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John Lewis and Mother of Pearl mark Earth Day with joint fashion line

Sustainable fashion collaboration featuring only biodegradable fabrics will be sold online

John Lewis and the fashion brand Mother of Pearl have chosen Earth Day for the launch of their sustainable fashion collaboration, specifically for its geopolitical symbolism.

Earth Day, which celebrates its 50th anniversary on 22 April, seemed an appropriate day to launch a collection bringing rigorous standards of ethical design to mass market fashion. A launch date that pays homage to the planet rather than the artificial seasons of fashion, and dovetails with the concept of timeless, seasonless clothes designed for wardrobe longevity.

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Tiny devices promise new horizon for security screening and medical imaging

Miniature devices that could be developed into safe, high-resolution imaging technology, with uses such as helping doctors identify potentially deadly cancers and treat them early, have been created.




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Sewage poses potential COVID-19 transmission risk, experts warn

Environmental biologists have warned that the potential spread of COVID-19 via sewage 'must not be neglected' in the battle to protect human health.




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Dual personalities visualized for shape-shifting molecule

Researchers have made a breakthrough in understanding the structure of a key genetic molecule, called RNA, and revealing for the first time how these changes impact RNA's function. The research team developed a bioinformatics technique to resolve separate structures of RNA rather than viewing them as a 'blur' that averaged multiple structures. This underpinned their discovery that the structure of RNA can influence how cells function.




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Regularly attending religious services associated with lower risk of deaths of despair, study finds

People who attended religious services at least once a week were significantly less likely to die from 'deaths of despair,' including deaths related to suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol poisoning, according to new research.




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Obesity is linked to gut microbiota disturbance, but not among statin-treated individuals

Scientists set out to investigate a potential role of the gut microbiota in the development of cardio-metabolic diseases. They ended up identifying the common cholesterol-lowering drug statins as a potential microbiota-modulating therapeutic.




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Safely relaxing social distancing comes down to numbers

Your house number could be the key to the safe relaxation of COVID-19-related restrictions if governments follow a new exit strategy, which proposes the use of an 'odds-and-evens' approach to allowing people to head back to work and enjoy other activities after weeks of lockdown.




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Certain foods common in diets of US adults with inflammatory bowel disease

Foods, such as French fries, cheese, cookies, soda, and sports and energy drinks, are commonly found in the diets of United States adults with inflammatory bowel disease, according to a new study.




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Position statement addresses difficult issue: allocating scare resources in COVID-19 era

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented pressure on societies worldwide, given the pandemic's rapid, often deadly spread. In health care, the pandemic has raised the pressing question of how society should allocate scarce resources during a crisis.




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Sleep difficulties linked to altered brain development in infants who later develop autism

New research finds that sleep problems in a baby's first 12 months may not only precede an autism diagnosis, but also may be associated with altered growth trajectory in a key part of the brain, the hippocampus.




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Clay layers and distant pumping trigger arsenic contamination in Bangladesh groundwater

To avoid arsenic contamination, many Bangladeshi households access water via private wells drilled to 300 feet or less, beneath impermeable clay layers. Such clay layers have been thought to protect groundwater in the underlying aquifers from the downward flow of contaminants. However, a new study suggests that such clay layers do not always protect against arsenic, and could even be a source of contamination in some wells.




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Accumulation of gene mutations in chronic Graft-versus-host disease

Mutations in white blood cells can contribute to abnormal immune profile after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.




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China to reform disease prevention system




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China approves Novartis' multiple sclerosis treatment Mayzent

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese regulators have approved Novartis' Mayzent to treat relapsing multiple sclerosis in adults, the Swiss drug maker said in a statement on Saturday. Other drugs approved by China's National Medical Products Administration to treat MS include Novartis' Gilenya, Bayer's Betaferon and Sanofi's Aubagio. China has an estimated 30,000 patients with MS. (Reporting by Roxanne Liu and Kevin Yao in Beijing; Editing by Edwina Gibbs





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Rights group says Saudi Arabia is holding a senior prince incommunicado since March




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EU Commission calls for state guarantees for vouchers for cancelled travel




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Grocery store employee working during COVID-19 crisis: 'I'm going to say my prayers'

When his alarm goes off at 3:30 a.m., 54-year-old Jeff Reid knows it's time to begin his day and prepare for an eight-hour shift on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. As a grocery store worker, Reid never imagined he'd find himself in this position. Every day before his 5 a.m. shift, Reid prepares his morning essentials -- 1,000 milligrams of the powdered vitamin supplement Emergen-C and his morning prayers.





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Seven killed in protests over food distribution in Afghanistan, local MP says




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China releases five prominent labour rights activists




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French Resistance hero Cecile Rol-Tanguy dies at age 101

French Resistance member Cecile Rol-Tanguy, who risked her life during World War II by working to liberate Paris from Nazi occupation, has died. Rol-Tanguy died on Friday at her home in Monteaux, in central France, as Europe commemorated the 75th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany to Allied forces. The cause of her death was not disclosed by French officials.





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Ben Crump: Ahmaud Arbery killing reminiscent of lynching

Justice in case of 25-year-old black male delayed amid COVID-19 response. Apparently in Georgia bowling and tattooing are more essential.





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Anti-racism group stage Stretford protest over police stun gun shooting

Desmond Mombeyarara, 34, was with his son when officers shot him with a stun gun

Anti-racism protesters have gathered outside a petrol station in Greater Manchester to demonstrate against the stun gun shooting by police of a black man in the company of his distressed son.

Desmond Mombeyarara, 34, was shot with a stun gun by police on Wednesday evening after officers stopped him for allegedly speeding.

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Love isn't all you need: French ministers rule out easing travel rules for couples

MP called for love to be added to list of permitted reasons for long-distance journeys

Couples separated by France’s strict coronavirus rules will remain lovelorn after ministers ruled out a proposed change to the law extending the country’s state of health emergency.

The “lovers’ amendment”, as it was called, was proposed by an MP during a debate on the legislation in the lower house the national assembly.

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The Assistant review – eloquent sexual harassment drama

Julia Garner excels as a junior assistant to a predatory media mogul boss in Kitty Green’s powerfully understated #MeToo drama

A performance of few words but immense physical eloquence by Julia Garner anchors this impressively chilling #MeToo-era drama about workplace harassment and abuse. Following a day in the life of a young woman with dreams of making her mark in the film and television industry, it’s a sobering portrait of a dirty little secret that was brought into the news spotlight by the Harvey Weinstein scandal. All the more powerful for its understated tone, this low-key piece packs a hefty punch as it exposes the web of silence that enabled a very modern horror story.

Garner (who won an Emmy for her work on TV’s Ozark) is Jane, a high-achieving college graduate who finds herself on the bottom rung of the ladder as a junior assistant to an unnamed entertainment mogul in New York. The appointment may hold promises of great opportunities ahead, but for now it’s fairly soul destroying. An opening sequence, played out to the lonely strains of Tamar-kali’s sparse score, finds Jane being driven to the office before dawn, turning on the lights above her colleagues’ desks – first in, last out. Her tasks are menial yet weirdly demanding: making coffee, changing the paper in the photocopier, ordering lunch, and arranging travel and accommodation for an ever-changing roster of offhand executives and needy clients.

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‘Of course I smoked marijuana!’ Elliott Gould on stardom, Streisand and Elvis Presley

The star of M*A*S*H, The Long Goodbye – and more recently, Friends – talks about drugs, his fiery marriage to Barbra Streisand and getting his best reviews from Groucho Marx and Muhammad Ali

The best review ever received by Elliott Gould – renowned actor and star of M*A*S*H and The Long Goodbye; not to mention, Ross and Monica’s dad on Friends – was from Groucho Marx. The two of them had become close in the comedian’s latter years – so close, Gould says, “he used to let me shave him”. One day Marx asked Gould to change a lightbulb in his bedroom. Gould took off his shoes, stood on the bed and replaced the broken bulb. Marx told him: “That was the best acting I’ve ever seen you do.”

Gould, now 81, has been telling the story for decades – but it is clear even in our pixelated video call that it still delights him. “Isn’t that great?” he says, his distinctive nasal, New York baritone now deepened with age. As we speak he is sitting at a computer at a friend’s house in Los Angeles, relaxed in a blue hoodie, with a seemingly bottomless mug of coffee before him. In isolation on either side of the Atlantic, neither of us has anywhere to be. And after more than half a century in Hollywood, in which he went from leading man to exile and, eventually, fixture – Gould could fill days, not just hours, with his stories. Even without his eight-year marriage to Barbra Streisand.

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Rafe Spall: 'Dieting is the opposite of sex!'

Once the ‘go-to guy for feckless losers’, the actor is now spearheading Apple’s assault on British TV. He talks about flops, racism, chest hair – and Laurence Fox

In October 2005, Rafe Spall was starring in the role he thought he was born to play. Only 21 at the time, he’d bagged a part in Anna Mackmin’s reimagining of Francis Beaumont’s 1607 comedy The Knight of the Burning Pestle at the Barbican. The play isn’t just any old Renaissance play in the Spall household, it’s a hallowed text.

His father (Timothy Spall, you might have heard of him) had played the same part in a 1981 RSC version that changed his life for ever. It was while playing that role he met his wife, Shane, and the pair loved the play so much they decided to give their first child the name of the character his father played: Rafe. To make it seem even more preordained, it was Rafe’s grandmother’s favourite ever performance by his father. No pressure, then.

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Tracee Ellis Ross: 'As a kid, singing was too scary a dream'

She’s acted, modelled, worked with Kanye West and Drake. But the Black-ish star didn’t dare follow her mother, Diana Ross – until now

There is a strange noise coming from Tracee Ellis Ross’s Los Angeles garden. Hang on, she says, looking away from her computer screen to the window with an alarmed expression. “I’m just going to go check that out. Stand by!”

If this were a horror movie, then the stylish woman disappearing into the distance would never come back. But it isn’t a horror movie, it’s a Zoom interview, and Ross, a Golden Globe-winning actor best known for her role in the US sitcom Black-ish, is talking to me from the sunny living room of her home. Or at least she was; right now, I’m staring at a fiddle-leaf fig tree and a comfortable-looking couch.

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Gwyneth Paltrow said starring in Shallow Hal was a 'disaster' – here’s why she is right

The actor said wearing a fat suit for the 2001 movie taught her what it is like to be humiliated as an obese person. Why are TV and film characters so rarely treated with dignity and respect?

‘Disaster” is how Gwyneth Paltrow has summed up her role in the 2001 film Shallow Hal, which will surprise few people who have actually seen it. Jack Black plays Hal, a man so shallow he has to be hypnotised in order to date a fat woman, who, through his boggled eyes, he sees as a very thin woman.

The nastiness of Shallow Hal, which has long appalled critics and fans alike, was front and centre in the trailer, where Hal’s friend attempts to “rescue” him from speaking to a fat woman, Rosemary, who is, in fact, willowy Paltrow dressed in a fat suit. But because he cannot see what she looks like, he falls for her “inner beauty”. It is an uncomfortable mix – a film that pretends to preach body acceptance while simultaneously inviting laughter at bodies that don’t fit into jeans size six and under. Take the scene where she is called a “rhino”, or the one where she cannonballs into a swimming pool causing a tidal wave. The message built into the script’s DNA is simple: fat is funny; it is OK to laugh at fat people.

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Max von Sydow: an aristocrat of cinema who made me weep | Peter Bradshaw

From his fateful game of chess to a moving turn in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Von Sydow was the last standard bearer of Bergman’s high-minded movie idiom

Max von Sydow dies aged 90
A life in pictures

The opening of the seventh seal in the Book of Revelation, disclosing the truth of God’s existence and the second coming, will result in a mysterious silence in the kingdom of heaven – then the sound of trumpets and the thunderous uproar of Earth’s apocalyptic ending. In the movies, no actor has ever represented these ideas more seriously, nor shown humanity’s anguish in the face of God’s implacable silence or unassuageable anger more clearly, than Max von Sydow. He was virtually a book of revelation in himself.

The passionate severity of Von Sydow – and his ability to impersonate the ascetic nobility of some impossibly remote priestly or knightly order but with very human flaws – formed the bedrock of Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal and the staggering series of films he was to make with Bergman in the 1950s and 1960s. Beyond that, he virtually epitomised an entire, distinctively high-minded attitude to cinematic art in Europe. His films for Bergman were composed in a movie idiom that drew on Ibsen and Strindberg, Sjöström and Dreyer – and of which, since Bergman’s death in 2007, Von Sydow could be said to be the final standard bearer.

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WTAF! How is Jonah Hill swearier than Samuel L Jackson?

Despite having made 130 more films – including six Tarantinos – Jackson trails king of the curse word Hill. But then he wasn’t in The Wolf of Wall Street …

With the movie industry shut down due to coronavirus, now is a valuable time for us to look back and properly examine the attraction that we have to certain figures. Are we drawn to Tom Hanks because he exudes a sense of benevolent paternalism that we tend to find subconsciously appealing? Do we flock to Marvel films because we seek the clarity of a good-v-evil dynamic in a world where those are becoming increasingly opaque?

And why do people go and see Jonah Hill films? Seriously, why?

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Tender and honest, Tigertail is a beacon of hope in today's tide of anti-Asian bigotry | Georgina Quach

Alan Yang’s film about the lack of understanding between generations strikes a chord, and is so relevant as coronavirus racism spreads

Inflamed by President Trump’s casual phrase “Chinese virus”, anti-Asian sentiment is erupting all over the world. As a British-Vietnamese person who has been spat on because of the colour of her skin, the film Tigertail is a glimmer of hope – a way of showing the truth, and connecting Asian communities at a time when panic and misinformation serve to break us apart. Alan Yang’s multi-generational love story Tigertail weaves in Yang’s cultural self-discovery and features memories of Taiwan, as experienced by the protagonist Pin-Jui. Weighted against the present tide of anti-Asian bigotry, this tender story about honesty and lost love is more relevant than ever.

“American culture has been negligent in portraying Asian-American people as fully realised human beings,” Yang told the Deadline podcast. Yang, who worked on Parks and Recreation before co-creating Master of None, recalled the trepidation he felt in the early days of his career, in a cultural landscape where east Asians were rarely represented, or stereotyped as hardworking automatons. Yang said he had felt restricted to using only white characters in his early pilots, fearing that all-Asian or Asian-American scripts would never be accepted. But this was before the film successes of Crazy Rich Asians, The Farewell and Parasite brought real Asian faces to mainstream culture.

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Gladiator at 20: how Ridley Scott's epic rejuvenated the historical blockbuster

The Oscar-winning sword-and-sandals Russell Crowe vehicle refreshed old cliches, before ushering in a spate of copycats

“Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?” the creepy pilot asks the small boy in Airplane!. To younger audiences, the joke no longer makes any sense. In Airplane!’s day, sword-and-sandals movies had become an outdated, unwittingly homoerotic joke. But then came Gladiator, and the joke was on us. Released 20 years ago this month, Ridley Scott’s Roman epic gave the old cliches a new lease of life. It was all here: Colosseum action! Rippling man-flesh! Tigers! But Gladiator had its cheesecake and ate it. It served up crowd-pleasing spectacle and airline-ad visuals but also solemn, Oscar-worthy drama (and, in retrospect, a fair degree of camp).

Related: The Guide: Staying In – sign up for our home entertainment tips

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The rise of Netflix: an empire built on debt - podcast

Mark Lawson and Dan Milmo discuss the sustainability of the streaming service. Plus: Lara Spirit on why you should register to vote before Tuesday’s deadline

Netflix has risen from obscurity to be one of the most powerful media companies in the world with more than 150 million global subscribers. It has launched critically acclaimed hits such as House of Cards, The Crown and Unbelievable, as well as showcasing the back catalogues of popular television series. But as part of its rapid growth, the company has racked up huge debts.

Joining Anushka Asthana to discuss the long-term sustainability of Netflix are the TV critic Mark Lawson and the Guardian’s deputy business editor Dan Milmo.

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Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas: his most memorable roles – video

Kirk Douglas, Hollywood legend and star of Spartacus, has died aged 103. Douglas was nominated for three Oscars and his extensive filmography includes Paths of Glory, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Lust for Life. The Hollywood legend's death was announced by his son, fellow actor Michael Douglas

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Selah and the Spades review – teen cliques drama balances satire and surrealism

This uncanny story of preppy drug dealers has a touch of Heathers and a bit of Bret Easton Ellis, and an intriguing take on what high school is really like

Tayarisha Poe, like her partial namesake, has a gift for the uncanny. She is the photographer and film-maker behind this feature debut, which began as an online multimedia project and was developed as a conventional movie through the Sundance screenwriters and directors labs. What has emerged is an intriguing, opaque, tonally elusive story that seems weirdly unfinished. It is set in a privileged high school – a world of ivy-covered stone buildings and shady quadrangles where rich kids are separated into malign and mutually hostile cliques. It has a touch of Donna Tartt and Bret Easton Ellis, a hint of Heathers and a bit of the elegant, disdainful satire of Dear White People.

Somehow, though, it is odder, more stylised and contrived, always holding out the possibility that it is set in the future, or in an alternative present on some other planet, or inside the head of one of its characters who is having a disturbing dream – the kind that ends just as it is about to give up its meaning. Right until the closing credits, I half-expected the face of each person on screen to flip upwards, revealing a Stepford-like set of dials.

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Blood Quantum review – grimy zombie horror offers intriguing twist

A visually distinctive, semi-effective Canadian thriller pits a First Nation community against a zombie invasion

Given how movies about the undead refuse to die, a tweak on what’s become a decaying formula is always a welcome surprise, especially if said tweak involves a little more than “what about zombies but strippers”. Back in the 60s, and at rare times since, the zombie subgenre has been used as a way of sneaking social commentary into horror, the set-up of an invading force destroying a community allowing for a range of sly metaphors.

Related: 'I'm indigenizing zombies': behind gory First Nation horror Blood Quantum

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All Day and a Night review – stylish Netflix father-son crime drama

Moonlight’s Ashton Sanders gives a compelling lead performance as a young man trying to escape his father’s shadow

It’s an unusually stacked week for new films on Netflix (one they might regret when pre-pandemic content starts to dry up) with a teen comedy, a B-thriller and a romantic documentary all launching before the weekend, a feast for viewers at home but a glut that could overshadow one of their finer offerings quietly releasing alongside. All Day and a Night, a tough-minded drama from Black Panther co-writer Joe Robert Cole, might not be quite worthy enough for their awards slate (although it’s a damn sight more compelling than The Two Popes …) but it’s a step up from what one might expect of an unhyped May movie from the streamer. Think of it as a classier boutique release, deserving of a higher shelf placement.

Related: The Half of It review – charming Netflix teen comedy takes on Cyrano

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Andy Serkis to read The Hobbit nonstop to raise money for the NHS

The actor, best known for playing Gollum in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, will read the entire JRR Tolkien novel

Andy Serkis is to give a continuous, live reading of The Hobbit – lasting around 12 hours – in aid of charity. The actor, best known as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, will read the entire book from start to finish with no breaks.

Money raised from the performance will be split equally between NHS Charities Together and Best Beginnings.

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'First petri dish': Sundance film festival may have been Covid-19 incubator

The Hollywood Reporter says numerous attendees returned from the late-January festival with coronavirus symptoms

A new report suggests that January’s Sundance film festival, the annual gathering of cinephiles in Park City, Utah, may have been a key early hub for coronavirus in the US. The article, in the Hollywood Reporter, cites numerous attendees who experienced Covid-19-like symptoms either during or immediately after the festival. None were believed to have been tested for the disease.

Sundance this year attracted about 120,000 people to the small mountain resort, to watch films and party in confined spaces. The snowy conditions that make Park City perfect for skiing mean that socialising indoors is common, as are some flu-like symptoms as a result of the low temperature and high altitude.

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Tennis, golf swing into action

It’s only the beginning of May, but for local golfers and tennis players, Monday felt like Christmas. Golf courses and tennis courts were officially allowed to open Monday as a part ...




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Bisons send skater away

The fallout came swiftly Thursday after vulgar and insulting messages traded on a private Instagram chat surfaced on social media a day earlier. The University of Manitoba Bisons released Jeremey Leipsic ...




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White House Misled Public, Buried CDC Reopening Guidelines and is Now Preparing for Second Coronavirus Wave

The White House is making "contingency plans" for a second wave of coronavirus after emails reportedly contradict their claims that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to safely reopen the economy were set aside because medical experts did not approve of them.




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California Gov. Newsom Endorses Biden, Despite Attempts to Avoid Partisan Politics

"I just couldn't be more proud of you and the prospect of your presidency," Newsom told Biden Friday during a campaign event.




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'I Was A Feminist Activist In The '70s When The Pill Was Legalized For All Women'

It has been 60 years since the FDA first approved the birth control pill on May 9, 1960. It emerged as an essential pillar of women's ability to have good quality of life.




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When Will Vegas Reopen? Social Distancing Guidelines for Casinos, Drive-Ins, and Restaurants

Restaurants and drive-in movie theatres are allowed to reopen in Las Vegas today, with casinos hoping to reopen by Memorial Day.




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Obama Slams Dropping of Michael Flynn Case, Calls White House COVID-19 Response 'Absolute Chaotic Disaster': Report

Audio of a private conversation shows the 44th president's unvarnished views about the former national security adviser's case and the White House's COVID-19 response.




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'Fortnite' Party Royale Event With Steve Aoki & Deadmau5 - Tracklist & What Happened

"Fortnite" Party Royale had another big show on May 8. Here's everything you need to know about the Dillion Francis, Steve Aoki and deadmau5 concert that just took place.




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Chrissy Teigen Responds to Alison Roman's Digs at Her and Marie Kondo: 'This is a Huge Bummer'

Jameela Jamil also came to Teigen and Kondo's defense, calling Roman "distasteful" and "cliche" for criticizing women of color for being successful in business.




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'ARK' Crystal Isles PC Release Date & 5th Anniversary Event Announced

"ARK: Survival Evolved" Crystal Isles is coming to PC soon, alongside a huge anniversary event on all platforms. Get the full details here.




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Ousted Scientist Tears Up While Ripping Trump Coronavirus Response: 'We Could've Done Something And We Didn't'

Trump administration whistleblower Rick Bright teared up while ripping the Trump's response to the coronavirus: "We could've done something and we didn't."