Mindfulness, laughter and robot dogs may relieve lockdown loneliness – study

University of Cambridge researchers identify potentially effective interventions to help people

Roaming the countryside is our right – we must fight to preserve it

Our rural rights of way need to be reclaimed and protected, and I urge people to join the cause, says Glen O’Hara, professor of modern and contemporary history

Exercise can help prevent cancers, new research finds

Obesity could soon overtake smoking as the main preventable cancer risk

How my football fandom grew to fill a lockdown-shaped hole

Obsessing over the beautiful game is my one release from the relentless churn of identikit pandemic days, says writer Francisco Garcia

‘Be kind to yourself’: experts’ tips on coping with lockdown stress

Some self-help advice as psychologists report a rise in problems akin to work burnout during the Covid pandemic

Pregnant women going for scans alone told they cannot film baby

Exclusive: NHS urged to act after survey finds some women wrongly warned taking photos is illegal

UK Covid: PM warns 8 March is earliest England’s schools can go back, if it will not cause ‘surge in disease’ – as it happened

PM stresses 8 March ‘earliest’ date for schools reopening; 1,725 deaths recorded in second highest daily toll; arrivals from red list countries face quarantine

How to help your children make the most of their screen time

Child development experts on how best to reap the benefits of being online while staying healthy

I thrived on the tension and drama of British politics. Then I had a heart attack

I lived for the nerve-shredding rollercoaster of Westminster. But the stress got under my skin, and into my blood

Amid the gloom of lockdown, I have taken solace in nature

If you’re feeling cooped up, defy the cold, head for your local park and marvel at the antics of gulls, starlings and fieldfares, says urban birder David Lindo