Science | The Guardian

Parenthood can seeman impossible dream for many, and online sperm donor groups offera solution, but they can be a murky worldA man going by the name Rod Kissme" claims to have very strong sperm". It may seem like an eccentric boast for a Facebook profile page, but then this is no mundane corner of the internet. The group where Rod and other men advertise themselves is a community where women and couples come, in many cases, to fulfil a lifelong dream: parenthood.There is a growing number of online sperm donor groups on social media. They offer people the chance of parenting children in an unregulated, dangerous but surprisingly straightforward way. Continue reading...

Robert Beattie, 82, has found specimens of a 151m-year-old midge that challenge what we know about how the insects evolved

Last weekend's Cambridgeshire train attack brought up a question that we often ask ourselves. But the answer isn't simple

Modern research shows the public work together selflessly in an emergency, motivated by a strong impulse to helpIt was early morning on 1 January last year when Colin McGarva dived into a flooding river in Worcester to rescue an unconscious woman. McGarva said he didn't think twice about the risk to himself, or the devastating loss his newborn son would suffer had he too been swept away by the fast-flowing icy waters.I didn't stop to think because the instinct - the instant reaction - is to help someone in need," he said. Someone's life is an important thing. Helping is just something you have to do." Continue reading...

Nobel prize winner shaped medicine, crimefighting and genealogy, but later years marred by racist remarksJames Dewey Watson, whose co-discovery of the twisted-ladder structure of DNA in 1953 helped light the long fuse on a revolution in medicine, crimefighting, genealogy and ethics, has died, according to his former research lab. He was 97.The breakthrough - made when the brash, Chicago-born Watson was just 24 - turned him into a hallowed figure in the world of science for decades. But near the end of his life, he faced condemnation and professional censure for offensive remarks, including saying Black people were less intelligent than white people. Continue reading...

Global environment editor Jon Watts goes in search of answers to the question the journalist Dom Phillips was investigating when he was murdered: how to save the Amazon?In the final episode of this three-part series from June 2025, Jon encounters a radical new view of the Amazon's history being uncovered by archaeologists. Far from an uninhabited wilderness, the rainforest has been shaped by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Jon finds out how their expert knowledge could be harnessed to secure the Amazon's future Continue reading...

History tells us that polite incrementalism and political kowtowing will prevail at Cop30 - even as catastrophe unfolds around usAs world leaders gather in Brazil this year for Cop30 - the first Amazonian Cop - it's worth doing a quick reality check on how we are collectively tracking to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.Despite 30 years of UN climate summits, about half of the carbon dioxide accumulated in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution has been emitted since 1990. Incidentally, 1990 was the year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - the global authority on climate change science - released its First Assessment Report confirming the threat of human-caused global warming. As scientists all over the world prepare the IPCC's Seventh Assessment Report, we do so knowing that our work is still being overshadowed by politics. Despite all the well-intentioned half-measures, the truth is that the world is still disastrously off track to limit dangerous climate change.Dr Joelle Gergis is an award-winning climate scientist and writer from the University of Melbourne. She served as a lead author on the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on the Climate Change's Sixth Assessment Report Continue reading...

Country's top court declines to block controversial cull of hundreds of birds amid fears of an avian flu outbreakCanada's food inspection agency says it plans to begin a complete depopulation" of hundreds of ostriches at a farm after the country's top court declined to block the controversial cull.On Thursday, the supreme court said it would not take up a case that has catalyzed a fierce protest by the farm owners and protesters - as well as senior figures in the Trump administration, who have decried the public health effort as government overreach. Continue reading...

Droughts and heatwaves causing water in some areas to reach 41C, killing fish and endangered dolphins, say researchersAmazonian lakes are being transformed into simmering basins hotter than spa baths as severe heatwaves and drought grip the region, research shows.The temperature of one lake exceeded 40C (104F) as water levels plummeted under intense sunlight and cloudless skies. The extreme heat triggered mass die-offs among endangered Amazon river dolphins and fish, which cannot survive in such high temperatures. Continue reading...

UN body's recommendations driven by AI advances and proliferation of consumer-oriented neurotech devicesIt is the latest move in a growing international effort to put guardrails around a burgeoning frontier - technologies that harness data from the brain and nervous system.Unesco has adopted a set of global standards on the ethics of neurotechnology, a field that has been described as a bit of a wild west". Continue reading...

Tech billionaire relying on false binary' with call to focus less on emissions and more on aid for poor, experts sayA new memo on the climate crisis from Bill Gates relies on straw man" arguments about the threat to humanity and false dichotomies" between spending on climate or aid for the poor, some climate scientists say.Published last week, the tech billionaire's 17-page missive called for a strategic pivot" away from focusing on slashing emissions and towards preventing poverty and suffering. It was quickly picked up by some on the right, including Donald Trump, who hailed it as a much-needed backpedaling on climate efforts. Continue reading...

AI-inspired word joins biohacking', Henry' and broligarchy' on tech-heavy 2025 listVibe coding", an emerging software development that turns natural language into computer code using artificial intelligence, has been named Collins dictionary's word of the year for 2025.Lexicographers at Collins monitor the 24bn-word Collins Corpus, which draws from a range of media sources, including social media, to create the annual list of new and notable words that reflect our ever-evolving language. Continue reading...

This hit debut from Finland is intensely readable, but could have delved more deeply into the links between human progress and environmental destructionIn November 1741 Georg Wilhelm Steller, theologian, naturalist, and curious man", was shipwrecked on an island between Alaska and Russia. There he found, floating in the shallow waters, a vast sirenian, Hydrodamalis gigas, nine feet long and soon to be known as Steller's sea cow. Having made it through the winter, largely byeating the sea cows, the following August Steller and the remaining survivors of the Great Northern Expedition left the island. Within 30years, Steller's sea cow was huntedto extinction.Having described these events, Finnish author Iida Turpeinen's debut novel goes on to describe the lives of other historical figures, each of whom are touched in some way by the sea cow, now reduced to bones. There is Hampus Furuhjelm, governor of Alaska, in search of a complete skeleton, and his sister Constance, who finds peace and intellectual autonomy among her taxidermy collection. Later, there's Hilda Olson, a scientific illustrator, andJohn Gronvall, specialist in the reconstruction of birds' eggs, who is tasked with preparing a sea cow's relicsfor exhibition. Continue reading...

Hut where father of immunology trialled first smallpox vaccine among 138 additions to Historic England listA rustic, ordinary-looking English garden hut regarded as the birthplace of immunology - revolutionising global public health and saving countless lives - has been added to the nation's heritage at risk register.The hut belonged to Edward Jenner (1749-1823), regarded as someone who has saved more lives than any other human. It was there that he first trialled a vaccine for smallpox in the late 18th century. Continue reading...

The largest supermoon of the year, the so-called beaver' moon is the biggest and brightest of 2025, just 357,000 km from Earth

Jon Watts, the Guardian's global environment editor, goes in search of answers to the question the journalist Dom Phillips was investigating when he was murdered: how to save the Amazon?In episode two of this miniseries from June 2025, Jon meets the people trying to make sure the rainforest is worth more standing than cut down - from a government minister attempting to establish Brazil's bioeconomy' to a startup founder creating superfood supplements and a scientist organising night-time tours hunting for bioluminescent fungi. Jon explores new ways of finding value in the forest and asks whether they will be enough to secure its survival Continue reading...

Astronomers cast doubt on Nobel prize-winning theory and suggest universe could end in big crunch'Astronomers have cast doubt on a Nobel prize-winning theory that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, suggesting that instead it may be slowing down.If confirmed, this would have profound implications for the fate of the universe, raising the possibility that rather than expanding for ever, the universe could ultimately enter a reverse big bang scenario known as the big crunch. The astronomers behind the work say their observations also imply that dark energy - the mysterious force thought to be propelling the expansion of the universe - is weakening over time. Continue reading...

Experts find artefacts left behind in Caral showing how population survived drought without resorting to violenceArchaeologists in Peru have found new evidence showing how the oldest known civilization in the Americas adapted and survived a climate catastrophe without resorting to violence.A team led by the renowned Peruvian archaeologist Ruth Shady, 78, concluded that about 4,200 years ago, severe drought forced the population to leave the ancient city of Caral, and resettle nearby. Continue reading...

The three astronauts from the Shenzhou-20 mission flew to the Tiangong space station in April, and were expected to return on WednesdayThe return to Earth of three Chinese astronauts has been delayed until an unspecified date after their spacecraft was apparently struck by a small piece of debris, according to Chinese state media.The three astronauts from the Shenzhou-20 mission flew to the Tiangong space station in April, and were expected to return on Wednesday at the end of a six month mission. Their replacements, the crew of Shenzhou-21, had already arrived on the weekend. Continue reading...

Global environment editor Jon Watts goes in search of answers to the question the journalist Dom Phillips was investigating when he was murdered: how to save the Amazon?In episode one of this miniseries from June 2025, Jon explores what's at stake if we fail to act in time. He hears about the crucial role of the rainforest for South America and the global climate, and asks how cattle ranching came to dominate and destroy huge swathes of the rainforest - pushing it to a dangerous tipping point today Continue reading...

Research uses eye-tracking data to examine some people's extraordinary recognition abilityThey have been used in the search for the Salisbury novichok poisoners, finding murder suspects and even spotting sexual predators. Now, research has revealed fresh insights into why super-recognisers are so good at identifying faces.Previous research has suggested people with an extraordinary ability to recognise people look at more areas across a face than typical people. Continue reading...

Blocking the sun may reduce global heating - but rogue actor' could cause drought or more hurricanes, report findsSolar geoengineering could increase the ferocity of North Atlantic hurricanes, cause the Amazon rainforest to die back and cause drought in parts of Africa if deployed above only some parts of the planet by rogue actors, a report has warned.However, if technology to block the sun was used globally and in a coordinated way for a long period - decades or even centuries - there is strong evidence that it would lower the global temperature, the review from the UK's Royal Society concluded. Continue reading...

President withdrew Jared Isaacman's nomination in May but says on Truth Social he is ideally suited' for top roleDonald Trump has renewed his nomination for the billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman to become Nasa administrator.This evening, I am pleased to nominate Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut, as Administrator of NASA. Jared's passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era. Congratulations to Jared, his wife Monica, and their children, Mila and Liv," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. Continue reading...

As global leaders and environmental activists descend on Brazil for next week's Cop30 climate summit, Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian's global environment editor, Jon Watts, who recently sat down for an exclusive interview with the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres. As he approaches his penultimate summit as the UN chief, Guterres reflected on humanity's progress in attempting to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, why Indigenous voices must be listened to and how he remains positive in the face of the climate crisisChange course now': humanity has missed 1.5C climate target, says UN headSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Scientists find even modest amounts of exercise appear to delay brain changes and cognitive decline in patientsEven modest amounts of daily exercise may slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease in older people who are at risk of developing the condition, researchers have said.People are often encouraged to clock up 10,000 steps a day as part of a healthy routine, but scientists found 3,000 steps or more appeared to delay the brain changes and cognitive decline that Alzheimer's patients experience. Continue reading...

On 5 November, the moon will be just under 357,000km from Earth, making it appear bigger and brighterThis week brings the largest supermoon of the year. Supermoons occur because the moon's orbit is not perfectly circular around the Earth. Instead, it is an ellipse, meaning that sometimes the moon will be closer to the Earth than at other times.When a full moon coincides with the moon being within 10% of its closest point to Earth, we call it a supermoon. Its proximity makes it appear subtly bigger and brighter than other full moons. Continue reading...

Esther Addley reports on a class action suit of more than 3,000 cancer survivors and their loved ones against Johnson & JohnsonI remember lying on a bed,' says Sue Rizello of her earliest memory nearly 60 years ago, with my mum leaning over me and using baby powder on me.'Baby powder, or, more specifically, the talcum powder sold by pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, is one of those things which was there all my life ... it's very deeply embedded in the psyche that this was a gentle, safe product', she tells Annie Kelly. It was good for your baby. It's good for you.' Continue reading...

Three-year study will test biopsy analysis tool shown in trials to identify men likely to benefit from certain drugsA tool that uses artificial intelligence to help diagnose men with prostate cancer and guide decisions about treatment is to be tested in NHS hospitals, researchers have announced.The 1.9m Vanguard Path study, funded by Prostate Cancer UK and led by researchers at the University of Oxford, is expected to last three years and will test an AI tool called the ArteraAI Prostate Biopsy Assay. In total, biopsies from more than 4,000 men will be used. Continue reading...

Researchers tracking large cohorts are discovering the effects of sleep, light and therapy on people impacted by winter's arrivalFor some, the darkening days of autumn bring more than the annual ritual of reviving woolly jumpers and turning on the central heating. As the evenings close in and the mornings grow murky, energy ebbs and a heavy sadness settles in.Although seasonal affective disorder (Sad) was only formally recognised by psychiatrists in the 1980s, the link between the seasons, mood and vitality has long been observed. Continue reading...

Risk to general public is low but cases in California suggest virus is spreading undetected in some communitiesA newer variant of mpox, the virus formerly known as monkeypox, is now spreading through some communities in the US and Europe.The risk to the general public is low, but community transmission in new places signals greater challenges for public health to detect cases and stop the spread. Continue reading...

Others languishing near bottom of 61-country study include Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan and SpainBritain is one of the least nature connected" nations in the world, according to one of the first ever global studies of how people relate to the natural world.Britain ranks 55th out of 61 countries in the study of 57,000 people, which looks at how attitudes towards nature are shaped by social, economic, geographical and cultural factors. Continue reading...

Huge increase in tree-killing disease is result of climate crisis, experts sayA golden mushroom that grows in clusters and can attack and kill trees has increased by 200% in the UK in a year because of the hot summer and damp autumn.Recorded sightings of honey fungus are up by almost 200% compared with the same period last year, according to iNaturalist. Continue reading...

Modern life is waging a war against ecosystems around us and inside us. Keeping our own microbes healthy is another reason to demand action to preserve the natural worldRead more: The luxury effect: why you'll find more wildlife in wealthy areas - and what it means for your healthHuman bodies are like cities, teeming with microcitizens - vast communities of viruses, fungi and bacteria that live all over our skin and inside us. Unsung public servants help us digest food, regulate our immune system, defend against pathogens, and keep hormones in check. Together, they make up what we call the human microbiome.Most people have probably heard of the gut microbiome, but different microbes thrive all over our bodies - in our nostrils, on our feet, in our eyes. They are slightly different, like boroughs are composed of different communities of people. Ninety per cent of cells in our body are microbes, and clouds" of bacteria come off someone's body as they enter a room. We are all walking ecosystems, picking up and shedding material as we move through life. Continue reading...

Nasa chief Sean Duffy confirms 1969 landing was indeed real after US celebrity on TV show says I think it was fake'Nasa has rejected comments made by Kim Kardashian about the 1969 moon landing and confirmed that it did, in fact, happen.During Thursday's episode of The Kardashians, the Skims founder questioned whether the space mission ever took place while noting her interest in conspiracy theories. Continue reading...

Analysis of Montana fossils shows the battling predator was a fully grown Nanotyrannus, not a young T rexThe fossilised remains of two dinosaurs locked in combat have unleashed a fresh drama, suggesting diminutive specimens thought to be Tyrannosaurus rex teenagers could instead be separate, smaller species.The duelling dinosaurs" fossil, which reveals a triceratops in battle with a medium-sized tyrannosaur, was unearthed in Montana by commercial fossil hunters in 2006 and dates to shortly before the asteroid strike that ended the reign of the dinosaurs 66m years ago. Continue reading...

The pricing standoff between government and industry has stalled research and put thousands of jobs at riskWe want to see more investment flow to Britain," the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, urged of big pharmaceutical companies this month, as she indicated that the government was willing to increase the price it pays for NHS drugs. Ministers are likely to announce a rethink on pricing soon, potentially by the end of this week.But the size of that rise remains uncertain. The big question is whether it will be generous enough to convince pharmaceutical companies, which account for a near-100bn slice of the UK economy, to resume the investments they had paused in a strong-arm campaign to secure concessions from government. Continue reading...

Science correspondent Nicola Davis investigates the strange story of Tam O'Braan and his attempts to grow tea in Scotland.In episode three, all of Tam's lies come to a head and Stuart uncovers exactly where Tam was sourcing tea to supply to hotels and shops. At trial, Tam takes the stand and Richard and the Scottish growers finally get some answers. But what remains today of the nascent Scottish tea industry that Tam instigated?Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Lawyer says difficult to understand' rules on storage consent led to confusion and left clients in limbo'A group of at least 15 fertility patients are taking legal action to prevent their frozen embryos being destroyed as a result of administrative errors that could deny them a chance to have children.The group, which includes people with cancer and fertility problems, froze gametes or embryos to improve their chances of conceiving later on, but were informed by their clinics that owing to administrative errors they had not renewed their consent in time and would not be able to access their embryos or extend their storage without a court order. Continue reading...

Researchers find the longest-living mammal is particularly good at fixing faulty DNA - and cold water may helpWith a maximum lifespan of more than 200 years, the bowhead whale lives longer than any other mammal. But how the 80-tonne beasts survive so long has never been fully explained.Now scientists have found hints of an answer and are drawing up plans to see whether the same biological trick can be performed in humans. If so, it raises hopes for boosting healthy ageing and protecting organs and tissues during surgery and transplantations, they say. Continue reading...

Videos about personality science are going viral on social media, but beware of giving them credence ...In the 1950s, a secretary in a San Francisco medical office noticed something weird: some of the chairs in the waiting room needed to be reupholstered more frequently than others. Patients with coronary disease, she realised, nearly always arrived on time and gravitated towards hard upholstered chairs rather than comfy sofas. They'd then sit on the edge of the chair, fidget, and aggressively leap up when their names were called.This insight took on a life of its own. First it helped inspire the cardiologists she reportedly mentioned it to - Dr Ray Rosenman and Dr Meyer Friedman, who wrote a 1959 paper that essentially invented the idea of a type A" personality. It classified competitive, productivity-obsessed workaholics as demonstrating overt behaviour pattern A", and argued they were more likely to get heart attacks. They later wrote a book, Type A Behaviour and Your Heart, which became a bestseller. Familiar story, eh? A woman has an insight which is then monetised by two men. Continue reading...

Study finds lapses of attention in sleep-deprived people coincide with wave of fluid flowing out of the brainIt's never a great look. The morning meeting is in full swing but thanks to a late night out your brain switches off at the precise moment a question comes your way.Such momentary lapses in attention are a common problem for the sleep deprived, but what happens in the brain in these spells of mental shutdown has proved hard to pin down. Continue reading...

Young people are eschewing medical trials, to their own detriment. Maybe my tales of pills, tubes and paydays can inspire a generationGen Z has a reputation for being boring". Not only do they reportedly prefer going to the gym than the pub, and staying at home and going to bed at 9pm rather than going clubbing, now they are refusing to sign up for medical trials. Back (way back) when I was a lad, it was all pubbing, clubbing and medical trials. And I've still got the scars to prove it.The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency states that all human medicines must undergo human testing before they are made widely available. This is mainly to investigate any unwanted side-effects. The cure for the common cold is no good if it also makes your genitals fall off. Alternatively, the side-effect may be useful when studied further: aspirin works as a blood thinner; some antidepressants curb nicotine withdrawal. It must have been a hell of a day when they tested Viagra and discovered some unexpected side-effects: its original purpose was to treat chest pain caused by angina. Continue reading...

A charismatic, tweed-wearing grower from Perthshire falsely claimed to be able to create thriving tea plantations in Scotland. His elaborate deception took in luxury hotels, media outlets and tea growers across the countryWith its large silver pouch, artistic label and delicate leaves, Dalreoch Scottish white tea might be expected to grace elegant cups with saucers, perhaps with a scone served on the side. Instead, it is nestled with an array of numbered polythene packets in a room just off a laboratory at the University of Aberdeen.This is not an ordinary afternoon tea but evidence in a crime that science helped solve. Continue reading...

Science correspondent Nicola Davis investigates the strange story of Tam O'Braan and his attempts to grow tea in Scotland.In episode one, Nicola looks back on her first meeting with Tam while working on a feature about tea plantations in the UK. He was selling his award-winning Scottish-grown tea to some of the UK's finest hotels, but something didn't quite add up. And Nicola wasn't the only person taking an interest in his storyClips: BBC, Food.NDTVSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

The answers to today's puzzlesEarlier today I set these puzzles by quizmaster extraordinaire Frank Paul. Here they are again with solutions.It strikes me that it would be a good coding challenge to find all possible examples of these puzzles using words in a standard English dictionary. Particularly number 2 - are there any strings of more than three words? I'd love to know. Continue reading...

Researchers suggest sex-specific strategies' after analysis of cardiovascular health improvementsMen may need to exercise twice as much as women to achieve the same reduction in coronary heart disease risk, according to researchers, who say healthy living guidelines should take account of the sex differences.Scientists analysed physical activity records from more than 80,000 people and found that the risk of heart disease fell 30% in women who clocked up 250 minutes of exercise each week. In contrast, men needed to reach 530 minutes, or nearly nine hours, a week to see the same effect. Continue reading...

Research shows 4K or 8K screens offer no distinguishable benefit over similarly sized 2K screen in average living roomMany modern living rooms are now dominated by a huge television, but researchers say there might be little point in plumping for an ultra-high-definition model.Scientists at the University of Cambridge and Meta, the company that owns Facebook, have found that for an average-sized living room a 4K or 8K screen offers no noticeable benefit over a similarly sized 2K screen of the sort often used in computer monitors and laptops. In other words, there is no tangible difference when it comes to how sharp an image appears to our eyes. Continue reading...

Conundrums for the crossword connoisseurToday's teasers come from pub quiz legend, Only Connect champion, and wizard of wordplay Frank Paul.One of his fortes is puzzles based on letter or word patterns, such as the ones below. Continue reading...

Catching this distinctive but faint zigzag constellation will require a dark sky, well away from street lightsTime to track down a faint gem of the northern skies. Nestled between the bright constellations of Cygnus, the swan, and the mythical mother-daughter pair of Cassiopeia and Andromeda, Lacerta, the lizard, is admittedly a faint constellation.However, picking out its distinctive shape on a cold, dark night brings a tremendous sense of accomplishment at knowing the night sky. Continue reading...