Category Archives: Science

‘Wave of silence’ spread around world during coronavirus pandemic

Posted on by

Seismologists said high frequency noise fell as much as 50% as planes were grounded and roads emptied

An unprecedented wave of silence spread around the world in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, according to researchers who found that vibrations from human activity slumped under national lockdowns.

Records from seismic stations all over the planet show that high frequency noise caused by industrial plants, traffic and other activities fell as much as 50% as country after country imposed restrictions that grounded planes, emptied roads and brought down the shutters on shops and businesses.

Continue reading...

Donald Trump’s assault on the WHO is deeply worrying for global health | Peter Beaumont

Posted on by

A diplomacy shaped around self-serving tittle-tattle now risks lives and undermines America’s standing in the world

The campaign by the Trump administration against the World Health Organization has often seemed faintly preposterous.

Over the months of the coronavirus pandemic its untruths and hyperbole have been dismissed by many as iterations of Trumpspeak, whose main purpose has been to distract from the US’s catastrophic response to Covid-19, which has claimed almost 140,000 lives and devastated the economy.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: California sees record daily cases as global infections top 15m

Posted on by

California Covid-19 cases pass New York’s after record day; WHO emergencies chief says vaccinations unlikely before 2021; global cases pass 15m. Follow the latest updates

The BBC reports that the coronavirus pandemic has pushed South Korea into a recession, with the country seeing a 2.9% fall in GDP:

South Korea has fallen into recession as the country reels from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw gross domestic product (GDP) fall by a worse-than-expected 2.9% in year-on-year terms, the steepest decline since 1998.

China plans to provide a $1bn loan to make its coronavirus vaccine accessible for countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, the Mexican foreign ministry said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

Mexico’s foreign ministry said in a statement that China had made the pledge in a virtual meeting between ministers from some Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Continue reading...

Newly excavated tools suggest humans lived in North America at least 30,000 years ago

Posted on by

Artefacts from central Mexico cave are strong evidence humans lived on continent 15,000 years earlier than previously thought

Tools excavated from a cave in central Mexico are strong evidence that humans were living in North America at least 30,000 years ago, some 15,000 years earlier than previously thought, scientists said on Wednesday.

The artefacts, including 1,900 stone tools, showed human occupation of the high-altitude Chiquihuite cave over a 20,000-year period, they reported in two studies published in the journal Nature.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: WHO reports worrying infection trends in southern Europe and Balkans

Posted on by

WHO says Americas remain global hotspot but cases accelerating in southern Europe, Balkans and Africa; Trump urges people to wear masks

As the coronavirus spreads around the world, there are concerns that it will mutate into a form that is more transmissible, more dangerous or both, potentially making the global health crisis even worse.

What do we know about the way the virus is evolving?

Related: Will Covid-19 mutate into a more dangerous virus?

The US federal government has signed a contract with Pfizer for 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccine, once it is approved.

The health and human services secretary, Alex Azar, said on Fox News:

We just signed a contract with global pharmaceutical leader Pfizer to produce 100 million doses of vaccine starting in December of this year with an option to buy a half a billion doses.

Now those would of course have to be safe and effective.

Continue reading...

First active leak of sea-bed methane discovered in Antarctica

Posted on by

Researchers say potent climate-heating gas almost certainly escaping into atmosphere

The first active leak of methane from the sea floor in Antarctica has been revealed by scientists.

The researchers also found microbes that normally consume the potent greenhouse gas before it reaches the atmosphere had only arrived in small numbers after five years, allowing the gas to escape.

Continue reading...

Mike Pompeo attacks WHO in private meeting during UK visit

Posted on by

US secretary of state said the World Health Organization was responsible for Britons who had died from Covid-19

The US secretary of state Mike Pompeo launched an extraordinary attack on the World Health Organization during a private meeting in the UK, accusing it of being in the pocket of China and responsible for “dead Britons” who passed away during the pandemic.

Pompeo told those present that he believed the WHO was “political not a science-based organisation” and accused its current director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of being too close to Beijing.

Continue reading...

UK must ramp up coronavirus efforts to avoid second wave, scientists warn

Posted on by

Senior scientists say it is ‘critical’ Britain improves capacity to spot and contain outbreaks before winter

Britain must ramp up its capacity to spot and contain coronavirus outbreaks if it is to avoid a potentially devastating second wave of infections this winter, senior scientists have warned.

The next two months are “critical” for building a more effective test-and-trace system and ensuring that local outbreak teams are ready to handle the resurgence of infections that is feared as temperatures fall, the experts told the Lords science committee.

Continue reading...

Researchers say blood test can detect cancer years before symptoms

Posted on by

Team based in China develop test that identifies cancers up to four years before signs appear

A blood test can pick up cancers up to four years before symptoms appear, researchers say, in the latest study to raise hopes of early detection.

A team led by researchers in China say the non-invasive blood test – called PanSeer – detects cancer in 95% of individuals who have no symptoms but later receive a diagnosis.

Continue reading...

Global report: Trump says masks ‘patriotic’ as EU leaders agree to deal

Posted on by

US president to restart daily briefings; Melbourne records 374 cases; WHO warns South Africa’s crisis could be precursor for more outbreaks in Africa

Donald Trump has announced his daily US coronavirus briefings will resume and that wearing face masks were “patriotic” as European leaders agreed a huge coronavirus rescue plan and Australia announced it was scaling back economic support as one of its states battles a growing Covid-19 outbreak.

Having almost entirely avoided wearing a mask in public during the pandemic, the US president tweeted that “many people say it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance”. The post came with a photo of the president in a mask, possibly taken at his visit about 10 days ago to the Walter Reed military hospital outside Washington.

Continue reading...

Likely active volcanoes found on Venus, defying theory of dormant planet

Posted on by

Researchers identify 37 ring-like structures known as coronae that are believed to be living volcanoes

Scientists have identified 37 volcanic structures on Venus that appear to have been recently active – and probably still are today – painting the picture of a geologically dynamic planet and not a dormant world as long thought.

The research focused on ring-like structures called coronae, caused by an upwelling of hot rock from deep within the planet’s interior, and provided compelling evidence of widespread recent tectonic and magma activity on Venus’s surface, researchers have said.

Continue reading...

Matt Hancock hails ‘promising news’ on Oxford University coronavirus vaccine – video

Posted on by

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has welcomed the 'promising news' on Oxford University's coronavirus vaccine. 

Researchers working on the experimental vaccine said it was safe and generated a strong immune response in the people who volunteered to help trial it, raising hopes it could contribute to ending the pandemic.

'Very encouraging news. We have already ordered 100m doses of this vaccine, should it succeed,' Hancock said

Continue reading...

Most polar bears to disappear by 2100, study predicts

Posted on by

Melting Arctic sea ice could cause starvation and reproductive failure for many as early as 2040, scientists warn

Scientists have predicted for the first time when, where and how polar bears are likely to disappear, warning that if greenhouse gas emissions stay on their current trajectory all but a few polar bear populations in the Arctic will probably be gone by 2100.

By as early as 2040, it is very likely that many polar bears will begin to experience reproductive failure, leading to local extinctions, according to a study published in Nature Climate Change.

Continue reading...

Trial of Covid-19 drug given via inhaler ‘very promising’, say scientists

Posted on by

Researchers say SNG001 can reduce need for ventilation and improve survival chances

Trials of an experimental drug inhaled by patients have found a significant reduction in hospital patients with Covid-19 needing to be put on a ventilator or dying from the disease, according to researchers

The drug, called SNG001, is delivered via an inhaler and is based on interferon beta, a protein produced naturally in the body that plays an important role in coordinating the body’s antiviral response.

Continue reading...

Oxford coronavirus vaccine triggers immune response, trial shows

Posted on by

Early results also indicate vaccine is safe, raising hopes it could help end pandemic

Hopes for a vaccine to address the global spread of coronavirus have been raised after Oxford University’s experimental version was revealed to be safe and to generate a strong immune response in the people who volunteered to help trial it.

After intensive research, Prof Sarah Gilbert, from Oxford’s Jenner Institute, said they were more than happy with the first results, which showed good immunity after a single dose of vaccine.

“We’re really pleased that it seems to be behaving just as we thought it would do. We have quite a lot of experience of using this technology to make other vaccines, so we knew what we expected to see, and that’s what we have seen,” she told the Guardian.

The prime minister, Boris Johnson, called the results “very positive news”, adding: “There are no guarantees, we’re not there yet and further trials will be necessary – but this is an important step in the right direction.”

Continue reading...

Africa can become a renewable energy superpower – if climate deniers are kept at bay

Posted on by

Nigel Lawson’s thinktank is pushing dirty energy on the continent with the greatest capacity for creating clean fuel

The power of climate science denial in the UK, thankfully, has been in retreat over the past decade. Nigel Lawson’s Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) may still boast a prime Westminster address, but its influence has waned. In fact, its decline aptly mirrors the fortunes of the coal industry, including US titans such as Peabody Energy, which saw its share price plunge 99% between 2008 and 2016 before filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy.

With countries rightly phasing coal out of their energy mix, the GWPF has turned its sights on Africa to peddle its misinformation about the merits of burning fossil fuels. It has published a new report, derisively titled Heart of Darkness: Why Electricity for Africa is a Security Issue, and launched a glossy website for “energy justice”, which uses the language of climate justice campaigners to try to undermine renewable energy.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: jump in new cases in Belgium; signs of compromise on EU recovery fund

Posted on by

Belgium sees 66% jump in new infections; EU leaders shows signs of compromise; South Africa Covid-19 deaths pass 5,000

The British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline has bought a 10% stake in a German biotech company that is a key player in the global race for a coronavirus vaccine as part of a deal that could eventually be worth more than £800m.

GSK on Monday said it will pay £130m for the stake in CureVac. GSK will also make a separate payment of £104m that will fund research into CureVac’s development of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines.

Related: GSK buys £130m stake in German coronavirus vaccine maker

Denmark will allow merchant sailors stranded at sea since the outbreak of the coronavirus to come ashore and be reunited with their friends and families, the Business Ministry has said.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: Trump says Fauci ‘alarmist’; Hong Kong makes masks mandatory indoors

Posted on by

South Africa Covid-19 deaths pass 5,000; UN makes urgent appeal for Sudan pandemic help; France to issue mask fines. Follow the latest updates

The United Nations has made an urgent appeal for US$283 million to help Sudan tackle the coronavirus pandemic and its economic consequences, as millions in the country face hunger.

An official said the pandemic had worsened an economic crisis, hitting purchasing power, while movement restrictions had restricted people’s access to food, healthcare and basic services.

South Africa’s death toll from coronavirus has passed the 5,000 mark, according to official figures released on Sunday by the continent’s hardest hit country, AFP reports.

South Africa registered 85 new deaths from the virus in the previous 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 5,033. A total of 13,449 new infections were also officially diagnosed, taking the number to 364,328, figures released by the health ministry showed.

Continue reading...

New Zealand scientists invent volcano warning system

Posted on by

Researchers claim system could save lives in situations like the Whakaari/White Island eruption in 2019, which killed 21 people

New Zealand scientists say they have invented a warning system to predict volcanic eruptions that may prevent future tragedies such as the blast that killed 21 people on White Island/Whakaari in 2019.

University of Auckland academics David Dempsey and Shane Cronin say their research “shows patterns of seismic activity before an eruption that make advance warning possible”.

Continue reading...

Global wrap: Hong Kong ‘critical’ as Covid cases rise worldwide

Posted on by

Lam says situation out of control, while Melbourne makes face masks compulsory

The coronavirus situation in Hong Kong is “really critical”, with a record 100 new infections recorded on Sunday, the territory’s leader, Carrie Lam, said, as Melbourne became the first city in Australia to make wearing masks compulsory in response to a resurgent and aggressive outbreak there.

Hong Kong was held up months ago as a model for its success in keeping down Covid-19 cases in the crowded city-state of 7.5 million people, but its caseload – although still low by European and American standards – had grown by a third in the past fortnight to nearly 1,800. Lam has shuttered bars, gyms and nightclubs in the past week and on Sunday announced new guidelines including mandatory mask-wearing indoors.

Continue reading...