From Tom Hardy on CBeebies Bedtime Stories to revolutionary bionic arms, here’s the good news you might have missed this week – inews

Lifestyle It's been a good week for...

Friday, 1st May 2020, 3:14 pm

Updated Friday, 1st May 2020, 3:15 pm

Actor Tom Hardy cuddles up to his dog during his recording of CBeebies' Bedtime Stories (Photo: BBC/PA Wire)

Scientific investigation of Vermeers Girl with a Pearl Earring has revealed new secrets about the captivating painting. Dutch researchers discovered delicate eyelashes on the girls face, evidence of a green curtain behind her head, and that the white pigment used for the earring originated in Englands Peak District.

Johannes Vermeer's the Girl with a Pearl Earring (Photo: Getty)

A revolutionary bionic arm which can be controlled by the mind and transmits the sensation of grip and touch to the brain has been perfected by researchers in Sweden, who claim it to be the first in the world that mimics a biological arm by combining mind control and sensation.

The English teacher whose online following has surged under lockdown said she feels overwhelmed and energised by her new audience. Pre-pandemic, the 36-year-old had 74 Facebook followers, but now her free 30-minute lessons are followed by 44,000 people across three platforms.

A DIY social distance bar the neighbours in Durham with their fence-cum-table (Photo: the viral group)

Paul Hurton and Anthony Dunn have lived next door to each other in Bowburn, south-east Durham, for the past 20 years. Frustrated that they could not spend time with each other because of social distancing, they turned their 6ft fence panel into a horizontal table, using a hinge, so they could meet up and drink a beer together.

Anyone who has frozen their eggs, sperm or embryos will be able to extend their storage for an extra two years to 12 in total under Government plans to support those going through fertility treatment during the pandemic.

Tens of thousands of twitchers watched over a webcam as falcon chicks hatched to a pair of peregrines nesting on Salisbury Cathedral.

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Tom Hardy brought some joy to children (and, presumably, no small number of older watchers) during the coronavirus lockdown with a week-long stint on CBeebies Bedtime Stories.

Sir Terry Pratchetts production company, Narrativia, is to bring the late writers fantasy novels to life in screen adaptations. It hopes to create features which are absolutely faithful to Sir Terrys original, unique genius.

Researchers around the world are trying to find a coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible (Photo: NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty)

Scientists at Oxford University have taken a significant step towards developing a Covid-19 vaccine and remain on track to produce a few million doses by September if the inoculation proves effective.

A novel by the French writer that was deemed too intimate to release in her lifetime will finally be published, 66 years after she wrote it. Les insparables tells the story of the passionate and tragic friendship she had as a young girl with Elisabeth Zaza Lacoin, who died of encephalitis at the age of 21.

A simple sniff test trialled by researchers at the University of Cambridge could help doctors to diagnose and determine treatment for patients who are in a vegetative state or have minimal consciousness following brain injuries. Results published in Nature revealed that 100 per cent of patients who reacted to the sniff test which uses smells from shampoo to rotting fish went on to regain consciousness and more than 91 per cent were still alive three-and-a-half years after injury.

The discovery of a 100 million-year-old spinosaurus fossil with a set of jaws set with jagged teeth is ripping up scientists understanding of how dinosaurs lived. Its well-preserved tail shows it was adapted for hunting in water, making it the only known aquatic dinosaur. Other creatures such as plesiosaurs that lived in water are not classified as dinosaurs.

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From Tom Hardy on CBeebies Bedtime Stories to revolutionary bionic arms, here's the good news you might have missed this week - inews