Some simple checks can help separate an honest statistic from a falsehoodSchool spending hits record levels in England, claims a minister, while some schools close on Friday afternoons because of a lack of funds. China is the biggest environmental polluter in the world, Donald Trump once tweeted. But, per capita, Saudi Arabia emitted the largest tonnage of CO in 2018 and China was in 13th place.What is it about statistics that make them a godsend to people intent on reinventing reality? They arrive with a veneer of scientific exactitude and probity – and the more exact they are, the greater their apparent accuracy. Better still, they convey an air of certitude and give us something to grasp on to in a turbulent world. Few of us are inclined to look deeper. But if we do, we’ll often find a mix of crude lies and sleights of hand – slippery definitions, manipulated percentages, cherrypicked comparisons or rough estimates presented as certainties. Continue reading...

Italy also records 199 further deaths; US record surge killing nearly 1,000 Americans a day; Moscow creates vaccination network. This blog is now closed. Follow the latest below

At least three companies close to revealing results of phase three trials, but to be approved for use safety has to be ensured

Experts say UK’s travel policy in summer was flawed as ‘the virus moves when people move’

Foreign secretary says UK government is prepared to take further measures if necessary

Reusable masks vary hugely in ability to filter particles, say Which? researchers

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Space-based service will alert users to potential collisions between satellites and orbital junkThe Canadian company NorthStar Earth and Space has contracted Thales Alenia Space to build the first three satellites of its Skylark space traffic monitoring system, with LeoStella, a Seattle-based firm, overseeing the final assembly. This will make NorthStar the first commercial company to monitor space traffic from space.The service will alert users to potential collisions between satellites, both operational and defunct, and other large pieces of debris. The service will become increasingly important as new satellites, especially the mega-constellations such as SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper, are launched. Continue reading...

Research suggests canines’ varied origins stretch back further – and live on in today’s petsFrom tiny chihuahuas to fluffy Siberian huskies, dogs come in all shapes and sizes. But researchers have revealed there is more to canine diversity than meets the eye.Scientists have found five distinct groups of dogs were already present at the end of the last ice age, and their legacy lives on in our pets today. Continue reading...

Over the summer, the government ignored advice about controlling Covid. A new study shows we’re paying the price

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...

Halting destruction of wild places could slow frequency of deadly outbreaks, say scientists

Removal of millions of tonnes of material from Goodwin Sands, the watery grave of hundreds of ships in the English Channel, would make a mockery of marine protection pledges, critics say

Covid-19 has made this year tougher for those experiencing treatment and those of us who work in cancer careIn March, just before the UK locked down, I speculated about the challenges Covid-19 might pose to people undergoing cancer treatment. Now, with apprehension building as we dive headfirst into the second wave of Covid-19, I reflect on my past seven months as an oncologist. There is no doubt that 2020 has made life for those living with cancer even harder. It’s also become tougher for those of us who work in cancer care.We’ve had to adapt our communication skills. For some patients, the shift to phone consultations is a welcome change. For others, a phone call removes the small talk part of consultations, where doctors and patients get to know each other. A physical examination tells us more about our patients than the physical findings alone. The silences we so often employ in face to face conversations, generally intuitively without conscious thought, are awkward on the telephone. Video consultations are better, but do not equate to real life. We would never normally start difficult, life-changing conversations with the words: “Can you hear me?” Continue reading...

They are among the most enigmatic phenomena in the universe, confounding physicists and mathematicians alike. Black holes pull in the matter around them and anything that enters can never escape. Yet they contain nothing at all. Guided by the physicist and author of the Black Hole Survival Guide, Janna Levin, Madeleine Finlay takes Science Weekly on an interstellar voyage to visit one of these incredible astrophysical objects.In the second of two episodes, the pair discuss spaghettification, white holes, Hawking radiation and whether we actually live inside a hologram Continue reading...

NSPCC and others urge government to fund rebuilding of struggling support service

Restoring and connecting habitat across Britain could save a fifth of species by 2030, says report by Rewilding BritainGlobal heating is shifting Britain’s climatic zones by up to 5km each year, outpacing wildlife’s ability to adapt and survive, according to a new report by Rewilding Britain.If species cannot adapt to higher temperatures or relocate elsewhere, they will be threatened with extinction. Continue reading...

Sir Patrick Vallance and Prof Chris Whitty fear deaths this winter could exceed those in spring

Exclusive: NHS test and trace asks public health directors to sign up to rapid saliva testing plan

You need a combination of passion and grit to maintain a positive mindset. But a Norwegian study has found that by the time we reach our mid-50s we don’t seem to possess bothName: Get Up and Go.

Analysis of early Pterosaurs fossils shows they are likely to have been ungainly in flightPterosaurs, such as pterodactyl, are some of the largest animals ever to have taken to the skies, but the first reptile aviators were clumsy flyers, only capable of travelling short distances, a study suggests. The research may also shed new light on the evolution of flight more generally.Pterosaurs evolved around 245m years ago, and dominated the skies for more than 150m years, before dying out at the end of the Cretaceous period along with many of their dinosaur cousins. With long membranous wings stretching from the ankles to an elongated fourth finger, pterosaurs are considered the earliest vertebrates to have evolved powered flight. But what did these first flights look like? Continue reading...

We should still wash our hands, but growing evidence suggests one of the main ways Covid-19 spreads is through the air

Interactive tool combines statistics to help public understand complex information

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Cosmologist who asked whether the existence of intelligent life has implications for the nature of the universeThe cosmologist John Barrow, who has died aged 67 from colon and liver cancer, was a renowned populariser of science. He combined mathematical and physical reasoning to increase our understanding of the very first moments of the universe.This he did by giving elegant mathematical characterisations of inflationary models, in which a high vacuum energy density causes a dramatic exponential expansion of the universe in the very first instants before gradually evolving into the expansion we see today. He analysed the stability of such models in a range of gravity models that allowed slight deviations from Einstein’s general theory of relativity. In particular, he was interested in the possibility that the physical constants might vary with time, at a level of parts per million over 10bn years, and was a member of a team that claimed to detect such variations, though this claim is not widely accepted. Continue reading...

US scientists release report on meteorite fragments from 2018 eventA fireball that struck near Hamburg, Michigan, in 2018 could offer new insights into the history of the solar system, researchers have said.The fireball – a type of very bright meteor that would even be observed in daylight – was spotted in several states as it flew across the sky on the evening of 16 January 2018; the meteor also produced an atmospheric shockwave equivalent to a magnitude 2.0 earthquake. Continue reading...

Surprise announcement comes as region struggles to contain soaring Covid infections

Exclusive: expedition discovers new source of greenhouse gas off East Siberian coast has been triggeredScientists have found evidence that frozen methane deposits in the Arctic Ocean – known as the “sleeping giants of the carbon cycle” – have started to be released over a large area of the continental slope off the East Siberian coast, the Guardian can reveal.High levels of the potent greenhouse gas have been detected down to a depth of 350 metres in the Laptev Sea near Russia, prompting concern among researchers that a new climate feedback loop may have been triggered that could accelerate the pace of global heating. Continue reading...

Vaccine being trialled by Oxford University and AstraZeneca offers hope for all age groups

A ‘women’s pastime’ practised by Queen Victoria, ‘seaweeding’ spread from the UK to California – now the samples are providing a glimpse into historyOn his first day as the new science director for the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California in 2016, a giant blue storage locker caught Kyle Van Houtan’s eye. The locker was obscured by a dead ficus plant and looked as if no one had opened it for years. But the label on it intrigued him: Herbarium.He opened it and inside found hundreds of stacked manila envelopes. Each one contained a single piece of seaweed, pressed and preserved on white paper. Continue reading...

They are among the most enigmatic phenomena in the universe, confounding physicists and mathematicians. Black holes pull in the matter surrounding them and anything that enters can never escape. Yet they contain nothing at all. Guided by the physicist and author of Black Hole Survival Guide, Janna Levin, Madeleine Finlay takes Science Weekly on an interstellar voyage to visit one of these incredible astrophysical objects.In the first of two episodes, the pair discuss their target, Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy and the subject of this year’s Nobel prize in physics, and what happens when you reach the edge of a black hole

Figure has dropped by over a quarter in three months, fuelling concerns over reinfection

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Chancellor says country is on verge of losing control as Europe death toll passes 250k

Proof of significant amounts of H2O has implications for future lunar missionsScientists have gathered some of the most compelling evidence yet for the existence of water on the moon – and it may be relatively accessible. The discovery has implications for future missions to the moon and deeper space exploration.With no significant atmosphere insulating it from the sun’s rays, it had been assumed that the moon’s surface was dry – until the 1990s, when orbiting spacecraft found indications of ice in large and inaccessible craters near the moon’s poles. Continue reading...

Around 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050. Simulated nature is better than none - but it’s not nature

In recent months, we’ve all been bombarded with numbers. It’s vital that we learn how to interpret them

US expert Dr Anthony Fauci says it should be known by early December if vaccine is safe to roll out

Survey reveals 17% gender pay gap and strain on industry at a time when it has been at the forefront of responding to coronavirusNearly one in five scientists in Australia are planning to leave the profession permanently, according to a new survey, which also reveals a 17% gender pay gap among those who responded.The survey, based on answers from 1,464 scientists, provides an insight into challenges in the science workforce at a time when it has been at the forefront of responding to Covid-19 but has also come under intense strain. Continue reading...

Red planet puts on a vibrant show in celestial sea between Pisces and Cetus before Halloween blue moonThe almost-full moon comes together with Mars this week for a bright pairing in the evening sky. Mars remains red and vibrant, having recently passed its closest approach to Earth. The chart shows the view looking south-east at 9pm GMT on 29 October. Continue reading...

Madrid government imposes nationwide curfew after country hits 1m cases

Healthcare bosses rebut claims that patients thought unlikely to survive were ‘written off’

No 10 considering move amid fears over poor compliance with 14-day rule

There are more than 200 subtypes of dementia. And researchers have found that in one, confusion and memory loss can be treated. But the trick is to spot it…When John Abraham began to lose his mind in late 2019, his family immediately feared the worst. Abraham had enjoyed robust health throughout retirement, but now at 80 he suddenly found himself struggling to finish sentences.“I would be talking to people, and all of a sudden the final word wouldn’t come to mind,” he remembers. “I assumed this was simply a feature of ageing, and I was finding ways of getting around it.” Continue reading...

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

TV presenter and medic tells of his own illness, government failures and how to win over the anti-vaxxersBest known as half of the twin-presenter duo of CBBC’s Operation Ouch!, Dr Xand van Tulleken’s impeccable credentials – a medical degree and qualifications in public health and tropical medicine – have also seen him front documentaries on everything from male suicide to the science of dating. But earlier this year he found the tables turned when he caught Covid while he and his brother Chris were making a programme on the pandemic.Being a doctor didn’t stop him panicking. “I was properly anxious, and frightened at the prospect of spending two weeks completely on my own when I was ill,” he told me. “I was quite tearful speaking to my twin about it all.” Continue reading...

Their counterparts in the Common Cold Unit found ways to flirt despite the social distancing measures they lived underThe news that the government is to fund “human challenge studies” into Covid-19, in which young, healthy volunteers will be infected with the safest possible dose and paid to be quarantined to test the efficacy of vaccines, was a reminder that this country has a unique history in such trials. Continue reading...

The great magician dedicated his later years to exposing all forms of fake scienceA mong many tributes to the great James Randi, who died last week aged 92, one stands out. Hours after the death was announced, cutlery expert Uri Geller reacted with a tweet he piously expanded on Facebook. “How sad that Randi died with hatred in his soul. Love to you all.” One thing that the most professional paranormalist may find it hard to conceal, you gather, is indecent glee.Geller’s public gloat has, however, ensured that many people who might never otherwise have viewed his televised humbling in 1973, at the height of media credulity about his claimed paranormal talent, will now have witnessed the spectacle of his inexplicably interrupted powers. Randi had advised the producers to supply their own props. Even supreme rationalists, it turns out, can exact vengeance after death. Continue reading...

Has the ISS benefited society? Scientists are divided: for some, it’s a beacon of unity; for others, just a set for an action filmSpace scientists are preparing to celebrate a remarkable astronautical achievement. In a few days, they will mark the 20th anniversary of humanity’s continuous presence in outer space.For two decades, teams of astronauts have made their homes 250 miles above our planet through their uninterrupted occupancy of the International Space Station (ISS). First inhabited by US astronaut Bill Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko on 2 November 2000, the ISS has since provided shelter for a steady rotation of crews that has ensured the station has never been left unoccupied. Continue reading...