We think we’re learning more about the brain, but are we just replacing one story with another?The selfish gene. The Big Bang. The greenhouse effect. Metaphors are at the heart of scientific thinking. They provide the means for both scientists and non-scientists to understand, think through and talk about abstract ideas in terms of more familiar objects or phenomena.But if metaphors can illuminate, they can also constrain. In his new book, The Idea of the Brain, zoologist and historian Matthew Cobb tells the story of how scientists and philosophers have tried to understand the brain and how it works. In every age, Cobb shows, people have thought about the brain largely in terms of metaphors, drawn usually from the most exciting technology of the day, whether clocks or telephone exchanges or the contemporary obsession with computers. The brain, Cobb observes, “is more like a computer than like a clock”, but “even the simplest animal brain is not a computer like anything we have built, nor one we can yet envisage”. Continue reading...

A senior consultant at a leading hospital for respiratory conditions such as pneumonia and cystic fibrosis talks to the Observer

Major airlines are now battling for survival – and those staying at home may start to question their need to travelAs coronavirus grew from a Chinese outbreak to a global pandemic, the aviation industry was at the leading edge of the accompanying financial crisis. Since the extraordinary intercontinental travel ban imposed by President Trump last week, the disastrous potential extent of the crisis for airlines has become clear.A drop-off in demand, as businesses cut back on travel and passengers deferred holidays, is being replaced by government decrees and mandatory public health measures. If much lost trade has so far come in the quiet months for western carriers in the northern hemisphere, the prospect of losing spring and summer bookings is another scale of financial loss altogether. Continue reading...

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Ten more people in the UK die as hundreds of scientists warn that government’s ‘herd immunity’ strategy is risking too many lives

Hundreds of scientists have supported an open letter pressing for ‘more restrictive measures’ to contain coronavirus

And it will cost more here because of the UK pulling out of the European Medicines Agency on 30 December

Andy Slavitt, formerly Medicare and Medicaid administrator, tweets outline of threat after ‘Trump’s months-long denial’

The coronavirus should remind us of just why international cooperation is so important in reducing the threat of infectious disease

The WHO has declared the Covid-19 outbreak to be a pandemic. But what does that mean?

It’s only when we run out of luck that we comprehend how precarious life can beSpeaking to parliament in 1855 as the carnage of the Crimean war grew, the radical MP John Bright produced an imperishable image. “The angel of death has been abroad throughout the land, you may almost hear the beating of his wings.”Death’s wings are beating countless millions towards the world of the sick today. You may enter full of confidence. You may think good health is like a car, and a hospital is a garage where you can park your malfunctioning body for the professionals to fix. Your confidence comes from the luck of living in an advanced scientific society with history’s longest life expectancy and highest living standards. The world of the sick teaches you to dispense with certainties. You discover that your condition, or in my case the condition of someone you love, which seemed a temporary malfunction, is incurable or is possibly incurable, for no one really knows. Continue reading...

Charlotte Amelia Poe grew up knowing she was different. Now it’s her mission – through her art and writing – to bring about changeFor artist and writer Charlotte Amelia Poe, 30, every day feels like a walk across a frozen pond. “It’s how it’s always been,” she explains. “You’re trying to navigate it and stay safe, but you’re aware that at any moment the ice is likely to crack, and at that point you will sink into the water.”The worst of it is that, when she feels that way, she has no idea how she can avoid going under. “You think you’re doing fine and you’re treading carefully enough not to crack the ice. But suddenly you’ve gone under. You’ve got it completely wrong – and you’ve no idea why.” Continue reading...

We’re fighting an ‘infodemic’ as well as a pandemic. A bit of online self-discipline is urgently requiredOn 15 February the director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, addressed the Munich Security conference. At that moment, there were 66,000 cases of Covid-19 in China, and only 505 in the rest of the world. So most of us were probably still assuming that this was predominately a Chinese problem. This view was not shared by the WHO director-general. He was also concerned about: the lack of urgency in the international community; the severe disruption in the market for personal protective equipment, which was putting health workers at risk; the levels of rumours and misinformation that were hampering the response; and the havoc the virus could wreak in countries with weaker health systems.The part of his speech that made me sit up, though, was this: “We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic. Fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus, and is just as dangerous.” And if we don’t tackle this, he went on, “we are headed down a dark path that leads nowhere but division and disharmony”. Continue reading...

What is Covid-19, how does it spread, what are the symptoms, and at what point should you call a doctor?

French minister says patients should take paracetamol rather than ibuprofen or cortisone

Dr Tom Wingfield of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine answers our questions on Covid-19

Writers from China, Italy and the UK explain how we are cooperating to produce measured reporting on a global crisisI have overseen our coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in China, from when there were just a few cases of “unknown pneumonia” in Wuhan in December to the lockdown of Wuhan and other cities in late January, and most recently as Beijing has begun to declare victory over the virus, which has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people and infected more than 80,000here. Continue reading...

All major world religions are limiting large gatherings and physical contact to halt transmission of Covid-19Events to mark important religious festivals could be cancelled or curtailed in the coming weeks because of the coronavirus crisis.Next month, most of the world’s major religions have festivals involving large gatherings of people. Easter is on 12 April (a week later for Eastern Orthodox churches); Passover begins on 8 April; Rama Navami, an important Hindu festival, is on 2 April; while the Sikh festival of Vaisakhi is a few days later. The Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins around 23 April. Continue reading...

Saudi Arabia suspends all international flights, New Zealand introduces quarantine for almost all arrivals

Dating has always carried risks, but now the stakes for ‘putting yourself out there’ are higher than everIn opposition to the smug marrieds, we singletons have always liked to position ourselves on the frontline of life, squaring off against creeps and weirdos in our valiant search for love. Already shut out of the property market and two-for-one meal deals, we’re now unfairly burdened by coronavirus, confronted with a new dilemma: risk infection by going on dates, or remain for ever alone.Tinder, considered instrumental to a culture of casual sex and hook-ups, has warned users to “maintain social distance” – and carry hand sanitiser. OkCupid, meanwhile, has found that mentions of the virus on UK profiles are skyrocketing. Continue reading...

Concern over large gathering of potential jurors for empanelment sees chief justice announce drastic measureCourts across the state of Victoria in Australia will immediately suspend all future jury trials in a bid to contain the spread of Covid-19. The drastic measure will apply to the county and supreme courts.Supreme court chief justice Anne Ferguson said all new jury trials would be suspended but that trials in which a jury had already been empanelled would continue. Continue reading...

Neighbours from Naples to Tuscany make harmonies across empty streets to lift spirits and pass the time during quarantineItalians have been singing from their balconies across the country, in an effort to boost morale during its nationwide lockdown that began this week, due to Covid-19.Videos of Italian neighbours singing together have been appearing on social media after Italy’s prime minister Giuseppe Conte announced the restrictions that shut down virtually all daily life, and leftonly grocery stores, banks, and pharmacies open. Continue reading...

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Experts look at role of psychology in public responses to idea of quarantine

Europe now centre of pandemic, says WHO, as Spain prepares for state of emergency

Debris from thousands of disused satellites is in orbit around Earth. It can be buffeted around by space weather. We need better forecastsWhat’s the weather like in Earth’s upper atmosphere today? Most of us only care about how the weather feels on the Earth’s surface, but understanding “space weather” is becoming increasingly important. That’s because small changes in space weather can buffet satellites around, increasing the chances of a satellite pile-up.Currently there are nearly 5,000 satellites revolving around our planet, of which some 2,000 are operational and the remainder are space debris. With orbits between 100 and 1,000km above sea level, the upper atmosphere is now a crowded place. Both the weather down below and changes in the sun’s output influence the upper atmosphere, changing the density of the air. As satellites move through “thicker” and “thinner” air, the change in drag forces alters their orbital track, potentially putting them on a collision path. Continue reading...

Ministers look to have given up on containment in favour of a novel approach some experts are wary of

Now, more than ever, the NHS must prioritise care - not just for frail, elderly and vulnerable people but for staff too

The government is sticking to its cautious approach in dealing with the pandemic. But action on the ground may be overtaking this strategyFriday was the day when the coronavirus pandemic began to radically redraw the map of everyday life in Britain. Bill Shankly, Liverpool’s much-loved manager in the 1970s, is fondly remembered for suggesting that football was more important than matters of life and death. It would have been a joke, of course. But the decision to suspend the Premier League until 4 April is a potent symbol of the new abnormality that will characterise the weeks and months to come. Slowly but surely, Britain’s social life is being put on hold. The postponement of May’s local elections signals the end of politics-as-usual as well.Millions of people are now facing difficult dilemmas and painful decisions. Across the country, some care homes have begun to close their doors to relatives. Many people this weekend will be thinking twice about planned trips to see vulnerable elderly family members, whose wellbeing is intimately linked to such visits. Soon these may not be possible for an indefinite period. A kind of stasis, shadowed by deep anxiety, awaits us, and the scale of what is to come is unknowable. Continue reading...

What the statistics from the outbreak so far can tell us about infection and mortality rates

Streets, shops and public spaces to be cleared in next 24 hours after virus kills hundreds

The NBA has led by example and put public health above self-interest, which is more than the Trump administration can say

With a ‘if we don’t test people, then the outbreak is contained’ approach to testing, the US can continue to vilify the rest of the world for their responses while not doing any betterYesterday, after nearly a month of acute and chronic health issues that continue to be unexplained, I took my husband – at the urging of his cardiologist – to the emergency room at St Thomas Hospital West in Nashville, Tennessee for serious cardiac and respiratory issues.This being our fifth ER visit since early February, we provided the intake staff the same information in response to the coronavirus screening questions that have been asked four times before: in addition to my husband coming into close and frequent contact with a physician who had recently returned from a trip to China, he and I have both traveled extensively in the past few months, including to some of the nation’s largest international airports and overnight stays in a variety of hotels. While we couldn’t confirm we had been in contact with someone who had tested positive for coronavirus, we had no way of ruling it out. Continue reading...

It would be good to know the evidence for the UK strategy – which is starkly different to that of other countriesWith an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 coronavirus cases now present in the UK, the government has eschewed social distancing measures such as closing schools and banning large sporting events. Instead, it has opted for behavioural “nudges”: wash your hands, don’t touch your face, don’t shake hands with others, stay at home if you feel ill, and self-isolate if you have a continuous cough.This approach differs starkly from the quarantine measures taken in China, South Korea, Italy and Iran. But it also marks the UK out as different from countries such as Ireland, Norway and Denmark, which have implemented school closures despite seeing only a relatively small number of coronavirus cases. Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, has explained that part of the reason for not embracing bans is to encourage “herd immunity”. Allow enough of those who can survive coronavirus disease to get infected, and the virus won’t have new people to infect, meaning new cases will dry up. Other European countries seem to have judged this too bold an approach. Immunity will probably be temporary, so later outbreaks are to be expected, and dealt with by heightened contact tracing when they occur. Continue reading...

What is Covid-19, how does it spread, what are the symptoms, and at what point should you call a doctor?

Trustworthy health advice has never been more vital – it could be the difference between life and death

Patrick Vallance says aim is to broaden peak of epidemic as Jeremy Hunt raises concerns

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

Trump used to flirt with anti-vaxxers. Now he is demanding a coronavirus vaccine

Earliest case detected on 17 November, weeks before authorities acknowledged new virus, says Chinese media

Justin Trudeau’s wife and diplomat at the UN test positive as Australian Grand Prix is cancelled and Arsenal and Chelsea teams affected

From exams to the five-day week, the pandemic is making us question our everyday practices. Some changes will stickFor days now, the list has been growing in my head. All the meetings, all the working coffees, everyone I bumped into in the street over the last week or two. The dinners with old friends, the book launch party, the kids’ sleepovers, the dog walks with neighbours and cups of tea made for the builders. Even a boring middle-aged life, living in the country and working much of the time from home, is more sociable than it looks.Related: On the UK’s high streets, coronavirus poses a special kind of threat | Tom Grindrod Continue reading...

A summary of the biggest developments in the global coronavirus outbreak

Investigating mind-bending concepts from string theory to quantum gravity has taken physicist Brian Greene on a journey through the universe and towards its ultimate demise. In his new book, Until the End of Time, Greene explores this cosmic impermanence and how we can still find meaning and purpose in human experience Continue reading...

Pandemic upends lives of millions as more countries decide to close schools

Chief medical officer adds that 80% of UK could contract virus, with half a million people dyingCoronavirus – latest updatesUp to 10,000 people may already have coronavirus in Britain and many families should expect to lose loved ones before their time, Boris Johnson warned on Thursday as he set out measures less stringent than those taken by other countries.Medical, scientific and public health experts criticised the steps outlined to tackle what the prime minister described as the “worst public health crisis for a generation”, including ending school trips abroad, stopping older and vulnerable people taking cruises and the use of self-isolation for a temperature and cough lasting four hours. Continue reading...

Medical and scientific experts react to Boris Johnson’s press conference as the UK moves into the delay phaseProf Deenan Pillay, professor of virology, University College LondonThe ways these measures are developed and issued will be balancing the urgency of trying to flatten the curve of the peak versus activities that are sustainable and realistic. The purpose of staying at home for seven days if you have a new continuous cough or a high temperature is to blunt the number of people contributing to ongoing transmission, and that is a very important step. It will help reduce deaths, but also reduce the number of people who are admitted to hospital and intensive care. From the situation in Italy, we can see that intensive care is one of the services that will soon become overwhelmed. Continue reading...

The UK is adopting a much more limited response than other countries. It may be ignoring essential lessons from elsewhereHow quickly the unthinkable can become reality. We are all entering a new world as the Covid-19 pandemic takes hold. Many more families in the UK will lose loved ones, the prime minister has warned: while 590 cases have been identified, officials say the true number is probably between 5 and 10,000. The government has now moved from trying to contain the outbreak, to seeking to delay it. It says it is doing so on the advice of experts. Yet there are questions about whether its policy is adequate. The editor of the medical journal the Lancet describes it as complacent. Some experts had already warned that the initial UK response had been “pathetic”.The new measures to achieve delay are minimal compared to those taken in other countries. In Italy, more than 1,000 have now succumbed. The old and other vulnerable groups will suffer. The overstretched NHS is surely not prepared for the numbers who will be falling sick in short order. Continue reading...

Findings mean that isolating people once they start to feel ill is less effective than hoped