Science | The Guardian

School closures could force parents to call on older relatives for help – perhaps exposing them to infectionGrandparents are expected to come under pressure to step in to provide childcare if schools shut as a result of the coronavirus, but this could increase their already heightened risk of contracting the illness.Boris Johnson last week played down the prospect of widespread school closures, saying they should stay open “if possible”. But Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, has warned that in the event of a major epidemic, schools may have to shut – and if they do it will be “for quite a long period of time, probably more than two months”. Continue reading...

We review the grim statistics from the week that infections passed the 100,000 markThe coronavirus outbreak continued its remorseless spread around the globe with authorities reporting major variations in the disease’s impact in different countries. The figures revealed by doctors included:• 105,820 The total number of people infected by the coronavirus passed a grim milestone last week when it reached six figures. From these there have been 3,558 deaths. Continue reading...

Why did it take so long for the government to summon its emergency committee? Perhaps it should be renamedExactly how powerful is a cobra? I only ask because it seems the species is getting something of a bad name. It can move at up to 12mph, a damn sight quicker than I can run, and the amount of venom it can deliver in a single bite is enough to kill 20 people, or even an elephant. So not to be sniffed at.So why is the government’s emergency committee known as Cobra? You would have thought that the coronavirus crisis would have seen it summoned earlier than the beginning of last week to produce a robust response. I feel it should be renamed the slow loris committee. Continue reading...

The Covid-19 outbreak means Johnson and Cummings now need the help of the government machine they have attackedWhen Harold Macmillan, British prime minister 1957-63, was asked what worried him most, his celebrated reply was “the opposition of events”. This somehow got revised, as such quotes tend to, to “events, dear boy, events”.The beauty of the original reply was that, with his characteristic sardonic wit, Macmillan was also having a crack at the supposed feebleness of the official opposition – Labour – at the time. But that opposition contained some political giants, such as Labour leader Hugh Gaitskell and his opponent in chief, Aneurin Bevan. The two were the titular leaders of the Gaitskellites and the Bevanites. Then, as now, the Labour party was at war with itself; but things were nowhere near as desperate then as they are now. Continue reading...

Proposals include four-week job guarantee, banning over-70s from big gatherings and stadium closures in battle against Covid-19A range of drastic new measures, including emergency legislation allowing people to switch jobs and volunteer to work in the NHS or care homes, are being drawn up by ministers in an attempt to tackle the coronavirus crisis.The measures – which also include plans for courts to use telephone and video links to avoid people having to attend in person – are likely to be included in a special Covid-19 emergency bill, as the government prepares to move to the next phase – delay – of its response to the spread of the virus. Continue reading...

The prime minister washes his hands of more than germs•You can buy your own print of this cartoon Continue reading...

A colour-coded contagion-risk app being rolled out across China doubles as a means of social controlWhen Barack Obama was US president, his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, had a useful motto: “Never let a serious crisis go to waste: it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” The Chinese authorities have clearly taken this to heart – as evidenced by the unprecedented scale of their geographical lockdowns and quarantining, restrictions on movement, industrial slowdowns and heightened surveillance.At this distance, it’s impossible to judge how effective these measures really are. But all the experienced China-watchers of my acquaintance tell me that one should never underestimate the gap between realities on the ground and the story as told from Beijing. An instructive illustration of this is provided by a fascinating dispatch from Wuhan in the London Review of Books. It’s by Wang Xiuying (who describes himself as “a pessimist who’s trying hard to stay positive in self-quarantine”). He tells of a good deal of local chaos and serious tensions between the provincial authorities and the big cheeses in Beijing. He also describes great local heroism (particularly among health workers) and self-sacrifice. All of which sounds more plausible to me. Continue reading...

What are the symptoms caused by the virus from Wuhan in China, how does it spread, and when should you call a doctor?

When it comes to containing the outbreak, small mistakes will have big consequences for our healthIn a time of coronavirus, small mistakes can have outsize consequences.In the small southern Italian town of San Marco in Lamis, a man who died before it was known that he was carrying the virus infected his wife and daughter, who then came into contact with dozens of relatives and friends at his funeral – 70 of whom are now in quarantine. Continue reading...

Doctor likely fell ill in the US before flying back to Melbourne and treating 70 patients, says Victoria’s health minister

My father, Arnold Bodmer, who has died aged 90, fled Nazi Germany as a child refugee. In Britain and later in the US he was a scientist renowned for formulating many innovations in nuclear physics, notably through his work on the behaviours of nuclei.His pioneering work, which he completed while on sabbatical at Oxford University in 1970-71, suggested the possibility of collapsed nuclei – a crucial part of the study of quark matter, known as the “strange matter hypothesis”. His ideas continue to have relevance in theoretical physics and are used to explain the behaviours of neutron stars. Continue reading...

Experts hail identification of St Eanswythe, granddaughter of King Ethelbert

Scarves, friends, the example of the US president, can any of them help you follow the latest health advice?“I haven’t touched my face in weeks,” said Donald Trump, at a meeting with airline CEOs about the coronavirus crisis on Wednesday. “I miss it.”Twitter users promptly found recent photos of the president with his hands all over his chops, claiming to have caught him in a lie. But in this case, Trump may have revealed a fundamental truth of life in the time of Covid-19: it is really, really hard to resist touching your face. Continue reading...

Labour may have lost the election but we are still a movement that can fight for change, and that starts at Cop26We are on the threshold of an extraordinary decade. Before now the effects of climate and environmental breakdown were mapped on to the future, but today we can see them all around us.Across England and Wales, towns and villages are under floodwater; fires have raged from Australia to the Amazon; and globally we’re in the midst of the sixth mass extinction, in which we stand to lose up to a million species. According to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, tackling this crisis will require “far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” for which “the next few years are probably the most important in our history”. Continue reading...

Researchers say brain pathways begin to erode in late 40s, but can be repaired through dietary changesA low carbohydrate diet may prevent and even reverse age-related damage to the brain, research has found.By examining brain scans, researchers found that brain pathways begin to deteriorate in our late 40s – earlier than was believed. Continue reading...

Have you seen his inbox? It’s all pandemic and Brexit blowback. Don’t tell me he doesn’t want his old life backFace it: “Matt Hancock stars as Pandemic Minister” is one of the all-time WTF pieces of science-adjacent casting. Not since the Bond movie where Denise Richards played a nuclear scientist disabling warheads will you have felt quite so unconvinced. “What do I need to defuse this nuclear bomb?” wonders Bond, only for Denise to answer: “Me.” Oh dear. Well, I guess humans had a good innings.Richards would go on to take the Golden Raspberry for her performance as Dr Christmas Jones (a fine addition to the pantheon of fictional scientists with radioactively silly names, placing her alongside the likes of Bernard Quatermass and The Muppets’ Bunsen Honeydew). Continue reading...

Covid-19 essential guide: can it be caught on public transport, how is it different from the flu, and how sick will I get?

Other high-profile casualties that rely on the travel sector may follow – but smaller businesses will take the biggest hitAs the infection and death toll from coronavirus continues to creep higher, sending ripples of panic through communities and financial markets, the first high-profile corporate casualties are starting to emerge.Related: We don’t need another Flybe – we need a radical plan for regional transport | Christian Wolmar Continue reading...

We’ve been here before, and the direst predictions have not come to passNever, ever, should a government use war as a metaphor in a time of peace. Britain is not at war with coronavirus. The phrase and its cognates should be banned. Those who exploit them to heighten panic and win obedience to authority should be dismissed from public office.Related: No, you won't get the coronavirus from Chinese food. And don't drink bleach | Ranjana Srivastava Continue reading...

What is coronavirus, how does it spread, what are the symptoms, and should you call a doctor?

Efforts to address the outbreak risk are being undermined by an exodus of scientists and a leader who regularly distorts factsThe Trump administration’s jettisoning of scientific expertise and the president’s habit of spreading misinformation means the US is in a much weaker position to deal with the threat of coronavirus, experts have warned.There are now at least 149 known coronavirus cases across 13 states, with 11 deaths. US lawmakers have put together an $8.3bn emergency bill to help contain the virus, with laboratories set to be allowed to develop their own coronavirus tests without seeking regulatory approval first. Continue reading...

In a change of policy, some confirmed cases are now treated at home rather than in hospital

While the authorities implore New Yorkers to respond to facts not fear, I’ve taken to eating my stockpileAs of Thursday morning there were 11 confirmed cases of coronavirus in New York state (population: 20 million) and the phony war against the virus was well under way. In the city, people tried to find a proportionate response while honouring the need to be Doing Something. This mostly took the form of using an elbow to activate the elevator and finding somewhere to store 25lb of rice. Plus, of course, wondering if now was the time to buy Apple stock.Other questions remain. Does it make sense to cancel your spring break in Cancún when you pass through Times Square every day? How do you disinfect a phone? Are we supposed to be washing our hands multiple times even when we haven’t left our apartments? Does eating turmeric really work? And the big one: how much guilt should I feel for enjoying a massive sense of relief when a bunch of things I didn’t want to go to were cancelled? Continue reading...

Science behind spread of virus must be clear to avoid public discordThe looming arrival of a new disease as it spreads across international borders is, naturally, a source of some anxiety. But psychologists warn that the coronavirus outbreak has the ingredients to tip society into a state of panic if not carefully handled.“If you look at the historical record you’ll find that when outbreaks of novel disease emerge they do trigger high levels of anxiety and uncertainty and dread,” said Monica Schoch-Spana, a senior scientist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “Fear is going to be up because it’s unfamiliar … and we don’t have the usual counter-measures like vaccines or medicines.” Continue reading...

Threats to humanity, and how we address them, define our time. Why are we still so complacent about facing up to existential risk? By Toby OrdThe world is in the early stages of what may be the most deadly pandemic of the past 100 years. In China, thousands of people have already died; large outbreaks have begun in South Korea, Iran and Italy; and the rest of the world is bracing for impact. We do not yet know whether the final toll will be measured in thousands or hundreds of thousands. For all our advances in medicine, humanity remains much more vulnerable to pandemics than we would like to believe.To understand our vulnerability, and to determine what steps must be taken to end it, it is useful to ask about the very worst-case scenarios. Just how bad could a pandemic be? In science fiction, we sometimes encounter the idea of a pandemic so severe that it could cause the end of civilisation, or even of humanity itself. Such a risk to humanity’s entire future is known as an existential risk. We can say with certainty that the novel coronavirus, named Covid-19, does not pose such a risk. But could the next pandemic? To find out, and to put the current outbreak into greater context, let us turn to the past. Continue reading...

This week on the podcast, we’re bringing you the third and final episode from our Common Threads series, this time about trust in science. In particular, we ask how past controversies have led many to question gene editing, science and medicine, and if by focusing on the past, we can move forward.To listen to episodes one and two, search ‘The Gene Gap: Common Threads’ wherever you get your podcasts Continue reading...

Nasa’s Veggie system will enable astronauts to safely grow nutritious fresh foodExperiencing weightlessness, gazing back at the Earth as a pale blue dot and the adrenaline rush of being propelled into orbit at 20,000mph: life as an astronaut has various unique attractions.The food is not among them, with space travellers over the years enduring delicacies such as freeze-dried ice-cream, liquid salt and pepper, and dehydrated prawn cocktail. However, the menu is now set to be expanded, with the first space-grown lettuce having been found to be as safe, nutritious and palatable as the Earth-grown variety. Continue reading...

‘Safety guidance texts’ sent by the authorities contain an avalanche of personal information and are fuelling social stigma

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New software brings Earth climate satellite back to lifeThe Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) is operational again after being dark for about nine months. The satellite developed issues with its attitude control system last summer. This prompted operators at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to place it in a safe mode that protected the spacecraft from damage but also stopped it from returning data. Analysing the fault, operators have designed new software to allow DSCOVR to work despite the ongoing malfunction. This has been uploaded and the satellite has started to return science data once more. The mission is now fully operational.Launched on 11 February 2015, DSCOVR operates about 1.5m km away from Earth, sitting between the Sun and our planet. It takes images of the whole Earth which are used to monitor clouds and vegetation, atmospheric ozone and aerosols. It also monitors the particles discharged from the Sun that create space weather. Magnetic storms in this space weather can have an adverse effect on electricity networks, communications and navigation systems on Earth. DSCOVR is the US’s principal warning system for such events and in its absence the ageing Nasa spacecraft Ace (Advanced Composition Explorer) fulfilled this role. Continue reading...

Teacher was given 20 minutes to pack and must remain in hotel room for two weeksJo Davison and her partner were relaxing in their flat in Shenzhen, China, when the phone rang. She was told by the Chinese authorities that they had been exposed to the coronavirus at close proximity and that officials were on their way.“It was terrifying. Five people in hazmats turned up at our apartment, they looked like ghostbusters,” she said. “They took swabs from our nose and throat and said they’d return in the morning so we should start packing.” Continue reading...

Finnish study finds three-quarters of dogs exhibit highly problematic behaviourDog breeders need to take action to improve canine mental health, scientists have said, after research found almost three-quarters of pet dogs have highly problematic anxiety-related behaviour.While physical problems such as breathing difficulties and other health concerns relating to squashed-nosed breeds have become a hot topic, the study suggests breeders also need to focus on dogs’ behaviour. Continue reading...

Seti@home enlisted people’s computers to aid search for extraterrestrial intelligenceA groundbreaking project to use spare computing cycles to aid the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is going into hibernation after more than 20 years, a victim of its own success as the organisers say the project has analysed “all the data we need”.Seti@home was founded in May 1999 by researchers at UC Berkeley, who had the idea of enlisting members of the public to help out with the computationally intensive work of processing transmissions from radio telescopes around the world. Users of early versions of the software were encouraged to run it as a screensaver so that it would not slow down their computers while they were working. Continue reading...

If there’s an epidemic on the scale Public Health England warns of, the government may not be able to keep its citizens safeBlame Boris Johnson for almost everything, but not for the arrival of the coronavirus. He puts on his serious face, slightly unrumples his hair and tells people to wash their hands. As no one voted for him for public health advice he would do well to let untrusted politicians opine as little as possible, leaving public announcements to the respected chief scientific officer and chief medical officer.But there is no way of keeping politics out of this. If this epidemic is only half as bad as the official worst-case scenario, the pressure on every aspect of public services will be tested to breaking point. The full effect of a decade of austerity is about to be brutally exposed. Continue reading...

King Djoser’s step pyramid is the main attraction at the Saqqara necropolis. A restoration project that began in 2006 and was paused between 2011 and 2013 worked on the outer facades, internal corridors leading to the burial well, the stone sarcophagus and stairs at two entrances Continue reading...

What are the symptoms caused by the virus from Wuhan in China, how does it spread, and should you call a doctor?

Climate crisis likely to have supercharged temperatures around world, data suggestsThis winter has been by far the hottest recorded in Europe, scientists have announced, with the climate crisis likely to have supercharged the heat.The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) data dates back to 1855. It said the average temperature for December, January and February was 1.4C above the previous winter record, which was set in 2015-16. New regional climate records are usually passed by only a fraction of a degree. Europe’s winter was 3.4C hotter than the average from 1981-2010. Continue reading...

New research suggests that mothers fall out with their teenage offspring because of how they smell. I tested my family’s resolve from an early ageMothers can fall out with their teenage offspring because they stop liking the way they smell. This is from a study conducted by the Dresden University of Technology. I have been reflecting on what I smelled of as a teenager. I am pretty sure the overwhelming aroma round me was of cheap antiperspirants and colognes. Having seen Kevin Keegan advertise Brut, that was my first fragrance of choice. I complied all too willingly with the command to splash it all over.The only smell I recall my mum having a view on was my feet. She was always badgering me to wash them in the bidet in our bathroom (yes, we had a bidet). I honestly did not realise bidets were for washing anything other than feet until I was well into my teens. My schoolmates who came for tea were also confused. More than once, they took it (not illogically) to be a junior toilet and weed in it. Continue reading...

A summary of the biggest developments in the global coronavirus outbreak

California declares state of emergency and German health minister labels outbreak a pandemic

Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: Also known as wood ear, this brown fungus is waiting to release thousands of sporesThere is something uncannily alien about living jelly. Lobes of brown, gelatinous fungus growing out of dead and fallen branches are jelly ear, Auricularia auricula-judae. Once called the Judas’s ear fungus because it often grows on the elder, the tree Judas Iscariot was supposed to have hanged himself on, it was mistranslated in the casual racism of 16th-century English as Jew’s ear.Also known as wood ear, it has an orangey brown to a deep chocolatey colour. It is edible (not tried it yet) and, as the “fungus sambuca” of the old herbalists, has a medicinal history as a cure for sore throat and jaundice and as an astringent; it is used more widely in Chinese medicine. It contains chemicals that are anti-tumour, hypoglycaemic and cholesterol-lowering; as a source of natural melanin it has great potential in the fields of pharmacology, cosmetics and nutraceuticals – foods containing additional functional ingredients such as antioxidants, phytochemicals and vitamins. Continue reading...

As the coronavirus, or Covid-19, outbreak continues to unfold, many of us have been left with questions about exactly what we do and don’t know.Over the next few weeks, we’ll be releasing extra episodes of Science Weekly exploring some of those questions with experts on the frontline. In today’s episode, Ian Sample investigates where the virus infects us when it enters our bodies, and what difference this makes to disease severity and transmissibility Continue reading...

Our own reaction came as a surprise but with further thought, the behaviour is largely explainableIf you asked someone how much toilet paper they have in their home right now, I’m sure they could accurately tell you.Did we ever think we would see a day when supermarkets would impose buying restrictions on toilet paper? It seems ridiculous, right? But the past few days have seen nervous customers panic-buying essential items such as toilet paper, canned goods and rice, leaving supermarket shelves bare. Some stores have even sold out of pet food and kitty litter. Continue reading...

Pomeranian tested a ‘weak positive’ for virus after owner was infected, authorities say

Outbreak continues to spread with Italians in India testing positive. This blog is closed

Third case of Covid-19 confirmed in New Zealand as iwi issues temporary ban on custom of pressing noses togetherA Māori tribe in New Zealand’s capital city has banned the traditional hongi at gatherings this week as more cases of coronavirus emerge.On Wednesday night a third case was confirmed and the ministry of health asked for calm after sufferers and their families were criticised on social media. Continue reading...

Covid-19 hits demand for air travel and government stalls over £100m loanFlybe is on the brink of collapse as the coronavirus hits demand for air travel and the government stalls on providing a crucial £100m loan for the regional carrier.By Wednesday night the airline’s website had stopped working and an error message appeared upon loading stating the link is “no longer live”. Continue reading...

Hazardous chemicals could be carried on clothing and bodies of audience, study suggestsThe lights dim, the trailers roll and the mutter of voices dwindles to a hush. But alongside the smell of popcorn, another scent pervades the cinema: the waft of stale cigarette smoke.Now scientists say they have measured levels of such “thirdhand” smoke, suggesting it is carried on the bodies and clothing of moviegoers and could be a prominent, and lingering, source of hazardous chemicals. Continue reading...