Pressure on undertakers leads to widespread delays after record number of coronavirus infections and deaths last month
A group of women sing hymns at the cemetery in Harare as undertakers, dressed in Covid-19 protective gear, gently lower a white casket into the grave.
“This world is not our home,” they sing, as relatives, standing a few metres away, mourn their loss.
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DNA suggests body buried in feminine attire with swords had Klinefelter syndrome, researchers say
Modern analysis of a 1,000-year-old grave in Finland challenges long-held beliefs about gender roles in ancient societies, and may suggest non-binary people were not only accepted but respected members of their communities, researchers have said.
According to a peer-reviewed study in the European Journal of Archaeology, DNA analysis of remains in a late iron age grave at Suontaka Vesitorninmäki in Hattula, southern Finland, may have belonged to a high-status non-binary person.
Continue reading...Amid increased fears that children are now both victims and vectors of the latest Covid-19 variant surge, National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins signaled on Sunday that increasing numbers of children are falling ill in the US.
His comments also came as one of America’s largest teachers unions appeared to shift its position on mandatory vaccinations for teachers.
Continue reading...Those who attack Neil Ferguson and Sage’s pandemic predictions only expose their ignorance about science
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It feels like open season on Professor Neil Ferguson right now. Sections of the media and several columnists delight in castigating the epidemiologist, or “Professor Lockdown”, for being “doomster in chief”, constantly predicting catastrophe and then back-pedalling when the worst numbers don’t materialise.
Opponents of Covid restrictions blame Ferguson and his team at Imperial College London for persuading Boris Johnson to shake off his libertarian instincts and take us into lockdown. One presenter on new channel GB News described Ferguson as a “numpty” on air, and the very mention of his name attracts groans in some circles.
Continue reading...Scientists are pinning hopes on elaborate detectors to track the elusive material that holds galaxies together
Deep underground, scientists are closing in on one of the most elusive targets of modern science: dark matter. In subterranean laboratories in the US and Italy, they have set up huge vats of liquid xenon and lined them with highly sensitive detectors in the hope of spotting subatomic collisions that will reveal the presence of this elusive material.
However, researchers acknowledge that the current generation of detectors are reaching the limit of their effectiveness and warn that if they fail to detect dark matter with these types of machines, they could be forced to completely reappraise their understanding of the cosmos.
Continue reading...Cop26 meeting is last chance, says Alok Sharma as he backs UK’s plan for new oil and gas fields
The world will soon face “catastrophe” from climate breakdown if urgent action is not taken, the British president of vital UN climate talks has warned.
Alok Sharma, the UK minister in charge of the Cop26 talks to be held in Glasgow this November, told the Observer that the consequences of failure would be “catastrophic”: “I don’t think there’s any other word for it. You’re seeing on a daily basis what is happening across the world. Last year was the hottest on record, the last decade the hottest decade on record.”
Continue reading...The UCL scientist and ‘militant corona centrist’ on the risk of new variants, psychosomatic long Covid and when he expects the crisis to end
Prof Francois Balloux is director of the University College London Genetics Institute. His work focuses on the reconstruction of disease outbreaks and epidemics. With his colleague Dr Lucy van Dorp, he led the first large-scale sequencing project of the Sars-CoV2 genome. During the pandemic, he has become a prominent scientist on Twitter, where he describes himself as a “militant corona centrist”.
Would you say a new variant of concern is still the major threat to our way out of this pandemic?
We haven’t had one in a while. The four variants of concern all emerged in the second half of 2020, and it’s important to keep in mind that viruses evolve all the time at a fairly regular pace.
Four people who were so ill that they barely remember their time in the ICU meet the doctors and nurses who held their hands
In a light-filled studio in east London, a petite woman in scrubs receives a bouquet of flowers from a tall man, dressed smartly, only faintly out of breath.
The room is thick with emotion. They are strangers, but stare at each other with wonder in their eyes. And then Dr Susan Jain, an intensive care consultant at Homerton university hospital, breaks the silence with a laugh.
Continue reading...For some of us, living with Covid the past 18 months gave us permission to slow down, and to re-evaluate how we want to live when this is finally over
When I walked out of my town’s massive conference center in early April, a second Pfizer shot fresh in my arm, a flood of emotions swelled in me. Creeping behind the feelings of joy and anticipation, I felt a strange bit of sadness that, all the way home, I could not shake. When I walked into my house and my three-year-old dashed into my arms, it hit me.
‘I think I’m going to miss being locked down,’ I realised, in disbelief.
Continue reading...Gibraltar officials say man who died was in his 60s and unvaccinated; one in 75 had Covid in England last week, down from 1 in 65
Europe’s drugs regulator has said it had so far not found a causal link between Covid-19 vaccines and menstrual disorders and advised three new conditions be added as possible side-effects after vaccination with Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus shot.
Reuters reports that cases of menstrual disorders reported after vaccination were studied by its safety committee, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said, adding that it had requested for more data from vaccine developers to assess the issue.
Sri Lankan authorities have tightened coronavirus restrictions as reports emerged of Covid patients dying while awaiting admission to overcrowded hospitals.
AFP reports that the government said state ceremonies and public gatherings were banned until 1 September because of the growing health crisis. Public servants had previously been asked to return to work from Monday but that order has now been revoked in a significant u-turn and bosses told to decide who should report for duty on-site.
Continue reading...From how coronavirus spreads to its health impact, our understanding of the disease has evolved in some areas
Since the Covid pandemic took off in early 2020, researchers have been studying myriad aspects of the virus, and made some surprising discoveries. Here are four areas where our understanding has changed:
Continue reading...A shutdown would have devastating global impacts and must not be allowed to happen, researchers say
Climate scientists have detected warning signs of the collapse of the Gulf Stream, one of the planet’s main potential tipping points.
The research found “an almost complete loss of stability over the last century” of the currents that researchers call the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The currents are already at their slowest point in at least 1,600 years, but the new analysis shows they may be nearing a shutdown.
Continue reading...Zakynthos island and Chania on Crete hit by measures aimed at cutting Covid spread; advisers to government in Tokyo say surge requires harsher measures
With 16 million Australians again plunged into lockdown as authorities struggle to contain Delta variant outbreaks, the national cabinet is set to examine how allowing vaccinated residents to be freed from restrictions could provide a “powerful incentive” to be immunised.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, will meet with state and territory leaders on Friday amid fresh tensions between New South Wales and the commonwealth over the state’s prolonged and expanding lockdown and as Victoria enters its sixth lockdown following fresh Covid cases.
I have been vocal publicly about our need and want for more vaccines.
We know the vaccines stop the spread. They protect life and keep people out of hospital. That’s why it is so critical and every jurisdiction around the world is finding Delta challenging.
Greece imposed a night-time curfew and banned music on two popular tourist islands on Thursday to contain the spread of Covid-19, its civil protection deputy minister said.
The Mediterranean country, which is trying to rebuild a tourist sector hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, is also battling a wave of wildfires during a protracted heatwave, Reuters reports.
We call on the residents and visitors in these areas to fully comply with the measures to limit the spread of the virus.
Continue reading...Researchers also find impact of bottled water on ecosystems is 1,400 times higher than that of tap water
The impact of bottled water on natural resources is 3,500 times higher than for tap water, scientists have found.
The research is the first of its kind and examined the impact of bottled water in Barcelona, where it is becoming increasingly popular despite improvements to the quality of tap water in recent years.
Continue reading...Mutant strain may emerge amid vaccine hesitancy, experts say, as even medics reject jabs in DR Congo
Dr Christian Mayala and Dr Rodin Nzembuni Nduku sit together on a bench outside the Covid ward at Kinshasa’s Mama Yemo hospital.
They are discussing the health of their father, Noel Kalouda, who contracted coronavirus weeks before, and is now lying in a hospital bed, breathing through an oxygen mask.
Continue reading...Analysis: official advisers have called for jabs to be given to children aged 16 and 17 in a rethink of policy
Just weeks ago, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that children over the age of 12 should only be vaccinated if they were extremely vulnerable or lived with someone at risk, citing concerns about an inflammatory heart condition linked to the Pfizer/BioNTech jab. Now the JCVI has tweaked that decision to allow children aged 16 and 17 to be routinely offered the vaccine.
Continue reading...Pan-European research shows psychiatric services across the continent reduced level of care
UK Government announces changes to travel rules
Millions of Britons have been given the green light to travel to Europe’s holiday hotspots, avoiding quarantine on return from France and Spain where concerns have been raised about Covid variants.
Related: Fully vaccinated Britons returning from France and Spain will not need to quarantine
Australian authorities warn Covid cases will rise despite lockdowns
Coronavirus cases in Australia, while still low, are rising in some areas despite weeks of lockdown, with authorities warning that infections will rise further because of the more contagious Delta variant.
Continue reading...Minister says JCVI experts to update advice ‘imminently’ on widening access to vaccine to more teenagers
Covid vaccines are expected to be offered to children in the UK aged 16 and 17, in line with many other countries, after a minister confirmed government experts will update their advice “imminently”.
Michelle Donelan, the universities minister, said the government was expecting an announcement from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on widening access to the coronavirus vaccine to more teenagers.
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