The shock news that the US president, Donald Trump, has tested positive for COVID-19, and has been taken to hospital, just a few weeks ahead of the US election adds another layer of uncertainty to a race that has already been exhausting for everyone concerned. We don’t yet know how serious this could get, but Trump is in a high-risk category. And whatever happens from here, this latest twist will inevitably change the shape of the campaign. Here are a few reasons why.

Trump is not the first world leader to downplay the seriousness of this disease only to subsequently find himself infected with it. The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, has been open about the fact that his trip to intensive care made him realise how unhealthy he was and prompted radical life changes. And although Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s brush with coronavirus hasn’t exactly proved an epiphany, he has exhibited some different behaviours since his illness. So what lessons can be learned in Washington?

The London marathon will take place tomorrow, after a bit of a pandemic-related delay. The event is going to look a little different this year, with a changed course and only professional athletes taking part. The lack of amateur competitors is a huge shame but it will nevertheless make this race a unique spectacle. Ahead of the competition, this expert in physiology reveals what makes the bodies of elite sportspeople so different.

We generally understand folklore as already written – as the stories and rituals of distant people who lived long ago. But what if we’re creating the folklore of the future at this very moment? Throughout lockdown, small acts of expression sprang up in our neighbourhoods, including painted stones and scarecrows dressed up as keyworkers. It’s nice to think of people hundreds of years from now perhaps hanging pictures of rainbows in their windows “just like they did in the olden days of 2020”. This list of rituals that spread during the pandemic proposes a few that might end up lasting through the ages to become the folklore of tomorrow.

Also this week, we’ve settled a bitter dispute over milk, explored the economics of failing football teams and geared up for some resistance training.

Laura Hood

Politics Editor, Assistant Editor

COVID-positive. Stefan Rousseau/PA Archive

Donald Trump gets coronavirus: what catching COVID-19 meant for Boris Johnson and Jair Bolsonaro

Matthew Flinders, University of Sheffield; Anthony Pereira, King's College London

How did the British prime minister and Brazilian president's brush with COVID-19 affect them politically?

EPA-EFE

Donald Trump has been diagnosed with COVID – let’s talk risk factors

Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, University of Oxford

Age, obesity and being male all increase the risk of COVID, but being wealthy is a protective factor.

London Marathon winners, 2019, Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei. Facundo Arrizabalaga/Shutterstock

Science of champion runners: inside the body of elite endurance athletes

Andy Galbraith, University of East London

Here's how elite endurance athletes differ from the rest of us.

Andrew Robinson

Five COVID customs which emerged during lockdown

Sophie Parkes-Nield, Sheffield Hallam University

Folklore isn't a whimsical fancy - it's happening all around us all the time.

Shutterstock

Soy, oat, almond, rice, coconut, dairy: which ‘milk’ is best for our health?

Leah Dowling, Swinburne University of Technology

There are so many milk alternatives these days, but it can be difficult to tell how beneficial they might be for our health. So we asked a dietitian to run through the main options.

The more muscle you build, the more calories you body requires at rest. Monkey Business Images/ Shutterstock

Resistance training: here’s why it’s so effective for weight loss

David R Clark, Liverpool John Moores University; Carl Langan-Evans, Liverpool John Moores University; Robert M. Erskine, Liverpool John Moores University

Workouts that include weight lifting and bodyweight exercises burn fat both during and afterwards.

 

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