Eight of nine people who tested positive successfully treated and discharged from hospitalThe number of people tested for coronavirus in the UK has passed 3,000, according to official figures.Statistics from the Department of Health and Social Care show that 3,109 tests had been carried out in the UK as of 2pm on Sunday, an increase of 117 on the 2,992 reported on Saturday. Continue reading...
Taxi driver with diabetes and hepatitis B is fifth fatality outside mainland ChinaA taxi driver has died from the coronavirus in Taiwan, marking the first such death on the island and the fifth fatality outside mainland China from an epidemic that has curbed travel and disrupted global supply chains.The health minister, Chen Shih-chung, said during a news conference on Sunday that the deceased was a 61-year-old man who had diabetes and hepatitis B. Taiwan has to date reported 20 confirmed cases. Continue reading...
Whether you’re taking up the oboe or finessing your Finnish, scientific research offers tips to aid learningIf your aim for 2020 was to learn a new skill, you may be at the point of giving up. Whether you are mastering a new language or a musical instrument, or taking a career-changing course, initial enthusiasm can only take you so far, and any further progress can be disappointingly slow.From these struggles, you might assume that you simply lack a natural gift – compared to those lucky people who can learn any new skill with apparent ease. Continue reading...
A mother-of-two finds strength in her communityThis month marked the first time I’ve ever been to a queue-free post office, and been served by a man wearing gloves in the service station. “We’ve been told to use antibacterial gel every half hour too,†he told me. Supermarkets are quieter than usual, but with no signs of panic buying – unless hand sanitiser counts. “I went to five shops and couldn’t find any,†a neighbour texted me. Dozens of people are “self-isolatingâ€, and it’s a risky place for secret affairs because of the chance everyone you’ve been in touch with will need tracing.This is life at the centre of the UK coronavirus breakout, Hove. I’d like to pretend that I’ve been brave, but it wouldn’t be true. I found the outbreak four streets away of a virus that had at that point killed hundreds of people in China alarming. The anxiety I felt came in waves, sending my maternal protectiveness into overdrive. Continue reading...
As confirmed cases on ship rise, US plans to airlift Americans from Diamond Princess adds urgency to pleas for evacuation from UK passengersPressure is growing on the British government to airlift UK citizens stranded on a cruise ship stricken by coronavirus, as a Chinese tourist in France yesterday became the first person to die from the disease in Europe.The US announced late on Friday that it would be evacuating more than 400 of its nationals from the quarantined ship, the Diamond Princess, which has reported nearly 300 confirmed Covid-19 cases, and British travellers called on their government to do the same. Continue reading...
Scientific knowledge, whether about a human species or the planets, is powerful because it is provisional and cumulativeFor the past decade, scientists have thought that DNA sequences from Neanderthals were found only in non-African populations. Neanderthals, a human species that died out around 40,000 years ago, lived mainly in Europe and parts of Asia.As Homo sapiens migrated from Africa into Europe and Asia some 70,000 years ago, the two species mingled. Roughly 2% of the genomes of modern European and Asian populations is inherited from Neanderthals. But sub-Saharan Africans, it was believed, possessed no Neanderthal DNA. Continue reading...
Passengers on Diamond Princess liner ‘disillusioned’ with government over lack of action• All the day’s developmentsPressure is growing on the British government to airlift citizens stranded on a cruise ship stricken by coronavirus, after a Chinese tourist in France became the first person to die from the disease in Europe.The US announced late on Friday that it would be evacuating more than 400 nationals from the quarantined ship, which has had nearly 300 confirmed coronavirus cases, and British travellers called on their government to do the same. Continue reading...
We are meant to have desires and should worry less, said Aristotle, while Epicurus cautioned that most of the stuff we think we want won’t make us happyFour hours spent wandering the aisles of Ikea for nothing. My boyfriend and I had long since stopped talking. I was ready to slap the next person who uttered a Swedish word. As I pushed my heaving cart into another room full of boxes I took a deep breath and fought the urge to cry. Thank God for philosophy, I thought to myself.I first got interested in philosophy as a teenager. It was on the curriculum at my high school in Paris, but its image was pretty crusty – philosophers were greybeards who wrote convoluted sentences and looked as if they might need a good wash, right? But when I was 16, a teacher gave me a copy of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and I was struck by one phrase: “That whereof we cannot speak, thereof we must remain silent.†Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#4ZD28)
Project is collaboration between privately-funded firm and New Mexico observatoryAstronomers will sweep the entire sky for signs of extraterrestrial life for the first time, using 28 giant radio telescopes in an unprecedented hunt for alien civilisations.The project is a collaboration between the privately-funded Seti Institute and the Very Large Array observatory in New Mexico, one of the world’s most powerful radio observatories. Gaining real-time access to all the data gathered by VLA is considered a major coup for scientists hunting extraterrestrial lifeforms and an indication that the field has “gone mainstreamâ€. Continue reading...
Recent discoveries in space and Earth sciences have provided encouragement to searchers for distant civilisationsIs there anybody out there? For centuries human beings have wondered, although the ways in which we have gone about this have varied, encompassing spiritual and metaphysical questions as well as scientific ones. As we have gained greater understanding of the universe, however, our searches have taken on more concrete form. Questions about extraterrestrials have become a subject for science rather than science fiction and philosophy.Now a new collaboration between the Very Large Array observatory in New Mexico and the privately funded Seti Institute in California, could mean that our curiosity about aliens is closer than ever before to being satisfied. Data from the VLA’s 28 giant radio telescopes, configured so as to scan a vast expanse of sky, will be fed through a special supercomputer that will search for distant signals. Scientists who work at the Seti Institute said the announcement means their research, for a long time confined to the eccentric margins of respectable science, are now “almost mainstreamâ€. Continue reading...
Authorities used DNA links developed through publicly available genealogical websites to free man wrongfully convicted of killing housemateCalifornia authorities used the same DNA techniques that led to the capture of the suspected Golden State Killer to free a man who spent about 15 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted in the slaying of his housemate.Ricky Davis was ordered released from custody during an emotional court hearing in Placerville, near Sacramento, on Thursday, after authorities used extended DNA links developed through publicly available genealogical websites to build a family tree that led to the arrest of a new suspect in the killing of his housemate. Continue reading...
by Presented by Ian Sampleand produced by Madeleine F on (#4ZBNH)
What happened at the dawn of the universe, just trillionths of a second after the start of the big bang, remains a mystery. Revisiting these moments in his new book, At the Edge of Time, Dan Hooper explores many of the unknowns in cosmology. Hooper guides Ian Sample through the birth of our universe to its enigmatic constituents of dark matter and dark energy Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#4ZAX3)
It’s red, it’s cold, it’s 4bn years old: Nasa data from Arrokoth reveals ‘profound truths’ about the solar systemNasa has unveiled details of the most distant object visited by a spacecraft, in observations that could resolve a decades-long puzzle of how the planets first emerged from the hazy dust of the early solar system.The ultra-red, peanut-shaped object, called Arrokoth, sits located 1bn miles beyond Pluto in the Kuiper belt, a vast donut-shaped region that is home to thousands of dwarf planets and icy objects. Nasa’s New Horizons spacecraft made a flyby on New Year’s Day 2019, but the extreme distance from Earth means the probe is still beaming back data gathered during the brief encounter. Continue reading...
Prof Chris Whitty says a four-point tactical plan is in place to help country cope with virusCoronavirus – live updatesBritain is hoping to delay any possible outbreak of coronavirus in order to prepare the NHS if it cannot be contained, the chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, has said.“If we are going to get an outbreak here in the UK, and it is an if, not a when, putting it back in time into the summer away from the winter pressures on the NHS … is a big advantage,†he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Continue reading...
Budget cuts in England and Wales have reduced independent oversight – and could lead to serious miscarriages of justiceIn a case involving a knife attack in 2015 by a group of young people, one of the three victims who were stabbed was carrying a bag containing some of his clothes, which was discovered at the scene. When examined, the bag was found to have some blood on it that contained DNA matching one of the alleged attackers. To the prosecution – and potentially to a jury when the case went to court – the DNA evidence put the defendant squarely in the frame. Fortunately though, the prosecution’s forensic evidence was checked by a scientist employed by the defendant’s lawyer and paid for by legal aid (which is increasingly rare due to budget cuts).Related: Police cuts could see rise in miscarriages of justice, says forensic expert Continue reading...
Stupendemys geographicus, armed with sturdy horns, lived from about 13m to 7m years ago alongside giant crocodiliansScientists have unearthed new fossils of one of the largest turtles that ever lived: a car-sized reptile which prowled the lakes and rivers of what is now northern South America from about 13m years ago to 7m years ago.The fossils of the turtle – Stupendemys geographicus – were found in Colombia’s Tatacoa Desert and Venezuela’s Urumaco region, and for the first time provide a comprehensive understanding of the creature which grew up to 13ft (4 meters) long and 1.25 tons in weight. Continue reading...
Traces of unknown ancestor emerged when researchers analysed genomes from west African populationsScientists have found evidence for a mysterious “ghost population†of ancient humans that lived in Africa about half a million years ago and whose genes live on in people today.Traces of the unknown ancestor emerged when researchers analysed genomes from west African populations and found that up to a fifth of their DNA appeared to have come from the missing relatives. Continue reading...
The idea that people who infect a large number of others are ‘culprits’ is scientifically flawed – and deeply unfairFew people believe any longer that illness is divine punishment for sin. But if you want to see signs that health is still considered today a moral affair, take a look at how we respond to epidemics like the coronavirus.The Brighton businessman identified as a “super-spreader†of the virus after he contracted it at a conference in Singapore is reported by the Times as feeling “very harassed†and “scared that [he’ll] become a scapegoatâ€. He is thought to have infected at least 11 people while travelling and socialising, before developing (mild) symptoms himself. It’s hard not to read the media emphasis on his role as a scout leader as an implication that he has carelessly endangered innocent children. Continue reading...
In the poorest areas women are getting their first long-term illness at just 47 and men at 49Women are living nearly ten years longer in poor health than previous estimates, while men are living an extra seven years, according to a report based on new NHS data launched by the health secretary on Wednesday.The new analysis means that men on average are being diagnosed with their first significant long-term condition at 56 and women at 55. In the poorest areas, women are getting their first significant long-term illness at just 47 and men at 49 years old. Continue reading...
Questions are being asked about the energy consumption of streaming services – which is why we should all pay more attention to our digital footprint
Death toll climbs to 1,115 but lowest number of new cases in Hubei since January prompts hope that containment strategy is workingChina’s Hubei province has reported its lowest number of new coronavirus cases since January, giving officials hope that measures to contain the outbreak may be working.Health authorities in Hubei, the province at the epicentre of the outbreak, reported 1,638 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, down from a peak of more than 3,000 new cases on 4 February and the lowest number of new infections since 31 January. National infection rates were also down. Continue reading...
Passengers concerned the ship could run out of food after it was turned away by Japan, Taiwan, the US territory of Guam, the Philippines and ThailandMore than 2,000 passengers and crew have been left stranded aboard a cruise ship and low on supplies after Thailand became the fifth country to deny it permission to dock over fears about the coronavirus.The MS Westerdam, carrying 2,257 passengers and crew, is moored in the Gulf of Thailand with nowhere to dock after being refused entry by Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, the US Pacific territory of Guam and now by Thailand on Wednesday, even though no cases of the virus have been found onboard. Continue reading...
Sam Rowley’s Station Squabble, featuring a pair of mice fighting over a scrap of food at a London tube station, has been crowned winner of the wildlife photographer of the year: Lumix people’s choice award. The image, among 25 shortlisted for the competition, will be displayed in an exhibition at the Natural History Museum until 31 May Continue reading...
Scientists say animals can become more or less bold and adventurous as they grow upHumans are not alone in enduring the rollercoaster ride of puberty as powerful hormones flood the body and cause mood swings from one day to the next. Scientists have found that dairy cows pass through a similar phase of emotional confusion that disturbs their otherwise rather stable personalities.The findings emerged from extensive observations of Holstein dairy cattle as they matured from calves to adulthood. “Our study identified a period of inconsistency in personality traits over puberty,†said Nina Von Keyserlingk, a professor of animal welfare at the University of British Columbia in Canada. Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique, Kevin Rawlinson and agency on (#4Z6PJ)
A&E staffer is among eight UK cases, along with doctor and Brighton businessmanA healthcare worker at Worthing hospital is among the eight confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.Staff at the West Sussex hospital received a memo on Tuesday telling them a member of staff working in the A&E department had been diagnosed with the disease. Continue reading...
It is hoped delicate procedure to divert 0.3mm vessels could benefit more patientsDoctors have used a robot to perform extremely delicate surgical operations on breast cancer patients in the first human trial of the technology.Eight women had the robot-assisted procedure at Maastricht University Medical Center, in the Netherlands, to alleviate a common complication of breast cancer surgery. Continue reading...
Public consultation follows concerns 10-year limit affects women disproportionatelyThe limit on how long frozen eggs, sperm and embryos can be stored may be extended amid concerns that women are being disproportionately affected, the government has announced.The maximum storage period is 10 years, after which families must decide whether to undergo fertility treatment or have their eggs, sperm and embryos destroyed. The Department of Health and Social Care is launching a public consultation into whether this should be changed. Continue reading...
by Amy Walker, Aamna Mohdin , Frances Perraudin, Alis on (#4Z4JT)
Death toll inside China’s Hubei province jumps to 974, after UK government declared virus an ‘imminent threat to public health’. This blog is closed.
Species is thought to be the oldest member of the T rex family yet discovered in northern North AmericaScientists in Canada have announced the discovery of a new species of dinosaur closely related to Tyrannosaurus rex that strode the plain of North America about 80m years ago.Related: Dinosaurs had feathers ruffled by parasites, study finds Continue reading...
When psychologists warn that global heating could cause trauma to become normalised, world leaders should take notice“It makes sense†is the first thing to say about the phenomenon being described by psychologists as climate anxiety. Wherever in the world you live, there are very good reasons to feel anxious about the rate of global heating and the lack of adequate action to tackle it by governments, businesses and organisations of all sorts.The predicted consequences are frightening: hotter weather in already inhospitable places, sea-level rises caused by melting ice sheets, and increased disruption of weather systems leading to floods, fires, hurricanes, food and water shortages – with the linked biodiversity crisis another cause for grave concern. Depending on the steps that are taken (or not) over the next decade, a period during which the UN estimates that carbon emissions need to be cut by 7.6% annually if we are to avoid temperature rises above 1.5C, the disruption caused to human societies could be immense. For countries such as Bangladesh, the effects are likely to be devastating. Continue reading...