The drive to find a vaccine to combat the coronavirus is well underway. Several large pharmaceutical and smaller biotech companies are working on making new antibodies, drugs and vaccines to combat the coronavirus disease but lack of funds may yet get in the way, writes John Whelan.

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) is working on scenarios that take account of significant hits to the Irish economy should the coronavirus crisis lead to the Government imposing long periods of quarantine.

We are at the precipice of a global ecological catastrophe and the window of opportunity to act is closing worryingly fast, the President has warned.

Pat Fitzpatrick talks to author and maths expert Kit Yates, who makes a fact-based argument for vaccine programmes, including the HPV jab

Seiji Hirao played in three World Cups and saw a fourth as Japan's head coach. He was also a superstar in his home country.

Low-income earners, who are the losers when carbon taxes are increased, will need to be compensated in the budget to win support for climate action, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

Pace and shape of life may be two of the key indicators to how different species get by in the world according to a new study, writes Dan Buckley.

HALF of Europe has been slammed by a massive heat wave in recent weeks, with many regions experiencing temperatures never before seen in June. But it may just be the beginning, says Marco Evers.

A breast cancer survivor, who became a mother shortly after leaving school at the age of 17 without sitting her Leaving Cert, believes that a return to education changed her life.

The annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the representative body for HR professionals, took place recently at the conference centre in Croke Park.

Ruby Wax is back on the road – and her live show sees her share the stage with a monk and a neuroscientist. Intrigued? So was Pat Fitzpatrick...

The use of smartphones and other screens has little impact on the wellbeing of teenagers, even if it occurs directly before bedtime, according to a study of thousands of teens in Ireland and worldwide.

A man who threw himself in front of a car and then claimed damages against the driver has been jailed for a year.

Mario Draghi steps down as head of the ECB at the end of October and the field of candidates to replace him has narrowed. Here are the leading contenders to take over from “Super Mario”

Elderly and vulnerable people whose homes are in poor condition can get their walls insulated and their windows replaced free of charge.

Great strides are being made to close the tech sector’s gender gap, but, as with many other industries, parity remains a long way off.

You know something is starting to bite when it rattles the right-wing media. 

When farmer Joe O’Connell first saw a piece of land in Kilkenny 12 years ago, he knew it was special.

Human civilisation is lucky to have escaped a volcanic super-eruption powerful enough to blast it back to the Stone Age, say scientists.

An Oxford graduate's failure to get a top degree cost him the chance of a lucrative legal career, the High Court has heard.

TP O’Mahony looks at the legacy of the great reformer, Martin Luther, who, on October 31, 1517, nailed his 95 theses to the door of a church in Germany 

THE announcement yesterday that University College Cork is to embark on the biggest investment programme in its 182-year history must be welcomed. That €350m declaration reflects worthwhile ambition in many areas. It looks the future in the eye in the most positive way.

Despite a worldwide economic crisis, the left showed few gains in the last decade as the centre right reacted quicker to the shift in the electoral base, writes Leonid Bershidsky.

A British man has died in Sri Lanka after reportedly being dragged into a river by a crocodile.

An Oxford University employee has been denied bail after appearing in court in San Francisco accused of murdering a 26-year-old hair stylist.

Two university employees wanted over the stabbing death of a Chicago man have surrendered peacefully in California and will be returned to Chicago for interrogation, authorities said.

Driving at night, you may glimpse a badger dazzled by the car headlights. Otherwise, this creature of the night is seldom seen, writes Richard Collins. 

HAD William Faulkner been an Irish writer instead of a Nobel laureate born in Oxford, Mississippi, in 1897, he might not have left us his famous line: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

Taking a daily low dose aspirin to prevent blood clots can be disabling or even lethal for people aged 75 and over with a history of heart attacks or strokes, scientists have warned.

Trish Dromey learns of the Waterford virtual reality firm that started with a moon shot product, and is now aiming even higher

Religious dogma in the Middle Ages helped to create the modern domestic chicken, new research suggests.

Elderly and vulnerable people whose homes are in poor condition can get a “new deep retrofit” free of charge to improve them.

President Donald Trump has nominated Neil Gorsuch, a fast-rising conservative judge, to the Supreme Court, setting up a clash with Democrats.

Scientists have identified a part of the brain that could be treated to improve social interaction in people with autism.

In this week’s column Kehlan looks at the growing influence of artificial intelligence and robotics in the workplace and how nearly half of all human jobs could be obsolete within the next few decades.

DOMESTIC DADS: A new study from Oxford University has found that a father’s emotional attachment and strong bond with a child — as opposed to how much practical childcare they carried out — had the strongest effect on whether a child suffered problems.

Both Munster and Ireland will have confidence soaring after success against All Black sides, writes Donal Lenihan. 

Sue Leonard talks to Michael Collins, who has drawn on his own experiences and those of earlier, tragic, generations of emigrant Irish to breathe life into his latest novel.

The weather has improved; the butterflies are flying.