Science | The Guardian

First attempt with private Kairos rocket was intended to test viability of homegrown commercial launch businessA rocket made by a Japanese company has exploded seconds after it was launched with the goal of putting a satellite into orbit.Tokyo-based Space One's 18-metre Kairos rocket blasted off from the company's launch pad in the Wakayama region of western Japan, carrying a small government test satellite, on Wednesday. Continue reading...

I thought becoming an author meant I could avoid ever addressing a crowd again. Then I was invited to a writers' festivalWhen I was younger I was so terrified of public speaking that I went out of my way to avoid it. If I was forced to address a crowd, I didn't sleep for days before because I would loop disaster scenarios over and over in my head. When it came to the actual event, my hands would be clammy, my breathing would be erratic and I'd speed through my speech in a desperate need just to be done.At university, I chose subjects merely because they did not involve class presentations. I never applied for jobs that meant addressing a crowd. And when my best friend asked me to speak at her 21st birthday, I drank so much cheap wine that I slurred a sentence or two and then fled outside in shame. Continue reading...

Study finds reception-age girls with obesity 67% more likely to see doctor about musculoskeletal issues than those at healthy weightGirls aged between four and 11 who are overweight or obese are more likely to see a GP at least once about musculoskeletal problems than their healthy weight peers, research suggests.Pupils in reception year who had a body mass index considered overweight were 24% more likely to see a doctor at least once for a musculoskeletal issue while their peers who were living with obesity were 67% more likely to do so than girls with a healthy weight, the study found. Continue reading...

Researchers say jabs substantially reduce for up to a year the chances of serious cardiovascular complicationsCovid vaccinations substantially reduce the risk of heart failure and potentially dangerous blood clots linked to the infection for up to a year, according to a large study.Researchers analysed health records from more than 20 million people across the UK, Spain and Estonia and found consistent evidence that the jabs protected against serious cardiovascular complications of the disease. Continue reading...

Hackney MP says she feels more vulnerable after Tory donor said looking at her makes you want to hate all black women'

From harmful therapies' to social services referrals, the notion that this illness is psychosomatic is having devastating effectsIt's the greatest medical scandal of the 21st century. For decades, patients with ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome) have been told they can make themselves better by changing their attitudes. This devastating condition, which afflicts about 250,000 people in the UK, was psychologised by many doctors and scientists, adding to the burden of a terrible physiological illness.Long after this approach was debunked in scientific literature, clinicians who championed it have refused to let go. They continue to influence healthcare systems, governments and health insurers. And patients still suffer as a result. Continue reading...

Important collection rediscovered during house-clearing includes numerous rare speciesAn internationally important collection of shells, including specimens from Captain Cook's final voyage, has been rediscovered 40 years after it was thought to have been thrown into a skip.More than 200 shells have been returned to English Heritage, which will put some of them on display in Northumberland this week. Continue reading...

For some people, going bald or experiencing thinning hair can have a significant impact on mental wellbeing and self confidence. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Rudi Zygadlo about how it affected him and what he eventually did about it, and to consultant dermatologist and hair specialist Dr Sharon Wong about what exactly is going on when our hair thins, which treatments are available to help, and what we can expect from new technologies in the pipelineRead Rudi Zygadlo's description of his hair transplantSign up to the TechScape newsletter to read Alex Hern's weekly look at how technology is shaping our lives Continue reading...

Halley-type comet that orbits once every 71.3 years will be easier to spot as it passes by bright stars, say astronomersA comet that is larger than Mount Everest could become visible to the naked eye in the coming weeks as it continues its first visit to the inner solar system in more than 70 years, say astronomers.The icy body is a Halley-type comet - meaning it will turn up once, or possibly twice, in a lifetime. Indeed 12P/Pons-Brooks, as it is known, completes its orbit once every 71.3 years, and is due to make its closest approach to the sun on 21 April. Continue reading...

Experts say action needed as report finds minority ethnic people, women and those from deprived backgrounds at risk of poorer healthcareMinority ethnic people, women and people from deprived communities are at risk of poorer healthcare because of biases within medical tools and devices, a report has revealed.Among other findings, the Equity in Medical Devices: Independent Review has raised concerns over devices that use artificial intelligence (AI), as well as those that measure oxygen levels. The team behind the review said urgent action was needed. Continue reading...

The two species of pygmy squid the size of a fingernail live on Japanese coral reefs. Spotting them is a sign of a healthy ecosystem, say scientistsIn Japan, stories have been told of forest-dwelling magical spirits called kodama since ancient times. Over the centuries, they've adopted many guises: sometimes they're invisible, sometimes they look like trees. The Studio Ghibli animated movie Princess Mononoke portrayed kodama as rotund little humanoids with rotating bobble heads. Now, a genus of miniature squid has been named in honour of the kodama and their role as nature's guardians.If you see them, it's a sign that the ecosystem is healthy," says Jeff Jolly from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, referring to Kodama jujutsu, the pygmy squid that he and a team of scientists and underwater photographers found on coral reefs in Japan and described in a 2023 paper. Continue reading...

Employees say there is a trend of limited diversity among the senior scientific leadership at the London centre for AIStaff at the UK's national institute for artificial intelligence and data science have expressed serious concerns" about the organisation's approach to diversity after it appointed four men to senior roles.A letter addressed to the leadership of the Alan Turing Institute (ATI) said the appointments showed a continuing trend of limited diversity within the institute's senior scientific leadership". Continue reading...

Submersibles allow us to witness the wonders of the depths of our planet like nothing else. But after the OceanGate disaster, how safe are they? Cal Flyn goes aboard...When we climb on board the ship, the submersible is waiting for us on deck. It is sleek and gleaming and slightly comic, like a tiny spaceship. It has a banana-yellow deck and a huge, Jetsons-style cockpit contained within a transparent bubble: an acrylic globe that is perfectly clear and spherical, temporarily shrouded in a thick grey cover to protect the interior from super-heating in the Bahamian sun.It is at once impossibly futuristic and yet intriguingly solid - like no vehicle I have ever seen before. And it feels oddly in keeping with my present surroundings, which are, admittedly, perplexing. I don't spend much of my time on superyachts, so this all seems strange to me. There's a bridge full of glittering equipment and flatscreens of data. There's a gleaming white kitchen filled with food. Capable, suntanned young staff buzz around, busy with ropes and fenders, knives strapped to their ankles, offering to whip us up margaritas at a moment's notice. Continue reading...

In emotional pain, Jessica Hepburn decided to climb to the top of the world and listen to every single available episode of Desert Island DiscsIt is hard for Jessica Hepburn to pinpoint the exact moment she decided to climb to the top of the world as well as to listen to every single available episode of Desert Island Discs.They've become so inextricably linked in my mind," says the author, adventurer and self-described unlikely athlete" who, in 2022, at the age of 51, successfully summited Mount Everest. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Paper by UCL professor says wobbly' space-time could instead explain expansion of universe and galactic rotationDark matter is supposed to account for 85% of the mass in the universe, according to conventional scientific wisdom. But proponents of a radical new theory of gravity, in which space-time is wobbly", say their approach could render the elusive substance obsolete.

Procedure could overcome common forms of infertility and help people have children who share their DNAScientists are a step closer to making IVF eggs from patients' skin cells after adapting the procedure that created Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, more than two decades ago.The work raises the prospect of older women being able to have children who share their DNA, and to overcome common forms of infertility caused by a woman's eggs becoming damaged by disease or cancer treatment. Continue reading...

Ottoline Leyser of UKRI says people in public eye should be able to debate better, with less polarisation and blameThe head of the UK government science body at the centre of a libel scandal has called for creative disagreement" and a higher standard of public discourse, with less polarisation and blame between scientists and politicians.Ottoline Leyser, the chief executive of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), said that with so much at stake for the planet and given the need for science to propel a transition to a low-carbon economy, it was imperative for policymakers, scientists and the public to be able to communicate. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Significant discovery, made by James Webb telescope, provokes disagreement over conditions on planet's surfaceAstronomers have observed a distant planet that could be entirely covered in a deep water ocean, in findings that advance the search for habitable conditions beyond Earth.The observations, by Nasa's James Webb space telescope (JWST), revealed water vapour and chemical signatures of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the exoplanet, which is twice Earth's radius and about 70 light years away. This chemical mix is consistent with a water world where the ocean would span the entire surface, and a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge, although they do not envisage a balmy, inviting seascape. Continue reading...

Vote against formal geological recognition of age of the humans' is claimed to have violated committee rulesThe quest to declare the Anthropocene an official geological epoch has descended into an epic row, after the validity of a leaked vote that apparently killed the proposal was questioned.Supporters of the idea have been working on the proposal for 15 years. They say it would formalise the undeniable and irreversible changes that human activity has wreaked on the planet. It would mark the end of the Holocene epoch, the 11,700 years of stable global environment in which the whole of human civilisation developed. Continue reading...

I've built up a collection from a beach in Weymouth that could help to establish what biodiversity in the UK was like over the course of millions of years

Study suggests dogs with POMC gene mutation are hungrier between meals and burn fewer calories when at restWhen it comes to greedy canines, labradors take the biscuit. Now researchers have shed light on why the breed is prone to a portly form.Scientists previously revealed a mutation in a gene called POMC (proopiomelanocortin) predisposes dogs to obesity. The genetic variant is found in about a quarter of labrador retrievers and two-thirds of flat-coated retrievers, with the effect slightly larger in the former. Continue reading...

Ian Sample speaks to the Guardian's health editor, Andrew Gregory, about the worrying global rise in cancers in under-50s, and hears from Yin Cao, an associate professor in surgery and medicine at Washington University in St Louis, who is part of a team conducting a huge study into why young people are developing bowel cancer at record rates Continue reading...

As TV producers push boundaries, advisers called in to help safeguard participants' mental health face a complex taskThe risk to reality TV participants' mental health is increasing year on year as broadcasters and producers continue to push boundaries to make more interesting and enticing entertainment. But while psychologists are increasingly called upon to advise on such productions, experts say these aren't always appropriately qualified and their advice isn't necessarily followed up.Television and film companies are increasingly working to safeguard participants' mental health after allegations of manipulative and coercive treatment, and the suicide of contestants on Love Island, The Jeremy Kyle Show and other reality programmes. They are also under pressure to attract audiences amid growing competition and financial strains.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 counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org. Continue reading...

Global average temperature for past 12 months highest on record at 1.56C above pre-industrial levels, data showsLast month was the warmest February on record globally, making it the ninth month in a row with record temperatures for the time of year, scientists have said.Global sea surface temperatures are also at their highest ever recorded, data from the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service shows. Continue reading...

Scientists link tiny particles in blood vessels with substantially higher risk of deathDoctors have warned of potentially life-threatening effects from plastic pollution after finding a substantially raised risk of stroke, heart attack and earlier death in people whose blood vessels were contaminated with microscopic plastics.Researchers in Naples examined fatty plaques removed from the blood vessels of patients with arterial disease and found that more than half had deposits contaminated with tiny particles of polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Continue reading...

Deliberately fashioned chipped stones date back more than 1m years and may have been used by homo erectusAncient stone tools found in western Ukraine may offer the oldest known evidence of the presence of humans in Europe, according to new research.The chipped stones, deliberately fashioned from volcanic rock, were excavated from a quarry in Korolevo in the 1970s. Archaeologists used new methods to date the layers of sedimentary rock surrounding the tools to more than 1m years old. Continue reading...

Researchers in France believe subtle shift in facial attractiveness is down to changes in blood sugar and insulinIf you want to look your best in the morning, it may be worth swapping the ultra-processed pastries and fruit juice for wholemeal toast and tea without sugar.Researchers in France found that people who ate a breakfast rich in refined carbohydrates were rated less attractive than those who started the day with healthier unrefined carbs. Continue reading...

Workplace motivation | Michelle Donelan | Weight loss | Jaw-force units | Radio 4James Timpson makes a powerful case for seeing his employees as valuable human beings, not expendable units of production", by asking them to follow only two rules: put the money in the till and look the part (Journal, 5 March). I was reminded of the customer-service-focused Nordstrom stores in the US, whose employee mantra is:One rule: use good judgment in all situations." Simple and effective.

Khinjaria acuta was bigger than a great white shark, with blade-like teeth and awesome jaws. Just as well it died out 67m years agoName: Khinjaria acuta.Age: About 67m to 69m years old. Continue reading...

German man, who said he had vaccines for private reasons', suspected of selling certificates to people who didn't want jabA German man who voluntarily received 217 coronavirus jabs over 29 months showed no signs" of having been infected with the virus that causes Covid-19 and had not suffered from any vaccine-related side effects, according to a study published in the medical journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.The 62-year-old, from Magdeburg, Germany, whom doctors described as hypervaccinated", said he had had the large number of vaccines for private reasons", according to the researchers from University of Erlangen-Nuremberg who examined him. Continue reading...

Tens of thousands of dengue cases recorded this year as high temperatures and rainy weather create perfect formula' for bugsIn his 20 years cleaning the Buenos Aires subway, Mauricio Rios, 52, had never seen anything like it: a vast and noisy swarm of mosquitoes churning in dark clouds the length of the platform at Piedras station.Rios pulled out his phone and filmed the growing swarm for half a minute, before rushing to the break room, contacting his superior and shutting down the station. Continue reading...

Chinese researchers say consumption of diet soda can increase atrial fibrillation risk by as much as 20%Consuming more than two liters of diet soda or other artificially sweetened drinks a week can increase the risk of a dangerous irregular heartbeat by 20% compared with people who drink none, according to a new study by researchers in China.The study, from Shanghai, found that people who drink such beverages are more susceptible to a condition known as atrial fibrillation. Continue reading...

Home of polar bears, seals and walruses could be mostly water for months as early as 2035 due to fossil fuel emissionsThe Arctic could have summer days with practically no sea ice within the next decade due to emissions from burning fossil fuels, a study has found.This would transform the unique habitat, home to polar bears, seals and walruses, from a white Arctic" to a blue Arctic" during the summer months, scientists said. The calculation used for ice free" means less than 1m sq km, in which case the Arctic would be mostly water. Continue reading...

This is the story of Geoffrey Hinton, a man who set out to understand the brain and ended up working with a group of researchers who invented a technology so powerful that even they don't truly understand how it works. This is about a collision between two mysterious intelligences - two black boxes - human and artificial. And it's already having profound consequencesYou can listen to Black Box here.Thanks to Michael Wooldridge - his book is called The Road to Conscious Machines. Continue reading...

We all know the cliches about older siblings being responsible, younger ones being creative, and middle children being peacemakers. But is there any evidence our position in the family has an impact on our personality? Madeleine Finlay meets Dr Julia Rohrer, a personality psychologist at the University of Leipzig, to unpick the science behind our intuition about birth order Continue reading...

Instrument was adapted, translated and corrected by Muslim and Jewish users in Spain, north Africa and ItalyAlmost exactly a year ago, Federica Gigante was preparing a lecture and searching the internet for a portrait of the 17th-century Italian nobleman and collector Ludovico Moscardo when an altogether different image caught her eye.The historian's gaze soon snagged on a photo of a metal disc with a ring at the top that was kept in the same Verona museum as Moscardo's picture. Continue reading...

Dostarlimab or Jemperli, an immunotherapy used alongside chemotherapy, could extend life expectancyA drug that could improve the quality of life of hundreds of women with womb cancer will be rolled out on the NHS across England from Tuesday.Dostarlimab, also known as Jemperli, is an immunotherapy that works by attracting specific proteins on the surface of cancer cells to help the immune system attack them. Continue reading...

Research published in Nature Astronomy suggests lower oxygen levels on Europa mean narrower range to support habitability'New research suggests there's less oxygen on the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa than thought - and that could affect what if any life might be lurking in Europa's underground ocean.Even with little or no oxygen, microbes might still be bustling around in the ocean believed to exist miles beneath Europa's frozen crust. As for what else, who knows", said the Nasa scientist Kevin Hand, who was not involved in the study published on Monday in Nature Astronomy. Continue reading...

The answer to today's puzzlesEarlier today I set you three examples of a word puzzle that illuminates one of the smash hits of theoretical computer science. (To read about this result, the PCP theorem, please check out the original post.)In the puzzle, crossword-style clues each point to a vertical column. The answer to each clue is a three-letter word, made up from the three letters that the clue points to. Continue reading...

Creating organoids from cells found in amniotic fluid could bring insights into cause and progression of malformationsResearchers have grown mini-organs from cells shed by foetuses in the womb in a breakthrough that promises to shed light on human development throughout late pregnancy.They created the 3D lumps of tissue know as organoids from lung, kidney and intestinal cells recovered from the amniotic fluid that bathes and protects the foetus in the uterus. Continue reading...

From changes in identification to overdiagnosis, experts weigh potential factors in perceived rise in neurodiversity

It is easy to see the world in a pessimistic light, but by tapping into our innate generosity we have the power to change itAs a determined optimist, I never thought I'd be saying this, but it's true: the world is mean and getting meaner. Instead of bringing us together, the internet seems to have fuelled our divisions by empowering those who are best at sowing fear, mistrust and outrage. We're angry with each other over migrants, gender identity, climate catastrophe, wokeness and so much more.A recent survey by King's College London found that for the first time a majority (52%) of the UK population believes that culture wars are a serious problem for society and politics. I'm sick of this. I suspect you are too. I've spent the last few years looking for an antidote. Just possibly, it can be found in a pair of human instincts wired deeply inside us: generosity, and our response to it. At the start of the pandemic lockdown, stories of death, chaos and grocery-hoarding filled the media. Like many of us, an Australian woman, Catherine Barrett, felt on the edge of tears much of the time. One day, one of her neighbours put a box of tissues on the communal table in her building with just a simple note: Please take if needed."Chris Anderson is the founder of Future Publishing and the head of TED. His latest book is Infectious Generosity Continue reading...

Leaks are driving 30% of the climate crisis and MethaneSat will provide the first near-comprehensive global viewA washing-machine-sized satellite is to name and shame" the worst methane polluters in the oil and gas industry.MethaneSat is scheduled to launch from California onboard a SpaceX rocket on Monday at 2pm local time (22:00 GMT). It will provide the first near-comprehensive global view of leaks of the potent greenhouse gas from the oil and gas sector, and all of the data will be made public. It will provide high-resolution data over wider areas than existing satellites. Continue reading...

Our ability to resist temptation is increasingly shaped by forces beyond our controlIn the 1960s the Stanford psychologist WalterMischel devised a way to measure selfcontrol in four-year-olds. He would leavethe preschoolers alone in a room with a plate of marshmallows and a challenge: they could eat one marshmallow right away, or waituntilthe adult returned and eat two. In the decadesthat followed, he noticed something interesting. Thefour-year-olds who had waited for thetwo marshmallows did better at school, were less likely to take drugs or end up in jail, were happier and earned more. He came to believe that self-control, the ability to delay gratification, was the key to success.More recently, however, psychologists have challenged his findings. Mischel's original studies followed fewer than 90 children, all of whom were enrolled in the same nursery. Once you start studying bigger and more diverse groups, a different pattern emerges: it is wealthier children who are better able toresist the marshmallow. That's partly because they are more likely to trust that they really will get two marshmallows if they wait. It's also because our ability to resist temptation is shaped by our environment in complex and under-recognised ways. Basically: we're not fully in control of our self-control. Continue reading...

Andrew Scott says we can stop one of humanity's biggest achievements turning into a dystopian near-futureThirty-year-olds should start plotting their retirement. Fifty-year-olds need to make younger friends and 60-year-olds must go back to school.This is according to a book looking at how we can prevent one of humanity's greatest achievements turning into a nightmare. Continue reading...

A crossword puzzle with a twistUPDATE: You can read the solutions hereToday's puzzle illuminates one of the smash hits of theoretical computer science, a mind-boggling result that left even experts in the field gobsmacked.We'll get to that result (the PCP theorem) later. But first, to the challenge! Continue reading...

If you can find a dark enough location, the constellation Cancer and Beehive star cluster are well-placed for observationMarch brings the zodiacal constellation Cancer, the crab, into an excellent viewing position for northern hemisphere observers.According to Greek mythology, the giant crab was slain by the hero Heracles during his battle with the Hydra of Lerna. The goddess Hera, who wanted Heracles defeated, placed it in the stars as a thank you for trying. Continue reading...

Parts of the structure are younger than expected while an east wind blows the whole thing across the desert, researchers findThey are impressive, mysterious structures that loom out of deserts on the Earth and are also found on Mars and on Saturn's biggest moon, Titan.Experts from universities including Aberystwyth in Wales have now pinpointed the age of a star dune in a remote area of Morocco and uncovered details about its formation and how it moves across the desert. Continue reading...

Dyes based on the fluorescent proteins are also water-soluble and low-toxicity so could replace solventsScientists have developed a forensic spray using a protein found in jellyfish that shows up fingerprints in just 10 seconds.They say that the dye spray could make forensic investigations quicker and more effective. It is also water-soluble and has low toxicity. Traditional forensic methods either use toxic powders that can harm DNA evidence or petrochemical solvents that are bad for the environment, the sale of which is increasingly restricted. Continue reading...