Covid-19 news: UK data reveals 56 per cent rise in recorded cases

By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu, Layal Liverpool, Carissa Wong, Alex Wilkins and Alexandra Thompson Commuters exit a London Overground train, Liverpool Street, London AFP via Getty Images Latest coronavirus news as of 1pm 14 March Nearly 400,000 people in the UK … Read more

Covid-19 news: WHO reports 25 per cent rise in depression and anxiety

By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu, Layal Liverpool, Carissa Wong, Alex Wilkins and Alexandra Thompson A woman waters plants in her house Samuel de Roman/Getty Images Latest coronavirus news as of 12pm on 3 March Pandemic linked to increase in depression and … Read more

Crop yields could be boosted up to 37 per cent by covering plants in red plastic

A simple, cheap technology could help to boost food production and possibly allow crops to be grown in different places in order to cut down on food miles Environment 18 February 2022 By Alice Klein Trial of the LLEAF material in a greenhouse at Western Sydney University Alexander Soeriyadi/LLEAF Pty Ltd The yields of some … Read more

Medieval literature: We have lost 90 per cent of the original copies of classics

A statistical tool borrowed from ecology suggests that there were originally 40,600 copies of stories about King Arthur and other western European heroes – but only 3648 survive Life 17 February 2022 By Chris Stokel-Walker A scene from the Romance of Lancelot of the Lake The Print Collector/Alamy Nine in 10 medieval manuscripts telling tales … Read more

Biggest science news of 2021: DeepMind solves 98.5 per cent of human protein structures using its AlphaFold model

In July, DeepMind announced that its AlphaFold model had worked out how most of the proteins in our bodies fold. Pushmeet Kohli tells New Scientist that there is more to come Technology 15 December 2021 By Matthew Sparkes A 3D model of a fruit fly protein from DeepMind DeepMind IT TOOK decades for scientists to … Read more

Anti-ageing: Mice treated with a chemical from grape seed extract live 9 per cent longer and are more physically fit

A chemical derived from grape seeds selectively destroys worn-out cells in mice, allowing them to live 9 per cent longer than their untreated counterparts Health 6 December 2021 By Carissa Wong Grapes cut open to reveal their seeds Shutterstock / kholywood A chemical isolated from grape seed extract prolongs the lifespans of old mice by … Read more