Scientists predict UK will be worst-hit country in Europe; Trump threatens to stop WHO funding; global cases pass 1.4 million. This blog is now closed.

Experts reexamine eggs – some dating back to bronze age – to understand origins and designsThey are about the same size as a standard Easter egg, but are rather older – with some specimens dating back five millennia to the early bronze age.A collection of decorated ostrich eggs belonging to the British Museum in London has been reexamined by experts in an effort to understand where they originated, and how their often elaborately painted or engraved designs were created. Continue reading...

China’s restrictions have brought the first wave to an end but the danger of a second is very real

Exclusive: Easter weekend will be major test of compliance, say forces as they encourage public to report breaches

NHS has 10,000 available but needs 18,000 to deal with rising number of cases

After an initially slow reaction to the virus, the UK is now firmly in its grip. Here are key moments so far

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Debes Christiansen adapted his salmon-testing lab to test for disease among humans

Not enough people yet known to have recovered from virus to provide sufficient blood

Findings from Bolivia show plants were domesticated in region shortly after last ice ageThe Amazon basin was a hotspot for the early cultivation of plants, with inhabitants having munched on squash and cassava more than 10,000 years ago, researchers have revealed.The team say the new findings from Bolivia offer direct evidence such plants were grown in south-west Amazonia, meaning the region has a claim to join the Middle East, China, south-west Mexico and north-west South America as locations where wild plants were domesticated shortly after the last ice age. The team say the discovery chimes with other clues. Continue reading...

Radiocarbon test of early Neolithic remains can pinpoint dates to a human life span 5,500 years agoIt is perhaps best-known for its hipsters, but long before Shoreditch became avant garde, it was a place of agriculture and farmers according to evidence from a radiocarbon dating technique that has revealed details about Neolithic London.The technique proved that the most significant early Neolithic pottery discovered in London is 5,500 years old. It reveals for the first time that the city’s prehistoric inhabitants led a less mobile, farming-based lifestyle than their hunter-gathering forebears. Continue reading...

Brussels agency accuses Mauro Ferrari of being ‘at best economical with truth’ in resignation statement

Global cooperation, intermittent lockdowns and contact-tracing could all play a role in the race to stop the pandemic

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?

The largest, brightest full moon in nearly seven decades started to show on Tuesday evening over Europe, Latin America, the US and the Middle East. This year, the supermoon was expected to come nearer to Earth than at any time since 1948, astronomers have said. A supermoon occurs when the timing of a full moon overlaps with the point in the moon's 28-day orbit that is closest to Earth, and about every 14th full moon is a supermoon. If skies are clear, this time the full moon will appear up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than usual, according to Nasa Continue reading...

Full moon to be around 40,000km closer to Earth than usual, but it won’t actually be pinkOn Wednesday night Australians will be able to see the biggest and brightest moon of the year.It has been called the “pink supermoon”, but Monash University astronomer Michael Brown says it won’t be pink, and in fact, it might not be that super but, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look. Continue reading...

It’s likely Covid-19 originated in bats, scientists say. But did it then jump to pangolins?In the public mind, the origin story of coronavirus seems well fixed: in late 2019 someone at the now world-famous Huanan seafood market in Wuhan was infected with a virus from an animal.The rest is part of an awful history still in the making, with Covid-19 spreading from that first cluster in the capital of China’s Hubei province to a pandemic that has killed about 80,000 people so far. Continue reading...

Acting compassionately isn’t just about kindness, but about wanting to halt suffering. Right now, we must be wise – and set a template for the future

Sarah Boseley speaks to Prof Trudie Lang about the outbreak on the continent and explores how a history of responding to Ebola and other public health emergencies could help Continue reading...

President Joko Widodo had resisted lockdown measures, but an increase in burials has sparked concerns about undetected cases

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Analysis depends on data – so predictions for Italy and Spain, where peak has passed, are more reliable than for UK

Research indicates virus has disproportionate impact on non-white critically ill patients

Cancer Research UK and Macmillan to lose hundreds of millions in funding amid crisis

From muscle wastage to PTSD, patients discharged from critical care face tough convalescence

US scientists say findings add to case for wearing masks in public to control outbreak

Data likely to raise concerns as figure approaches deadliest days so far in Italy and Spain

The early evidence leaves little doubt that Covid-19 poses a greater risk to men – but are the reasons biological or cultural?

Beyond this private and very understandable distress lies a grave new political reality

Organisation says no evidence that wearing a mask outdoors prevents Covid-19 infection

I have studied the psychological effects of pandemics – and even a few weeks of isolation can cause lasting anxiety

Blood transfusion studies by teams in China report striking improvements

New legislation now limits the basic freedoms once enshrined in English law – but police cannot interpret it as they wish

It is ‘the best investment your business can make’, says medical research charity

US president called Modi and threatened ‘retaliation’ if country kept full export ban

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

UCL say small benefits should be weighed against profound economic and social costs

Respiratory physician John Wilson explains the range of Covid-19 impacts, from no symptoms to severe illness featuring pneumonia

Milestone comes as nation struggles with ongoing outbreaks, including in Wuhan where dozens of residences have been locked down again

Treatment and transplants for some postponed as hospitals are turned over to treat virus

David Clark called himself an ‘idiot’ for driving his family 20km to the beach on the first weekend of the national stay-at-home measures

US president doesn’t name companies or treatments, but says they have arrived in London already

New toll comes as UK prime minister, who has coronavirus, has been moved into hospital intensive care

Boris Johnson likely to receive mechanical ventilation as he’s admitted to intensive care

We would be better placed to respond to the coronavirus outbreak had the Public Health Laboratory Service been maintained, writes Valerie Bevan, while Dr Colin Coles highlights the differences between the NHS and German healthcare

The solutions to today’s puzzlesEarlier today I set you three Double Choco puzzles. You can see a printable page of them here, or read my tutorial of how to solve them here.The solutions to these puzzles are here. Continue reading...

Despots like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán are banning speech to ‘fight’ Covid-19. But more democratic countries are too

System of sensors and cameras would turn loo into ‘daily clinic’ and detect problems earlyA smart toilet boasting pressure sensors, artificial intelligence and a camera has been unveiled by researchers who say it could provide a valuable way to keep tabs on our health.The model is the latest version of an idea that has been around for several years: a system that examines our daily movements in an effort to spot the emergence of diseases. Such an approach, experts say, has an advantage over wearable devices, since individuals do not need to remember to use the system. Continue reading...