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Excess deaths in private homes prompts fears people are avoiding hospitals due to CovidSome 10,000 more deaths than usual have occurred in peoples’ private homes since mid June, long after the peak in Covid deaths, prompting fears that people may still be avoiding health services and delaying sending their loved ones to care homes.It brings to more than 30,000 the total number of excess deaths happening in people’s homes across the UK since the start of the pandemic. Continue reading...

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Study of GP records in Salford shows diagnoses up to 50% lower than expected in spring

Scientists have developed a 'tiny wind turbine' that can take energy from a gentle breeze, such as that made as you walk.The device comprises two plastic strips in a tube that flutter or clap together in the presence of airflow. That energy, powered by the contact and separation of two materials, can be bottled up and stored for use, according to researchers.Scientists in China hope the device can generate sustainable power in a low-cost, efficient manner while 'overcoming the issues that the traditional wind turbines can’t solve'

Scotland records highest daily cases total; Keir Starmer presses Boris Johnson on Covid testing at PMQs; ‘clear upward curve’ in cases in Wales

Scientists say measures won’t stop spread and increase chance of crackdown later

Researchers say device can generate sustainable power from gentle breezeScientists have developed a “tiny wind turbine” that can scavenge energy from the breeze made while walking.Imagine rubbing a balloon on your hair for a few seconds – can you hear the crackle of static electricity, see your hair stand on end? That energy, powered by the contact and separation of two materials, can be bottled up and stored for use, according to researchers working on the device. Continue reading...

Scientists have developed a ‘tiny wind turbine’ that can take energy from a gentle breeze, such as that made as you walk.The device comprises two plastic strips in a tube that flutter or clap together in the presence of airflow. That energy, powered by the contact and separation of two materials, can be bottled up and stored for use, according to researchers.Scientists in China hope the device can generate sustainable power in a low-cost, efficient manner while ‘overcoming the issues that the traditional wind turbines can’t solve’

The CDC’s confusing backpedalling on whether the coronavirus is airborne is roiling health workers and hospitals because an airborne virus requires completely new safety protocols

The path out of the pandemic relies on a full toolkit of strategies to buy time – including restricting home visitsThe new restrictions announced by Boris Johnson yesterday, including the closing of restaurants and pubs at 10pm and increased use of face coverings, fall short of a “second lockdown” but signal that life is still far from returning to normal.While England’s true number of cases is likely much lower than in the spring due to increased testing, it is the ski-jump trajectory of recent case growth that gives epidemiologists palpitations. The cruelty of exponential growth, with cases doubling at regular intervals, is real. The flipside is that reducing transmission, even a little, can have a huge payoff in reducing the total number of infections. Continue reading...

Despite being downloaded more than 18m times, the app’s effectiveness is being questioned

Exclusive: chemicals and machines needed to hit target by end of October are ‘a few weeks behind’

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...

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

Nasa says astronauts sheltered in the Soyuz spacecraft so they could evacuate if necessary during the ‘avoidance manoeuvre’Astronauts aboard the International Space Station were carrying out an “avoidance manoeuvre” on Tuesday to ensure the station would not be hit by a piece of debris, the US space agency Nasa announced.The debris should pass within “several kilometres” of the International Space Station (ISS), but out of an abundance of caution, its trajectory was being changed to move it further away from the object. Continue reading...

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Flu season could be like no other this year and a national campaign to promote the flu vaccine is urgent, say scientistsA national public health campaign promoting the flu vaccine is urgently needed to avoid stretched healthcare services being overwhelmed this winter as the US faces cold season while still struggling to gain control of the coronavirus pandemic, scientists have warned.Influenza or seasonal flu is a perennial public health burden that, like Covid-19, causes most severe problems among elderly people and those with underlying health conditions. Continue reading...

Cancer charity reels from effects of coronavirus on fundraising as it cuts sixth of workforce

Company has had ‘more people than ever’ seeking vaccination after government campaign

Exclusive: Figures show big rise in number of women aged 20 to 40 admitted to hospital

Minister announces ‘shift in emphasis’ in England as coronavirus infections soar

Announcement comes as Covid deaths increased by 27% in Europe week on week

Just as world leaders came together after the second world war at Bretton Woods, now we need to create a new framework for health securityThe scale of the coronavirus crisis is hard to fully comprehend: globally, more than 30 million people have contracted the virus and nearly 1 million have died. The UN estimates that the pandemic will mean $8.5tn in lost output for the world this year and next. The wider social and economic costs – from poverty to mental illness to domestic violence – are almost impossible to quantify.Yet the global scale of the disaster has not been met with a global response of the same magnitude. National governments have taken often drastic action to slow the spread of the disease. But while scientists working on diagnostics, therapies and vaccines cooperate across borders, the intergovernmental response has been marked by its absence. It also reflects the peculiarly inept and lamentable crop of global leaders from Washington to London, Moscow and Beijing. Continue reading...

Scientists found weekly ‘awe walks’ led to more positive emotions among study participants - here are some of the nation’s most wondrous locations

Two groups of prominent scientists write open letters with conflicting advice on how to tackle virus

Simulation using world’s fastest supercomputer casts doubt on effectiveness in preventing spread of coronavirus

Our responses to coronavirus are not us-and-them, like Brexit. We have fractured into many different groups. From the graph fetishists to the snoops, which one are you?It’s easy to say that Covid has divided us. But this is not a simple us-and-them split like Brexit, however much that percolates through our collective unconscious. We are now all members of ever-shifting tribes. Here are some that I’ve encountered. Continue reading...

Former real estate mogul was investigated after criticising Xi Jinping over his handling of the coronavirus pandemicChina has sentenced an influential former property executive and critic of President Xi Jinping to 18 years in prison for corruption.Ren Zhiqiang, the former chairman of Huayuan, a state-owned real estate group, was also fined 4.2m yuan, Beijing No. 2 Intermediate Court said on its website on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Ketton Quarry, Rutland: Pliny the Elder believed that hawks sprinkled sap from hawkweeds into their eyes. But the plant’s true hawkish behaviour was only recently discoveredOld limestone quarries are fantastic places for nature, and here at Ketton the Wildlife Trust reserve fills the space left by stone extracted in the 1930s. Next door there is light industry, on what would have been the quarry floor, and then beyond that the vast modern excavations and tall cement works that dominate the landscape.Related: Berries festoon the quarry reserve Continue reading...

New policy comes after serious quality control questions were raised about the data relied on by a study in the medical journalOne of the world’s leading medical journals, the Lancet, has reformed its editorial policies following a shocking case of apparent research misconduct involving the study of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for Covid-19.In May, the Lancet published a peer-reviewed study about the controversial drug hydroxychloroquine, which concluded Covid-19 patients who received the drug were dying at higher rates and experiencing more heart-related complications than other virus patients. Continue reading...

Is it possible to define the biological, chemical and physical functions that separate cells, plants and even humans from inanimate objects? In his new book, Paul Nurse, Nobel prize winner and director of the Francis Crick Institute, addresses a question that has long plagued both philosophers and scientists – what does it really mean to be alive? Speaking to Madeleine Finlay, Paul delves into why it’s important to understand the underlying principles of life, the role of science in society, and what life might look like on other planets Continue reading...

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Boris Johnson held lengthy meeting with scientists about bringing down UK infection rate

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Bacterial infection alongside speed of temperature rise may have triggered mortality, suggests studyHigh temperatures and the persistent warming of oceans have triggered profound changes in marine ecosystems, but a new study suggests that the rate of onset of warming – rather than the peak – could also play a key role in the damage fuelled by climate change.In early July 2017, researchers were drawn to the coast of Eilat, Israel, following sightings of fish carcasses, a rare occurrence in the region’s coral reefs. Continue reading...

Matt Hancock announces childcare exemption to local lockdowns in England; UK cases rise by 4,368, second highest daily total since early May

Continued doubling of infection rate feared by top advisers is unlikely to happen, say some experts

The solutions to today’s teasersEarlier today I set a logic problem and a word problem from Puzzlebomb, a monthly problem sheet.I’ll start with the word problem. Continue reading...

Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty’s briefing predicted an autumn of rising deaths and difficult lockdown choices

Vallance and Whitty spoke reasonably and sincerely in their press conference. But their data was selective, and they seem determined to cause alarm

Writer lays into president and PM for their ‘crummy’ response to coronavirus

UK chief scientific adviser says breakthrough far more likely in first half of 2021

Continuous cough is one of three main Covid-19 symptoms people are told to look out for

Monument in northern city of Agra opens to visitors after being closed for six months

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

Grant Shapps says ‘we can’t afford to wait until deaths are rising before taking action’

Decision will impact the expansion of Beijing’s space exploration and navigational programsChina will lose access to a strategic space tracking station in Western Australia when its contract expires, the facility’s owners said, a decision that cuts into Beijing’s expanding space exploration and navigational capabilities in the Pacific region.The Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) has had a contract allowing Beijing access to the satellite antenna at the ground station since at least 2011. It is located next to an SSC satellite station primarily used by the United States and its agencies, including Nasa. Continue reading...

Bacteriophages were superseded by modern antibiotics, but scientists believe they could be key to conquering antimicrobial resistanceIt is, say enthusiasts, the cure that the world forgot. An old therapy that could take on the new superbugs.Discovered in 1917 by French Canadian biologist Félix d’Hérelle, phages – or bacteriophages – are tiny viruses that are natural predators of bacteria. In many countries they were supplanted during the second world war by antibiotics but continued to be used for decades in eastern Europe. Continue reading...

The Guardian’s health editor surveys the remarkable global efforts to develop effective protection against coronavirusIncredibly fast. Faster than any vaccine has ever been developed before, but we will have to wait a while longer yet. Continue reading...

Bamboozling bars and brain busting beesToday’s problems are from Puzzlebomb, a monthly sheet of word, logic and number puzzles whose first issue came out earlier this month.The first teaser - a meta-puzzle about bar graphs inspired by this xkcd cartoon – may well explode your head. Continue reading...