Health
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Jobocalypse now: the race to lift lockdown
Is it time to end the lockdown? As the government rushes to re-open businesses in time for summer, scientists warn that lifting lockdown too quickly could lead to a second wave of the virus.
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Populist leaders come top in virus deaths
Is populism the real virus? As many governments begin to ease lockdown, the statistics point to common failures and a dangerous outlook in countries with right-wing, populist leadership.
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‘To care for ourselves, we must care for nature’
Could animal poaching lead to a new killer virus? On World Environment Day 2020, we investigate the powerful links between human health and our attitude to nature and wildlife.
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‘Kids are safe’ – but schools row deepens
Is it safe to go back to school? Teaching unions argue that the government is putting parents, teachers, and pupils at risk. But some research suggests that schools should reopen.
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£8 million: the price of a human life today
Can we measure the value of a life in money? It sounds unthinkable and heartless. But our world is shaped by mathematical models that calculate how much it is worth keeping each of us alive.
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Science in the dock for ‘biggest failure’
Is wisdom truer than science? As a former health secretary accuses the UK of the “biggest failure of scientific advice for a generation”, some are questioning scientific truth itself.
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Alarm as UK death toll hits highest in Europe
Should we trust the government less? A lockdown scientist has quit after breaking the rules with his married lover. The chief scientific officer admits mistakes. The health secretary snaps.
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Just one more lap, then I’ll call the doctor
Is the cult of exercise bad for us? Everyone knows that fitness is important – but some people are so obsessed with it that it can dominate their lives and damage their relationships.
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After Covid (AC): ‘normal’ like never before
Is it worth trying to imagine life a year from now? One writer, this weekend, did just that. Some believe he created a disturbingly accurate portrait. Others think it is impossible to predict.
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How an ancient mariner became a modern hero
Do we all need a challenge? Yesterday, 72-year-old Graham Walters came within six miles of rowing across the Atlantic Ocean single-handed, showing that age is no barrier to ambition.
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We were never meant to be on our own
Is loneliness the real pandemic? As the virus forces us to keep our distance from others, those who live by themselves are exposed to a host of ailments. A new dog might not be enough.
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Wanted: a scapegoat for the coronavirus chaos
Should Matt Hancock be fired? With the opening of Britain’s first ‘virtual’ Parliament, attention is fixed on the government’s mishandling of the pandemic – and who is most to blame for it.
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The niggling question that just won’t go away
Could Covid-19 have been man-made and escaped from a lab in Wuhan? The overwhelming majority of serious scientists are pouring scorn on the notion. But the argument is still very much alive.
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Brexit pushed UK to ‘sleepwalk to disaster’
Did Brexit undermine Britain’s virus response? A report in the Sunday Times claims to show an exhausted government with its eye off the ball in the key weeks when decisive action was needed.
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We’re just the same as you – only more famous
In a real crisis, do celebrities help? Some have been praised for leading by example during the pandemic, but many have shown an extraordinary inability to relate to ordinary people.