Science | The Guardian

From cucumber-crunchers to cranial exams, YouTube is full of ASMRtists provoking the strangely pleasurable autonomous sensory meridian response. Now they’ve got their own euphoric museum showSome whisper gently into the microphone, while tapping their nails along the spine of a book. Others take a bar of soap and slice it methodically into tiny cubes, letting the pieces clatter into a plastic tray. There are those who dress up as doctors and pretend to perform a cranial nerve exam, and the ones who eat food as noisily as they can, recording every crunch and slurp in 3D stereo sound.

Exscientia to use AI to hunt through compounds which have passed human trials

Study will follow 1,000 people in Heinsberg to create plan for how to deal with virus

President Sisi may have nothing to hide, but his crackdown on anyone who challenges the official line only fuels speculation

Healthcare workers including a physiotherapist and a radiographer on how they are helping to battle the virus

Tuesday’s top story: NY governor says state’s coronavirus deluge is a harbinger of what’s to come for the US. Plus, a heatwave in the coldest place on EarthGood morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s essential stories. Continue reading...

Every country needs to keep preparing for large-scale community transmission, says regional director

Human trials will begin imminently – but even if they go well and a cure is found, there are many barriers before global immunisation is feasible

Latest figures from public health authorities on the spread of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom. Find out how many cases have been reported near you

What are the symptoms caused by the Covid-19 virus, how does it spread, and should you call a doctor?

Hannah Devlin speaks with Prof David Smith about the various ways in which clinicians can test whether or not someone is infected with Sars-CoV-2. And, following the recent announcement that the UK government has bought millions of antibody tests, explores what these might be able to tell us Continue reading...

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in self-isolation; Moscow announces lockdown of 12m people; Syria records first death. This blog is now closed

System uses machine learning to offer new way to screen for hard-to-detect cancersA new blood test that can detect more than 50 types of cancer has been revealed by researchers in the latest study to offer hope for early detection.The test is based on DNA that is shed by tumours and found circulating in the blood. More specifically, it focuses on chemical changes to this DNA, known as methylation patterns. Continue reading...

First comprehensive study of deaths and hospitalisations in mainland China shows just how much of a factor age is

German researchers studying how lockdown restrictions could be lifted for some people

ONS to publish additional data but chief medical officer doesn’t expect a large increase in reported deaths

There’s a surreal calm in the last country in Europe to hold out against lockdown. But the death toll is rising and some are voicing dissent

UK data shows the number of new cases has fallen, but experts say only time will tell if this is a trend

Researchers at the University of Minnesota created a 3D map of the ‘spike’ protein used to latch on to cells

Ireland and Portugal have acted to protect asylum seekers and migrants. The UK has made a political choice not to do soA week after Priti Patel stood in the House of Commons and issued an apology for the Windrush scandal, Abanda was trying to figure out how to survive during the Covid-19 pandemic. “I haven’t seen anything addressed to us,” she says. Abanda is a refused asylum seeker who advocates for migrant rights. “I don’t think we exist.”Days later, as part of a number of measures announced for migrants, the Home Office extended support for some of those seeking asylum. But the standard financial assistance remains under £40 a week, less than half of the statutory sick pay. It’s an amount ministers should be asked if they could survive on, particularly when vital migrant services have had to to be scaled back. Continue reading...

Researchers in US tracked the neural data from people while they were speaking

People assume that we’re vulnerable to false information. But even in times of crisis, common sense usually prevails• Coronavirus – latest updates• See all our coronavirus coverageIn times of crisis, misinformation abounds. Covid-19 can be cured by ingesting fish-tank cleaning products. Coronavirus was developed in Chinese (or American, or French) labs. Cristiano Ronaldo and the pope tested positive.Why does misinformation flourish? Does all this fake news mean that people are hopelessly gullible, their anxiety making them receptive to the most blatant baloney? Continue reading...

The best thing to do when trying to understand a new virus like Covid-19 is to look at the data. The Guardian's science correspondent Hannah Devlin uses the latest figures to explain who is most at risk of contracting this coronavirus, why men are more likely to die from the disease, and the reasons health workers could be particularly vulnerable

Rules eased during coronavirus crisis to allow women to be sent both sets of abortion pills

Device developed in 10 days by medics and engineers will help avoid need for full ventilation

Epidemiologist Prof Neil Ferguson points to decreased rate of hospital admissions

Boris Johnson’s key adviser believed to have mild symptoms including a cough

On top of huge cuts, regional bodies have also been decimated in the past 10 years. It’s left us ill-prepared for a crisis like this

What are the symptoms caused by the Covid-19 virus, how does it spread, and should you call a doctor?

Latest figures from public health authorities on the spread of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom. Find out how many cases have been reported near you

You’ve probably missed everything else going on!

Governments ban entry to foreigners and announce quarantine measures as Donald Trump says keeping US deaths to 100,000 would be ‘very good’

Australian Dr Daniel Reardon ended up in hospital after inserting magnets in his nostrils while building a necklace that warns you when you touch your face

Canadian Bruce Aylward, who visited Wuhan in February, appeared to hang up or be cut off when pressed on Taipei’s record

Since going live over the weekend, the site has crashed at least once due to complaints over people playing rugby or frisbee and holding parties

Thousands of nurses expected to stop work this week over concerns about lack of personal protective equipmentFour thousand nurses are expected to participate in strikes across Papua New Guinea this week over concerns that the Pacific nation lacks the medical supplies and funding to handle a potential coronavirus outbreak.The industrial action follows a sit-in by nearly 600 nurses in the capital of Port Moresby on Thursday over concerns about the lack of personal protective equipment for medical staff. Continue reading...

Medical staff on the frontline face ostracisation and are being forced to sleep in their hospitalsDoctors and medical workers in India are being ostracised from communities, evicted from their homes and forced to sleep in hospital bathrooms and on floors over fears they may be carrying coronavirus.In cases reported across the country, healthcare professionals described the growing stigma they are facing from their neighbours and landlords, resulting in many being refused taxis, barricaded from their own homes, or made homeless. Continue reading...

Livelihoods at risk as EY finds 41% of employers globally prepare for after the crisis

The constellation Cancer, with the beehive cluster, is high in the sky and well-placed for observationThis week is a good time to track down one of the fainter constellations: Cancer, the Crab. It is one of the zodiacal constellations, meaning that the sun passes through it during the year. It is bordered on the west by Gemini, the Twins, and to the east by Leo, the Lion – both zodiacal constellations. Continue reading...

People will remain calm if they have clear and simple guidelines. The first step is to listenWe are not experts on epidemiology, virology or economics. Our personal view is that we need to proactively isolate non-essential workers and children. We base our opinion on the evidence and modelling that we find most compelling. This is our view, but we acknowledge that this is a wicked problem and there are no easy decisions.What we do have expertise in is the psychology of misinformation, communication and behaviour change, so here we offer a few thoughts on how leaders should be engaging with the public. Continue reading...

Longer, lighter days can help us banish old habits, sleep better and improve our mental health, even during the lockdown

Human trials will begin imminently – but even if they go well and a cure is found, there are many barriers before global immunisation is feasible

Patients, carers and NHS staff could receive experimental antibody treatment

This pandemic is throwing into stark relief a treacherous fact: we depend on employment, both for survival and a sense of selfOffices empty, restaurants and cafes closed, performance venues dark, schools and universities shut down. Across the world, numerous industries have entered a state of suspended animation, imposing a sharp and involuntary brake on the working lives of millions of people.This week, having moved my psychoanalytic practice online, I’ve sat in an empty consulting room talking to patients via video-conference, many of them struggling to process what life in the shadow of Covid-19 might mean in the short- and longer-term. Some are lamenting the lost sense of belonging they derive from their workplaces, as well as the claustrophobia of being shut in with partners and children. Continue reading...

What are the symptoms caused by the Covid-19 virus, how does it spread, and should you call a doctor?

Latest figures from public health authorities on the spread of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom. Find out how many cases have been reported near you

Criminals who formerly tried to ‘sextort’ people online are now making threats to infect a target’s family and friendsThe email is immediately threatening. “I know every dirty little secret about your life,” it begins. “To prove my point, tell me, does [REDACTED] ring any bell to yοu? It was one οf your passwords.”The message goes on to inform recipients that the sender knows where they live, to whom they talk and how they spend their days, before delivering the punchline: “You need tο pay me $4,000. You’ll make the payment via bitcoin … If I do not get the payment: Ι will infect every member οf your family with the coronavirus.” Continue reading...

One detects past infection, the other finds current viral load – but there’s a shortage of staff trained to carry them out

Findings of new report raise concerns about how effective new facilities will be

Boris Johnson is seeing a boost in his approval ratings. That may have little to do with how his government is performingIn the early stages of the crisis, one of those at the heart of government decision-making told me: “We are all going to get it.” You wouldn’t wish a positive test for the coronavirus on anyone, but there is this to be said for the news that the prime minister, the Prince of Wales, and the health secretary now number among the infected, while the chief medical officer is self-isolating. There couldn’t be a more vivid illustration that this is an equal-opportunity virus that couldn’t care less about your status. A VIP protection squad of police officers is no defence from the invisible terrorist. It can get to you whether you are the leader of the country or the heir to its throne.The penetration of the coronavirus within the high black gates of Downing Street takes us into another situation that is unprecedented. After e-cabinet meetings and virtual news conferences and an online emergency summit of the G20, we have now witnessed the extraordinary first of the prime minister addressing the nation via Twitter video from quarantine. The breezy “hi folks” with which he began was intended to damp down any public fright that might be triggered by the virus reaching the highest levels of government. Continue reading...