Science | The Guardian

Focus should not be on how many tests are done, but how they are used and where, say experts

Coronavirus pandemic has changed public attitudes to health, experts say

Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty to make TV appeal ahead of ‘challenging winter’

Tomorrow marks the changing of the seasons as the sun crosses the equator to bring summer to the southern hemisphere and winter to the northSummer officially ends in the northern hemisphere tomorrow, and we enter the autumn. This is the time of year when the length of day and night are exactly equal. Known as the September equinox, it always takes place sometime around the 21st of the month. This year, it takes place on 22 September at 1431 BST.At this moment the sun will be located directly on the celestial equator, the projection of Earth’s equator into the sky. This means the sun will pretty much rise due east and set due west on that day. For the next three months, the sun will rise and set ever more southwards along the horizon. Continue reading...

For Sara Seager, star-gazing offered a sense of perspective when tragedy struckFifteen years ago, I started my job at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As an astrophysicist and planetary scientist, my job is to search for alien life. Not little green humanoids like ET, but signs of life on planets orbiting other stars. Every star is a sun and if our sun has planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, etc) it makes sense that other stars have planets also – and they do. We already know of thousands of stars that have planets. There are billions of stars in our galaxy making the possibilities “out there” huge and wondrous.Back then, I had the perfect life: a great career; my dream home, a pretty yellow Victorian house; two adorable toddlers; and a loving husband. Continue reading...

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...

The UK has done well on building capacity. But only wide access to simple, effective tests will allow us to manage life under coronavirus

The psychologist and member of Independent Sage on the flaws in the Conservative government’s response to Covid-19, and its failure to build trust through honest communicationSusan Michie, 65, is a professor of health psychology at University College London and leader of the Human Behaviour Change project funded by the Wellcome Trust. She has been part of the Covid-19 behavioural science team, a sub-group of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage). She also sits on the independent Sage committee chaired by Sir David King.How important was behavioural thinking in the advice given to government by Sage initially. How interested were they in that aspect of the response?

Boris Johnson under pressure as virus flares and experts despair at opportunities wasted during the summer

While the discovery of the normally microbe-produced phosphine on our toxic neighbour is astonishing, other candidates for life are more promisingIt remains one of the most unexpected scientific discoveries of the year. To their astonishment, British scientists last week revealed they had uncovered strong evidence that phosphine – a toxic, rancid gas produced by microbes – exists in the burning, acid-drenched atmosphere of Venus.Related: If we don't find life on planets like Venus, doesn't it make us that bit more special? | Charles Cockell Continue reading...

Doctors in England urge tighter restrictions; number of cases worldwide passes 30 million; scaled-down Oktoberfest in Munich begins. Follow all the developments

Both benevolence and selfishness inspired Josh McGrane to take part in the University of Oxford vaccine trials

Physical distancing, far more than washing hands, is the most critical factor in preventing spread of the virus

Many parts of the Earth’s climate system have been destabilised by warming, from ice sheets and ocean currents to the Amazon rainforest – and scientists believe that if one collapses others could followThe warning signs are flashing red. The California wildfires were surely made worse by the impacts of global heating. A study published in July warned that the Arctic is undergoing “an abrupt climate change event” that will probably lead to dramatic changes. As if to underline the point, on 14 September it was reported that a huge ice shelf in northeast Greenland had torn itself apart, worn away by warm waters lapping in from beneath.That same day, a study of satellite data revealed growing cracks and crevasses in the ice shelves protecting two of Antarctica’s largest glaciers – indicating that those shelves could also break apart, leaving the glaciers exposed and liable to melt, contributing to sea-level rise. The ice losses are already following our worst-case scenarios. Continue reading...

Scientists face potential struggle to convince people of vaccine safety as celebrities join misinformation chorus

Dart rocket, which is just 3.4m long, is part of Australia’s $7bn investment in space technologiesA small commercial rocket has been launched from Australia to the edge of space for the first time.The Dart rocket, carrying an air force radio prototype, was launched from the Koonibba rocket range in South Australia on Saturday. Continue reading...

State’s chief health officer says it was ‘inappropriate’ to single out migrant community in Casey

Research suggests that changes in air pressure can cause changes in brain volume, in humans as well as in animalsA study by New England researchers looks at how weather and season influence brain size, comparing over three thousand MRI scans and finding small but distinct effects. “Basically, on a stormy day or in the winter, the cerebellum is larger than normal, while the rest of the brain is smaller than normal,” says researcher Gregory Book, of Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Centre. “In summer, the opposite happens.”The cerebellum regulates voluntary movement as well as balance and co-ordination. Previously, changes in brain volume were assumed to be due to hydration, but the real cause may be air pressure. Continue reading...

PM set to impose measures across country as experts say death toll could be as high as in first spike unless behaviour changes

PM warns it is ‘inevitable’ coronavirus will hit UK again; R number increases to between 1.1 and 1.4; 4,322 new cases recorded. This live blog is now closed: please follow the global coronavirus live blog for updates

Sage experts say poor quarantine compliance is also bringing virus into country

Test, which is only offered to children in British Columbia, involves gargling saline solution and spitting it into a tubeAuthorities in Canada have unveiled a new non-invasive coronavirus test that avoids the need for intrusive nasal swabs, in a development which they hope will making testing easier and more accessible for students as they return to schools.The new testing method, unveiled Thursday, is a significant departure from the standard – and often painful – nasopharyngeal swab, which remains the most common method of detecting Covid-19. Continue reading...

Up to half the world’s population may have natural immunity to coronavirus, writes Prof Moin Saleem. Plus Dr David Grimes on the evidence that vitamin D provides some protectionYour article (‘Confounding’: Covid may have already peaked in many African countries, 16 September) hints that there may be natural immunity in African countries where Covid-19 has settled down. This is likely to be true, and not just in Africa. If the evidence is closely examined, up to half of the worldwide population may have natural immunity. In none of the natural “experiments” of Sars-CoV-2 exposure within a closed group has the infection rate risen above 50%. In Lombardy, a study of 5,484 individuals who had been exposed by close contact with an infected individual were tested for antibody positivity, with 51.5% testing positive.This hints at pre-existing natural immunity in the population. This has been convincingly demonstrated, with a study in Nature showing that 35% of a population cohort using historical samples had demonstrable CD4 T cell activity against Sars-CoV-2, never having been previously exposed to the new virus. Continue reading...

What are the new restrictions coming in on Tuesday and whom do they apply to?

Scientists tracking the virus have uncovered a major mutation, but it may not be as scary as it sounds

Neuropharmacologist who searched for new gateways for drugs to treat the brain and mindAfflictions of the mind and brain, from stroke to schizophrenia, remain among the most challenging to treat, even after more than half a century of discoveries about the brain’s biochemistry and how it responds to drugs. The neuropharmacologist Leslie Iversen, who has died aged 82, devoted his career to making sense of the interplay of signalling molecules in the nervous system that might provide sites where drugs could act.After directing laboratories in both the public sector and the pharmaceutical industry, in his later years Iversen chaired the government’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). He favoured a harm-reduction approach to substance use, supporting both the decriminalisation of the recreational use of cannabis and research into its possible medicinal benefits. Continue reading...

A scientific report in July made several recommendations to avoid a resurgence. We look at the government response

NSW, WA and Qld to raise cap on international arrivals; Victoria reports 45 new cases and five deaths and NSW reports six cases; Queensland to reopen ACT border from 25 September. This blog is now closed

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...

Songwriter uses new material to condemn UK government, scientists and celebrities

Lopsided sourdough, cupboards full of toilet paper, or matching trackpants. What does your Australia 2020 scrapbook look like?

Physicist Ivan Maksymov and applied mathematician Andriy Pototsky placed worms on subwoofer in ‘what if’ momentBlasting a speaker to move garden worms in a regional Victorian backyard might sound more like a high school science experiment than a breakthrough in neuroscience.What started as an exercise in curiosity of two academics from Melbourne’s Swinburne University has found vibrations cause earthworms to form patterns in the same way water droplets react to vibrations. Continue reading...

Cases in France hit 10,593 in 24 hours; WHO warns against shortening quarantine in Europe. This blog has now closed. Follow our new blog below

Suitable for clinics but not homes, the DnaNudge test is unlikely to fulfil the government’s ‘Moonshot’ testing goals

Experts say discovery of 120,000-year-old prints could shed new light on spread of Homo sapiens out of AfricaA set of seven footprints made at a lake about 120,000 years ago have been hailed as the earliest evidence of modern humans on the Arabian Peninsula – a discovery experts say could shed light on the spread of our species out of Africa.The path by which Homo sapiens spread around the world was full of twists and turns. Genetic studies suggested it was not until 60,000 years ago that a migration of modern humans out of Africa led to a successful spread across Europe. Continue reading...

Deal worth £118m covers design, manufacturing and testing of ESA’s first planetary defence missionThe European Space Agency has awarded a €129m (£118m) contract to the German space company OHB. The deal covers the design, manufacturing and testing of Hera, the ESA’s first planetary defence mission.Hera is the European contribution to an experiment called the asteroid impact and deflection assessment. The other component is Nasa’s double asteroid redirection test (Dart). Both spacecraft are designed to visit the double asteroid Didymos. Continue reading...

Upwards curvature means foot muscles do less work, potentially weakening them over timeThey may feel comfy, but wearing shoes that curve upwards at the front may be weakening your foot muscles and increasing your risk of injury.This curvature, known as a “toe spring”, is a common feature of many shoes, especially trainers. It helps the front part of the foot to roll forwards when walking or running, enhancing the comfort of thick and cushioned soles. But despite their ubiquity, the effect of toe springs on our foot muscles had not been well studied, until now. Continue reading...

Readers are unimpressed by the farcical nature of the UK’s test-and-trace systemThe NHS Test and Trace situation is now quite farcical (UK Covid testing system has ‘huge problems’, admits Boris Johnson, 16 September).It is silly to put so much emphasis on a test. Most infected people are asymptomatic, can’t or won’t get tested, or give a false negative result. The current test-and-trace system will not control outbreaks. Continue reading...

It’s easy to feel angry towards those who don’t follow Covid-19 guidelines. Yet empathy is the key to changing people’s minds

I understand visits must be restricted because of Covid, but why are families the ones to suffer?My husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease eight years ago. I vowed to look after him and never put him in a home.Three years on, after sleepless nights, mental and physical exhaustion, and the sensation that I was disintegrating, I faced the hard truth: I was not the best person to look after my husband any more. After a long and heartbreaking search I found my husband’s present care home, and shed tears of relief. Continue reading...

Tracers express their fears as infected people reveal multiple close contacts in multiple locationsIn the first months of the coronavirus pandemic, Ireland’s contact tracers often made calls to people who were very sick, with some struggling to breathe.“In a lot of cases people were suffering extreme physical distress,” said Eamonn Gormley, a tracer at University College Dublin. “One person collapsed on the floor and we could hear them gasping for air. You got questions like: ‘Am I going to die?’ Some nights I had trouble sleeping.” Continue reading...

Boris Johnson and his ministers chose to ignore scientists and outsource their Covid response to big private companiesA friend texts: his five-year-old daughter is sick. On hearing the symptoms, the NHS helpline adviser says she must be tested for Covid. So he and his wife have been trying for two days straight to book her a test, with almost nothing to show for it. All they are offered is a 120-mile round trip to Gatwick ­– a long drive for a feverish child. Meanwhile the family stays in the flat, its walls throbbing with their worries about sickness and school and work.

Teams around the world are hard at work developing Covid-19 vaccines. While any potential candidate will need to be tested on thousands of volunteers to prove its safety and efficacy, some scientists have argued that the race to the finish line could be sped up by human challenge trials — where participants are infected with a special strain of the virus.Ian Sample delves into some of the misconceptions and hurdles inherent in this kind of research. In the second of two episodes, Ian explores the importance of rescue treatments, what happens if something goes wrong, and whether it would ever be morally permissible to deliberately infect those most at risk of Covid-19, like volunteer octogenarians Continue reading...

Average age of people infected with Covid-19 is coming down, says WHO expert; third-highest new caseload in France; local lockdowns in Madrid. This blog is now closed

The estimation runs counter to Donald Trump’s recent messaging that a vaccine will be available ‘in a matter of weeks’The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has told a Senate panel that he thinks it will take one year before a coronavirus vaccine will be “generally available to the American public”.That estimation contrasts with recent bullish messaging by Donald Trump, who on Tuesday repeated his assertion that “we’re going to have a vaccine in a matter of weeks” even though a successful vaccine has yet to be unveiled from ongoing US trials, and attacked the CDC director on Wednesday as “confused” about the timeline. Continue reading...

Volcanic eruptions drove global heating, causing mass extinctions and ushering in dinosaur eraA mass extinction event sparked by a sudden shift in climate more than 200m years ago reshaped life on Earth and ushered in the age of the dinosaurs, scientists claim.An international team reviewed geological evidence and the fossil record and found that enormous volcanic eruptions in what is now western Canada coincided with a global loss of plants and animals. Continue reading...

If there was a moment of true emergency in the fight to preserve our climate, it is now

Four decades ago, when I was a researcher getting to grips with the complexities of the politics and physics of plutonium for my PhD, I contacted Frank Barnaby, then director of the peace research organisation Sipri in Stockholm.With characteristic good humour he found time in his busy schedule to share his knowledge. His life’s work has made our planet a better and safer place, and I will be among many who will miss him. Continue reading...

Research reveals Vikings were genetically diverse group and not purely ScandinavianThey may have had a reputation for trade, braids and fearsome raids, but the Vikings were far from a single group of flaxen-haired, sea-faring Scandinavians.A genetic study of Viking-age human remains has not only confirmed that Vikings from different parts of Scandinavia set sail for different parts of the world, but has revealed that dark hair was more common among Vikings than Danes today. Continue reading...

Study of fingerprints left at Los Machos site thousands of years ago reveal age and sex of artistsOne day, perhaps a little over 7,000 years ago, a man in his 30s and a younger companion dipped their fingers in ochre pigment and set about daubing the walls of a shallow cave in southern Spain with anthropomorphic, circular and geometric designs.Today, thanks to the fingerprints they left behind in the natural shelter of Los Machos in the province of Granada, researchers have been able to determine their sexes and ages. Continue reading...