about $3 (£2.20) a shot, compared with the $35 charged by US firm Moderna for its vaccine outside the States. Continue reading...