Category Archives: Science

Rapid Covid tests used in mass UK programme get scathing US report

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Innova tests’ performance not proven and they should be returned to manufacturer or thrown in bin, says FDA

The US Food and Drug Agency (FDA) has raised significant concerns about the rapid Covid test on which the UK government has based its multibillion-pound mass testing programme.

In a scathing review, the US health agency suggested the performance of the test had not been established, presenting a risk to health, and that the tests should be thrown in the bin or returned to the California-based manufacturer Innova.

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Delta variant causes more than 90% of new Covid cases in UK

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Variant first discovered in India is thought to spread more easily and be more resistant to vaccines

More than 90% of Covid cases in the UK are now down to the coronavirus Delta variant first discovered in India, data has revealed, as the total number of confirmed cases passed 42,000.

Also known as B.1.617.2, the Delta variant has been linked to a rise in Covid cases in the UK in the past weeks. It is believed to spread more easily than the Alpha variant, B.1.1.7, that was first detected in Kent, and is somewhat more resistant to Covid vaccines, particularly after just one dose. It may be also associated with a greater risk of hospitalisation.

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Australian researchers discover why only two of echidna’s four penis heads become erect at one time

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The major blood vessel of the penis splits into two main branches which each supply two of the four penile heads

The penis of an echidna has four heads but only two become erect at any one time. Now, Australian researchers have uncovered why.

Scientists discovered the marsupial has unusual reproductive anatomy that causes male echidnas to ejaculate from only two of their four penile heads at one time.

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Solar eclipse 2021: spectacle to be visible across UK and Ireland

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Skygazers – with appropriate eye protection – will be able to see much of sun being obscured from 10.08am

Views of a partial solar eclipse will be “somewhat fleeting” across certain parts of the UK due to cloudy skies, forecasters have said.

But those in central and south-east England will have clear spells to witness the spectacle, according to the Met Office. On Thursday morning, skygazers will be able to see nearly a third of the sun being blocked out by the moon in what is known as an annular eclipse.

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Coronavirus live: Portugal delays Lisbon lockdown easing; highest daily cases in Russia since March

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Capital and three other municipalities will remain under restrictions until at least 27 June due to rise in infections; Russia reports 10,407 new cases

Some of the UK’s biggest care home operators have told the Guardian they repeatedly warned Matt Hancock’s department about the risk of not testing people discharged from hospitals into care homes in March 2020.

Their claims are likely to increase pressure on the health secretary when he appears before MPs on Thursday to defend his handling of the Covid pandemic to a parliamentary inquiry.

Related: Matt Hancock ‘was warned of Covid care home risk in March 2020’

The US is in talks with drugmaker Moderna Inc to buy more Covid-19 vaccine doses for global supply, CNBC reported on Wednesday citing a source.

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Quantum leap for medical research as microscope zooms in on tiny structures

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Australian scientists develop a microscope that works with 35% more clarity, raising hope for improvements in medical imaging

Australian researchers have developed a microscope that can image tiny biological structures that were previously not visible in what has been described as a significant step for quantum technology.

It is believed to be the first time that quantum technology has improved on existing light microscopes, which in future may lead to improvements in medical imaging and navigation systems.

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Covid distancing may have weakened children’s immune system, experts say

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End of social distancing and mask-wearing could leave children vulnerable to common bugs

Scientists are concerned that measures to combat Covid-19 have weakened the immune systems of young children who have not been able to build up resistance to common bugs, leaving them vulnerable when mask-wearing and social distancing eventually end.

Contact with viral pathogens happens on a fairly regular basis and although it does not always lead to sickness, the exposure helps shore the immune system against the threat should the bugs be encountered again.

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Leading biologist dampens his ‘smoking gun’ Covid lab leak theory

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Nobel laureate David Baltimore says he overstated case, and the origins of the virus are still unknown

A Nobel prize-winning US biologist, who has been widely quoted describing a “smoking gun” to support the thesis that Covid-19 was genetically modified and escaped from a Wuhan lab, has said he overstated the case.

David Baltimore, a distinguished biology professor, had become one of the most prominent figures cited by proponents of the so-called lab leak theory.

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Nasa spacecraft captures first closeups of Jupiter’s largest moon in decades

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Juno passed within 645 miles of Ganymede, the closest any spacecraft has come to the moon since 2000

Nasa’s Juno spacecraft has provided the first closeups of Jupiter’s largest moon in two decades.

Juno zoomed past icy Ganymede on Monday, passing within 645 miles (1,038km). The last time a spacecraft came that close was in 2000 when Nasa’s Galileo spacecraft swept past our solar system’s biggest moon.

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What could a delay to the 21 June lockdown easing mean for England?

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Analysis: with ministers said to be considering England’s 21 June easing, how delay could affect vaccinations and virus spread

Ministers are said to be considering delaying the easing of lockdown in England on 21 June for somewhere between two weeks and a month. We look at what a delay could mean, and how long it may need to last.

Why delay?

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‘Birds are here for everyone’: how Black birdwatchers are finding a community

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In a 2011 study by the Fish and Wildlife Service, 93% of birders surveyed were white while just 4% were Black

“This is my form of therapy,” says Mariana Winnik, a third-grade teacher and avid birdwatcher from Brooklyn. Wearing a T-shirt with illustrations of birds and wielding a pair of binoculars and a trusty bird identification app, Winnik makes her way through north Central Park, on a mid-morning Saturday walk led by Christian Cooper.

Cooper says he doesn’t usually lead bird walks because of the responsibility that comes with it. “I feel awful if we go out and we don’t see a lot of good birds,” he says.

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24,000-year-old organisms found frozen in Siberia can still reproduce

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Russian scientists find bdelloid rotifers deep in remote permafrost

A microscopic worm-like creature, labelled an “evolutionary scandal” by biologists for having thrived for millions of years without having sex, has now been shown to persist for at least 24,000 years in Siberian permafrost and then reproduce, researchers have found.

Multicellular invertebrates that are solely female, bdelloid rotifers are already renowned for their resistance to radiation and ability to withstand rather inhospitable environments: drying, starvation and low oxygen. They’ve also existed for at least 35m years – and can be found today in freshwater lakes, ponds, streams and moist terrestrial habitats such as moss, lichen, tree bark and soil.

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FDA approves first new Alzheimer’s drug in almost 20 years

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Usefulness of aducanumab is disputed but US approval will trigger push to make it available globally

A controversial new drug for Alzheimer’s disease, the first in nearly 20 years, was approved in the US on Monday, which will trigger pressure to make it available worldwide in spite of mixed evidence over its efficacy.

While doctors, patients and the organisations that support them are desperate for treatments that can slow mental deterioration, the usefulness of the new drug, aducanumab, is disputed by scientists. Two trials were stopped in March 2019 because the drugs appeared not to work. The manufacturer, Biogen, said the drugs were unlikely to improve people’s memory and thinking.

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A victim of its own success: how Taiwan failed to plan for a major Covid outbreak

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Once a poster child for blocking coronavirus, Taiwan failed to fully prepare a pandemic response or vaccination rollout

While most of the world suffered through hundreds of millions of cases and millions of deaths from Covid-19, the 23.5 million people in Taiwan largely lived a normal life, thanks to a well-documented strong and early response that saw it go 250 days without a single local case. It lobbied for inclusion in the World Health Organization’s decision-making body off the back of its undeniable success and expertise under the slogan “Taiwan can help”.

But now the tables have turned and the island itself is in need of assistance, after an outbreak that started among airline staff in April spread across the island. The government appears to have been caught short by something it thought would never happen: the poster child for outbreak prevention had apparently failed to fully prepare an outbreak response.

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Could a third wave of Covid be more serious than UK’s first two?

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Analysis: Concern over Delta variant means decision on ending restrictions on 21 June hangs in balance

Summer has nearly arrived and the UK is beginning to unlock from coronavirus restrictions, with a full lifting still on the cards in England on 21 June.

Yet the spectre of the Delta variant is casting an ominous shadow, with concerns it could fuel a third wave. So just how serious could the next peak be – and could it be more serious than Britain’s first two waves?

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My best friend at school moved in with us – and taught me to trust again

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How a close and enduring relationship forged in the school playground turned my life around

My school bully came in an unlikely package. She was a bushy-haired, bespectacled, briefcase-carrying pocket rocket who made my life miserable for a significant portion of Year 8 when I was 12 years old. I met her on the first day at our large and rowdy comprehensive school. With all my existing friends assigned to different forms, I was on high alert for someone to attach myself to as soon as possible. With her outwardly gawky appearance, she seemed like the ideal candidate and I approached her with the rather arrogant assumption that she would jump at the chance of my friendship.

It didn’t take me long to realise I’d severely misjudged the situation. Her meek physical persona belied a serious rebellious streak and I struggled to keep up from the start. When she dared me to join her in “the jungle” – a wooded area of the school grounds off limits to students, I shakily agreed. We eluded capture from the lunchtime supervisors who patrolled its perimeters, but my time in the jungle brought me little exhilaration or pleasure. More tests and challenges soon followed, all proposed with a glint in her eye that I came to dread.

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Covid Delta variant ‘about 40% more transmissible’, says Matt Hancock

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Under-30s to be offered jabs from next week but variant makes decision on easing rules in England ‘more difficult’

The new Delta variant of coronavirus appears to be about 40% more transmissible than the variant it has largely replaced, Matt Hancock has said, making government decisions about whether to ease restrictions in England on 21 June “more difficult”.

Saying that under-30s in England will be called to begin vaccinations from next week, the health secretary confirmed it was still possible the reopening programme could be delayed or some rules kept in place.

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Data on Delta variant splits scientists on lifting final Covid restrictions

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Sage group advises against easing social distancing on 21 June, but others say it is too early to assess risks

Health experts remain divided over the dangers posed by the new Delta variant of Covid-19 and the risks it poses to the nation as ministers consider whether or not to lift lockdown later this month.

Some argue that the new variant, first identified in India, is a significantly increased threat to the UK and have urged that delays be imposed on the total removal of social restrictions, due on 21 June.

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HIV after Covid: Anthony Fauci and an army of researchers seek to regain momentum

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In the summer of 1981, public health professionals faced a terrifying crisis. Their work helped shape victories against the current pandemic – but some fear hard-won ground is lost

As Anthony Fauci marks 40 years since HIV emerged, he regrets how the extraordinary disruptions that Covid-19 have wreaked upon society have hampered efforts to tackle the major pandemic that preceded it.

Related: 'Brand-new disease, no treatment, no cure': how Anthony Fauci's fight against Aids prepared him to tackle Covid-19

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