Coronavirus US: Pandemic caused 15k extra Alzheimer’s deaths

Approximately 100,000 people died from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia between February 2020 and May 2020, about 15,000 more than would have normally occurred.
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Celebrity photographer Rankin turns his lens on to the NHS heroes who helped fight coronavirus

British celebrity photographer Rankin, 54, has released a of portraits of NHS workers who have helped in the coronavirus crisis, including Newham GP Dr Farzana Hussain, 47 (pictured).
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Tree of the week: ‘Our olive tree is very expressive. It tells you when it’s thirsty’

In a weekly series, readers tell us about their favourite trees. This week: an olive in a small Californian orchard

Every morning John Copeland gets up early to watch the sunrise with his wife, Shannon, and their dogs. The former television producer always stands next to the same olive tree in one of the three orchards he owns in Santa Ynez, California. For there, he says, they get a magnificent view of all the trees “illuminated by the glow of the rising sun”.

This particular olive tree, which sits in the middle of their oldest orchard, is just over 20 years old. The couple make artisan extra virgin olive oil and now have about 800 Italian, Spanish and mission olive trees. “When we planted this, it was a one-gallon tree,” says John, explaining that it’s a reference to the size of its pot. At the time, it was just one metre tall. “Now it’s an actual tree. I think, ‘Gosh, we’ve nurtured this thing and we now have this thriving orchard.’” Continue reading…
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Desperate to hit the gym when they reopen? Do these five exercises first, writes MARIAM AL-ROUBI

MARIAM AL-ROUBI: The lockdown has given Britain something it did not need – an even more sedentary lifestyle.
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Safety on the beach and why gyms can’t reopen: DR ELLIE CANNON answers your questions on coronavirus

DR ELLIE CANNON: The Mail on Sunday’s GP discusses the impact of thousands heading to the seaside, the changing distancing regulations and more in this week’s column.
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‘Parents can look at their foetus in real time’: are artificial wombs the future?

Scientists are currently pushing on an ethical boundary. Will out of body gestation ever replace the experience of human birth?

The lamb is sleeping. It lies on its side, eyes shut, ears folded back and twitching. It swallows, wriggles and shuffles its gangly legs. Its crooked half-smile makes it look content, as if dreaming about gambolling in a grassy field. But this lamb is too tiny to venture out. Its eyes cannot open. It is hairless; its skin gathers in pink rolls at its neck. It hasn’t been born yet, but here it is, at 111 days’ gestation, totally separate from its mother, alive and kicking in a research lab in Philadelphia. It is submerged in fluid, floating inside a transparent plastic bag, its umbilical cord connected to a nexus of bright blood-filled tubes. This is a foetus growing inside an artificial womb. In another four weeks, the bag will be unzipped and the lamb will be born.

When I first see images of the Philadelphia lambs on my laptop, I think of the foetus fields in The Matrix, where motherless babies are farmed in pods on an industrial scale. But this is not a substitute for full gestation. The lambs didn’t grow in the bags from conception; they were taken from their mothers’ wombs by caesarean section, then submerged in the Biobag, at a gestational age equivalent to 23-24 weeks in humans. This isn’t a replacement for pregnancy yet, but it is certainly the beginning. Continue reading…
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DR MAX THE MIND DOCTOR: The photo that proves the power of forgiveness

DR MAX THE MIND DOCTOR: Smiling broadly, with his arm round Charles, who is snuggled into his son’s shoulder, it radiates warmth, affection and fun.
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£30k-a-year prostate cancer drug too expensive for NHS

The drug abiraterone cuts the risk of men dying within three years by a third, but tablets are only on the NHS for patients who’ve had chemotherapy or stopped responding to standard drugs.
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My pandemic epiphany: I loved becoming a fitness junkie

Ammar Kalia reflects on his transformation after years spent seeing his body as a receptacle for beer and cigarettes

In this new series, Guardian writers reflect on what they’ve learned in lockdown. Share your experience in the comment section

Ever since my gym teacher stood, arms folded, laughing at my inability as a four-year-old to tuck myself into a ball and perform a somersault, exercise has been a foreign concept.

Team sports were an orgy of disappointment – of realizing I was the weak link leading us to yet another defeat – while individual endeavors were equally dispiriting. Running made me feel like my lungs were about to explode, I never learned to ride a bike, and swimming made me realize you could sweat underwater and almost drown in the shallow end of the pool. Continue reading…
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Coronavirus: Pregnant women have higher hospitalization risk

A new CDC report has found that more than 31% of pregnant women were hospitalized compared to 6% of non-pregnant women, putting mothers-to-be at a five times greater risk.
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