Science | The Guardian

The UK must use safe vaccines as soon as they become available, not wait for the ‘very best’ to come along, writes the deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-TamI was concerned about the tone and accuracy of your story which appeared on the front page of the Guardian newspaper (Government admits millions may miss out on most effective vaccine, 12 November).This headline, which I view as both misleading and sensationalist, occurred due to a lack of understanding. Vaccines against Covid-19 will not all come at once, or in large quantities in all cases. Nor will they be delivered in volumes or over timeframes we can fully predict currently, and their storage characteristics may differ. We will have to use the vaccines that are authorised, in the quantities they become available, according to expert advice. We should use them as soon as we get them. If the choice is between the eligible public accessing a safe vaccine with a lower interim efficacy or having no vaccine at all, we would always choose the former as some protection is absolutely better than no protection. Continue reading...

Greater social contact over period could have to be followed by tougher Covid measures

Among first 170 Covid cases in trial, eight had received vaccine and 162 were in placebo group

Finding has implications for one-size-fits-all approach to vaccine developmentAntibody levels against the virus that causes Covid-19 appear to fall faster in men than in women, a study suggests – a finding that could have implications for vaccine research.Historically, medical research has often taken a one-size-fits-all approach, lumping women and men together despite growing evidence that the sexes differ in how they catch and fight disease. Covid-19 seems to be a case in point, with women more likely to be infected but men thought to be up to twice as likely to die from the virus. Continue reading...

On the anniversary of the start of the Nuremberg trials, 90-year-old Colette Marin-Catherine confronts her past by visiting the Nazi concentration camp in Germany where her brother was killed. As a young girl, she had been a member of the French resistance and had always refused to set foot in Germany. That changes when a young history student named Lucie enters her life. Prepared to reopen old wounds and revisit the terrors of that time, Marin-Catherine offers important lessons Continue reading...

Talk of ‘moonshots’ is typical of the belief that the UK is an innovative state – but it’s far from itThough many have speculated on what Dominic Cummings’s “legacy” might be, one of the more significant contributions he made to No 10 was his thinking about science and technology. Prime ministerial speeches have been peppered with passé futuristic slogans about how Britain leads the world in quantum computing, genomics and AI, and promises that the country can be a “science superpower” – notions that Cummings made a central part of the Brexit project.Like many a macho innovation guru, Cummings is an amateur not a professional, an artless nerd and not an expert. That his policies and prescriptions have been taken seriously is a measure of our collective credulity about Britain’s place in the world of innovation. But whether this foolishness will leave with the fool is another matter. Continue reading...

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration says coronavirus vaccines can be bought privately. This is a bad idea for many reasonsAs the world continues to grapple with Covid-19, the prospect of a vaccine gives us hope of returning to some kind of “normal” in the not-too-distant future.The Australian government has signed supply agreements with manufacturers of four Covid vaccines in clinical trials. Assuming one or more meets the requirements for safety and effectiveness, everyone will be able to be vaccinated for free Continue reading...

Doctor’s organisation says without tough action NHS will be overwhelmed by Covid patients

Bags are still on sale despite a phasing out in England for amateur usersGrowing plants, both in houses and gardens, has been hugely popular this year, helping to raise spirits during the coronavirus lockdowns. But gardeners and the horticulture industry often use peat compost from peatlands.Peatlands hold vast amounts of carbon that was absorbed by living sphagnum moss. When the moss dies it does not fully decompose in the waterlogged ground, and healthy peatlands can lock away the carbon for thousands of years. Continue reading...

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The drugmaker, whose vaccine candidate has 90% efficacy, will run the programme in Rhode Island, Texas, New Mexico and Tennessee

SpaceX’s newly launched capsule with four astronauts onboard has docked with the International Space Station (ISS), the crew’s home for the next six months.The Dragon capsule arrived after a 27-hour, completely automated flight from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There was a brief delay after the 'sunset' threw shadows across the docking area, making it more difficult for the crew to monitor the procedure

Three Americans and one Japanese astronaut on Nasa mission will remain at orbiting lab until their replacements arrive in April

The country music icon’s $1m donation supported the latest breakthrough by Moderna and several research papers

Medics may have to decide who lives or dies due to scarcity of resources during pandemic

Researchers worry PFAS, commonly found in the bodies of Americans, will reduce the immunization’s effectivenessThe successful uptake of any vaccine for Covid-19, a crucial step in returning a sense of normalcy after a year ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, could be hindered by widespread contamination from a range of chemicals used in everyday products.Small amounts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (or PFAS) chemicals are commonly found in the bodies of people in the US, as well as several other countries. These man-made chemicals, used in everything from non-stick pans to waterproof clothes to pizza boxes, have been linked to an elevated risk of liver damage, decreased fertility and even cancer. Continue reading...

Jenrick says government wants significant easing of controls to have ‘more normal’ December

Researchers plan library of scents from plague repellents to early tobaccoFrom the pungent scent of a cigar to the gentle fragrance of roses, smells can transport us to days gone by. Now researchers are hoping to harness the pongs of the past to do just that.Scientists, historians and experts in artificial intelligence across the UK and Europe have announced they are teaming up for a €2.8m project labelled “Odeuropa” to identify and even recreate the aromas that would have assailed noses between the 16th and early 20th centuries. Continue reading...

SpaceX has launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on the first full-fledged taxi flight for Nasa by a private company. Three Americans and one Japanese astronaut on the Dragon capsule will remain at the orbiting lab for the next six months until their replacements arrive in April 2021 Continue reading...

In the first part of this episode from 2016, Ian Sample speaks with the acclaimed mathematician and physicist Prof Sir Roger Penrose about his then most recent book, Fashion, Faith, and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe. Warning of the potential dangers of dogmatic belief and unheralded faith, the recent Nobel laureate asks whether string theory has become too fashionable and warns of an overreliance on quantum mechanics.Part 2 coming on Thursday Continue reading...

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Chapare virus, which causes haemorrhagic fevers, was transmitted to health workers in La Paz and resulted in three deathsResearchers with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have discovered human-to-human transmission of a rare virus in Bolivia belonging to a family of viruses that can cause haemorrhagic fevers, such as Ebola.The news is a reminder that scientists are working to identify new viral threats to humankind, even as countries around the world battle a new wave of Covid-19 outbreaks. Continue reading...

Britain strikes rapid deal for Moderna vaccine showing 95% effectiveness in early results

Moderna becomes second firm to reveal positive results with nearly 95% protection in trials

Phase 3 success rate of 95% for US firm’s treatment is promising for UK vaccine trial

The sloioutn to tdoay’s pzulze and the wnienr of the wirnitg cmtiopteionEarlier today I set a puzzle about scrambled numbers and set a competition for ‘unscrambleable’ sentences.The puzzle is as follows: for each of the four numbers in the following addition, the first and last digits are correct, but the intermediate digits have been scrambled. Restore the original addition. Continue reading...

Experts say there is no evidence UK’s £100bn mass Covid testing scheme will provide any benefit

Experiment put a human in one box, a dog in another and saw which the ticks preferredConfining a young researcher in one box and a dog in another and unleashing blood-sucking ticks to scamper between the boxes sounds like a stunt from I’m A Celebrity.But the stomach-churning scientific experiment has revealed that ticks carrying the deadly Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) disease are more than twice as likely to shift their feeding preference from dogs to humans when temperatures rise. Continue reading...

Moderna results show Pfizer success was not flash in the pan, but poorer countries may have to look elsewhere

Available online

PM says he is in good health and has no coronavirus symptoms ahead of crucial week

Bestselling writer says no state has moral right to close bookshops

Third vaccine to undergo large-scale clinical testing in Britain has been modelled on Ebola jab

The UK prime minister has posted a video on Twitter saying he is self-isolating for 10 days after being contacted by NHS test and trace to say he has been in contact with an MP who tested positive for coronavirus.Boris Johnson said he was ‘feeling as fit as a butcher’s dog’ but for the time being would be conducting meetings via Zoom.

Scientists now have better tests and treatments, and are forging a clear pathway out of this global ordeal

Yuor fsrit tsak is to udnretsnad tihs sntecneeAs mnay of you wlil be aarwe, to raed a txet the oedrr in wihch the lrtetes of ecah idniadiuvl wrod aepapr is not ipmotanrt, so lnog as the fsrit and lsat ltetres are crorect. Tihs is ovboisuly not the csae wtih nmuebrs beacsue if one slcarbmes the iretnnal ditgis of a nmbeur, it is not pissolbe to wrok out waht the ogirianl nemubr was. Go fugrie.Tehre are, hwoveer, cirtaen cesas in wchih tehre is sufuficnet inmoartfion to fnid out the onriiagl neumbrs, scuh as in the sum bolew. The itenarnl diigts of ecah of the nmbeurs hvae been srcmalbed but the fsrit and lsat dgitis rmaein the smae. Continue reading...

In Darwin’s era, people commonly participated in botany and archaelogy. Now a raft of new projects aim to harness their curiosity againIt is hard not to feel a thrill of excitement when you land on the Galaxy Zoo homepage and read the words “Few have witnessed what you’re about to see” looming out of a star-strewn black background.The anticipation is justified when, in five quick clicks, you’re asked to classify a galaxy as part of an online crowdsourcing astronomy project. The project is hosted on Zooniverse, a platform that aims to make cutting-edge research accessible to everyone. Continue reading...

SpaceX launched four astronauts on their way to the International Space Station on Sunday on the first fully fledged taxi flight for Nasa by a private company. The Falcon rocket thundered into the night from the Kennedy Space Center with three American and one Japanese astronauts – the second crew to be launched by SpaceX.

This blog is now closed. You can read our story on the launch below:

Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi successfully lifted off for the 27-hour flight on SundaySpaceX has launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on the first full-fledged taxi flight for Nasa by a private company.The Falcon rocket thundered into the night from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with three Americans and one Japanese onboard, the second crew to be launched by SpaceX. The Dragon capsule on top – named Resilience by its crew in light of this year’s many challenges, most notably Covid-19 – is due to reach the space station after 27-and-a-half hours and remain there until spring. Continue reading...

Shooting stars will be flying in all directions from a point near the head of Leo the lionThis week Earth ploughs through the debris stream that has been left in space from the tail of comet Tempel-Tuttle, and that means meteors. The Leonid meteor shower is so-called because all of the shooting stars associated with it appear to originate from a point just below the head of Leo, the lion. The meteors fly in all directions from this point, and at their peak are expected to produce about 10-20 bright meteors an hour. Continue reading...

Vaccine for shielders | Mangold-wurzels | Geordies | Children in Need | Country diaryWhy have those advised to shield from Covid-19 been forgotten when it comes to the priority list for vaccination (How will a coronavirus vaccine be rolled out to the UK population?, 11 November)? The list is mainly based on age, not vulnerability. My healthy wife, aged 65, will have higher priority than me, aged (nearly) 64, even though I am extremely vulnerable because I am on immune-suppressing drugs.

The technology behind the promising Covid-19 vaccine was not of serious interest to big pharma until huge sums could be made from it. That is not a way to advance scienceIn his 2008 book Scientific Freedom, the scientist and author Donald Braben claimed, somewhat controversially, that the 20th century had been transformed because scientists were free to explore the boundaries of their respective disciplines, unhindered by the need for short-term results and the deadening process of peer review. Prof Braben argued that science had been shackled in recent decades, leading to a decline in the rate of technological progress. He quoted a Nobel prize winner as saying “innovation comes only from the assault on the unknown”. His point was that scientists today were not only fighting with their hands tied but often in battles not worth winning.The intriguing question is whether the glimmer of light that is the new vaccine in the dark tunnel of Covid-19 is evidence that proves Prof Braben’s thesis right, or confounds its predictions. The public health emergency requires immediate life-and-death decisions where speed, rather than efficacy, is the overriding concern. Regulators have allowed the normally distinct phases of a drug trial programme to occur at the same time. Scientists are not waiting to publish work in journals, opting instead to share their work online without it being peer-reviewed. (Even with peer review, the Lancet retracted a Covid-19 paper after iffy data came to light.) Continue reading...

Officers interrupt gathering of 30 worshippers after pastor called restriction unlawful

Exclusive: study of low-risk individuals finds impairments four months after infection

Psychologists say changes in behaviour, from talking to yourself to fashion experiments, could be a Covid coping strategy

The psychological impact of the virus is profound, but there is nothing to suggest its physical effects can’t be overcome

Uğur Şahin ‘very confident’ vaccine candidate developed with Pfizer will bring big reduction in cases