A large-scale trial of a new treatment it is hoped will help stop Covid-19 patients from developing severe illness has begun in the UK.The first patient received the treatment at Hull Royal Infirmary on Tuesday afternoon. It involves inhaling a protein called interferon beta which the body produces when it gets a viral infection. The hope is it will stimulate the immune system, priming cells to be ready to fight off viruses.Early findings suggested the treatment cut the odds of a Covid-19 patient in hospital developing severe disease - such as requiring ventilation - by almost 80%.It was...…A large-scale trial of a new treatment it is hoped will help stop Covid-19 patients from developing severe illness has begun in the UK.The first patient received the treatment at Hull Royal Infirmary on Tuesday afternoon. It involves inhaling a protein called interferon beta which the body produces when it gets a viral infection. The hope is it will stimulate the immune system, priming cells to be ready to fight off viruses.Early findings suggested the treatment cut the odds of a Covid-19 patient in hospital developing severe disease - such as requiring ventilation - by almost 80%.It was...WW…

"Our planet is broken," the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, will warn on Wednesday.Humanity is waging what he will describe as a "suicidal" war on the natural world."Nature always strikes back, and is doing so with gathering force and fury," he will tell a BBC special event on the environment.Mr Guterres wants to put tackling climate change at the heart of the UN's global mission.In a speech entitled State of the Planet, he will announce that its "central objective" next year will be to build a global coalition around the need to reduce emissions to net zero.Net...…"Our planet is broken," the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, will warn on Wednesday.Humanity is waging what he will describe as a "suicidal" war on the natural world."Nature always strikes back, and is doing so with gathering force and fury," he will tell a BBC special event on the environment.Mr Guterres wants to put tackling climate change at the heart of the UN's global mission.In a speech entitled State of the Planet, he will announce that its "central objective" next year will be to build a global coalition around the need to reduce emissions to net zero.Net...WW…

A consortium led by Rolls Royce has announced plans to build up to 16 mini-nuclear plants in the UK.It says the project will create 6,000 new jobs in the Midlands and the North of England over the next five years.The prime minister is understood to be poised to announce at least £200m for the project as part of a long-delayed green plan for economic recovery.Rolls argues that as well as producing low-carbon electricity, the concept could become a new export industry.The company's UK "small modular reactor" (SMR) group includes the National Nuclear Laboratory and the building company Laing...…A consortium led by Rolls Royce has announced plans to build up to 16 mini-nuclear plants in the UK.It says the project will create 6,000 new jobs in the Midlands and the North of England over the next five years.The prime minister is understood to be poised to announce at least £200m for the project as part of a long-delayed green plan for economic recovery.Rolls argues that as well as producing low-carbon electricity, the concept could become a new export industry.The company's UK "small modular reactor" (SMR) group includes the National Nuclear Laboratory and the building company Laing...WW…

Sir David Attenborough returns to our screens this weekend with a landmark new production.The tone of the programme is very different from his usual work.For once Britain's favourite naturalist is not here to celebrate the incredible diversity of life on Earth but to issue us all with a stark warning. The one-hour film, Extinction: The Facts, will be broadcast on BBC One in the UK on Sunday 13 September at 20:00 BST. "We are facing a crisis", he warns at the start, "and one that has consequences for us all."What follows is a shocking reckoning of the damage our species has wrought on the...…Sir David Attenborough returns to our screens this weekend with a landmark new production.The tone of the programme is very different from his usual work.For once Britain's favourite naturalist is not here to celebrate the incredible diversity of life on Earth but to issue us all with a stark warning. The one-hour film, Extinction: The Facts, will be broadcast on BBC One in the UK on Sunday 13 September at 20:00 BST. "We are facing a crisis", he warns at the start, "and one that has consequences for us all."What follows is a shocking reckoning of the damage our species has wrought on the...WW…