Scientists say UK Government did not take up offers of coronavirus testing help

Scientists who offered their help to the British Government’s coronavirus swab testing effort say they never heard back from officials. Universities, private laboratories and research institutes could have been processing thousands of coronavirus tests for weeks, they say, if they had been enlisted. A COVID-19 testing row erupted this week after Germany scaled up its testing … Read more

Experts to monitor the spread of fake and real coronavirus news

The spread of fake and real coronavirus information is being tracked by scientists to see which stories are getting the most attention on social media.  Researchers from the Open University will compare COVID-19 posts on Twitter, Facebook and Reddit against fact-checked articles from verified sources.  It comes as the UK government announced a spike in … Read more

Scam coronavirus texts aim to trick people into handing over their bank details

Phishing involves cyber-criminals attempting to steal personal information such as online passwords, bank details or money from an unsuspecting victim.  Very often, the criminal will use an email, phone call or even a fake website pretending to be from a reputable company.  The criminals can use personal details to complete profiles on a victim which … Read more

Major UN climate change summit set to take place in Glasgow postponed

Major UN climate change summit which was set to take place in Glasgow in November has been postponed until 2021 amid the coronavirus outbreak Cop26 climate change summit was due to take place in Glasgow in November  UN climate talks thought to be most important since the Paris Agreement in 2015 The summit has been … Read more

Major UN climate change summit set to take place in Glasgow postponed

Major UN climate change summit which was set to take place in Glasgow in November has been postponed until 2021 amid the coronavirus outbreak Cop26 climate change summit was due to take place in Glasgow in November  UN climate talks thought to be most important since the Paris Agreement in 2015 The summit has been … Read more

Should we wear them after all? Scientists urge UK to issue millions of face masks

Wearing surgical face masks in public may have helped slow the coronavirus crisis – despite Britons being repeatedly told they were pointless. Experts say a full-scale outbreak in the UK could have been prevented if millions of masks had been issued – which has been the case in South Korea and Japan. The British Government … Read more

Coronavirus: Donald Trump slams Boris Johnson’s initial response

Donald Trump tears into Boris Johnson’s failure to respond early to coronavirus crisis, warning it would have been ‘catastrophic’ to simply ‘ride it out’ Donald Trump has questioned the UK’s early approach to coronavirus outbreak US President said UK had originally tried to ‘ride out’ the spread of the virus But he said Britain then … Read more

Should we wear them after all? Scientists urge UK to issue millions of face masks

Wearing surgical face masks in public may have helped slow the coronavirus crisis – despite Britons being repeatedly told they were pointless. Experts say a full-scale outbreak in the UK could have been prevented if millions of masks had been issued – which has been the case in South Korea and Japan. The British Government … Read more

Snapchat’s new ‘lens’ aims to encourage social distancing using an augmented reality circle

What is the coronavirus?  A coronavirus is a type of virus which can cause illness in animals and people. Viruses break into cells inside their host and use them to reproduce itself and disrupt the body’s normal functions. Coronaviruses are named after the Latin word ‘corona’, which means crown, because they are encased by a … Read more

Testing shambles spirals as desperate Boris Johnson blames chemical shortage

Ministers were accused of ‘complacence’ and snubbing offers of help from labs today as Boris Johnson struggles to get a grip on the UK’s coronavirus testing shambles.  The government is desperately trying to ramp up the number of checks carried out, with experts warning that is the only way to end the lockdown threatening to … Read more