Science | The Guardian

Government lawyers look at postponing 7 May polls if outbreak continues to spread

The truth about the protective value of face masks and how easy it is to catch Covid-19

Brilliant theoretical physicist and mathematician whose far-fetched ideas for the future verged on the bizarreThe physicist Freeman Dyson, who has died aged 96, became famous within science for mathematical solutions so advanced that they could only be applied to complex problems of atomic theory and popular with the public for ideas so far-fetched they seemed beyond lunacy.As a young postgraduate student, Dyson devised – while taking a Greyhound bus ride in America – the answer to a conundrum in quantum electrodynamics that had stumped giants of physics such as Richard Feynman and Hans Bethe. As an author, guru and apostle for science, Dyson also cheerfully proposed that humans might genetically engineer trees that could grow on comets, to provide new habitats for genetically altered humans. Continue reading...

Health secretary says options from closing schools, banning large gatherings and isolating cities being considered

Facing ageing and a new role was deeply uncomfortable – but robustness and hope helped me adaptI was 47, shaking and with tears streaming down my face as I held a perfect baby girl in my arms. My body was zinging with oxytocin, the bonding hormone, in response to her smell and touch, those little breaths – it felt as if she was my newborn baby. She wasn’t. She was my first grandchild. My daughter’s daughter. I’d become a mum at 21, she was 26…The following evening, for my best friend’s landmark birthday, I had made an effort –hair done, party frock, high heels – and I stepped confidently into the room. The first person I saw shouted: “Hi Grandma!” Continue reading...

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

People want reliable information and reassurance that their government has got a grip: the prime minister must be seen to leadThe coronavirus crisis has sparked a worldwide race against time to try to understand its nature, contain its spread and develop a vaccine. Only in a few remote corners of the planet do people appear to be nonchalantly confident that it can’t get to them. One of those cut-off places is Downing Street. On Friday, Number 10 announced that the prime minister would finally chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee, but not until Monday. Nothing must get in the way of Boris Johnson’s weekend. This is of a piece with his behaviour as the spread of the virus has escalated. He has elected to self-isolate indoors rather than take visible charge of the government’s planning and public messaging.Those rebuking his vanishing act include the prime minister’s old frenemy George Osborne, who complained: “The British government now needs to go on to a ‘war footing’ with the coronavirus: daily NHS press briefings, regular Cobra meetings chaired by the PM, ministers on all major media shows. The public is fearful, wants information and needs to know their leaders have got a grip.” You know you are in trouble when the former chancellor is giving advice on crisis management. Continue reading...

China reports 573 new cases with further travel bans and large gatherings restricted

Case establishes precedent for relatives’ right to know about serious conditions, lawyers sayDoctors treating individuals with serious ailments owe a legal duty of care not just to their patients but to third parties associated with the people they are treating.That is the key implication of a high court ruling last week in the case of a woman who had sued doctors because they failed to tell her about her father’s fatal hereditary disease, Huntington’s, before she had her own child. Had she known of the risks involved, she would have terminated the pregnancy, she argued. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak’s job of drawing up his first budget in Brexit Britain was already complicated enough before coronavirus arrivedEconomic forecasting, at the best of times, is an uncertain task. For the purposes of forecasting the outlook for the British economy, this is not the best of times.Brexit uncertainty continues in that the negotiations on our future relationship with the EU are only just beginning. It is not obvious that any deal will be reached but, even if it is, the deal will be pretty thin. The economic consequences of such an outcome are disputed, in the sense that the vast majority of economists view this as a bad outcome for the economy and the government apparently doesn’t. Continue reading...

US confirms first death in Washington state and strengthens travel advice, raising Iran and Italy to a level three. Follow live news

The new antibiotic, effective against super-resistant pathogens, is proof that AI can do more than make tech giants richOne of the seminal texts for anyone interested in technology and society is Melvin Kranzberg’s Six Laws of Technology, the first of which says that “technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral”. By this, Kranzberg meant that technology’s interaction with society is such “that technical developments frequently have environmental, social and human consequences that go far beyond the immediate purposes of the technical devices and practices themselves, and the same technology can have quite different results when introduced into different contexts or under different circumstances”.The saloon-bar version of this is that “technology is both good and bad; it all depends on how it’s used” – a tactic that tech evangelists regularly deploy as a way of stopping the conversation. So a better way of using Kranzberg’s law is to ask a simple Latin question: Cui bono? – who benefits from any proposed or hyped technology? And, by implication, who loses? Continue reading...

When an oxygen tank blew during the 1970 Nasa moonshot, the successful rescue mission was thanks to Nasa organisation, not improvisationEighteen months ago, I was combing through the Apollo 11 mission logs, looking at the timelines and events for something unique that we might focus on to celebrate the 50th anniversary of humankind’s first landing on the moon. Last year, that idea became the BBC World Service podcast 13 Minutes to the Moon.As the series drew to a close, it became clear that there was unfinished business. Some of the flight controllers who had been present for the Apollo 11 landing had also worked on another, arguably more dramatic, endeavour – the ill-fated flight of Apollo 13. Continue reading...

World Health Organization recommends people take these simple precautions against coronavirus to reduce exposure and transmission

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

Striking findings contained in new study may broaden appreciation of unique stressors faced by gay and bisexual menThe persistence of mental health hardships among gay and bisexual men, which endure even as LGBTQ people gain greater acceptance and civil rights, can be explained at least in part by the corrosive effects of status consciousness, competitiveness and racism within the gay community itself.Related: 'Rick Scott had us on lockdown': how Florida said no to $70m for HIV crisis Continue reading...

US says three new cases are unrelated to travel, while UK authorities are racing to understand how Essex man became infected

Continue reading...

Man from Surrey is now in isolation unit at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital in London

Contingency plans and proposed emergency laws for pandemic emerge as UK confirms 20th case

Managing the economic and health risks of Covid-19 is difficult. In the UK, as elsewhere, ministers must step upA passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan became the first Briton to die of the Covid-19 coronavirus on Friday. Further UK cases beyond the 20 already confirmed are expected, while countries including Mexico, Nigeria and Denmark have announced their first positive tests. The World Health Organization assesses the level of risk as “very high at global level”. But the scale and impact of the Covid-19 outbreak that began in Wuhan, China, in December, remain deeply uncertain. That is because whle viral outbreaks have happened before, each one is different. While severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) had a higher death rate, Covid-19 appears to be more contagious. Its spread is already being determined in hard-to-predict ways by human behaviour.To limit the damage as far as possible, trust and information are of the essence. In the UK, as elsewhere, it is imperative that the government, and other public bodies, provide straightforward advice about travel and sanitation as well as the disease. For the health secretary, Matt Hancock, to say earlier this week that he would not travel to northern Italy was unwise because it contradicted official guidance. Instead, ministers must lead by example. Continue reading...

The president is reacting to this disaster the way authoritarians always do – by covering up the facts and dodging the blameThe coronavirus crisis is a war against a disease, but it’s also the most serious battle yet in the war on truth. That much was clear from the start, as China moved to hush up the first outbreak and gag the doctor who had spotted it. It was a classic case of what we might call Chernobyl syndrome: the tendency of authoritarian systems to react to disaster by rushing to downplay or cover up the problem, focusing more on shifting blame than tackling the threat head on. Viewers of last year’s TV dramatisation of the Chernobyl nuclear accident could recognise the pattern immediately, as the priority of those in charge becomes avoiding embarrassment rather than saving lives.Related: Coronavirus: man from Diamond Princess cruise first Briton to die from illness – latest updates Continue reading...

Man died after catching virus while quarantined on Diamond Princess cruise ship, says Japanese health ministry

The truth about the protective value of face masks and how easy it is to catch Covid-19Many individuals who get coronavirus will experience nothing worse than seasonal flu symptoms, but the overall profile of the disease, including its mortality rate, looks more serious. At the start of an outbreak the apparent mortality rate can be an overestimate if a lot of mild cases are being missed. But this week, a WHO expert suggested that this has not been the case with Covid-19. Bruce Aylward, who led an international mission to China to learn about the virus and the country’s response, said the evidence did not suggest that we were only seeing the tip of the iceberg. If borne out by further testing, this could mean that current estimates of a roughly 1% fatality rate are accurate. This would make Covid-19 about 10 times more deadly than seasonal flu, which is estimated to kill between 290,000 and 650,000 people a year globally. Continue reading...

Stock market losses deepen worldwide, as officials confirm 20 new cases in France

Boris Johnson to chair emergency Cobra meeting after first patient reported in Wales

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

Bonds designed to provide fast funding for poor countries branded ‘obscene’ because of complex payout criteriaA flagship $500m World Bank scheme to help the poorest countries deal with a health emergency is “too little too late” for the coronavirus outbreak, say health experts.The first pandemic emergency financing (PEF) bonds were launched in 2017 by Jim Yong Kim, the bank’s president at the time, after the Ebola outbreak in west Africa. Designed to potentially “save millions of lives and entire economies” by speedily funnelling money to nations facing pandemics. Continue reading...

Politicians across Europe have been quick to exploit the outbreak by heaping suspicion on the most marginalisedWhen I give talks on Europe’s “refugee crisis” I often start by showing a photograph of a rescue boat arriving at the port of Augusta in Sicily, in 2015. It shows a teenage girl of African or Middle Eastern origin looking quizzically at a European official covered from head to toe in white protective gear, with face mask and goggles. Who, I like to ask the audience, is the threat to whom?Related: Greek authorities scramble to calm tensions over migrant detention camp Continue reading...

A recent arrival from Iran who travelled to Auckland via Bali has tested positive and is improving

Public urged to help tackle rise in nighthawking blamed on organised crimeOrganised crime is being blamed for a rise in illegal metal-detecting at heritage sites, including one of England’s finest medieval castles and the battlefield of Hastings.English Heritage said December last year was the worst month for such incidents in more than four years and there were more than double the number of incidents in 2019 as there were in 2017. Continue reading...

As cases of people infected with the coronavirus or Covid-19 grow rapidly in Italy, Iran and South Korea, the rest of the world is bracing for a pandemic Continue reading...

Gene-editing technologies have the power to change life as we know it. This week on the podcast, we’re bringing you another episode from our Common Threads series, this time about power. Who has the authority to speak for our species and to make decisions? Are we well informed, and who holds the power to inform us?To listen to episodes one and three, search ‘The Gene Gap: Common Threads’ wherever you get your podcasts Continue reading...

US share index tumbles 1,190 points, the Netherlands confirms its first case and 50 Britons are allowed to leave Tenerife hotel. This blog is closed.

Eruption in black hole 390m light years away punched cavity the size of 15 Milky WaysThe biggest cosmic explosion on record has been detected – an event so powerful that it punched a dent the size of 15 Milky Ways in the surrounding space.The eruption is thought to have originated at a supermassive black hole in the Ophiuchus galaxy cluster, which is about 390m light years from Earth. Continue reading...

Reports woman tested positive for a second time show there are still many unknowns

Discovery suggests screening for bug that creates toxin could prevent thousands of casesScientists have raised fresh hopes for preventing bowel cancer after discovering that a common gut bacterium drives genetic mutations that can cause the disease.Researchers found that a toxin secreted by a particular strain of the microbe E coli creates distinct mutations in DNA, which contribute to an estimated one in 20 bowel cancers in Britain. Continue reading...

Scientists say current system for labelling children with difficulties is ‘too simple’Learning difficulties are not linked to differences in particular brain regions, but in how the brain is wired, research suggests.According to figures from the Department for Education, 14.9% of all pupils in England – about 1.3 million children – had special educational needs in January 2019, with 271,200 having difficulties that required support beyond typical special needs provision. Dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and dyspraxia are among conditions linked to learning difficulties. Continue reading...

What are the symptoms caused by the Covid-19 virus from Wuhan in China, how does it spread from person to person, and is the outbreak a pandemic?

For decades it has been the dominant metaphor in neuroscience. But could this idea have been leading us astray all along? By Matthew CobbWe are living through one of the greatest of scientific endeavours – the attempt to understand the most complex object in the universe, the brain. Scientists are accumulating vast amounts of data about structure and function in a huge array of brains, from the tiniest to our own. Tens of thousands of researchers are devoting massive amounts of time and energy to thinking about what brains do, and astonishing new technology is enabling us to both describe and manipulate that activity.We can now make a mouse remember something about a smell it has never encountered, turn a bad mouse memory into a good one, and even use a surge of electricity to change how people perceive faces. We are drawing up increasingly detailed and complex functional maps of the brain, human and otherwise. In some species, we can change the brain’s very structure at will, altering the animal’s behaviour as a result. Some of the most profound consequences of our growing mastery can be seen in our ability to enable a paralysed person to control a robotic arm with the power of their mind. Continue reading...

Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: Hierarchies, dependence and relationships determine the birds’ comings and goingsThe bird feeder hangs from a branch a few metres from the hide. It has been placed there and filled with seed by the National Trust in woodland next to an old quarry above the road along Wenlock Edge. There’s a path from the car park that passes the hide and it’s a favourite place for children and families out for a walk. Many of those who visit it may not be familiar with the woodland birds that feed here and rarely get the opportunity to get so close to them.Sitting quietly in a shed open to the woods, looking at the feeder and the birds coming and going, seemingly oblivious to being watched as they flit and thrum about their daily lives, is like entering another world through a screen. But what do birds get out of it? The bird feeder is a metre-long Perspex tube filled with a variety of seeds. It has entry holes with little plastic perches so that several individuals can pick seeds from the feeder at any one time. Together, nuthatch, chaffinch, blue tit, great tit, coal tit, are bright, colourful birds that look so neat and healthy, even after their battering from storms. Each bird takes a turn, doesn’t stay long and returns regularly; there are few skirmishes and this seems the result of a carefully constructed code of behaviour. Continue reading...

Saudi Arabia bans religious tourists from entering country as WHO says virus now spreading faster outside China than in it. This blog is closed

Government planning public information campaign amid concerns of an Italy-sized outbreak

The reaction to the outbreak has revealed the unreconstructed despotism of the Chinese stateOver the past 70 years, the Chinese Communist party has subjected its country to a succession of manmade catastrophes, from the Great Famine, the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square massacre, to the forceful suppression of rights in Hong Kong and Tibet, and the mass internment of Uighurs in Xinjiang. Official coverups and corruption have multiplied the death toll of natural calamities, from the Sars virus to the Sichuan earthquake.Xi Jinping’s mishandling of the coronavirus epidemic must now be added to the party’s shameful list of crimes. With serious outbreaks occurring in Japan, South Korea, Iran and Italy, it is clear that the virus of Xi’s totalitarian rule threatens the health and freedoms not only of the Chinese people, but of all of us everywhere. Continue reading...

Before you start stockpiling face masks, be aware that perverse perceptions of risk may help Covid-19 to spreadOur friend and fellow disaster researcher was recently asked to self-quarantine for two weeks after returning from south-east Asia. Although he hadn’t travelled to China, he had taken a plane home with others who were returning from Beijing. A few days before his voluntary quarantine was set to expire, he visited his office to fetch a library book and ran into a colleague. Why did he take the risk? And was his colleague, who knew about the situation, concerned about contagion?People are often optimistic about risks. In the field of risk perception, we call this an “optimism bias”; people may think they can control their own exposure to diseases, that they don’t need a vaccine because they aren’t susceptible to flu, or that they won’t transmit their cold to others. Our friend was confident he couldn’t be a vector for coronavirus, or Covid-19; likewise, one of our family members recently flew across the country with a severe respiratory ailment, insisting that her mask and careful handwashing would protect those around her on the plane. Continue reading...

Latest figures on new infections suggest Beijing’s strict response to the crisis is paying off

Targaryendraco wiedenrothi has been renamed after House of Targaryen in George RR Martin’s fantasy sagaGeorge RR Martin is celebrating after a palaeontologist, who named a new genus of pterosaur after the dragons of House Targaryen, agreed with him that dragons should have two, rather than four, legs.The fossilised bones of Targaryendraco wiedenrothi, which lived 130m years ago, were discovered by Kurt Wiedenroth in 1984 in northern Germany. The specimen was originally classified within the Ornithocheirus group of pterosaurs, as Ornithocheirus wiedenrothi, but the toothy pterosaur has now been reassigned to the new genus Targaryendraco. Six other already known pterosaurs were also found to be closely related to the group, which features pterosaurs with wingspans between 10 and 26 feet, and narrow snouts. Continue reading...

My friend Mike Solomon, who has died aged 52 of cancer, was a clinical psychologist at the Tavistock clinic in London, working with children and young people with social, emotional and mental health problems.He thrived on building relationships and was often to be found having a clinical “session” with young people on a football pitch or at a bus stop. Continue reading...