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Rush to book hotel rooms near airports as Labour accuses government of putting lives at risk

Three more European service modules will be made for use as part of Nasa’s Artemis programmeThe European Space Agency has contracted Airbus Defence and Space to build three more European service modules (ESM) to be used as part of the Artemis moon landing programme. The new contract adds to the three ESMs already in production. All three of the new modules will propel astronauts to the moon.The ESM provides power, propulsion and life support to Nasa’s Orion crew capsule. Each ESM is 4 metres in diameter and height. Its four solar arrays span 19 metres when unfurled and can generate enough energy to power two households. The ESM’s 8.6 tonnes of fuel powers its main engine and 32 smaller thrusters. Continue reading...

Exclusive: 75% of children worst affected by paediatric inflammatory multi-system syndrome are BAME

Colchicine also found to reduce need for extra oxygen and has potential to be used in outpatient settings

Only 30-50% of melanoma patients given immunotherapy respond to it but research suggests gut could helpFaecal transplants could help patients with a dangerous form of skin cancer respond to immunotherapy, research suggests.Faecal transplants involve stool and the microbes it contains being taken from one individual and introduced into the gut of another person. Continue reading...

We have excellent and capable people in the fields of infectious diseases, epidemiology and public health who understand the problem, writes Dr Aamir AhmedIt is a remarkable admission of failure that after a year of Sars-CoV-2 community transmission, the UK does not have a functional and efficient test-and-trace system (MPs urge test and trace chief to prove system curbs spread of Covid, 3 February). This is galling, as we pride ourselves on a long tradition of scientific excellence, particularly in the fields of virology, epidemiology and public health. An excellent example of research-led policy to mitigate infectious diseases was through the work of Sir Sheldon Francis Dudley, a physician, epidemiologist and administrator, in the early 20th century.Sars-CoV-2 is a virus and a public health problem that will be with us for the foreseeable future. We need effective testing and tracing strategies in place, not just for immediate protection, but also future mitigation. We have excellent and capable people in the fields of infectious diseases, epidemiology and public health who understand the problem and can implement informed and effective policies around testing and tracing. The government must take the issue of testing and tracing seriously. One way of showing seriousness is to put knowledgable experts in charge.

Exclusive: experts also find neolithic pottery and mysterious C-shaped enclosure at A303 excavation site

The ability of the virus to mutate means we’ll be living with it for years to come, and may need a new generation of vaccines

The UK vaccine deployment minister, Nadhim Zahawi, says volunteers are being sought for a world-first trial giving a first dose of one vaccine type and a second dose of another. Run by the University of Oxford, it will recruit 820 people over the age of 50 to receive a first dose of either the Oxford/AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine

Scientists aim to establish level of immunity in trial of 820 people, giving some a substitute vaccine at second appointment

Using animation, archive and clips from the movie franchise, Rodney Ascher’s genre-bending doc gives philosophers and kooks space to explain why we are living in a synthetic worldWith Room 237, a deep dive into theories about Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, writer-director-animator Rodney Ascher practically invented a new sub-genre of documentary: the fathoms-five-low inspection of fandom theories and nuttery. Tonally blending sympathetic dispassion and ever-so-slight amused mockery over a fast-shuffling montage of clips that just fit under the bar of fair use, Ascher’s technique created a fascinating brainstorm essay equally about cinema, spectatorship and the ability of works of art to generate interpretations well beyond the intentions of their makers.His latest, A Glitch in the Matrix, pulls off the trick again, appropriately enough on an even bigger scale. This time the subject is simulation theory: the hypothesis that we are all living inside a synthetic world, like the human beings in The Matrix movies who are kept in pods, jacked into a giant supercomputer that injects a delusion straight into their brainstems. The film interviews individuals with differing opinions on simulation theory: some philosophers, some journalists and some likable kooks who fervently believe they’re living in a simulacrum, a few of whom appear disguised in digital avatar get-ups that add a bizarre comic layer. Continue reading...

For many people infected with the Sars-CoV-2 virus, the first sign of contracting the disease is a loss of smell and taste; something we reported on last May. Studies have now shown that months later an unlucky minority will still be lacking these senses – while for others they may have returned somewhat distorted. While scientists try to fathom what exactly causes this and what treatments could help, we return to the archives to explore what it’s like to live without a sense of smell. The episode was part of a special series from the Guardian called Brain waves exploring the science and emotion of our everyday lives Continue reading...

New analysis runs counter to earlier study which suggested one dose may not give adequate protection

About 15% of population has been offered first jab, as experts call for focus on hotspots

Exclusive: Health service urged to rethink safety for frontline staff and provide better PPE and ventilation

Donating your jab would undermine the rationale behind the prioritisation scheme, writes John Main. Plus letters from Ruth Eversley and Linda MurgatroydIt would be noble to give your vaccine slot to others (Letters, 2 February), but it would undermine the rationale behind the prioritisation scheme. The elderly and vulnerable are hugely more likely to get seriously ill if they catch Covid and require hospitalisation. The chief aim of the strategy is to prevent the NHS being even more overwhelmed. So your morally responsible readers would, as well as forgoing vaccination, also need to refuse hospitalisation should they catch Covid.Incidentally, that is also the unstated corollary of any “libertarian” strategy that argues that the toll of shutdown will outweigh the toll of unrestricted Covid. That argument might even be true, but only if you think it is acceptable for every hospital bed in the country to be filled with a Covid sufferer. Or, more probably, think it would be OK to refuse hospital admission to Covid sufferers deemed to have had their good innings.

Even a partially protective vaccine may reduce the risk of more severe illness. But that doesn’t mean we can let our guard down

New age group eligible from Thursday while focus remains on older at-risk people

Companies hope to have next generation of vaccines against emerging variants by next yearGlaxoSmithKline and Germany’s CureVac have reached a €150m (£132m) agreement to develop a next generation of Covid-19 vaccines targeting new emerging variants in the pandemic.The two companies said they plan to work jointly to develop a shot next year that can address “multiple emerging variants in one vaccine”. Continue reading...

Advisory body suggests Oxford jab should be given only to younger people for time being

Limited supplies and preference for daytime jabs mean PM’s plan may not be delivered soon

Traffic noise affected zebra finches’ foraging habits and field crickets’ matingWorking from home during Covid-19 has brought noise pollution close to home, whether it’s your partner making calls within earshot or grinding coffee during your Zoom interview. Now research suggests the animal kingdom is also disturbed by the noise of humans and our gadgets.As humans proliferate, we have penetrated deeper into wildlife habitats, creating a pervasive rise in environmental sound that not only directly affects the ability of animals to hear but indeed communicate. Emerging research suggests noise pollution, caused, for instance, by traffic, interferes with animal behaviour, including cognition and mating. Continue reading...

Cases show same mutation in both original and Kent strains as South African incarnation

Preliminary findings based on analysis of data from more than 20,000 participants

The heroic fundraiser has died days after contracting Covid. He taught us all about giving something back

This live blog is now closed. For the latest coronavirus updates from around the world, head to our global blog

Danish team predict possible 1.35m rise by 2100 and highlight issues with previous modellingThe rise in the sea level is likely to be faster and greater than previously thought, according to researchers who say recent predictions are inconsistent with historical data.In its most recent assessment, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said the sea level was unlikely to rise beyond 1.1 metre (3.6ft) by 2100. Continue reading...

Analysis: death rates in intensive care are falling as doctors identify more ways to help those with the disease

Official figures show 20% more people have died than would have been expected in the same period

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsHow do spacecrafts manoeuvre in space? Surely, in a vacuum, reaction force will not work?

The federal government failed to develop a surveillance system that would allow researchers to watch for dangerous mutationsAs researchers around the world scramble to understand the dangers of several newly discovered variants of the deadly coronavirus, the US remains woefully behind in its ability to track the mutations, scientists say. Continue reading...

Exclusive: no leading contender is effective against all the South African, Brazilian and Kent variants

Sage professor urges ‘significant reduction’ but says closing borders impractical

New research shows global death rates among patients in intensive care have fallen from 60% to 36%

The rainforest city of Manaus in Brazil was the first in the country to be struck by the pandemic. The virus rapidly spread, and by October last year it was estimated that 76% of the population had been infected – a number higher than the theoretical threshold for herd immunity. Yet, in January 2021, cases surged and the health system was once again overwhelmed, with hospitals running out of oxygen and doctors and nurses required to carry out manual ventilation. To find out what might be behind this second wave, Sarah Boseley speaks to the Guardian’s Latin America editor, Tom Phillips, and Dr Deepti Gurdasani, asking why Manaus has been hit twice and what it might mean for our understanding of immunity, new viral variants, and the path through the pandemic.

New variant is a ‘national phenomenon’ that may call for a nationwide approach, says PM

Making mistakes, as Boris Johnson and the EU have discovered, is a precondition for ongoing success

Experts say 501Y.V2 variant is more infectious and resistant to vaccines, though there are no signs that it leads to more severe disease

Nine more stars found in Tucana II, revealing galaxy to be larger than previously thoughtThe discovery of a handful of stars at the edge of a fossil galaxy has shed new light on dark matter and provided clues of a possible early instance of galactic cannibalism, researchers say.Tucana II is an ultrafaint dwarf galaxy about 163,000 light years from Earth and is thought to be a remnant from the formation of the earliest galaxies in the universe. It was already known to contain ancient stars, including some with a very low metal content, indicating they formed shortly after the big bang. Continue reading...

My friend Jo Bossanyi, who has died aged 96, was an environmental scientist and lecturer whose approach to teaching was driven by his belief that a well-educated public would be key to addressing the alarming degradation of the natural world.Jo was born in Lübeck, northern Germany, the only child of Ervin Bossanyi, a celebrated Hungarian stained glass artist, and Wilma (nee Maasz). The family fled from Nazi Germany to London in 1934, when Jo was 10, without a word of English. Four years later he won a scholarship to Merchant Taylors’ school in Hertfordshire, and from there went in 1943 to St John’s College, Oxford, also on a scholarship, to read zoology. Continue reading...

Door-to-door testing launched as cases found in Hertfordshire, Surrey, Kent, Walsall, Sefton and three London boroughs

Our research shows how ‘tighter’ societies do better – and how the rest must learn to adapt in order to defeat the pandemic

Brightest star in the Scorpius constellation, a supergiant 68o times larger than our sun, draws close to waning crescentThose up before dawn should look south for a pretty pairing this week. On 6 February, the waning crescent moon will draw close to the beautiful red jewel of Antares, the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius, the scorpion. Continue reading...

Readers respond to an article by Jonathan Freedland, which suggested that the coronavirus outbreak may quickly fade from collective memoryAs ever, Jonathan Freedland writes more powerfully and movingly than any other commentator (History suggests we may forget the pandemic sooner than we think, 29 January). His appeal for us to find a means of perpetuating some memory of those who died, who were bereaved, and of the heroism of those who strove to save lives, should resonate far beyond this current state of limbo.Why not establish a bank holiday? The final vaccinations should be administered by the autumn, so a date could be found midway between the August bank holiday and Christmas. This would surely be better than a plethora of statues or memorial plaques.

Billions of unwanted male chicks are slaughtered by the farming industry. Now a startup claims to have found a surprising solution to the problemThe eggs we eat have a hidden cost. About 7bn male chicks are killed worldwide every year to produce them. Farmers need to replenish their supply of egg-laying hens but, by nature, half the chicks that hatch are male and growing them for meat is uneconomic – that industry uses faster growing breeds. In many countries they are tossed into shredding machines, although in the UK they are gassed.But what if those male chicks could instead hatch out as functional females, able to grow into egg-laying birds? That’s the vision of Israeli startup Soos Technology. Founded in 2017, the company, which has received $3.3m in investment and prize winnings, wants to make commercial hatcheries kinder and more economic by changing the effective sex of poultry embryos as they develop. Continue reading...

Only 0.04% of people caught virus a week after second dose and 0.002% needed hospital treatment

As a hospital consultant working in intensive care, the reality of coronavirus and patients’ fear is brought home to me every dayI’m not ready,” the patient implores me through her CPAP [continuous positive airway pressure] hood. She’s breathing at more than triple her normal rate and I’ve been asked to intubate her as she’s deteriorating, despite three days in intensive care. She is 42 years old.There’s terror in her eyes. A tear runs down her cheek. She’s looking at the patient opposite who is in an induced coma, intubated and ventilated, and isn’t doing well. Continue reading...

First there was Pfizer, then AstraZeneca, now Moderna and Novavax. How do they differ? And which might you get?

Two politicians from Asian immigrant families seek to reassure every community of the importance of the vaccination rollout