A maximum of 84 hotdogs in 10 minutes is possible, says sports science studyThe four-minute mile and the two-hour marathon were once believed impossible: now a new gauntlet has been thrown down for the world of elite competition. A scientific analysis suggests competitive eaters have come within nine hotdogs of the limits of human performance.The theoretical ceiling has been set at 84 hotdogs in 10 minutes. The current world record, set by Joey “Jaws” Chestnut earlier this month, stands at 75. Continue reading...

People will have to book to visit V&A, Science Museum and Natural History Museum

An ingredient in its bark led to aspirin, now researchers are looking into the properties of another compound in the treeWillow trees are a pharmaceutical treasure trove. The ancient Egyptians used its bark for relieving pain, inflammation and fevers, and science has since shown these medical powers came from an ingredient called salicin, named after salix, the Latin name for the tree. That discovery eventually led to the manufacture of aspirin, one of the most widely used medicines in the world.

Eight-metre statue built in 5th century BC had been buried among ancient ruinsA colossal statue of Atlas, buried for centuries among ancient ruins, will soon take its rightful place among the ancient Greek temples of Agrigento on Sicily.The city’s archaeological park announced that the artwork, one of the most celebrated sculptures on the island, will be raised upright in front of the Temple of Zeus. Continue reading...

Exclusive: likelihood of UK homes being infected triples with every additional 20 beds

Public urged to send in snaps of paintings to help unpick how produce has evolvedFrom the juicy grapes depicted by Clara Peeters to Cézanne’s colourful apples, fruit and vegetables have appeared on myriad canvases over the centuries. Now researchers want the public to send in their snaps of such paintings to help unpick how our produce has evolved.The duo behind the idea say harvesting such images could help shed light on the shapes and colours fruit and vegetables have taken over the years, as well as when and where such forms cropped up. They add it could even offer information on factors such as trade routes and food habits. Continue reading...

Wind-borne microplastics are a bigger source of ocean pollution than rivers, say scientists

Retail workers up to 75% more likely to die from virus than rest of population, says health secretary

Boris Johnson announces face coverings are to be mandatory in shops from 24 July with £100 fines for non-compliance

My friend and colleague Sheila Youngson, who has died aged 65 from a stroke, was a clinical psychologist in the NHS from 1981, focusing on children and young people.Her final clinical post, from 1998 to 2010, was as consultant clinical psychologist at St James’ hospital, in Leeds, where she was based at the paediatric renal unit. Within the medicalised environment of the hospital, she worked with persistence and sensitivity to introduce her child-centred approach to the emotional needs of the young patients. Continue reading...

Some scientists believe there is growing evidence of airborne transmission of Covid-19

Premier Gladys Berejiklian details stricter regime for pubs as cluster linked to the Crossroads Hotel grows to 30 casesNew South Wales is on “extra high alert” for a widespread Covid-19 resurgence and will require so-called hygiene marshals to enforce social distancing at every pub in the state.The crackdown comes after patrons who visited a Sydney hotel at the centre of the state’s largest outbreak expressed concern over relaxed safety practices and the pub’s manager conceded more could have been done to record visitors’ contact details. Continue reading...

Officers say law to make coverings compulsory in stores will be unenforceable

French study is believed to be first such confirmed case but doctors say infant has made good recovery

Hong Kong, California and Manila tighten rules; WHO warns there are no shortcuts out of a pandemic; Australia passes 10,000 cases

With antibodies having implications for both our understanding of previous coronavirus infections and potential future immunity, Nicola Davis talks to Prof Eleanor Riley about how best to test for them and asks whether antibodies are the only thing we should be looking for Continue reading...

Cases rise by over 230,000 worldwide in 24 hours; EU summit ‘may not agree Covid-19 recovery fund’; 130m ‘may go hungry in 2020 because of virus’. This blog is now closed

Preparations to avoid second wave worst-case scenario in NHS hospitals ‘must start now’

While the government offers only mixed messages on face coverings, a ridiculous outlaw machismo has been on the rise

The solution to today’s puzzle.Earlier today I set you the following puzzle.Place a different letter in each of the 26 empty white cells of the grid below to make ten common English words. Each letter of the alphabet is used exactly once. The words read along the horizontal lines. Continue reading...

Tests of pupils and teachers in Saxony suggest children may act as brake on infection

PM says government will issue fresh guidance this week on the wearing of face coverings

More than 140 teams of researchers are racing to develop a safe and effective coronavirus vaccineResearchers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, with more than 140 candidate vaccines now tracked by the World Health Organization (WHO). Continue reading...

Exclusive: best analysis to date indicates significant increases in infections, hospital admissions and deaths

Record of 230,000 reported just days after previous global high; South Africa reinstates alcohol ban; Mexico overtakes Italy death toll

More than 140 teams of researchers are racing to develop a safe and effective coronavirus vaccineResearchers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, with more than 140 candidate vaccines now tracked by the World Health Organization (WHO). Continue reading...

A bowl of food for the brainUPDATE: Solution is now up here.Today, for a change, a word puzzle. Place a different letter in each of the 26 empty white cells of the grid below to make ten common English words. Each letter of the alphabet is used exactly once. The words read along the horizontal lines. Continue reading...

Edinburgh University team find heart damage in 55% of ultrasounds from 69 countries

In the 1990s, a troupe of hippies spent two years sealed inside a dome called Biosphere 2. They ended up starving and gasping for breath. As a new documentary Spaceship Earth tells their story, we meet the ‘biospherians’It sounds like a sci-fi movie, or the weirdest series of Big Brother ever. Eight volunteers wearing snazzy red jumpsuits seal themselves into a hi-tech glasshouse that’s meant to perfectly replicate Earth’s ecosystems. They end up starving, gasping for air and at each other’s throats – while the world’s media looks on.But the Biosphere 2 experiment really did happen. Running from 1991 to 1993, it is remembered as a failure, if it is remembered at all – a hubristic, pseudo-scientific experiment that was never going to accomplish its mission. However, as the new documentary Spaceship Earth shows, the escapade is a cautionary tale, now that the outside world – Biosphere 1, if you prefer – is itself coming to resemble an apocalyptic sci-fi world. Looking back, it’s amazing that Biosphere 2 even happened at all, not least because the people behind it started out as a hippy theatre group. Continue reading...

Jupiter is at its closest to Earth and directly opposite the sun – so will be conspicuous for its brightnessOn 14 July at 09:00 BST, Jupiter will be directly opposite the sun in the sky. Known as opposition, it marks the middle of the weeks when the planet is at its best for observing because it is closest to Earth. From Jupiter’s perspective, our world will be at inferior conjunction, meaning that it will be directly in-line with the sun. The chart shows the view looking south at midnight tonight from London. Jupiter will be quite low in the night sky, close to the main body of Sagittarius, the archer. It will be conspicuous because of its brightness and its proximity to another bright planet, Saturn. Continue reading...

There are worrying trends about long-term damage, even in those with milder symptoms

Exclusive: King’s College London team found steep drops in patients’ antibody levels three months after infection

The market is flooded with books and classes claiming ‘breathwork’ can help with mental health, sleep and even Covid-19. But are experts convinced?Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage

Your questions answered on what type of mask to wear to cut the risk of contracting coronavirus

Unconscious bias training is a lucrative industry, but it won’t change consciously hostile policiesAre you racist? And, if so, how would I know? I used to think that a good gauge may be whether you call me a “Paki”, or assault me because of my skin colour, or deny me a job after seeing my name. But, no, these are just overt expressions of racism. Even if you show no hostility, or seek to discriminate, you’re probably still racist. You just don’t know it. Especially if you’re white. And if you protest about being labelled a racist, you are merely revealing what the US academic and diversity trainer Robin DiAngelo describes in the title of her bestselling book as your “white fragility”.You either accept your racism, or reveal your racism by not accepting it. Indeed, as DiAngelo explains, it’s “progressives” confronting racism who “cause the most damage to people of colour” because they imagine that they are anti-racist. Racism is, as she puts it, “unavoidable”. Continue reading...

The chancellor missed an opportunity to deliver a life-saving message along with Wagamama’s chicken

Communities secretary announces new planning rules forcing councils to take impact of Covid-19 into account

Mental health issues among teenagers and young adults are on the rise since start of pandemic

With the red planet’s launch window about to open, the US, China and the UAE are all sending craft to look for answersIn the next few weeks, a flotilla of probes will be blasted into space from launch pads round the world and propelled towards one of the solar system’s most mysterious objects: the planet Mars. Within days of each other, spacecraft built by the USA, by China and by the United Arab Emirates will be sent on separate, seven-month voyages to investigate the red planet.Never has so much interplanetary traffic been put en route to Mars at one time - and all of it is intended to help answer a question that has nagged scientists for decades: is there, or was there ever, life on Mars? Continue reading...

New research from Sweden reveals that good genes don’t make you a success but family money, or marrying into it, does

This blog has closed – please keep following our live coverage here12.50am BSTThis blog has closed – thanks for following. Coverage continues at our latest coronavirus live blog.12.27am BSTGood morning, good evening, hello, wherever you might be. This is Helen Davidson taking the reins of the blog for the next few hours. Thanks to my colleagues for their coverage.We’ll be starting a new blog shortly, but in the meantime here is some more news on the vaccine front. Continue reading...

Scientists still divided on the issue as PM hints he will make face coverings mandatory for shoppers

The vaginal mesh scandal betrayed the intimate trust that should exist between doctor and patient, whatever their sex

Job losses, homelessness, school closures and acute hunger set to rise dramatically without urgent support, Christian Aid warns

I looked forward to spending more time with my wife – but it took a while before romance found its way back inIt felt like we were embarking on a new adventure. It was late March and Boris Johnson had announced that Britain would, in response to the threat of Covid-19, be going into lockdown. Life as we knew it was about to grind to a halt. I would be working from home as the British Library was closing its doors. My wife Bridget, a speech and language therapist specialising in autism, would also no longer be able to work in schools and have to work from home. Our children – Laila, eight, and Ezra, three – would not be attending school or playgroup.Lockdown was potentially terrifying – no one knew then what the impact of the pandemic was going to be – but my initial response was that it could perhaps be good for our family. There would be a pause in the daily struggle of trying to wake the children, get them dressed and fed in time to run to the bus stop so they were not late for school. Working from home and the shops being closed meant we might save some money. The biggest upside without doubt, however, was that the lockdown would give me the chance to spend more time with my wife. Continue reading...

Other finds include lead lined Roman coffin and Stonehenge-like wooden structure

Daniel Andrews says effects of lockdown won’t be reflected for weeks as NSW cases linked to Casula pub

WHO reports worrying rise; second Venezuelan minister tests positive; Brazil records 1,200 more deaths

Experts say programme could follow participants for decades to look at long-term effects

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