Kabir Firaque

Fans of horror films showed less psychological distress during Covid-19, finds study, suggesting that the information we obtain from an imagined situation may serve us in analogous situations in the real world

Researchers have found that a lower breathing frequency — and holding one’s breath — increases the risk of virus-laden droplets reaching the deep lung.

The concentration of aerosols in public spaces can give a measure of infection risk.

The study compared various populations to themselves over time, and tested whether daily variations in UV radiation lead to changes in Covid-19 cases up to three weeks in the future.

Filtration efficiency of a mask decreases with multiple use. How does a mask influence the airflow around the face? Study looks at flow speeds, tracks deposition of particles on folds, the nose, and the lungs.

Next to humans, ferrets, and then cats, are the most vulnerable to coronavirus infection, new research finds. How does it reach this conclusion, and what about big cats?

Like the presumed Planet Nine in our Solar System, newly described exoplanet orbits its star from a great distance, at an extreme tilt, and influences the behaviour of various objects in its system. What have scientists learnt about its formation and behaviour, and how does it mirror Planet Nine?

If someone wore a face shield but no mask, and if someone infected with Covid-19 sneezed in the vicinity, would the face shield offer enough protection on its own?

Keeping all four windows open is best, but when that is not possible, two opened windows offer a degree of protection. New research looks at air flow patterns in various open-and-closed-window configurations.

For years, scientists have been looking with concern at the river’s potential for catastrophic flooding in the future, especially as the climate warms. It turns out that this potential has been underestimated so far — even without accounting for a warming climate.

Staymates, whose work involves flow visualisation techniques that capture the movement of air on camera, turned this expertise toward masks.

Dr Dhamija and Dr Schmidlin noted that common allergens that can affect contact dermatitis are found in masks, elastic bands, and other components of face masks.

A female teenager from 9,000 years ago has been identified as the oldest hunter burial found in the Americas. Overturning the notion that hunting was exclusively a male domain while women only gathered, an analysis of burial records indicates 30-50% hunters from a similar period were female.

Sean Connery, the first Bond in the official franchise from Eon Productions, has died at age 90. A look at what led to his selection for the role, and how he helped craft a definitive identity for the iconic character

After trends observed in studies in the US and UK, new research has found that body temperatures are declining also among a rural indigenous group in Bolivia. A look at the possible causes behind these declines across so many populations

Water found on Moon’s sunlit surface for first time; another study finds shadowy regions potentially containing ice are more widespread than thought. What can these findings mean for Moon explorers?

The researchers investigated the effect of separate and combined interventions on transmission, by estimating the R number when these interventions are introduced and lifted.

In both studies, scientists observed how the virus damages the alveoli in the lungs. Alveoli are balloon-like air sacs that take up the oxygen we breathe and release the carbon dioxide we exhale.

Can wearing glasses protect you from the novel coronavirus? Here are the findings of a new study published in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Consonants release very large droplets — and B and P stand out as the biggest aerosol spreaders. At the same time, larger droplets fall to the ground earlier, and so have a shorter lifespan than smaller droplets. Is that a contradiction?

James Bond married only once. Diana Rigg, 82, the actor who played his wife, Tracy, died on Thursday. A look at the legacy of the two women, individually and together

Are you a Concerned Protector of your cat, or a Freedom Defender, Tolerant Guardian, Conscientious Caretaker or Laissez-faire Landlord? It depends on how you view your cat's hunting behaviour, new research explains.

LIGO and Virgo detect signals from gravitational waves released in the merger. One of the two parent black holes was of an unusual “intermediate mass”, which challenges traditional scientific knowledge. What is generally understood, and what explains this unusual size?

The robot, called Spot, has been developed by Boston Dynamics, of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Controlled by a handheld device, it can walk on four legs, similarly to a dog.