Category Archives: Science

Video gaming can benefit mental health, find Oxford academics

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Research based on playing time data showed gamers reported greater wellbeing

Playing video games can be good for your mental health, a study from Oxford University has suggested, following a breakthrough collaboration in which academics at the university worked with actual gameplay data for the first time.

The study, which focused on players of Nintendo’s springtime craze Animal Crossing, as well as EA’s shooter Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, found that people who played more games tended to report greater “wellbeing”, casting further doubt on reports that video gaming can harm mental health.

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SpaceX Nasa launch: astronauts head to International Space Station onboard Dragon capsule

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Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi successfully lifted off for the 27-hour flight on Sunday

SpaceX has launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on the first full-fledged taxi flight for Nasa by a private company.

The Falcon rocket thundered into the night from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with three Americans and one Japanese onboard, the second crew to be launched by SpaceX. The Dragon capsule on top – named Resilience by its crew in light of this year’s many challenges, most notably Covid-19 – is due to reach the space station after 27-and-a-half hours and remain there until spring.

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Damage to multiple organs recorded in ‘long Covid’ cases

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Exclusive: study of low-risk individuals finds impairments four months after infection

Young and previously healthy people with ongoing symptoms of Covid-19 are showing signs of damage to multiple organs four months after the initial infection, a study suggests.

The findings are a step towards unpicking the physical underpinnings and developing treatments for some of the strange and extensive symptoms experienced by people with “long Covid”, which is thought to affect more than 60,000 people in the UK. Fatigue, brain fog, breathlessness and pain are among the most frequently reported effects.

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Sage expert:’flip-flopping’ on Covid restrictions unwise

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Prof John Edmunds calls for consistent UK government strategy and warns against relaxing measures

Encouraging the public to visit bars and restaurants and then closing down such venues when Covid-19 cases spike is not a “sensible way to run the epidemic”, a government scientific adviser has said.

Prof John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), urged a long-term strategy when it comes to balancing the economy and the pandemic.

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Coronavirus live news: UK records 26,860 more cases and 462 deaths; US sees record 184,000 new daily cases

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Italy has registered 37,255 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the health ministry announced on Saturday, down from 40,902 on Friday.

The ministry also recorded 544 Covid-related deaths, down from 550 the day before, Reuters reports.

Sixteen people have been arrested after hundreds of protestors attended an anti-lockdown demonstration in Liverpool city centre.

ARRESTS | 25 people have now been arrested in #Liverpool city centre for public order offences and breaches of Coronavirus regulations. A further male has been arrested after a police officer was assaulted. Please read our statement about why it's so important people stay home: pic.twitter.com/XcLXXLpuPH

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When rearranging a drawer is restful: the magic of ‘pottering’

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How small tasks can benefit our state of mind

For Anna McGovern there is a satisfying, sensory pleasure to be had in rinsing milk bottles: “The very best thing about getting your milk delivered is ‘rinsing and returning’. Don’t cheat by putting your bottles in the dishwasher. Wash them, by hand. Put a small amount of water in the bottle, slosh the water around, put your hand over the top, shake it up and down, upturn the bottle, glugging the water out, then head for your doorstep and put out the bottle with a ‘plink’”.

This is one of many meandering, seemingly mundane tasks that McGovern delights in describing in her new book. Another is pegging out the washing (“Pull it out of the basket in a long, sweet-smelling, damp lump.”) In fact, when we speak about pottering, McGovern tells me she has done just that to “help order her thoughts”.

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New museum in Nigeria raises hopes of resolution to Benin bronzes dispute

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Artefacts held by British Museum and other western institutions were looted by British forces in 1897

A new museum designed by Sir David Adjaye is to be built following the most extensive archaeological excavation ever undertaken in Benin City, Nigeria, raising hopes of a resolution to one of the world’s most controversial debates over looted museum artefacts.

The kingdom of Benin, in what is now southern Nigeria and not to be confused with the modern-day country of Benin, was one of the most important and powerful pre-colonial states of west Africa.

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SpaceX delays Crew Dragon launch due to poor weather

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Forecasts of gusty, onshore winds over Florida force reschedule to Sunday of first full mission carrying four astronauts

Nasa and SpaceX have announced a 24-hour weather delay of their planned launch of four astronauts into orbit for America’s first fully fledged human mission using a privately owned spacecraft.

The liftoff time slipped from Saturday to Sunday evening due to forecasts of gusty, onshore winds over Florida – remnants of storm Eta – that would have jeopardised a return landing for the Falcon 9 rocket’s reusable booster stage, Nasa officials said.

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Leaders at a loss as coronavirus catches up with central Europe

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Politicians struggle to explain why a region so much less affected in spring is so badly hit now

In the countries of central Europe, which during spring seemed to provide a best-practice model for keeping coronavirus at bay, case numbers have risen sharply, and governments in the region fear that their health systems are close to capacity and may struggle to cope. Central Europe is now just as badly hit as countries further west, and by some parameters is doing worse.

The Visegrad Four group of nations – Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia – were all notable for their success in keeping case numbers low earlier in the year, even as gruesome statistics of deaths and hospitalisations came out of western Europe on a daily basis.

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Coronavirus live news: Italy registers 550 more deaths; record daily cases in Germany, Sweden and Russia

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Italy also registers 40,000 new infections; Germany records 23,542 new cases; Russia reports its worst day for new infections; Sweden’s hits daily record

Health authorities in the Australian state of NSW have released a list of three key “venues of concern” in Auckland as they check arrivals from New Zealand since 5 November.

•A-Z Collection, Auckland CBD: 10.30am-6.30pm on 8 November, 10.30am-6.30pm on 9 November, or 10.30am-6.30pm 11 November
•The Vincent Residences, Auckland Central: 12am on 7 November to 12pm 12 November
•Red Pig Restaurant, Auckland CBD: 6-8.30pm on 7 November

NSW Health is contacting 455 people who have arrived from New Zealand since 5 November following a locally acquired case of COVID 19 in Auckland. These passengers have been sent a message alerting them to a number of venues of concern in Auckland. pic.twitter.com/Gpd6avauBJ

News agency Reuters is reporting the latest case numbers from Brazil, one of the world’s worst-hit countries.

The country’s health ministry has reported 29,070 new Covid-19 cases and a further 456 deaths from the disease.

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Covid test for mass UK screening could miss up to half of cases, say scientists

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Some trials of lateral flow test from US firm Innova found it was much less accurate than the government said it was

The lateral flow test bought by the UK government for mass testing in Liverpool, and potentially the whole country, could miss up to half of those who have Covid-19, according to experts.

The government has great expectations of the Innova test, having signed two contracts with the California-based company behind it. Innova told the Guardian it was now shipping more than one million tests a day to the UK.

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Coronavirus live news: Italy deaths highest since 6 April; France lockdown to last at least two more weeks

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Italy registers 636 daily deaths; French PM says no easing of restrictions as cases remain high; Germany seeing tentative signs of flattening curve

Greece reported 3,316 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, its highest daily tally since its first infection surfaced in February, according to health authorities data.

The latest jump in infections brings the total number of cases in the country to 66,637.

Donald Trump’s adviser Corey Lewandowski has become the latest member of the outgoing president’s staff to test positive for coronavirus.

Lewandowski recently traveled to Pennsylvania to assist Trump’s efforts to contest the state’s election results. He said today he believes he was infected in Philadelphia and is not experiencing any symptoms.

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Scientist behind BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine says it can end pandemic

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Exclusive: BioNTech’s CEO Uğur Şahin says he is confident vaccine can ‘bash the virus over the head’

The scientist behind the first Covid-19 vaccine to clear interim clinical trials says he is confident his product can “bash the virus over the head” and put an end to the pandemic that has held the world hostage in 2020.

The German company BioNTech and the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced via a press release on Monday that their jointly developed vaccine candidate had outperformed expectations in the crucial phase 3 trials, proving 90% effective in stopping people from falling ill.

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Dr Anthony Fauci warns against violent anti-science feeling in polarised US – video

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Dr Anthony Fauci says unprecedented 'polarisation' has intensified an anti-science feeling in the US and led people to threaten violence against him.

While the top infectious diseases expert commands respect among much of the public, he has received personal death threats as a result of his high-profile statements about the coronavirus pandemic.

The health expert Prof David Heymann, who joined Fauci in a Chatham House webinar, said science had become highly politicised to the point that a mask wearer was seen as a Democrat and a non-mask wearer as a Republican

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French professor faces disciplinary case over hydroxychloroquine claims

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Didier Raoult stands accused of touting drug as a coronavirus treatment without evidence

A French professor who touts the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment – without evidence, scientists say – will appear before a disciplinary panel charged with ethics breaches, an order of doctors has said.

Marseille-based Didier Raoult stands accused by his peers of spreading false information about the benefits of the drug. His promotion of hydroxychloroquine was taken up by the US and Brazilian presidents, Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, who trumpeted its unproven benefits in a way critics say put people’s lives at risk.

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Coronavirus live news: countries scramble to secure vaccine doses as US sees record hospitalisations

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Iran and Lebanon impose lockdowns; Hong Kong, Singapore plan quarantine-free travel bubble; US sees record hospitalisations

Mongolia has reported its first domestic transmissions of the coronavirus, from a truck driver who infected his wife and two other relatives after three weeks of quarantine, according to the AfP news agency.

The landlocked country bordering Russia and China has so far reported just 376 virus cases - all imported - and enforced strict arrival controls that have prompted protests by Mongolians stranded abroad.

Dr David Nabarro, one of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) special envoys on Covid-19, urged people to be “careful” when students in the UK return to university after Christmas to prevent a spike in Covid-19 cases.

Asked about students returning to UK universities in January, and if there was an argument for keeping students at home for longer, Dr Nabarro told Sky News:

We did see that there was quite a big increase in cases in Europe in October and November. We think that was to do with movements that took place in September, including students coming to university.

So if there’s going to be a big return in January, all I’m going to say is, everybody be careful. Because that’s when the virus can really move around quickly.

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Coronavirus live news: Italy exceeds 1m cases; Greece tightens lockdown

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Italy passes mark after 32,961 new infections in 24 hours; Greece extends curfew after record surge in cases; US has 1m new cases in 10 days

Texas on Wednesday became the first US state with more than 1 million confirmed Covid-19 cases, and California closed in on that mark as a surge of coronavirus infections engulfs the country from coast to coast, AP reports.

The country’s second-most populous state, Teas has recorded 1.01 million coronavirus cases and over 19,000 deaths since the outbreak began in early March, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. California, the most populous state, has logged more than 991,000 cases.

The Swedish prime minister has said his government will present a law proposal that would ban nationwide the sale of alcohol after 10pm in bars, restaurants and night clubs from 20 November in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Stefan Lofven said that “we are facing a situation that risks becoming pitch-black” and added that Sweden “currently is risking a situation like the one we had last spring”.

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Totnes Covid concerns reflect UK-wide rise in conspiracy theories

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Suspicion in Devon town of face masks and 5G means take-up of vaccine may face resistance

Like many people living in or around Totnes in Devon, David, who is in his 70s, has his own theories about coronavirus and its origins. Sitting in the armchair of his house, he says the pandemic is a secret plot to impose a totalitarian world government and a nefarious effort to crush freedom. He scrolls through Facebook, which he recently signed up to, to show many with similar beliefs.

David came to many of these ideas recently. When the pandemic hit, he started looking for answers. “I’m friends with a few people who are active in researching what is going on. I quickly made contact with others putting posts on the internet.”

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First murder hornet nest found to have 200 queens capable of spawning new nests

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Washington state scientists found about 500 live specimens in various stages of development inside the basketball-sized nest

When scientists in Washington state destroyed the first nest of so-called murder hornets found in the US, they discovered about 500 live specimens in various stages of development, officials said Tuesday.

Among them were nearly 200 queens that had the potential to start their own nests, said Sven-Erik Spichiger, an entomologist leading the fight to kill the hornets.

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Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine poses global logistics challenge

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Europe and US create vast facilities for Covid-19 vaccine but poorer nations lack infrastructure, say experts

Two vast football-pitch-sized facilities equipped with hundreds of large freezers in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Puurs, Belgium, will be the centres of the huge effort to ship the coronavirus vaccine, developed by US drug giant Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech, around the world.

Governments are scrambling to prepare for the rollout of the vaccine, which must be stored at -70C (-94F), after the announcement from the two companies that it was more than 90% effective and had no serious side-effects. The news sparked hopes of a return to normal life and a stock market rally, but now minds are turning to the practicalities of getting the vaccine quickly to populations across the world, in particular to the vulnerable people who need it most.

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