Category Archives: Science

‘Finally, a virus got me’: Ebola expert on nearly dying of coronavirus

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Peter Piot tells of his brush with death and predicts people will suffer effects of the virus for years

Peter Piot, the scientist who helped discover the Ebola virus, and the director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has told of his brush with death after contracting Covid-19.

The professor had never previously been seriously ill, but after 40 years studying and leading the global response to infectious diseases including HIV and Aids, he said that “finally, a virus got me”.

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Unicef: 6,000 children could die every day due to impact of coronavirus

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Disruption of essential maternity and health services is the biggest crisis faced by under fives since second world war

As many as 6,000 children around the world could die every day from preventable causes over the next six months due to the impact of coronavirus on routine health services, the UN has warned.

Global disruption of essential maternal and child health interventions – such as family planning, birth and postnatal care, and vaccinations – could lead to an additional 1.2 million deaths of under fives in just six months, according to analysis by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, published in the Lancet Global Health Journal.

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Microplastics discovered blowing ashore in sea breezes

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Finding could help solve mystery of where plastic goes after it leaks into the sea

Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of mismanaged waste could be blowing ashore on the ocean breeze every year, according to scientists who have discovered microplastics in sea spray.

The study, by researchers at the University of Strathclyde and the Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées at the University of Toulouse, found tiny plastic fragments in sea spray, suggesting they are being ejected by the sea in bubbles. The findings, published in the journal Plos One, cast doubt on the assumption that once in the ocean, plastic stays put, as well as on the widespread belief in the restorative power of sea breeze.

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UK coronavirus live: Hancock says care home deaths nearly halved in last few weeks

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Health secretary dodges questions over people’s legal right to refuse return to work; Rishi Sunak expected to extend furlough scheme

Public transport users should face away from each other when they cannot keep a two-metre gap, the government has said. A report from PA Media on the new transport guidance issued by the government this morning (see 9.28am) goes on:

New guidance issued by the Department for Transport on how to travel safely during the coronavirus outbreak states that passengers should minimise the time they spend near other people and avoid physical contact with them.

It acknowledges that “there may be situations where you can’t keep a suitable distance from people”, such as on busier services or at peak times.

The sandwich chain Subway has today started a phased reopening of around 600 of its 2,600 stores across the UK and Ireland - approximately one in four - for takeway and delivery only.

The outlets have all been fitted with new operational and social distancing safety measures to protect customers, third party delivery and supplier drivers and staff. These have been tested in the small number of stores that have remained open to support and serve key workers and hospital staff.

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Coronavirus live news: Italy to reopen bars and restaurants; Spain to quarantine overseas travellers

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Trump walks out of press conference; White House staff ordered to wear masks; WHO urges ‘extreme vigilance’ as lockdowns end

Taiwan confirmed no new Covid-19 cases for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday, keeping the country’s total at 440, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

At a daily press briefing, the health minister and head of the CECC, Chen Shih-chung, said it was also the 30th straight day that no domestically transmitted infections had been recorded in Taiwan, CNA reports.

The United Kingdom’s Covid-19 death toll topped 38,000 at the start of the month, including suspected cases, by far the worst official toll yet in Europe, according to official data published on Tuesday.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said it recorded 34,978 Covid-19 related deaths as of 1 May in England and Wales.

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Coronavirus live news: Facebook reports rise in posts removed for hate speech

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Spain to quarantine overseas travellers; Trump walks out of press conference; White House staff ordered to wear masks

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that another 1,064 people have died and 18,106 new infections have been detected, taking the totals to 80,820 and 1,342,594, respectively.

Parts of Mexico that have been spared the worst of the epidemic could reopen as soon as 17 May – a date some health experts worry is too ambitious as the country still hasn’t carried out widespread testing or enforced strict quarantine.

Jorge Alcocer told reporters that roughly 300 of Mexico’s more than 2,400 municipalities would likely to be reopened, depending on assessments from the health authorities. The rest of the country is projected to reopen at the end of month – with school returning 1 June – according to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who will unveil plans on Wednesday for “returning to a new normalcy”.

They cannot know [which cities to open] because if a sample is not representative at the state level, would it be much less representative at the municipal level … It’s a national sample. Nothing more.

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The country is being run by a second-rate ad agency. No wonder we feel vulnerable | Suzanne Moore

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We are told to ‘stay alert’, but if alertness could conquer this virus, we would all be fine. The message is about shifting responsibility away from the government and on to the public

Someone won Sunday night’s Numberwang, but it wasn’t any of us. What we can do, and who we can do it with, has been turned into some sort of fake algebra with a red-and-blue PowerPoint hump. Boris Johnson, all clenched fists and lockdown hairdo, was resolute about, er, stuff. Ours is not to reason why, his is not to understand how the other half lives.

He talked of a world of golf, tennis, garden centres and people who can go to work in their own cars or on their Bromptons. England in repose. Where, apparently, no one has to think about childcare. The reality is that it is the construction workers, bus drivers and security guards (mostly middle-aged men) who are dying of Covid-19 at an alarming rate, as well as NHS staff and carers. These people are called low-skilled. Many of them are his voters. He risks losing them, so must frame the back-to-work instruction as a matter of personal choice. For now.

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Humans and Neanderthals ‘co-existed in Europe for far longer than thought’

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Cave objects suggest modern humans and Neanderthals shared continent for several thousand years

Modern humans were present in Europe at least 46,000 years ago, according to new research on objects found in Bulgaria, meaning they overlapped with Neanderthals for far longer than previously thought.

Researchers say remains and tools found at a cave called Bacho Kiro reveal that modern humans and Neanderthals were present at the same time in Europe for several thousand years, giving them ample time for biological and cultural interaction.

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Richard Branson to sell $500m worth of Virgin Galactic shares

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Billionaire puts more than fifth of stake up for sale to help prop up airline and rest of group

Sir Richard Branson is to sell $500m (£405m) in Virgin Galactic shares in order to prop up his airline and leisure interests, which have been ravaged by the coronavirus crisis.

In a statement to the New York Stock Exchange, Branson’s Virgin Group said it intended to sell 25m shares via a series of transactions, prompting a 5% fall in the share price of Virgin Galactic during pre-market trading.

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Coronavirus live news: Putin to ease Russia lockdown despite record number of new infections

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UK and WHO to lead global Covid-19 information campaign; Aden declared an ‘infested’ city

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported 985 more deaths and 23,792 more confirmed cases since the weekend’s update, taking the overall totals to 79,756 and 1,324,488.

The CDC said the weekend’s numbers were preliminary and had not been confirmed by individual states.

The Guardian has published its editorial on the prime minister’s message to the country as it moves into a dangerous new phase of the epidemic.

For more than 30 years, the term “consensus politics” fell out of fashion in Britain. For generations of Conservative politicians schooled in the dogmas of Thatcherism, the phrase came to connote unpleasant images of sandwiches with union leaders in No 10 and weak government.

Boris Johnson urgently needs to discover the virtues of consensus-building now, after a chaotic few days of mixed messages and confused assertions.

Related: The Guardian view on 'stay alert': a divisive muddle | Editorial

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‘People feel a bit nervous’: France braces for end of lockdown

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As schools and businesses get set to reopen some citizens urge caution, wary of a spike in infections

France is set to end eight weeks of strict lockdown as the government urged people to behave responsibly to avoid a sudden spike in coronavirus cases.

Hours before the national déconfinement there were reports of two new Covid-19 clusters in départments designated green – areas where the virus has largely stopped circulating and where most restrictions are being lifted.

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Canada: DNA discovery lends weight to First Nations ancestral story

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The last of Newfoundland’s Beothuk was thought to have died in 1829 but new research indicates the bloodline did not die out – as Mi’kmaq tradition has always maintained

When a woman named Shanawdithit succumbed to tuberculosis in Newfoundland nearly 200 years ago, it was widely believed that her death marked a tragic end to her people’s existence.

For centuries, the Beothuk had thrived along the rocky shores of the island, taking on a near-mythical status as descendants of the first people encountered by Norse explorers in what is now Canada. But their population was devastated by decades of starvation and diseases, and when she died in 1829, Shanawdithit was believed to be the last of her line.

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Sexual healing: using lockdown to ignite desire

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This could be the perfect time for couples to boost their sex life

For many of us right now, sex couldn’t be further from our minds. Our usual routines have been turned upside down and the way we are living can be challenging for even the most harmonious of relationships. But what if we viewed this time as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reset and refresh our sex lives?

The fact that sex isn’t a priority for a large proportion of people fits with findings from sex research along with, well, common sense. Stress and anxiety are known to reduce our sexual desire and a preoccupation with the news, our finances, the health of our loved ones, or how much is in our store cupboards, can understandably slow the wheels of our sex life to a standstill.

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Coronavirus live news: entire Dynamo Dresden team quarantined, Russia infections near 200,000

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Bundesliga suffers huge setback after footballers test positive; Belarus leader holds parade prompting safety concerns as other nations curb WW2 events; Russia records 10,000 new Covid-19 cases. Follow the latest updates

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 277,127 people since the outbreak first emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by news agency AFP.

At least 4,001,437 cases of coronavirus have been registered in 195 countries and territories. Of these, at least 1,312,900 are now considered recovered.

Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:

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Brazil’s President Bolsonaro must ‘drastically change course’ on Covid-19, says The Lancet

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British medical journal’s editorial says the Brazilian president’s disregard for lockdown measures is damaging

The biggest threat to Brazil’s ability to successfully combat the spread of the coronavirus and tackle the unfolding public health crisis is the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, according to the British medical journal The Lancet.

In an editorial, The Lancet said his disregard for and flouting of lockdown measures was sowing confusion across Brazil, which reported a record number of Covid-19 deaths on Friday, and is fast emerging as one of the world’s coronavirus hot spots.

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Astronomers capture new images of Jupiter using ‘lucky’ technique

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Detailed pictures of planet glowing through clouds were taken with telescope in Hawaii

Astronomers have captured some of the highest resolution images of Jupiter ever obtained from the ground using a technique known as “lucky imaging”.

The observations, from the Gemini North telescope on Hawaii’s dormant volcano Mauna Kea, reveal lightning strikes and storm systems forming around deep clouds of water ice and liquid. The images show the warm, deep layers of the planet’s atmosphere glowing through gaps in thick cloud cover in a “jack-o-lantern”-like effect.

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UK scientists condemn ‘Stalinist’ attempt to censor Covid-19 advice

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Exclusive: report criticising government lockdown proposals heavily redacted before release

Government scientific advisers are furious at what they see as an attempt to censor their advice on government proposals during the Covid-19 lockdown by heavily redacting an official report before it was released to the public, the Guardian can reveal.

The report was one of a series of documents published by the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) this week to mollify growing criticism about the lack of transparency over the advice given to ministers responding to the coronavirus.

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WHO conditionally backs Covid-19 vaccine trials that infect people – as it happened

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20m Americans lost their jobs in April; Donald Trump says virus will ‘go away without a vaccine’. This blog is now closed, follow our new blog below

We are closing this blog now, but you can stay up to date with all the latest news on our new global live blog which you can find below.

Related: Coronavirus live news: global cases approach 4 million as US unemployment hits 14.7%

New Zealand’s cabinet will meet on Monday to decide the future of the country’s tough but effective lockdown – though Kiwis have been told not to visit their mums this Mother’s Day.

Next week, Ardern’s government will plot a path back to something close to normality, meeting to decide a timetable for the removal of social and business restrictions. The prime minister has already released what level two restrictions will look like, including the re-opening of restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, cinemas and public facilities like museums and libraries.

Social restrictions could end immediately, with provisions for schools, business and personal movement more likely to be phased in.

Any decision will come too late for Kiwi mums to enjoy visits from sons and daughters not already in their household bubbles. Ardern has banned socialising outside of existing households, with few exceptions, and told Kiwis this week to “stick to the plan” ahead of Monday’s review.

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Two piglets for a kayak: Fiji returns to barter system as Covid-19 hits economy

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Resurgence of bartering across the Pacific with similar Facebook pages in Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu, as people lose jobs

Two piglets for a pre-loved kayak, a taxi fare in exchange for fresh produce, hot cross buns for online tutoring, an old carpet for a professional photography session, vegetable seedlings for homemade pies, and offers to have backyards cleaned for prayers.

These are just a few examples of the hundreds of barter trades that are taking place across Fiji since a Facebook page “Barter for Better Fiji” was created a few weeks ago in response to sharp falls in employment due to coronavirus. The page now has more than 100,000 members, in a country of just under 900,000 people.

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‘Mixed messages’: UK government’s strategy fuels fears of rule-breaking

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Critics of No 10 warn U-turns undermining efforts to keep public safe from coronavirus

First people were meant to stay at home to save lives, and then government sources raised the prospect of picnics with pals and sunbathing in the park just before a sunny bank holiday weekend.

Boris Johnson told the nation that scientists thought face masks might help stop the spread of the disease, but no change was made to the government advice that they were not needed outside medical and care settings.

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