Science | The Guardian

Early birds on the east coast will have the best chance of seeing this annual astral light show

The speed of the shower creates swift, bright streaks across the night sky, at a typical rate of 20 meteors an hourAs seasoned meteor spotters will tell you, each meteor shower has its own peculiar characteristics. Earlier in the month, the Draconids were characterised by their slow-moving meteors. The Orionids, on the other hand, are zippy.Barrelling into the atmosphere at about 66 km/s, they create swift, bright streaks that linger for a few moments after the meteor has passed. The chart shows the view looking east from London at 00.30 BST in the early hours of 22 October. Continue reading...

Why are the online far right so successful in shaping our political language? With Dr Robert TopinkaAt a press conference in September, Reform UK announced a seismic policy proposal - the end of indefinite leave to remain for immigrants. This change, which would drastically transform the UK immigration system, was justified by a supposed need to tackle the Boriswave".At first glance, the Boriswave portmanteau might be understood as merely a description of the post-Brexit pattern of heightened migration but, as the reactionary digital politics expert Dr Robert Topinka explains to Helen Pidd, the term was generated by the extremely online far right" and originally used as a racial epithet. Topinka describes how it carries a right-leaning framing, whether its users are aware of it or not. Continue reading...

Triple-action therapy drug amivantamab could be given as an injection to help treat recurrent or metastatic cancersDoctors have hailed incredibly encouraging" trial results that show a triple-action smart jab can shrink tumours in head and neck cancer patients within six weeks.Head and neck cancer is the world's sixth most common form of the disease. If it spreads or comes back after standard treatment, patients may be offered immunotherapy and platinum chemotherapy. But if this fails, there is often little else doctors can do. Continue reading...

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers' questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsWhy aren't more animals hermaphrodites? Snails and worms seem to have been successful using that method for sharing genes between any two individuals, but vertebrates evolved away from it. Why? Janet Lesley, Kent, UKPost your answers (and new questions) below or send them to nq@theguardian.com. A selection will be published next Sunday. Continue reading...

Once dismissed as a sign of low intelligence, researchers now argue the power' of taboo words has been overlookedWhen researchers asked people around the world to list every taboo word they could think of, the differences that emerged were revealing. The length of each list, for example, varied widely.While native English speakers in the UK and Spanish speakers in Spain rattled off an average of 16 words, Germans more than tripled this with an average of 53 words ranging from intelligenzallergiker, a person allergic to intelligence, to hodenkobold, or testicle goblin", someone who is being annoying. Continue reading...

AmfAR, set up by Elizabeth Taylor, is known for hosting lavish parties and raising huge sums for HIV and Aids researchIt's recognised for its pomp, the celebrity supporters and the fabulously glamorous locations, but for the man behind the amfAR gala, an A-list charity roadshow that rolled into London for the first time this weekend, the event is deeply personal.AmfAR - the American Foundation for Aids Research - is a nonprofit group that emerged in the 1980s to support research into HIV and Aids. Continue reading...

Renowned 1957 Nobel prize winner worked on statistical mechanics and symmetry principles in elementary particle physicsChen Ning Yang, one of the world's most renowned physicists and a Nobel prize winner, died on Saturday in Beijing at the age of 103 after an illness, state media outlet Xinhua has reported.Born in eastern China's Hefei in Anhui province in 1922, Yang was a Chinese-American physicist who worked on statistical mechanics and symmetry principles in elementary particle physics. Continue reading...

BPA, a synthetic chemical used in production of plastics, found in baby products made by three big European brandsA chemical linked to impaired sexual development, obesity and cancer has been found in baby dummies manufactured by three big European brands.Dummies made by the Dutch multinational Philips, the Swiss oral health specialists Curaprox and the French toy brand Sophie la Girafe were found to contain bisphenol A (BPA), according to laboratory testing by dTest, a Czech consumer organisation. Philips said they had carried out subsequent testing and found no BPA, while Sophie la Girafe said the amount found was insignificant. Continue reading...

Long-acting injection offers an alternative to daily pills taken to protect against the virusA gamechanging" injection to prevent HIV is to be approved for use in England and Wales.The long-acting jab, administered every two months, will offer an alternative to the daily pills used to protect against the virus. Continue reading...

High court claim says company knowingly sold product containing asbestos and concealed' risk to public

Luxembourg - one of the world's smallest nations - has positioned itself at the forefront of asteroid mining. But extracting minerals and precious metals from space throws up all sorts of ethical and legal questions, such as who can lay claim to an asteroid and all of its extractive wealth, and should space benefit all of humankind", as the international treaties signed in the 60s intended? Nevertheless, Luxembourg has lured a multinational cast of space entrepreneurs with the potential to invest in the promise of an untapped trillion dollar industry. Josh Toussaint-Strauss finds out how Luxembourg became a global hub for space mining, and whether it's promised gold rush' will ever materialize Continue reading...

Exclusive: 20% reduction in contribution to Aids, TB and malaria funding expected to be announced next monthThe UK is expected to slash its contribution to a leading aid fund combating preventable diseases, with charities warning this could lead to more than 300,000 otherwise preventable deaths.If confirmed, the anticipated 20% cut in the UK contribution to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, would be announced on the sidelines of next month's G20 summit in South Africa, which Keir Starmer is due to attend. Continue reading...

Celebrities including Bella Hadid, Justin Bieber and Miranda Hart have talked about their years-long struggles with the effects of Lyme disease, but despite rising rates and better awareness, the illness remains poorly understood. To understand more about how the illness can impact people over the long term, Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian's Patrick Barkham about his daughter Milly's experience, and from Prof John Aucott, director of the Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Research Center, and associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins UniversityAs my daughter got sicker and sicker, our quest for answers dragged on. How did we all miss the bacteria taking over her body?Support the Guardian Continue reading...

Richard Bilodeau, 63, charged with two counts of murder in 1984 death of Theresa Fusco, 16, of Long IslandFour decades after prosecutors sent the wrong men to prison for the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl from Long Island, New York, DNA obtained from a discarded straw has led to the indictment of a new suspect.A Nassau county grand jury on Tuesday indicted Richard Bilodeau, 63, of Center Moriches, on two counts of murder in the death of 16-year-old Theresa Fusco, who disappeared after leaving her part-time job at a Lynbrook roller-skating rink in November 1984. Her nude body was found weeks after the assault, buried under leaves in a wooded area near the rink. Continue reading...

Only two female northern white rhinos are left - but neither can carry a pregnancy. So a surrogate was used. Tragically, the foetus didn't reach full termThis photograph captures a moment of fragile hope: the world's first IVF rhino pregnancy, a tiny foetus that reignited optimism among scientists fighting to save the northern white rhino from extinction. There are only two female northern white rhinos left on the planet - Najin and her daughter Fatu. Neither can carry a pregnancy due to health complications. The last male died in 2018 and that makes the species functionally extinct.

Weevils, spores, slime mold and cells are in extreme closeup for the 51st anniversary of the Nikon Small World competition. For more than five decades, the award has brought scientific wonders under the microscope, with scientists, artists and enthusiasts from 77 countries contributing 1,925 photo entries this year alone. Judges have arrived at this stunning top 20 Continue reading...

ITVX's perpetual real-time broadcast from the International Space Station is awe-inspiring ... until it gets boring. But even though it's hard to watch for long, it's a humbling reminder of who we areI realise that, at this point, there are already far too many shows. Every channel, every streaming service is teeming with content demanding your attention, and there are simply too few hours in the day to watch them all. However, with that in mind, may I recommend a new show called Space Live? There's only one episode. The only potential downside is that the episode literally lasts for ever.Actually, that's inaccurate. Space Live isn't a show, it's a channel. It launched on Wednesday morning, tucked away on ITVX, and consists only of live footage of Earth broadcast from the International Space Station. It's beguiling to watch, especially for anyone who didn't realise that a person can be awestruck and bored simultaneously. Continue reading...

Astrophysicist proposes a radically mundane' theory for why humans have yet to encounter extraterrestrialsFor centuries, great thinkers have pondered why, given the hundreds of billions of planets in the galaxy, we have seen no compelling signs of intelligent life beyond Earth.Now, scientists are mulling an intriguing possibility: if aliens exist, their technology may be only marginally better than ours. And having explored their cosmic neighbourhood for a while, they simply got bored and stopped bothering, making it difficult to detect them. Continue reading...

Botanist trying to conserve highly vulnerable rhizanthella that survives by feeding on nutrients from a fungusRhizanthella is an extraordinary orchid that lives its entire life underground. It flowers below ground, has no leaves and survives by feeding on nutrients from a fungus that gets its food from the soil and by connecting with roots of the broom bush, Melaleuca uncinata.Rhizanthella was an international sensation when it was first discovered by a farmer ploughing a field in Western Australia in 1928. It still remains incredibly difficult to find, usually by searching areas with the right habitat and carefully scraping away soil searching for the blooms buried underneath - tiny reddish flowers wrapped in creamy-pink bracts. The blooms also have a heady scent of vanilla, and may be pollinated by termites or tiny flies. Continue reading...

Biggest and most powerful rocket ever built successfully made it halfway around the world while releasing mock satellites during its 11th test flight on Monday. The previous test flight in August - a success after a string of explosive failures - followed a similar path with similar goals Continue reading...

The Traitors has returned to UK screens with its biggest viewing figures ever as 19 celebrities compete to be crowned the winner. The game depends on being able to accurately spot a liar, but are any deception detection methods actually backed up by science?Madeleine Finlay speaks to Timothy Luke, a senior lecturer in the department of applied psychology at the University of Gothenburg, to find out whether sweating, nervous ticks and reduced eye contact really can alert us to deception, and if not, what can?Clips: BBC Continue reading...

The answers to today's questionsEarlier today I set these three puzzles, loosely based around 1729, the taxicab number". To read about the link between London cabs and 1729 please read the original post.1. Square pair Continue reading...

Report raises concerns about liability issues and lack of testing as development of AI health tools boomsThe use of artificial intelligence in healthcare could create a legally complex blame game when it comes to establishing liability for medical failings, experts have warned.The development of AI for clinical use has boomed, with researchers creating a host of tools, from algorithms to help interpret scans to systems that can aid with diagnoses. AI is also being developed to help manage hospitals, from optimising bed capacity to tackling supply chains. Continue reading...

Breakthrough raises new possibilities for regenerative medicine, which uses patient's own cells to repair damaged tissuesScientists have grown embryo-like structures in the laboratory that produced human blood cells, raising new possibilities for regenerative medicine.The ability to generate blood stem cells in the laboratory may one day make it possible to treat patients in need of bone marrow transplants using their own cells. Continue reading...

A tourism initiative in India's first dark sky reserve has brought new hope to a community as employment means they can stay close to their roots and cultureThe snow-flecked peaks surrounding the village of Hanle are bathed in golden light as the sun sets. In the valley, 28-year-old Tsering Dolkar secures a telescope to its tripod and focuses the lens beneath a clear sky.Zipped into warm jackets the visitors gather around Dolkar, gazing upwards as the sky darkens into a breathtaking tapestry of stars. She points toward a bright star in the western sky and announces: That is Venus." Someone says excitedly: There's the Milky Way!" Continue reading...

Do you have the knowledge?UPDATE: Answers are now up.Around 1919, the British mathematician G. H. Hardy hopped on a London cab on his way to visit his Indian colleague Srinivasa Ramanujan.The cab's licence number, 1729, seemed dull to Hardy but his pal fervently disagreed. It is a very interesting number," said Ramanujan. It is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways." Continue reading...

Conjunction just after midnight on 14 October will show brightest stars of Gemini shining brightly below moonIt is worth staying up for this pleasing view of the moon as it encounters Jupiter and the brightest stars of Gemini, the twins. The chart shows the view looking east from London at 00:30 BST in the very early morning of 14 October.Gemini will have risen a little earlier and will now be visible until the dawn. So early risers, as well as night owls, will catch this conjunction. The two brightest stars of Gemini are Castor and Pollux, the twin half-brothers of Greek and Roman mythology. Continue reading...

Two decades after the material was first produced, some UK firms have reaped its potential but others are strugglingAfter graphene was first produced at the University of Manchester in 2004, it was hailed as a wonder material, stronger than steel but lighter than paper. But two decades on, not every UK graphene company has made the most of that potential. Some show promise but others are struggling.Extracted from graphite, commonly used in pencils, graphene is a latticed sheet of carbon one atom thick, and is highly effective at conducting heat and electricity. China is the world's biggest producer, using it to try to get ahead in the global race to produce microchips and in sectors such as construction. Continue reading...

Alcohol, suicide and injuries driving rises among teenagers and young adults despite overall rates falling, authors sayThe world faces an emerging crisis" of higher death rates among teenagers and young adults, according to a major study on the causes of death and disability worldwide.The reasons vary from drug and alcohol use, and suicide in North America, to infectious diseases and injuries in sub-Saharan Africa, the researchers said, but warned that their data should serve as a wake-up call".In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

The particles are in our blood, brains and guts - and scientists are only beginning to learn what they doMicroplastics have been found almost everywhere: in blood, placentas, lungs - even the human brain. One study estimated our cerebral organs alone may contain 5g of the stuff, or roughly a teaspoon. If true, plastic isn't just wrapped around our food or woven into our clothes: it is lodged deep inside us.Now, researchers suspect these particles may also be meddling with our gut microbes. When Dr Christian Pacher-Deutsch at the University of Graz in Austria exposed gut bacteria from five healthy volunteers to five common microplastics, the bacterial populations shifted - along with the chemicals they produced. Some of these changes mirrored patterns linked to depression and colorectal cancer. Continue reading...

Doctor and medical editor who inaugurated the International Congress on Peer Review and Scientific PublicationIn deciding what research to publish and how to appraise it, medical journals bear a heavy responsibility - as seen when it goes awry. In 1998, for instance, the Lancet published a paper falsely linking autism with the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. They retracted the paper, but the genie was out of the bottle: the ensuing health scare reverberates to this day.The British-born doctor and editor Drummond Rennie, who has died aged 89, was a towering figure in American medical journals, on a mission to combat inaccuracy in science reporting and drive up standards. A cartoon in the British Medical Journal in 2001 depicted him as a biblical prophet, beckoning his fellow medical editors towards the promised land" of rigorous science reporting. He was the deputy editor of two of the world's most influential medical journals: the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), from 1977 to 1981; and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), from 1983 to 2013. Continue reading...

Before the Spanish study, some scientists had been sceptical about the mammals attacking migratory birdsBats are generally viewed as harmless, if spooky, creatures of the night. But scientists have revealed a more savage side, after witnessing a greater noctule bat - Europe's largest bat species - hunting, killing and devouring a robin mid-flight.The grisly recording reveals the bat as a formidable predator, climbing to 1.2km (4,000ft) before embarking on a breakneck-speed dive in pursuit of its prey. On capture, the bat delivered a lethal bite and subsequent chewing sounds, recorded between echolocation calls, indicated that the bat consumed the bird continuously during flight for 23 minutes without losing altitude. Continue reading...

Scientist who transformed the understanding of materials and redefined our knowledge of crystallographyWhen Peter Hirsch produced the first images of defects or faults in crystalline structures using transmission electron microscopy at Cambridge University's Rutherford Laboratory, he transformed our understanding of materials science and redefined our knowledge of crystallography.In particular, in 1956 he and his team directly observed a specific type of fault, known as a dislocation, in pieces of stainless steel and aluminium foil, which previously had only been a somewhat controversial hypothesis. These faults are important because they control the ductility of the material, that is, its ability to sustain deformation before breaking. Continue reading...

Researchers say terrier and shepherd breeds display greater tendency for addictive-type behaviourWhether it is a spaniel with an insatiable love for a ball or a flat-coat that cannot be without its squeaky bear, dogs can be very keen on their toys. Now researchers say some may even show signs of addiction.While humans can take a host of activities to excess, from work to shopping, only gambling and internet gaming disorders are officially recognised as behavioural addictions, a main feature of which is repeating acts that are initially rewarding, even though they can result in longer-term harm. Continue reading...

Biologist who won the Nobel prize for discovering that adult cells can be reprogrammedThe exciting possibility that mature body cells, such as skin cells, might be transformed and used to repair damaged hearts or brains was long seen as science fiction. Once a cell had reached its specialised mature state, biologists thought, it could not adopt another identity. John Gurdon, who has died aged 92, was the first to show that it could. In 2012 he shared the Nobel prize for medicine with the Japanese researcher Shinya Yamanaka for this discovery.In 1958, while still a graduate student at Oxford University, Gurdon reported that he had removed the nuclei, which contain the cell's DNA, from frog eggs and successfully replaced them with nuclei taken from cells lining the guts of tadpoles. Continue reading...

If we really want to grasp what animals are saying', we need to understand their communication on their terms, not oursAnother day, another cute story about how dogs can grasp elements of human language and use them to communicate with us.First, there was Mr Waffles, the Yorkshire terrier thattalks" to his owners by pressing electronic buttons that have been pre-programmed with words and phrases. In one of his videos, viewed more than half a million times, the pint-sized pooch stares defiantly at the camera and responds to an empty packet of treats by pressing the I don't give a damn" button. Followed by the bitch" button. Bad dog, Mr Waffles.Helen Pilcher is a science writer and the author of Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-Extinction. To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply Continue reading...

This year's Nobel prizes in chemistry, physics and physiology or medicine have celebrated work that paves the way for the next generation of quantum technology, the creation of porous materials that have been compared to Hermione Granger's handbag and the discovery of the hidden army inside us that helps to keep our immune system in check. To find out more, Madeleine Finlay talks to our science editor, Ian Sample, and correspondents Nicola Davis and Hannah DevlinRead more of the Guardian's Nobel coverage Continue reading...

Trio honoured for developing revolutionary materials for applications ranging from gas storage to drug deliveryThe Nobel prize in chemistry has been awarded to three scientists who created revolutionary porous materials that can harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide from industrial facilities and remove toxins from water.Susumu Kitagawa, of Kyoto University, Richard Robson, of the University of Melbourne, and Omar Yaghi, of the University of California, Berkeley, shared the 11m Swedish kronor (about 871,400) prize awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. Continue reading...

Only the third interstellar comet ever to be seen contains material from other star systems that can be observed close upYou wait ages for an interstellar comet to arrive and then three come along at once. Or at least over the space of a decade. The latest interloper from another star system is the 3I/Atlas comet, which was first detected in July. As space agencies track the speeding object, here's what we know so far. Continue reading...

Research could offer hope for ME patients - but some experts urge caution and say more studies neededScientists say they have developed the world's first blood test to diagnose myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).There is currently no test for the condition and patients tend to be diagnosed based on symptoms, which means many can go undiagnosed for years. Continue reading...

Our brains are wired to believe new information, especially if it aligns with our views. But mistruths can have serious consequencesErnest Hemingway famously said that every good writer needs a built-in BS detector. But in 2025 we all need one. High levels of scientific misinformation are threatening the wellbeing of families and our society, and the problem is worsening at an alarming rate.Artificial intelligence and social media are turbocharging the spread of misinformation dressed as science. Lies that once travelled slowly, and stayed relatively local, now surge across the globe. Continue reading...

My father, Edgar Neufeld, who has died aged 92, was a Jewish refugee from the Nazis who became a scientist and senior IBM executive. He then dedicated himself to charitable work in education, for which he was made an OBE in 2003.After the family escaped from Vienna in 1938, Edgar grew up with his parents, Martha (nee Fuchs) and Sigi Neufeld, and his sister, Inge, in Manchester in a block of flats that was home to many other Jewish refugees. Sigi was a businessman and Martha later owned a gift boutique in London. Life gradually became more normal, and Edgar attended Manchester grammar school and Manchester City football matches. Continue reading...

Researchers in Australia find 16 genetic variants linked to depression in women but only eight in menWomen carry a higher genetic risk of depression, a new study has found.Claiming to be the largest genetic study to date on sex differences in major depression, the research published on Wednesday in Nature Communications has found 16 genetic variants linked to depression in women and eight in men. Continue reading...

Fred Ramsdell's wife switched on her phone and screamed - it was full of messages congratulating her husband

Trio led experiments that paved the way for the next generation of quantum technologiesThe Nobel prize in physics 2025 has been awarded to British, French and American scientists for pioneering experiments that paved the way for the next generation of quantum technologies.John Clarke, a British physicist based at the University of California at Berkeley, Michel Devoret, a French physicist based at Yale University, and John Martinis, of the University of California Santa Barbara, shared the 11m Swedish kronor (about 871,400) prize announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. Continue reading...

Kevin Hall spent 21 years at the US National Institutes of Health and became known globally for his pioneering work on ultra-processed foods. In April he unexpectedly took early retirement, citing censorship under the Trump administration.Now he has co-authored a book with the journalist Julia Belluz that aims to bust myths and challenge wellness orthodoxy on everything from weight loss and metabolism to supplements and wearables. Hall tells Ian Sample what he wants us all to understand about diet, exercise and weight loss, and what led to his departure from the job he lovedOrder Kevin's book from Guardian BookshopSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Fred Ramsdell was among those honoured with a 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine but might not know because he is somewhere in Idaho and uncontactableThe Nobel committee has been unable to reach a winner of this year's prize for medicine, who is living his best life" on an off the grid" hiking foray, a spokesperson from his San Francisco-based lab, Sonoma Biotherapeutics, has said.Fred Ramsdell shared Monday's prestigious prize with Mary Brunkow of Seattle, Washington and Shimon Sakaguchi of Osaka University in Japan for their discoveries related to the functioning of the immune system. Continue reading...

Primatologist said in interview released after her death she would also put Putin, Xi and Netanyahu on that spaceshipIn a lifetime studying the behavior of chimpanzees, Jane Goodall became something of an authority on the aggressiveness of alpha male adults. Now, in an interview released just days after her death, the famed primatologist reveals what she would do with Donald Trump, Elon Musk and other human beings she saw as showing similar traits: launch them on a one-way trip into space.The insight into Goodall's thinking comes in the Netflix documentary Famous Last Words, recorded in March and kept under wraps until her death last week at the age of 91. Continue reading...