A million people, myself included, have turned to UC in Britain’s lockdown. Now we will see the ordeals claimants face• Coronavirus latest updates

UK government accused of over-promising and under-delivering on a variety of claims in the past few weeks

‘Grandfather of allergy’ survived three years in Japanese POW camp before pioneering medical careerDr William Frankland, a pioneering British immunologist who transformed the world’s understanding of allergies, has died aged 108.Frankland improved the lives of millions of hay fever sufferers by developing the idea of a pollen count. Until his death the oldest survivor of the Japanese prisoner of war camps, he published a scientific paper in September 2017 aged 105. Continue reading...

Full PPE is crucial in the fight against coronavirus. Public Health England’s advice has not gone far enough

Certificates to prove people are immune to Covid-19 could ease restrictions. How would such as scheme work in Britain?

Face masks are effective and vital in hospitals, but this doesn’t mean they’re useful for the general publicWe all want to protect ourselves from coronavirus – but we need to make sure the things we’re doing are effective. There are several measures we can all take to reduce the spread of Covid-19, including physical distancing, thorough handwashing, keeping surfaces clean, protecting the most vulnerable by staying home, and isolating ourselves if we have symptoms. We know from scientific evidence, as well as what we have learned from other countries further ahead in their epidemics, that these things work.But what does the evidence say about how well face masks work, and who should wear them? Continue reading...

Health restrictions have already hit some long-term projects but routine monitoring could be affected if the pandemic drags on

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?

Pandemic forces even the most conservative companies to rethink their practices and let employees work from home

China announces day of mourning for ‘martyrs’ as city at centre of outbreak seeks to avoid second wave before travel bans lift

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

This blog is now closed

Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment aims to pinpoint places where giant particle storms are launched into spaceNasa has selected a new mission that will study how space weather forms on the sun and launches radiation storms into space.Called the Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE), the mission consists of six small CubeSats that will provide three dimensional maps of solar activity to pinpoint the places where giant particle storms are launched into space. Continue reading...

Communication Workers Union estimates half of sorting offices have insufficient PPE and sanitiserMany Royal Mail sorting offices are not providing workers with sufficient protection from coronavirus infection, according to a trade union, which argues that some depots should close until staff are safe.The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents thousands of postal workers, told members they should stay away if their local sorting office had not provided equipment such as masks, gloves and hand sanitiser, or implemented government guidelines of two-metre social distancing at all times. It estimates that at as many as half of sorting offices did not have sufficient protection in place. Continue reading...

Concern that centres were too far from both work or home for those working in London

After initially pursuing a centralised policy, the government has now switched to a ‘Dunkirk-style’ effort utilising smaller research units

Health secretary ‘determined’ to reach six-figure goal for England by end of April

Salley Vickers, 70, says those with immunity could ‘lend a hand’ and suggests idea could appeal to Dominic Cummings

Fossil shows the first of our ancestors existed up to 200,000 years earlier than previously thought, researchers sayThe earliest known skull of Homo erectus has been unearthed by an Australian-led team of researchers who have dated the fossil at two million years old, showing the first of our ancestors existed up to 200,000 years earlier than previously thought.The lead researcher Prof Andy Herries said the skull was pieced together from more than 150 fragments uncovered at the Drimolen Main Quarry, located about 40km north of Johannesburg in South Africa. It was likely aged between two and three years old when it died. Continue reading...

Country seen as a model for its response is told it is not doing nearly enough

In 1915 a shortage of shells for soldiers brought down the government. A century on, the prime minister faces a similar challenge

Ex-government adviser says substances such as psilocybin could have medical valueRestrictions on the use of psychedelic drugs in research should be relaxed to help find new treatments for conditions including mental health disorders, the former government adviser Prof David Nutt has said.Nutt was sacked as chair of the advisory committee on the misuse of drugs in October 2009 over his views that ecstasy and LSD are less dangerous than alcohol. Continue reading...

As scientist David Nutt campaigns for drug rules to change, we look at artists who said yes to psychedelic cultureWhile the neuropsychopharmacologist David Nutt and colleagues campaign for rules around psychedelics to change to aid research, such drugs have a long history in creative circles.LSD was important to the Beatles, whose song Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds is thought to be a nod to the drug, with psychedelics referred to in Day Tripper among others. LSD is also thought to have played an important role in the creation of the album Revolver. John Lennon and George Harrison were enthusiastic about taking the drug, whereas it took Paul McCartney some time to begin taking it. Continue reading...

Grim milestone approaches as WHO chief says he is ‘deeply concerned’ about spread

I can’t tell if my optimism is misguided when experts disagree on everything from mortality rates to preventive measures

Change is coming to the UK, when this crisis is over. Unless progressives have a plan, they will lose out like they did in 2008It can take a grave national crisis to fire a flare, revealing the ugliest features of a society defined by injustices that the wealthy and powerful would rather forget. It took the second world war to achieve what the Jarrow hunger marches of the 1930s struggled for: to illustrate the national shame that millions of people who were called upon to make grand sacrifices were afflicted by poverty and malnourishment. As child evacuees with hungry bellies arrived on the doorsteps of the relatively well-to-do, the other Britain could no longer be ignored. “A revolutionary moment in the world’s history is a time for revolutions, not for patching,” declared William Beveridge as he laid the foundations for the postwar welfare state. Unprecedented state direction of the economy meant that Labour’s ambitious programme of nationalisation no longer seemed quite so scary. The old order perished in the rubble of war-ravaged Britain.Coronavirus has done two things: it has magnified existing social crises and has proved that the government can act decisively when the will is there. Millions are only ever one pay packet away from destitution; the self-employed and gig economy workers lack security and basic rights; private tenants are at the mercy of their landlords; our welfare state is woefully inadequate; and many designated “key workers” are desperately undervalued and badly paid. Who, in good faith, can now blind themselves to these grim truths? Continue reading...

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 map the spread of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom. Find out how many cases have been reported near you

AI companies and scientists are cooperating, but they desperately need access to pharmaceutical companies’ data

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

Sarah Boseley speaks to Prof Sonja Rasmussen about how the virus might affect mothers who are expecting and their unborn child Continue reading...

Rhinos keep turning up for their belly rubs, and giraffes have been keeping their appointments, but there is no one to watch them

This blog is now closed

Some self-employed workers and high earners at risk despite subsidy plan, warn thinktanks

Health officials urged to abandon strict rules hampering introduction of mass testing

Dr Alfa Saadu, 68, was volunteering in Welwyn when he fell ill with coronavirus

Feline transmission to humans not shown but infected pet owners warned to be careful

Experts say new evidence from Cretaceous period ‘shows us what carbon dioxide can do’Think of Antarctica and it is probably sweeping expanses of ice, and the odd penguin, that come to mind. But at the time of the dinosaurs the continent was covered in swampy rainforest.Now experts say they have found the most southerly evidence yet of this environment in plant material extracted from beneath the seafloor in west Antarctica. Continue reading...

Instead of endless mass isolation or just waiting for a cure, the UK needs a data-driven, targeted approach to coronavirus testing

No 10 urges hospitals to test as many staff as possible as data shows many in isolation may not be infected

Study finds fashionable hoppy brews lose their characteristic taste while sitting on the shelfIt will be music to the ears of Belgian beer enthusiasts: drink up.Scientists studying how well the fashionable hoppy-tasting beers of today keep in the cupboard have highlighted the particular propensity for them to lose their flavour over time. Continue reading...

As Elon Musk's Starlink and Jeff Bezos's Project Kuiper race to create high-speed internet using satellites orbiting Earth, there's a small problem that could get in the way: debris. From dead spacecraft that have been around since the dawn of the space age to flecks of paint smashing windows on the International Space Station, rubbish is clogging up our orbits. And with objects moving as fast as 15,500mph (25,000 kmph), the satellite services we've come to depend on are at constant risk of collision. So how to fix the problem with junk in space? Ian Anderson investigates

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

Pursuing a controversial herd immunity strategy put the government on the back foot. Now it’s struggling to catch up

Two who died confirmed to have had Covid-19, with nine others onboard testing positive

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

With scientists still racing to find treatments for Covid-19, Nicola Davis speaks with Prof Pall Thordarson about why soap is so effective at deactivating Sars-CoV-2 and how this differs from hand sanitiser. Continue reading...