Your questions answered on what type of mask to wear to cut the risk of getting Covid-19

President of science body issues call amid evidence coverings protect wearer as well as others

Goyt valley, Derbyshire: Wych elms have been pleasingly resilient to the fungal infection that has decimated populations across Europe, and this area boasts hundredsMy interest in elm trees was piqued this spring when someone happened to mention on social media that there were probably no more than 100 mature examples left in England.This instantly had the whiff of urban legend because just that week I had chanced upon a grove of 19 wych elms in a lesser known part of the Derbyshire Dales national nature reserve called Hay Dale. Admittedly those few trees are a remnant of a much larger stand, which has, in turn, been ravaged by Dutch elm disease. It is this fungal infection that has devastated European and American elms, especially after the late 1960s, since when an estimated 25m have been killed in Britain alone. Continue reading...

Weeks and months after having a confirmed or suspected Covid-19 infection, many people are finding they still haven’t fully recovered. Emerging reports describe lingering symptoms ranging from fatigue and brain-fog to breathlessness and tingling toes. So why does Covid-19 cause lasting health problems? Ian Sample discusses some of the possible explanations with Prof Danny Altmann, and finds out how patients might be helped in the future Continue reading...

The city is undergoing a suburban testing blitz after premier Daniel Andrews revealed hotspots in suburbs were largely caused by extended families

Donald Trump’s handling of US crisis under microscope; Israel reimposes restrictions after infections spike. This blog is now closed

Controversial restrictions brought in to ease strain on quarantine system after rush of New Zealanders arriving at the border

Pork and possibly chicken became more popular in England after arrival of William the Conqueror

Country has third highest number of cases in world after 25,000 new infections recorded a day

My friend Dick Jefferies, who has died aged 88, was an authority on fossils that are too strange to identify and which are sometimes referred to as “problematica”. Central to his work, which he pursued as principal scientific officer in the natural history section of the British Museum, were extinct animals called carpoids.Dick was something of a contrarian in the field of evolutionary biology, and was not afraid to adopt occasionally outlandish positions, some of which were proven to be well wide of the mark. However, a number of his predictions did turn out to be correct. He successfully hypothesised, for instance, that early marine animals (echinoderms) had gill slits equivalent to those of fish, but lost them; and he was also proven right in his conjecture that the closest relatives of vertebrates were sea-squirts (ascidiacea), rather than the more fish-like lancelets (amphioxus).

Your questions answered on what type of mask to wear to cut the risk of getting Covid-19

Psychologist was due to get life-saving NHS cancer treatment until coronavirus struck

Venus is back in our sky before the sun rises, and will rise earlier as July progressesVenus has returned to the sky. Following its passage between Earth and the sun on 3 June, it can now be seen in the pre-dawn sky. The planet is bright and unmistakable lying in the eastern sky. It is currently located in the constellation of Taurus, the Bull, directly in the group of stars that marks its head. It is close to the bright red star of Aldebaran, which should also be visible in the lightening sky. Continue reading...

Countries where face mask use is widespread have seen fewer Covid-19 deaths, writes Prof David Smith, while Philip Rundall thinks shops should do more to encourage customers to wear themYour comment (Editorial, 2 July) that disparagement of face masks might have come at a cost is well illustrated by comparing different countries. In Hong Kong (population 7.45 million), a survey in March found that 98.8% wore masks in public; just seven people have died from Covid-19 there since the start of the pandemic. Austria (population 8.9 million) adopted early on a rule that face masks must be worn and has had 706 deaths. By contrast, in the UK, the use of masks is very rare, and there have been 44,198 deaths. A recent modelling study supports the view that the universal wearing of face masks is crucial to reduce the spread of this disease. A key message is “my mask protects you, your mask protects me”.

Exclusive: ex-chief prosecutor’s lawyers say behaviour of Boris Johnson’s aide warrants ‘thorough investigation’The former chief prosecutor for north-west England has urged the Metropolitan police to launch an immediate investigation into Dominic Cummings’ trip from London to Durham at the height of the coronavirus outbreak.Lawyers for Nazir Afzal have written to the Met commissioner, Cressida Dick, arguing that the behaviour of Boris Johnson’s chief adviser during the lockdown warrants a “thorough investigation”. Continue reading...

Open letter says there is emerging evidence of potential for aerosol transmission

Relief as concerns about overwhelmed emergency services fail to materialise

Celebration planned for 5pm backed by politicians and head of health service

I’d come to think of myself as a sad wizard, burdened with rituals to prevent catastrophes. Then the pandemic made those threats realFor many of us, coronavirus has inspired a bit of a germ obsession. We wash our hands until they’re chapped. We see other people as potential vectors. We wipe down our groceries with Lysol, apparently having decided that, if it comes to it, we’d rather die of disinfectant poisoning than a virus.In our efforts not to contract Covid-19, many of us are getting a taste of a different kind of illness: obsessive-compulsive disorder. And for some who have spent years learning to cope with OCD, the latest crisis is undermining everything we’ve learned about our own brains. Continue reading...

The paediatrician and member of Independent Sage on Matt Hancock, the likelihood of a vaccine and why 50,000 deaths were preventableAnthony Costello is a paediatrician and international expert on child health who has been an outspoken critic of the British government’s response to Covid-19. He is a member of Independent Sage, a group of experts set up to provide “robust, independent advice” in regard to the UK’s coronavirus policies, and former director of the Institute for Global Health at University College London. He has worked in a number of low-income nations, developing effective strategies for cutting newborn and maternal mortality rates. He also served as director of maternal, child and adolescent health at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva.What do you think about the decision to open pubs yesterday?

Your questions answered on what type of mask to wear to cut the risk of getting Covid-19

Covid-related facts and definitions are confusing, and as lockdown is eased, clarity is more important than ever

Years of social progress could be reversed by the virus, amid accusations that politicians have been fatally inept

Pubs in England reopen; fourth of July weekend in US sees cases surging; housing estates in Melbourne locked down. This blog is now closed – please follow our continuing coverage below

The science has been settled to the highest degree, so now the key to progress is understanding our psychological reactionsIt took me much longer than it should have to realise that educating people about climate change science was not enough. Due perhaps to my personality type (highly rational, don’t talk to me about horoscopes, please) and my background (the well-educated daughter of a high school teacher and an academic), I have grown up accepting the idea that facts persuade and emotions detract from a good argument.Then again, I’m a social scientist. I study people. I deal mostly in feelings, not facts. A joke I like to tell about myself during speeches is that I’m an expert in the opinions of people who don’t know what they’re talking about. Over the 15 years I’ve been a social researcher, I’ve watched with concern the increasing effects of climate change, and also watched as significant chunks of the electorate voted for political parties with terrible climate change policies. Continue reading...

Hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir not found to help patients in hospital

Imperial College doctors with AR glasses examine patients as trainees watch remotely

Osteocalcin, a hormone produced in the bones, could one day provide treatments for age-related issues such as muscle and memory lossGérard Karsenty was a young scientist trying to make a name for himself in the early 1990s when he first stumbled upon a finding that would go on to transform our understanding of bone, and the role it plays in our body.Karsenty had become interested in osteocalcin, one of the most abundant proteins in bone. He suspected that it played a crucial role in bone remodelling – the process by which our bones continuously remove and create new tissue – which enables us to grow during childhood and adolescence, and also recover from injuries. Continue reading...

If I hadn’t experienced anxiety and agoraphobia and the therapy that resulted from them, I wouldn’t now understand human complexities as I do, writes Charlotte LevinI sometimes wonder about my parallel life: the one in which I attended drama school, became a respected actor, travelled the world and ended up marrying Louis Theroux after meeting him at an awards ceremony. The life in which I didn’t develop anxiety and agoraphobia.In 1995, aged 23, after years of auditions, my application had been accepted for the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. My desire to act since the age of eight was firmly cemented and my dreams were coming to fruition. I was living in London so I’d arranged some viewings of potential digs. My boyfriend and I decided to make a trip of it and planned an extended scenic route – a concept now incomprehensible. But by the time we left, I was getting nervous. Continue reading...

The case of the Covid-19 drug shows how national interests will continue to define the allocation of research products

From an intensive care nurse to a homeless restaurant worker, four people changed by Covid-19 reflect on the most intense chapter of their livesOn 21 February, McFarlane, 57, was on her way back to Bangkok airport with her husband, Archie. The couple had been visiting their son, who works at an international school. “We felt apprehensive because the virus was starting to hit the news,” she recalls. She wore a mask at the airport and on the flight, though her husband refused. At Heathrow, nobody took their temperature or handed out hygiene leaflets, unlike in Bangkok. “You wouldn’t have known anything was wrong.” Continue reading...

Amid a pandemic, the president rails against reason itself. The passions of his predecessors throw his failure into sharp reliefWe know what the temperature was in Philadelphia on 4 July 1776, because Thomas Jefferson wrote it down at 6am (68F), 9am (72.25F), 1pm (76F), and 9pm (73.5F). Even on this most important day, the author of the Declaration of Independence was never too busy to observe nature. Scientific language helped as he scratched out the words, claiming it was “self-evident” that people had rights, based on “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God”.Related: US supreme court gives conservatives the blues but what's really going on? Continue reading...

Country has second-worst outbreak in the world as global cases near 11m

Investment with India made in US firm OneWeb after Brexit locks UK out of Europe’s satellite navigation systemThe UK government has pledged to invest $500m (£400m) in bankrupt satellite company OneWeb, giving it a stake in a business that provides broadband from space.The government, which has proven so far unwilling to take stakes in major British companies hit by the coronavirus pandemic, will receive a “significant equity share” in the loss-making company as it seeks to make “high-risk, high-payoff” investments of the kind advocated by 10 Downing Street adviser Dominic Cummings. Continue reading...

Key questions about Covid-19 answered as lockdowns ease across the four nations

Your questions answered on what type of mask to wear to cut the risk of getting or spreading Covid-19

Team is using new approach that could be cheap and scalable and become the norm within five yearsProf Robin Shattock would have liked slightly longer to develop the revolutionary approach to vaccines that he is pretty sure will not only save lives in the Covid-19 pandemic but become the norm for vaccine development within five years.His team at Imperial College were working on Ebola and Lassa fever vaccines using new technology but had not got as far as human trials when a novel coronavirus started to kill thousands of people in Wuhan, China. Continue reading...

Death toll passes 61,000; Florida records biggest one-day increase in its new cases; Sweden records 947 new cases in a day. This blog is now closed

The city is undergoing a suburban testing blitz after premier Daniel Andrews revealed hotspots in suburbs were largely caused by extended families

Scotland is right to mandate masks or similar coverings in shops. Wearing them can save livesWicked. Horrific. An affront to British liberties. Proposals to make wearing seatbelts compulsory were angrily opposed in the early 1970s. Some warned that it might make motorists more reckless, or endanger unborn babies. MPs claimed there was no real evidence of the benefits. Others complained it would be uncomfortable for women or the elderly. It took years of political battle to change the law, saving tens of thousands of lives.In retrospect, the outrage looks not merely mistaken but utterly bizarre. Wearing a seatbelt is simply a matter of course now. Yet similar claims have been heard in this pandemic when it comes to wearing masks. The World Health Organization insisted there was not enough evidence to recommend their routine use, changing its advice only last month. Other officials warned that mask-wearers might be lulled into a false sense of security, and would fail to distance themselves from others. There was real and understandable concern that mass purchases would leave no protection for medics and other frontline workers who desperately needed it. But this disparagement of masks may have come at a cost. Continue reading...

Study finds British Columbia birds’ dropped-end note of call has spread across countryIf you consider Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep to be the ultimate catchy tune, think again: the white-throated sparrows of British Columbia have devised a new song that has gone viral across Canada.For years, the small songbird’s traditional descending whistle featured a three-note ending. But researchers have tracked how a unique two-note-ending version of the male bird’s call has rapidly spread 3,000km (1,864 miles) eastwards from western Canada to central Ontario during this century. Continue reading...

Study of DNA changes in labradors suggests puppies age much faster than older dogsDogs do not simply age at seven times the rate of humans, scientists have found in a study that reveals young dogs might be “older” than previously thought.The findings suggest a one-year-old puppy is actually about 30 in “human years” – an age when humans, at least, might be expected to have stopped running riot with the toilet paper. Continue reading...

Until every country is protected, we are all at risk. Only effective vaccines and treatments will allow us to eradicate coronavirus

I am being paid to sit and refresh my computer screen every 15 minutes. The ‘world-beating’ system is a shamblesNHS test and trace was meant to be world-beating, but in my experience it’s been a shambles. I am a paramedic who has been working for the service since it launched, but I have yet to make a single call.Last week I got an email from NHS Professionals, the largest NHS staff bank in the UK. It said it had almost been a month since the service went live, and thanked me for my “hard work and commitment to date”. Continue reading...

Your questions answered on what type of mask to wear to cut the risk of getting Covid-19

From my nan telling me not to lick my finger when turning a page to dubious showering guidance, why do some things stick in our brain?It’s funny, the things that stick in your mind for ever. When I was little, my brother and I would usually go to our grandparents’ house after school. We would be given our tea in front of the telly, which we would sit and watch while Grandad read the Express and Star and Nan read a magazine. I noticed that every time she turned a page, she licked her finger first. Deducing this was the kind of adult modus operandi I should be aiming for, I started doing the same thing. I went so far as to pick up magazines I couldn’t even read properly, just to practice and perfect my finger-licking page-turning technique. Before long, my Nan saw me proudly in action.“Oh, don’t do that, Ade,” she said. Continue reading...

Language is used routinely only by a diminishing number of elderly islandersA casual visitor to Scotland might assume that the Gaelic language is thriving, with every police car carrying the word poileas and every ambulance ambaileans. Yet in the few places where it is spoken, the language is in a profound, potentially terminal crisis.Without radical action, Scots Gaelic will be dead within a decade, according to a study. The language is rarely spoken in the home, little used by teenagers, and used routinely only by a diminishing number of elderly Gaels dispersed across a few island communities in the Hebrides. Continue reading...

Thirty years ago, the Hubble space telescope was shuttled into orbit, and has since provided us with astonishing images and insights into the universe. Earlier this year, Hannah Devlin spoke to one of the astronauts who helped launch Hubble, Kathy Sullivan. The first American woman to walk in space, Sullivan describes her journey to becoming an astronaut, why Hubble was such a vital mission and why it continues to be so important today Continue reading...

Global tourism stands to lose up to $3.3tn, says UN; Ryanair pilots take pay cut to avoid job losses; tourist flights to Greece resume; global cases pass 10.5m

Exclusive: local leaders say they are not getting test results needed to prevent flare-ups