Japanese farming folklore says lightning makes mushrooms multiply – and research shows there is truth in itA few years ago, I attempted to grow my own shiitake mushrooms. I purchased a special log, which had been seeded with mushroom spores, and followed the instructions to soak it and then keep it in a shady spot. Sadly no mushrooms ever fruited on my log, but maybe I would have had more luck if I’d given my log an electric shock.According to Japanese farming folklore, lightning makes mushrooms multiply. Previous research has demonstrated that there is some truth in this tale, and now scientists are closer to understanding why. Continue reading...

It is time Australian governments started to listen to experts when it comes to climate change and pandemics

Archaeologists face surfeit of mammoths after bones found at airport under construction north of Mexico CityArchaeologists have found the bones of about 60 mammoths at an airport under construction just north of Mexico City, near human-built “traps” where more than a dozen mammoths were found last year.Both discoveries reveal how appealing the area – once a shallow lake – was for the mammoths, and how erroneous was the classic vision of groups of fur-clad hunters with spears chasing mammoths across a plain. Continue reading...

Herd immunity represents the percentage of people in a population who need to be immune to a disease in order to protect those who aren’t. Early on in the pandemic, researchers estimated the herd immunity threshold for Covid-19 to be 60%. Following a question from a listener, Ian Sample speaks to Rachel Thomas to explore the maths and find out exactly how herd immunity is calculated Continue reading...

Despite some fine words about the environmental crisis, ministers are pushing ahead with a trade bill that threatens to damage the planetThe dust storms that devastated the US prairie during the Great Depression were the worst ecological disaster in American history. They were also, partly, manmade. Decades of farming in the Great Plains had rid the topsoil of its native grass, leaving nothing to prevent fields crumbling to dust when drought struck in 1931. Across the Dust Bowl in midwest America, millions of acres of farmland were swept away in brown blizzards. Forced off the land, hungry families headed west in search of new jobs and lives. The dust blew so far east that it settled on the White House lawn.Almost 90 years ago the US president’s response was not to lie about the scale of disaster or blame others. Instead, Franklin D Roosevelt launched one of his New Deal’s signature relief programmes: the Civilian Conservation Corps. Its mission was to put unemployed Americans to work. More than 3 million people planted 3bn trees, built shelter belts across the Great Plains to reduce the risk of dust storms, and created 700 state parks. FDR’s legacy survives, but his policy is venerated more in name than in deed. Continue reading...

Malaria drug should not be used to treat coronavirus, scientists say, after study shows high death rate

Women are naturally more cautious: would the government have made so many missteps over the lockdown if it was more inclusive?

Documents reveal that PM’s current plan was not among those modelled for scientists

Under-20s appear 56% less likely to contract Covid-19, preliminary evidence suggests

Debris from what is believed to be a Russian Soyuz rocket re-entering Earth’s atmosphere created a light show across the sky in parts of Victoria, south-east Australia, on Friday evening.Residents reported seeing a meteor-like streak in the sky above Rochester, Kyneton, Echuca and Cashmore.

Politicians have become more cautious about immunisation prospects. They are right to be

From drug treatments to preventive measures like wearing masks, we don’t yet have the evidence we need for effective policymaking

Latest figures from public health authorities on the spread of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom. Find out how many confirmed cases have been reported in each of England’s local authorities

Alternative to nasal swab to be tested on police and army staff in next two weeks

Brazil daily death toll jumps by nearly 1,200; East Africa facing ‘triple menace’ of Covid-19, floods and locusts. This blog is now closed

Government signs deal for 10m antibody tests; 17% of Londoners and 5% of rest of country may have had Covid-19; official UK death toll rises to 36,042

Trial for test, separate to antibody test, involves 4,000 people and will run for six weeks

Official findings add to concerns about Sweden’s laissez-faire strategy towards the pandemic

Retired doctors in Sheffield say their struggles show challenges government’s system will face

Pledge of ‘world-beating’ system will have to look to likes of South Korea and Germany

For people who live alone, lockdown means ‘touch starvation’ as we go days without hugs, handshakes or other contact

Firm has capacity to make 1bn doses of Oxford University drug undergoing trials

Participating hospitals begin enrolling volunteers to test drug’s impact on coronavirus

The health service is not a charity and it is not staffed by heroes. It has been run into the ground by successive governments

Latest figures from public health authorities on the spread of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom. Find out how many confirmed cases have been reported in each of England’s local authorities

Study reveals cloth coverings reduce airflow but Covid-19 effectiveness remains unproven

Exclusive: experts warn of risk of positive results producing false sense of security

A seven-page report from the former president’s science advisers is an implicit criticism of Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemicNine top scientists who advised Barack Obama in the White House are warning that the US has just three months to rebuild its national stockpile of emergency medical supplies or risk further drastic shortages of testing kits and protective gear should coronavirus strike again in the fall.The dramatic warning from Obama’s former science advisers contains an implicit criticism of Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic. In a seven-page missive, the group says that federal government preparations for a possible resurgence of the disease must be triggered immediately if a repeat of the “extraordinary shortage of supplies” that was seen in March and April is to be avoided. Continue reading...

A summary of the biggest developments in the global coronavirus outbreak

It’s an experience many dog owners have been through – their adolescent pooches appear to be more moody and rebellious. Now researchers have shown that dogs really do mimic human teenagers’ behaviour, becoming less responsive to instructions from their carer. To find out more about the difficult teenage doggy-years, Nicola Davis talks to Dr Lucy Asher about the study

Country plans to allow international flights from 1 July; Spain makes face coverings compulsory; global cases hit 4.9m. This blog is now closed

US accused by Russia of trying to circumvent 1967 treaty banning ownership of areas of the moon

Exclusive: intervention comes after minister appeared to scapegoat scientists over Covid-19 errors

What councils up and down the country are advising their schools, teachers and parents

Exclusive: ‘The question is how big,’ says Dr Andrea Ammon, who thinks March skiing breaks were pivotal to spread

Researchers observe swirling disc around AB Aurigae star, suggesting new world is formingAstronomers believe they may have found the first direct evidence of a new planet being born.A dense disc of dust and gas has been spotted surrounding a young star called AB Aurigae, about 520 light years away from Earth. Continue reading...

Researchers map ‘beginning of new ecosystem’ as algae bloom across surface of melting snowScientists have created the first large-scale map of microscopic algae on the Antarctic peninsula as they bloom across the surface of the melting snow, tinting the surface green and potentially creating a source of nutrition for other species.The British team behind the research believe these blooms will expand their range in the future because global heating is creating more of the slushy conditions they need to thrive. Continue reading...

Latest figures from public health authorities on the spread of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom. Find out how many confirmed cases have been reported in each of England’s local authorities

In some US states, bars are already packed again and you can even get your nails done. Will lockdown boredom lead to a dreaded second wave?

Deputy chief scientific adviser suggests track-and-trace stopped in March due to lack of capacity

Nicola Davis asks mathematician Kit Yates how useful global comparisons are when it comes to the coronavirus outbreak, given the huge differences in demographics and public health responses. And, as per a question from a listener, what the best metric is when doing such comparisons?

Canada-US border to remain closed; Barcelona beaches to reopen as Spain death toll below 100 for third consecutive day. This blog is now closed

Legal claim launched to help fund Covid-19 response in South American country

Drug taken by Trump being acquired in case it proves effective against coronavirus

As the spats continue, the Commons science and technology committee paints a more nuanced picture of what went wrong

The president has announced he is taking hydroxychloroquine to fight coronavirus. Perhaps he has also been injecting bleach in front of Fox NewsHow is Donald Trump still alive? Seriously, it defies science. The man reportedly drinks 12 Diet Cokes a day, appears to exist purely on Big Macs and doesn’t do any exercise because he thinks the human body is like a battery and working out depletes it. On top of all this, it turns out the 73-year-old is popping pills with potentially fatal side-effects for reasons that make no medical sense.We learned on Monday that the president has been taking the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to ward off Covid-19. This goes against the advice of his own government. After Trump repeatedly championed the drug as a “gamechanger”, the Food and Drug Administration stressed that it hasn’t been shown to work as a coronavirus treatment or preventive and should only be administered in hospital or research settings due to the risk of potential heart problems. As Nancy Pelosi bluntly noted, taking unapproved drugs is particularly dangerous for people in Trump’s “age group and his, shall we say, weight group”. Continue reading...

We were second in the world for preparedness. Then Boris Johnson et al deliberately de-prepared us

US president claimed WHO too willing to accept Chinese explanations over coronavirus outbreak

Latest figures from public health authorities on the spread of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom. Find out how many confirmed cases have been reported in each of England’s local authorities

Public Health England must give scientific reasoning, MPs say in letter to Boris Johnson