Category Archives: Science

Coronavirus: Iran to limit travel between major cities amid more than 3,500 cases – latest updates

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California declares state of emergency; Italian doctors say German man may have been first European with virus and Scotland registers three more cases

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued a statement warning businesses to not exploit the coronavirus outbreak and take advantage of people. The CMA said it will take enforcement action against companies that are charging excessive prices or making misleading claims about the efficacy of protective equipment.

CMA chairman Lord Tyrie said: “We will do whatever we can to act against rip-offs and misleading claims, using any or all of our tools; and where we can’t act, we’ll advise government on further steps they could take, if necessary.”

Here’s the latest summary of today’s events.

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This winter in Europe was hottest on record by far, say scientists

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Climate crisis likely to have supercharged temperatures around world, data suggests

The winter just experienced by Europe was by far the hottest on record, scientists have announced, with the climate crisis likely to have supercharged the heat.

The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) data dates back to 1855. It said the average temperature for December, January and February was 1.4C above the previous winter record, which was set in 2015-16. New regional climate records are usually passed by only a fraction of a degree. Europe’s winter was 3.4C hotter than the average from 1981-2010.

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Coronavirus live updates: number of confirmed cases in UK jumps to 85

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More cases in Scotland and Ireland, Italians in India test positive while Facebook says it will take down hoax claims

Two groups of Italian tourists were under quarantine in India today, with 16 testing positive for the coronavirus, prompting authorities to tighten controls.

Health minister Harsh Vardhan said that passengers on all international flights would now be screened, the AFP news agency reported.

This seems to be emerging a bit of a trend. Footage has appeared showing Iranian health workers dancing and singing in an effort to keep morale up as the country faces the worst coronavirus outbreak outside China.

Videos of medical staff and #coronavirus patients square dancing together in several "shelter hospitals" in #Wuhan have gone viral on Chinese social media.

"Square dancing helps to cheer them up and improve their immunity, which is beneficial for their recovery." pic.twitter.com/Kpqsyqclkj

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New Zealand records second coronavirus case in woman arriving from Italy

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The partner of the woman, who flew to Auckland via Singapore and is now in isolation, is also showing symptoms and is being tested

A second case of coronavirus has been confirmed in New Zealand, with the infected woman having recently arrived in the country from Italy.

The latest infection is a New Zealand citizen, a woman in her early 30s who recently returned from a trip to northern Italy and rapidly became ill.

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Mystery of lifespan gap between sexes may be solved, say researchers

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Study finds chromosomes offer clue to longer life of different sexes in different species

From humans to black-tailed prairie dogs, female mammals often outlive males – but for birds, the reverse is true.

Now researchers say they have cracked the mystery, revealing that having two copies of the same sex chromosome is associated with having a longer lifespan, suggesting the second copy offers a protective effect.

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Four lessons the Spanish flu can teach us about coronavirus

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Up to 100 million people died in 1918-19 in the world’s deadliest pandemic. What can we learn?

Spanish flu is estimated to have killed between 50 million and 100 million people when it swept the globe in 1918-19 – more than double the number killed in the first world war. Two-thirds of its victims died in a three-month period and most were aged 18-49. So what lessons has the world’s deadliest pandemic taught us?

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Explained: UK’s coronavirus action plan

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What the government’s measures to fight the spread of Covid-19 mean in practice

Publicity

Publicity will be increased about the need for good hygiene measures (handwashing and “catch it, bin it, kill it”) and for workers to stay at home for the full duration of their illness.

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Earth may have been a ‘water world’ 3bn years ago, scientists find

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Chemical signatures in ancient ocean crust point to a planet without continents

Scientists have found evidence that Earth was covered by a global ocean that turned the planet into a “water world” more than 3bn years ago.

Telltale chemical signatures were spotted in an ancient chunk of ocean crust which point to a planet once devoid of continents, the largest landmasses on Earth.

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World’s beaches disappearing due to climate crisis – study

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UK on course to lose a quarter of its sandy coast because of human-driven erosion

Almost half of the world’s sandy beaches will have retreated significantly by the end of the century as a result of climate-driven coastal flooding and human interference, according to new research.

The sand erosion will endanger wildlife and could inflict a heavy toll on coastal settlements that will no longer have buffer zones to protect them from rising sea levels and storm surges. In addition, measures by governments to mitigate against the damage are predicted to become increasingly expensive and in some cases unsustainable.

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Coronavirus: two patients die in France as four new cases detected in England – live updates

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South Korea reports almost 500 new cases and a second person dies in the US as UK ministers hold emergency meeting

Big businesses and wealthy people are chartering private jets for “evacuation flights” out of countries hit by the coronavirus outbreak, reports the Guardian’s wealth correspondent Rupert Neate.

Adam Twidell, the chief executive of the private jet booking service PrivateFly, said the company had been inundated with requests from multinational firms arranging the mass evacuation of staff from China and south-east Asia.

Related: Wealthy turning to private jets to escape coronavirus outbreak

British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq has had confirmation from the family of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman detained in Iran, that she has not been tested for coronavirus. Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband told broadcasters this morning that his wife suspected she might have the virus and was displaying all the symptoms.

Just spoken to Nazanin’s family about what was said in the chamber in my Urgent Question - she told them this morning categorically that she has NOT been tested for coronavirus and remains petrified about her health #FreeNazanin

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What happens if coronavirus spreads in Australia?

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Covid-19 is spreading around the globe but Australia has not yet had a case of community transmission. That is likely to change

With novel coronavirus (Covid-19) spreading with astonishing speed, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that many health systems are not prepared to control infections if the disease hits. To mitigate the risk of outbreaks, WHO warned that countries need to have proactive surveillance, rapid diagnosis and immediate quarantine, plus an education campaign so the public knows proper hygiene and what to do if they become sick.

Australia reported its first Covid-19-related death on Sunday – 78-year-old James Kwan from Perth, a passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. To date 29 cases have been reported in Australia and of those, 15 have recovered. There is no community transmission, meaning no one has yet caught the disease without travelling to an infection zone or without direct contact with one of the few infected people. But some health experts and researchers have said community spread is inevitable in Australia, and questions are being asked about how many people might need treatment in hospital and how many might become critically ill – and whether resources will cope.

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Coronavirus outbreak: the key scientific questions answered

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What are the statistics on surviving Covid-19? When might a vaccine be ready? Find out here

Coronavirus Covid-19 has now spread to six continents – only Antarctica is currently free of infections – and has triggered more than 85,000 cases of respiratory illness, of which nearly 3,000 have been fatal. The spread of the disease, which first emerged in Hubei province in central China at the beginning of 2020, has also triggered widespread financial alarm over the past week, with stock markets suffering their worst week since the global financial crisis of 2008.

Covid-19 is now an epidemic in many parts of the globe and is destined to have a major impact on the health of the planet. Here we answer some key questions about the disease and its likely effects.

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Coronavirus: South Korea reports ‘critical moment’ after 813 new cases – latest updates

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US strengthens travel advice, raising Iran and Italy to a level three, advising people to ‘avoid nonessential travel’. Follow live news

US confirms first death from the coronavirus in King County in Washington state.

BREAKING: First death from Coronavirus in Washington State - awaiting details on patient said to be from King County - @GovInslee statement @KIRORadio #973FM #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/TjlmhRIeBB

Reuters reports that the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Italy has climbed above 1,000, according to an official who said the number of deaths had surged to 29.

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Yes, it is worse than the flu: busting the coronavirus myths

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The truth about the protective value of face masks and how easy it is to catch Covid-19

Many individuals who get coronavirus will experience nothing worse than seasonal flu symptoms, but the overall profile of the disease, including its mortality rate, looks more serious. At the start of an outbreak the apparent mortality rate can be an overestimate if a lot of mild cases are being missed. But this week, a WHO expert suggested that this has not been the case with Covid-19. Bruce Aylward, who led an international mission to China to learn about the virus and the country’s response, said the evidence did not suggest that we were only seeing the tip of the iceberg. If borne out by further testing, this could mean that current estimates of a roughly 1% fatality rate are accurate. This would make Covid-19 about 10 times more deadly than seasonal flu, which is estimated to kill between 290,000 and 650,000 people a year globally.

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World Bank’s $500m pandemic scheme accused of ‘waiting for people to die’

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Bonds designed to provide fast funding for poor countries branded ‘obscene’ because of complex payout criteria

A flagship $500m World Bank scheme to help the poorest countries deal with a health emergency is “too little too late” for the coronavirus outbreak, say health experts.

The first pandemic emergency financing (PEF) bonds were launched in 2017 by Jim Yong Kim, the bank’s president at the time, after the Ebola outbreak in west Africa. Designed to potentially “save millions of lives and entire economies” by speedily funnelling money to nations facing pandemics.

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Coronavirus news: death toll rises in Italy and Iran as outbreak could cause 2008-level economic damage – live updates

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Britain’s chief medical officer says mass gatherings could be cancelled. Meanwhile, experts say virus could trigger 2008-level economic damage

In the US, health and human services secretary, Alex Azar, on Thursday said that at least 40 public health labs can currently test specimens for coronavirus and that could more than double as soon as Friday.

Azar, speaking before the House Ways and Means Committee, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had tested 3,625 specimens for the fast-moving virus as of this morning.

He said at least 40 labs currently have test kits that were previously manufactured by the CDC that were modified to test for coronavirus.

He added that a newly manufactured CDC test can be sent to 93 public health labs as soon as Monday, and a privately manufactured test based on the new CDC test could be sent to those same labs as early as tomorrow, pending FDA clearance.

Related: Five questions Donald Trump must answer on coronavirus

Downing Street defended the response to the situation at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said:

The Foreign Office has been in contact with more than 100 British nationals who are staying in the hotel.

They are providing them with support, they are also in regular contact with local authorities and tour companies to share information.

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Coronavirus in a war zone: Afghanistan braces for outbreak after first case

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Lone Kabul laboratory preparing to treat patients in the midst of political turmoil and tentative peace talks, as border with Iran closed

Preparations for an outbreak of coronavirus were underway in Afghanistan as the country confirmed its first case in the western province of Herat, which borders Iran.

Seven more suspected cases have been identified in Herat, and three cases in the nearby provinces of Farah and Ghor.

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Coronavirus live updates: Trump puts Mike Pence in charge of US response, says risk to Americans ‘very low’

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Saudi Arabia bans religious tourists from entering country as WHO says virus now spreading faster outside China than in it. Follow latest news

Fiji has extended its travel ban due to coronavirus fears. Travellers who have been in Italy, Iran and the South Korean cities of Daegu and Cheongdo will not be permitted to enter Fiji. Visitors who had been in mainland China in the last 14 days have also been forbidden entry into the Pacific nation.

There are no suspected or confirmed cases of coronavirus in Fiji, but Pacific nations are fearful of how their health systems will cope were the virus to reach their shores.

Ian Thorpe, the Australian Olympic swimming legend, says athletes must consider their own health before attending the Tokyo Games this year.

Thorpe, whose five Olympic golds make him the most successful Australian Olympian all time, spoke out as concerns mounted about whether the Games in July and August will go ahead because of the coronavirus outbreak.

I think the decision should come down to each individual athlete. But whether or not they want to compete, that they should take their health into consideration first.

Related: Athletes must consider their own health before travelling to Olympics, says Ian Thorpe

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‘Electronic nose’ could smell breath to warn about higher risk of oesophageal cancer

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Current diagnostic method for Barrett’s oesophagus relies on invasive and costly endoscopy

An electronic device that “sniffs” breath may offer a new way to identify people with a condition that can lead to cancer of the oesophagus, researchers have revealed.

Recent figures suggest there are about 9,000 new cases of oesophageal cancer, or cancer of the food pipe, every year in the UK.

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Coronavirus: fourth Diamond Princess passenger dies as Japan closes some schools – live news

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Concerns mount that the spread of Covid-19 cannot be stopped as stock markets fall amid investor fears. Follow latest news

Italy may need to call on the European Union to offer leeway on its budget targets as it struggles with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, a senior official said.

Deputy economy minister, Laura Castelli, made the comments a day after prime minister Giuseppe Conte warned that the fallout from the outbreak, which has concentrated in the economic powerhouses of northern Italy, would be “very strong”.

If you want to share any thoughts or news tips with me about the coronavirus then please email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com or tweet me @sloumarsh. My direct messages are open. Thanks

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