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A mutant virus cannot wholly explain why the UK is in this mess or distract from the other failures that have led us hereThe lockdown in the south-east of England may be the shape of things to come. Sixteen million people are under new severe tier 4 restrictions and there are suggestions that these tougher new rules could be in place for months. Many more across the country have seen their plans torn up at the 11th hour. The reason for the government’s change of plan is a new strain of the virus, dubbed B117, that appears no more lethal than the original Sars-CoV-2 but is much more transmissible. European nations have banned flights from the UK, fearful that a mutant pathogen, homegrown in Kent, will spread across our borders and seas. If the new virus’s effect on the rate of transmission is as bad as government advisers’ fear then we will need a national shutdown of the kind imposed in March.The prime minister should have acted sooner. He may not have known exactly what was driving the growth in Covid cases but ministers have been aware for a week that something was going wrong. On Tuesday, the British Medical Journal and the Health Service Journal warned that if current trends continued, even without the planned Christmas relaxation, there were likely to be 19,000 Covid patients in English hospitals by New Year’s Eve – the same as at the peak of the first wave in April. Continue reading...

My father was exiled from my emotional life – and it was only when he was dying that I started to understand whyMy father was my first love. It wasn’t a romantic love, of course, but all the ache of love was in it. He was handsome, charming and dangerous. It was more than just a minor crush – it was a fatal, all-consuming yearning for his affection that engulfed me like a slow, devastating bushfire. Heartbreak was inevitable.Dad shared his birthday with Jesus. “Look! Everyone celebrates my birthday,” he’d exclaim, pointing at the houses lit up like Harrods on our street, the joke never getting old. He was a bon vivant – nothing made him happier than a festive table creaking under the weight of calorific delights. On Christmas Day 2010, we turned a blind eye to him scarfing a third helping of birthday cake – and I am glad we did. It was his 70th and his last. Continue reading...

The response to Covid-19 has been momentous but discoveries in AI, diet, conservation, space and beyond, show the power of science to improve the world post-pandemic

Seasonal damage in bone fossils in Spain suggests Neanderthals and their predecessors followed the same strategy as cave bearsBears do it. Bats do it. Even European hedgehogs do it. And now it turns out that early human beings may also have been at it. They hibernated, according to fossil experts.Evidence from bones found at one of the world’s most important fossil sites suggests that our hominid predecessors may have dealt with extreme cold hundreds of thousands of years ago by sleeping through the winter. Continue reading...

The virus is likely to have spread more widely than the south-east of England, so the lockdown is likely to expand

The prime minister made the right decision in the face of rising infections, but he left it far too late‘We don’t want to cancel Christmas… I think that would be inhuman,” the prime minister said just last Wednesday in response to calls from scientific experts to reduce the relaxation of social restrictions allowing households to mix over Christmas.Four days later, he was forced to abruptly change course in light of alarming data indicating a steep increase in infection rates in London and parts of the south-east and east of England, thought to be linked to a new and more easily transmitted variant of Covid-19. The government was right to immediately impose tougher tier 4 restrictions on these parts of the country and elsewhere to restrict indoors household mixing to Christmas Day only. Continue reading...

Italy and Australia announce new lockdowns; France death toll surpasses 60,000; Sweden introduces tough new measures

Scientists from around the world submitted art grown in petri dishes for the American Society of Microbiology’s annual contest, which has announced the winners. Restricted access to labs broadened the remit, with traditional art on the beauty of microbes accepted for the first time Continue reading...

Testing of the prevalence and effects of the new variant will take weeks, but scientists don’t expect it to cause more severe disease or be resistant to the vaccine

Vice-president’s announcement marks first birthday of signature Trump program but social media mockery followsMembers of the new US space force will be known as “guardians”, Vice-President Mike Pence announced on Friday, at a ceremony to mark the first birthday of the newest branch of the US armed forces, one of Donald Trump’s signature policy initiatives.Related: Trump unveils logo for Starfleet ... er, Space Force ... and Trekkers take to Twitter Continue reading...

Jab could be given green light by 28 December, triggering immediate NHS distribution

While variant seems to spread more quickly, it does not appear to be more dangerous

NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian says ‘don’t panic buy’ and asks greater Sydney to abandon non-essential activity

The discovery that bilbies, bandicoots, Tasmanian devils and echidnas emit bio-fluorescence under UV light has sparked the burning question. Why?Dr Kenny Travouillon turned off the lights and headed straight for the shelf holding the stuffed platypus, armed with an ultraviolet torch to test something out. Would the monotreme glow?“All the platypuses were glowing,” says Travouillon, the mammals curator at the Western Australian Museum in Perth. “We went through with other mammals and we found they were glowing too.” Continue reading...

Human geneticist who proposed that every European could trace their ancestry to one of seven women living thousands of years agoThe human geneticist Bryan Sykes, who has died aged 73, pushed forward the analysis of inherited conditions such as brittle bone disease and double-jointedness, and was one of the first to extract DNA from ancient bone.The same Bryan Sykes, holder of a personal chair at Oxford University, analysed hair supposedly taken from mythical hominids such as the Bigfoot and Yeti, and announced the results in a three-part television series. His delight in science and enthusiasm for communicating it to popular audiences were both aspects of an expansive personality that alternately inspired and exasperated his colleagues. Continue reading...

As the vaccination’s famous recipients get younger, one thing’s for sure: the thumbs-up social media photo will get very tiresome very quicklyIt must be tough as a celebrity in the age of Covid. With all the traditional avenues of release and promotion closed, the famous have spent the last nine months desperately trying to channel their desire for attention into all manner of extracurricular ventures.But a new path is finally beginning to form. Celebrities can’t promote films, because they haven’t been making any. They can’t make all their friends join them on an excruciating singalong video because – as Gal Gadot has been finding out this week – they will get asked about that much more than their actual work. But what they can do is get vaccinated. And they can pose for a photo while they’re doing it. Continue reading...

Multiple studies have been looking into how the body responds to coronavirus infection

While two vaccines are likely to be cleared soon for adult use in the US, testing is only now starting with children – and only with adolescentsThe first US Covid-19 vaccines are expected in clinics in mid-December, and states are drawing up plans for who should get vaccinated first.But one important group is absent: children. Continue reading...

Nice issues first guidelines but ME campaigners say they lack symptom management advice

Astronomers gear up to watch solar system’s two largest planets side by side in night sky

Preventable diseases still plague those missing out on vaccines. Efforts to halt coronavirus could help crack this issue

African-led study expected to involve 1,600 people over next three years in Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa

Hospitals in England had to divert patients 44 times last week – the highest number for four years

Boris Johnson is privatising responsibility for the problems caused by his Christmas plan to lift restrictions while cases are risingFrom Saturday, two-thirds of England will be in tier 3, the most severe category of the UK government’s Covid restrictions. This change, announced by the health secretary, Matt Hancock, on Thursday, is the product of two contradictory things. The first is that coronavirus cases are rising fast in the south-east and east of England, while case numbers also remain high in much of the urban north. The second is that the government has also committed to a temporary UK-wide Christmas lifting of restrictions in less than a week’s time, after which the new tighter tier restrictions will resume.These are contradictory approaches, and they cannot be reconciled on a scientific basis. If the virus is surging, there is no public health logic in lifting the restrictions over Christmas. The reason why the lifting of restrictions will go ahead is largely political. It is because Boris Johnson promised a nearly normal Christmas long ago and does not want the embarrassment of an unpopular U-turn. Many households took him at his word and have made preparations that would be difficult, expensive and distressing to abandon – though there is evidence that plenty are now doing just that. Continue reading...

Latest updates: ‘vast majority’ of areas currently in tier 3 remain there; government furlough scheme to run until at least end of April 2021. This live blog is now closed – please follow the global live blog for updates

Pfizer and Moderna will need special supply chains to ensure vaccines get to patients fast and without spoiling. Here’s howThe two major US developers of the early Covid-19 vaccines are Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. They both developed mRNA vaccines, a relatively new type of vaccine. A major supply chain issue is the temperature requirement for these vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at between minus 112F (minus 80C) and minus 94F (minus 70C), and the Moderna vaccine needs temperatures around minus 4F (minus 20C), which is close to the temperature of commercial-grade freezers. A third company developing vaccines, AstraZeneca, says it needs regular refrigeration temperature of 36F to 46F, or 2 to 8C. Continue reading...

Botanists list plants newly discovered or named by scientists in 2020

Kew Gardens botanists also named a new toadstool found at Heathrow airport and a bizarre scaly shrub from NamibiaThe “ugliest orchid in the world”, a toadstool discovered at Heathrow airport, and a bizarre scaly shrub have topped a list of new species named by scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and their collaborators in 2020.The researchers said the 156 new plants and fungi highlighted the amazing diversity of species that remain to be found, with the potential to provide new crops, medicines and gardener’s favourites. One is a morning glory plant, whose sweet purple tubers are already eaten by local people in the high Andes of Peru. Continue reading...

Unmanned Chang’e-5 probe returns to Earth after first mission in four decades to collect lunar samplesAn unmanned Chinese spacecraft carrying rocks and soil from the moon returned safely to Earth early on Thursday (local time) in the first mission in four decades to collect lunar samples, the Xinhua news agency said.The capsule carrying the samples collected by the Chang’e-5 space probe landed in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region, Xinhua said, quoting the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The director of CNSA, Zhang Kejian, declared the mission a success, Xinhua added. Continue reading...

The prime minister’s obvious dislike of prescriptive social regulations dilutes his authority when asking people to complyThere is a fine line between optimism and complacency that Boris Johnson has often crossed during the coronavirus pandemic. In July, when lifting the first national lockdown, the prime minister held out the prospect of “a significant return to normality” in time for Christmas. He restated that ambition in November, when setting out the terms of a second lockdown. “I have no doubt that people will be able to have as normal a Christmas as possible,” he said.What marks that forecast as typically Johnsonian is the gratuitous certainty. The prime minister believes that asserting something with confidence makes it more likely to become true. That method can be effective as campaign rhetoric, but in government it risks making an enemy of reality. Continue reading...

UK politicians concerned that cancelling current plans could lead to reduced compliance in the future

Official UK data suggests nearly 10% still have symptoms 12 weeks after infection

Treatment grown on tobacco plants gets US backing for clinical study

Medical professionals need to understand that communities have different environmental conditions and vulnerabilitiesThe Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the reality that health in the US has glaring racial inequities. Since March, people of color have been more likely to get sick and more likely to die from Covid-19 because they have been living and working in social conditions that worsen their physical health and mental health.These conditions are rooted in structural inequalities that are also responsible for the severity and progression of Covid-19. While the issues are complex, research has suggested some ways to repair the broken system. Now, at the dawn of a new administration, more effective strategies that look at the realities of these affected communities can be implemented. Continue reading...

My friend Celia Milstein, who has died aged 92, was among those who contributed to the invention of monoclonal antibodies, which led to the Nobel prize for medicine of 1984, won by her husband, César Milstein, with Georges Kohler and Niels Jerne. Monoclonal antibodies are used in both treatment and diagnosis of diseases, including cancers, and are being trialled against Covid-19.Celia was born and grew up in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, to Efrain Prilleltensky, an accountant, and his wife, Ana (nee Davidson), both immigrants from the Ukraine who spoke Yiddish. She recalled her childhood as full of beauty. Continue reading...

The world has wised up to how our past affects our present. But I know that labelling ourselves as ‘traumatised’ holds us backTrauma as a medical phenomenon has its roots in the late 19th century, when it was known as “railway spine”, a condition suffered by survivors of railway accidents (a new phenomenon at the time) and believed to be caused by microscopic lesions in the body. It arose in tandem with the insurance industry; people seeking compensation needed evidence to back up their claims, particularly if they hadn’t been visibly injured. During the first world war, it was recognised but afforded little sympathy: traumatised soldiers were seen as unpatriotic, cowardly and lazy.It wasn’t until the 1970s that the term “post-traumatic stress disorder” came into use. But to begin with, the diagnosis was limited to military veterans. Eventually, the concept of trauma was expanded to include survivors of sexual violence, familial abuse and other catastrophes – a positive development. Continue reading...

Mountain hares in Scotland failing to adapt to climate change, leaving them more vulnerable to predators

National Heritage Memorial Fund bid successful after items from Nimrod trek sold to overseas buyerA sledge and flag that shine light on one of Britain’s greatest adventure stories – Ernest Shackleton’s Nimrod expedition to the south pole – have been kept in the UK.It was announced on Wednesday that the National Heritage Memorial Fund had provided a £204,700 grant to help buy objects which would otherwise have gone abroad. Continue reading...

These evergreens are thriving due to climate change but can smother other woodland speciesThe holly and ivy decorations should be looking lush this Christmas thanks to climate change boosting the growth of these plants.

Study shows animals with no long history of domestication show patterns of interaction with humans similar to that of dogs or horsesThe classic TV show Skippy, about a child speaking with a highly intelligent kangaroo, might not be as fictional as we once thought, according to Australian and UK researchers.A study from the University of Sydney and the University of Roehampton in London suggests that kangaroos are capable of intentionally communicating with humans, suggesting a higher level of cognitive function than previously thought. Continue reading...

FDA approves Brisbane-based company Ellume’s product, the first at-home coronavirus test that does not require a prescriptionA rapid, over-the-counter Covid-19 test developed by Australian firm Ellume has been given emergency approval in the United States.The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Brisbane-based company’s 20-minute Covid-19 Home Test on Tuesday as the US battles the virus that has infected 16.5 million people and killed more than 300,000 people in the country. Continue reading...

Wooden fragment from at least 3000BC discovered by chance by Egyptian university researcherA lost artefact from the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of only three objects ever recovered from inside the last remaining wonder of the ancient world, has been found in a chance discovery at the University of Aberdeen.Curatorial assistant Abeer Eladany, originally from Egypt, was reviewing items in the university’s Asia collection when she came across a cigar box marked with her country’s former flag. Continue reading...

The highly unusual Ubirajara jubatus boasted a mane of ‘hair-like structions’ and two ‘ribbon-like features’, researchers sayAbout 110 million years ago along the shores of an ancient lagoon in what is now north-eastern Brazil, a two-legged, chicken-sized Cretaceous period dinosaur made a living hunting insects and perhaps small vertebrates like frogs and lizards.On the inside, it was ordinary, with a skeleton similar to many small dinosaurs from the preceding Jurassic Period, scientists said on Tuesday. On the outside, it was anything but. Continue reading...

Greenwich and Islington make U-turn over ending term early after government threat of legal action

Easing of UK restrictions should not go ahead while they risk a third wave of coronavirusChristmas is on hold. The governments of the four nations of the United Kingdom are reviewing the proposed relaxation of their Covid restrictions over the holidays. A common policy had been agreed which allowed up to three households to be able to travel and meet up indoors between 23 and 27 December. Many understandably will want to be reunited with friends and loved ones over the Christmas period. But a rethink is needed. The more people who choose to meet, the greater the risk that infections will run out of control, leading to surge in hospital admissions and unnecessary deaths.The danger of runaway Covid cases has been heightened because the “tiered” restrictions failed to make a significant dent in the daily coronavirus rates, as Downing Street’s scientific advisers foresaw. Parts of the country were put under more stringent conditions this week but the concern is that this won’t be enough to stem the tide. In a rare joint editorial, the British Medical Journal and the Health Service Journal warned that if current trends continue, even without the Christmas relaxation, there are likely to be 19,000 Covid patients in English hospitals by New Year’s Eve – the same as at the peak of the first wave in April. Continue reading...

UK should boost vaccine programme to tackle Covid variant, says leading scientist

Scientists hope dust will shed light on formation of universe and offer clues about how life began on Earth

Beijing is aiming to control rain and snow across half the country. But it is the reason it wants to do this that is really frighteningRemember when Donald Trump wanted to nuke hurricanes so they didn’t hit the US? Everyone laughed uproariously, but Trump’s warped little mind was actually on to something. You may not be able to bomb hurricanes into oblivion, but you can shoot things into the atmosphere in order to change the weather. It’s a process known as cloud seeding and a number of countries, including the UK and the US, have been experimenting with it for decades.There hasn’t been a huge amount of mainstream attention paid to cloud seeding or other forms of geoengineering, but now is the time to sit up and take notice: China has massively ramped up its efforts to control the weather, a move that should alarm us all. Continue reading...

Ruling on Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine brought forward to 21 December