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Boycotting polyester would reduce microfiber pollution. But the larger problem is the sheer volume of clothing we buy and discard

More than 170 teams of researchers are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine. Here is their progressResearchers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, with more than 170 candidate vaccines now tracked by the World Health Organization (WHO). Continue reading...

Scheme piloted in south-west England shows positive results while transmission via sewage system remains debatable

Authors agree other trials using higher antibody levels may prove more effective

Report calls for government to set up partnership to support sector facing up to £4bn loss

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Food and Drug Administration may have to decide by year’s end whether to allow use of first vaccines against the virusThe US regulators who will decide the fate of Covid-19 vaccines took an unusual step on Thursday: asking outside scientists if their standards are high enough.The Food and Drug Administration may have to decide by year’s end whether to allow use of the first vaccines against the virus. Continue reading...

Researchers say chimpanzees and humans share same pattern of social ageingThere is more that comes with older age than greying hair and wrinkled skin. When humans reach their later years, they favour more established friends and their social circle is pared down.Now, for what appears to be the first time, scientists have seen the same behaviour in another species. More than two decades of observations of chimpanzees reveal that older males choose to hang out with their long-term friends at the expense of other relationships. Continue reading...

Sector calls for compromise to ensure UK researchers stay in Horizon EuropeThe UK’s post-Brexit collaboration with European scientists hangs in the balance after it emerged that the EU offer of staying in the Horizon research programme could leave London with a £3bn deficit.“The financial negotiations are not in a good position and the offer that the [European] commission has made to the UK is not appealing,” Vivienne Stern, the director of Universities UK International, told a Lords Brexit committee on Thursday. Continue reading...

Survey published by NHS Digital shows increase of almost half since 2017

Exclusive: Barking and Dagenham says it acted because of delays at NHS centres

Listening to Richard Branson over the past 20 years, you'd be forgiven for assuming that space was by now being frequented by lots of tourists. However, despite the Virgin Galactic chief's optimism, the space tourism industry has yet to take off. Up to now there have been only seven self-funded citizens in space. And with billionaires such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk in the space race, why are there still no tourists in space? Continue reading...

This year, several British brands announced they’d ban glitter from holiday products. US companies should follow suit

With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to highlight health and economic inequalities, and the US election fast approaching, this week we return to the archive to explore how divisions in society arise and what we can do about them. In this episode from 2017, Ian Sample investigates where group splits come from, how we can connect to those we disagree with, and what could happen if we fail Continue reading...

Archaeologists say killing of animals may have helped cement claim on new territoryThat the Inca sacrificed people to appease their gods is well known, but a discovery in Peru sheds new light on a far more common sacrificial practice: the ritual offering of highly prized and ornately decorated llamas.Four naturally mummified llamas have been uncovered during the excavation of Tambo Viejo, an Incan administrative centre. Continue reading...

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Study links age and number of symptoms to lasting health problems from coronavirus

Tiered lockdown system not adequate for preventing high rate of virus infections daily, epidemiologist tells MPs

Interlocking exoskeleton could provide inspiration for new methods of joining materials

Effect of greater flavan-3-ol intake is bigger in people with hypertension, research findsDiets rich in tea, berries and apples could lower blood pressure, according to the first study using objective measures of thousands of UK residents’ eating habits.Foods and drinks such as tea, apples, grapes, red wine, and cocoa contain flavan-3-ols, which are naturally occurring compounds found in plants known to be associated with lower risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Continue reading...

A targeted immunisation programme may offer some protection, but it will not deliver ‘life as normal’

Fever, runny nose, headache? Lost your sense of taste or smell? Your guide to differentiating between the three illnesses

There is something fundamentally sickening about the US blood plasma industry. A meaningful welfare state could put a stop to such desperate measuresLooking to make extra cash? Don’t want to retrain in “cyber” but need a new gig? Good news! All you need to do is contract Covid-19, try not to die, then sell your antibody-rich blood plasma. Blood centres in the US are currently paying Covid-19 survivors a premium for their plasma, the yellowish liquid that makes up about 55% of blood. Apparently, you can get $100-$200 (£75-£155) a pop.It would seem some enterprising students have cottoned on to this money-making scheme. Administrators at Brigham Young University’s campus in Idaho recently announced that they are “deeply troubled” by accounts of students who have “intentionally” exposed themselves to coronavirus in order to get that sweet, sweet blood money. “There is never a need to resort to behaviour that endangers health or safety in order to make ends meet,” the school said. Continue reading...

Spacecraft ‘kissed the surface’ in brief landing on asteroid 200m miles away from Earth in US-first missionA Nasa spacecraft has successfully landed on an asteroid, dodging boulders the size of buildings, in order to collect a handful of cosmic rubble for analysis back on Earth.The space agency team behind the Osiris-Rex project said preliminary data showed the sample collection went as planned and that the spacecraft had lifted off the surface of asteroid Bennu. Continue reading...

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Scientists are hoping that research into Dendrocnide excelsa could lead to new painkillersIt sounds like something out of The Day of the Triffids: a stinging nettle the size of a large tree, with a sting so vicious it inflicts excruciating pain that can last for days, weeks or even months. But this is no science fiction, these are the stinging trees of Australia.

The Olympic hero has written Be Amazing, an inspirational book for children that reveals how they too can be champions, with help from Stoic philosophy, sports psychology – and BeyoncéIt was Steven Spielberg’s fault. “I was six when I saw ET,” says Sir Chris Hoy. “It changed my life. I wasn’t interested in cycling at all before. The bikes I’d seen in Edinburgh just seemed functional things for getting from A to B. Then I saw those BMX bikes on screen and I was hooked. It wasn’t the scene where they cycle across the sky, but when they get chased by the police and they’re doing jumps and skidding round corners. It was the most exciting thing I’d ever seen. I wanted to do that.”He dreamed of getting a £110 Raleigh BMX bike for Christmas. “A lot of money in those days. But my parents, being canny Scots, had different ideas. Dad picked up a £5 bike from a jumble sale, stripped it down, sprayed it black, put on new grips and some BMX stickers.” Four years later, Hoy was leading in the semi-final of a BMX world championship race when disaster struck. “Immediately after the last jump, my foot slipped and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get it back on the pedal fast enough. Two riders overtook me and I lost a place in the final. I was in tears afterwards.” Continue reading...

UK genetics consortium to monitor changes in virus to spot resistance to antibodies

London-based hVivo to take part in world’s first coronavirus ‘challenge trials’

The CDC has said that young adults saw a 55% increase nationally in coronavirus cases in AugustFrom late July through September, students from more than 2,400 colleges and universities went back to campus to participate in what has ultimately become an American experiment in how institutions of higher education can operate during a pandemic.It has been a few weeks since the most dramatic effects of college reopening have been seen, and in the time since, research has started to show that inviting students back to college likely led to a rise in Covid-19 cases in the US. Continue reading...

Non-profit organisation 1Day Sooner has attracted over 38,500 willing participants

The UK government fumbled its sophisticated tools in its efforts to tackle Covid-19, so now it’s reaching for the blunt oneNobody wants a lockdown. You’d think that would go without saying. As England faces a three-tier system of regionally unequal lockdowns or the possibility of a national “circuit breaker”, there is no one sitting around thinking, “Oh good, time to tank the economy, halt NHS services, and wreck everyone’s mental health, again. I love this.” That’s perverse, and such a person surely doesn’t exist.And yet I’ve been hearing a lot about this supposedly pro-lockdown person lately. There is certainly a vocal, self-identified anti-lockdown position: pro-business, anti-disruption, with a sudden interest in both herd immunity and Sweden. But who, according to those in the anti-lockdown camp and their supporters in the media, opposes this position? Continue reading...

Prof Ravi Gupta’s career has informed HIV treatment and curative strategies in the UK and at the Africa Health Research Institute. His treatment of a London patient is, to date, only the second ever successful treatment of an HIV patient, where the person remains long-term virus free. Gupta talks to Sarah Boseley about how a career in HIV research is informing the testing and treatment for Covid-19 and what we can learn in any parallels between the two viruses Continue reading...

Move is part of US space agency’s plan to establish a long-term human presence on the moon by 2030With competition among Earth’s telecoms providers as fierce as ever, equipment maker Nokia has announced its expansion into a new market, winning a deal to install the first cellular network on the moon.The Finnish equipment manufacturer said it was selected by Nasa to deploy an “ultra-compact, low-power, space-hardened” wireless 4G network on the lunar surface, as part of the US space agency’s plan to establish a long-term human presence on the moon by 2030. Continue reading...

Johns Hopkins figures show new landmark tally; soaring infections have prompted curfews in French cities. This blog has now closed. Follow our new blog belowCoronavirus – live updates12.03am BSTThanks for your company, wherever you are. We are now closing this blog, but you can stay up to date on all the latest developments on our new coronavirus blog below.Related: Coronavirus live news: WHO says failure to quarantine behind soaring case rises11.36pm BSTHere’s a quick recap of recent events: Continue reading...

Chief scientific adviser added it was unlikely Covid would be completely eradicated

The prime minister needs to rebuild a political consensus for his pandemic plans, not least because a Tory revolt would see him need Labour support to pass new measuresLike a gambling addict, Boris Johnson racks up losses but keeps laying larger bets, convinced a last big win awaits him. In a casino, this plan might hurt his wallet and his pride. In a pandemic wrapped around the shock of Brexit, such a strategy could cost, unnecessarily, lives and livelihoods. But Mr Johnson has won against the odds before. Faced with a political opponent, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, who is able to marshall Mr Johnson’s own Conservative backbenchers against him, the prime minister has opted to double down on his plan to test his way out of the coronavirus crisis. But it is not a winning wager.The prime minister has pinned his hopes on a new saliva-based test that can tell whether a person is Covid-positive within 15 minutes. Speed is essential to contain a pandemic. With wait times for diagnostic test results not coming down fast enough, contact tracers have too short a window to identify coronavirus patients before they have a chance to infect others. The centralised, privately run test-and-trace system is clunky and relies on specialised laboratories. By comparison, the new tests can be done on the spot. Continue reading...

Researchers say better awareness needed so females with autism get right supportGirls with autism are not being diagnosed because they are adept at camouflaging their behaviour in an effort to try to fit in, according to a new study.Autism is diagnosed in 1% of the population and a diagnosis is made more often – and earlier – in boys, with a reported ratio of four males to every female, according to the paper published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Continue reading...

The answers to today’s ‘trick’ questionsEarlier today I set you six ‘bat and ball’ puzzles, meaning puzzles that require you to overrule a wrong ‘gut’ answer. (Click here to read the original bat and ball puzzle.)For each of the puzzles, I have included the gut answer, the correct answer and also the percentage of readers who got it right. (Readers were given four possible answers and invited to make a choice.) Continue reading...

ONS data suggests people with life-threatening conditions still shying away from hospitals

Dr Martin Kulldorff discussed ‘Great Barrington declaration’ letter on Richie Allen Show

Bolton MP and shadow international development minister being treated after condition worsens

Ebola survivors showing no antibodies found to still have lasting capacity to fight virus

Coronavirus ‘high alert’ warning covers the north-east, parts of the Midlands, London, York and most of Essex among other areas

He treated Meghan Markle’s dog and Russell Brand’s cat. But now the TV vet is dealing with serious injury and trauma – his own and his beloved terrier’sOn the way to his office Prof Noel Fitzpatrick gives me a quick tour of all the familiar locations from Channel 4’s The Supervet, flicking lights on and off as we go: the consulting room, the operating theatre, complete with viewing gallery. I have already visited the main entrance where, on the TV programme, a pair of receptionists ooh and ahh over new, frequently unprepossessing, animal arrivals.Finally we end up in Fitzpatrick’s densely cluttered office, also familiar, where he sits at a desk dominated by five computer screens. Skeletons and bits of metal implants cover the flat surfaces, including the windowsill. Behind me is a standing cardboard cutout of the actor Hugh Jackman; on the wall next to my head is a sign that reads: “Always be yourself, unless you can be Batman. Then always be Batman.” Continue reading...

You’ll be hit for sixHere’s a famous puzzle:A bat and a ball cost £1.10. The bat costs £1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? Continue reading...

Year-on-year expansion, while slightly lower than analyst expectations, represents a dramatic reversal

If in the next week daily Covid cases are fewer than five per day with few or no mystery cases, we will be the first to protest if there is no step 3 opening

In the final week of British summer time, meteors from Comet Halley will be streaking across the night skyThis week, keep an eye open for the Orionid meteor shower. It may not be the brightest or the most spectacular meteor shower of the year but it derives from the most famous comet of them all: Comet Halley. Meteors are tiny pieces of dust that have been left in space from the tails of comets. They streak across the night sky as they burn up in our atmosphere. Continue reading...

New modelling indicates mandatory masks and strict closures of public spaces early in the state’s second wave could have eradicated the virus