The conflict in the Middle East has sent energy prices soaring, and for countries that import a high proportion of their fuel, it's a reminder of the perils of energy dependence. As the recipient of almost 90% of Iran's crude oil, China knows this only too well. Which partly explains why the country spent the last decade heavily investing in clean power.To find out what else could be driving the strategy, Madeleine Finlay speaks to senior China correspondent Amy Hawkins.And energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose reflects on how China's ambitions could affect the rest of the worldSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Preliminary trials into Zorevunersen find drug to be safe and well tolerated by those with Dravet syndromeScientists have hailed a potentially life-changing drug for children with a hard to treat form of epilepsy, after promising early clinical trial results.Dravet syndrome is a genetic disorder which causes treatment resistant epilepsy and is often accompanied by speech and developmental delays. About 3,000 people are thought to have the condition in the UK. Current treatments aim to control the number and severity of seizures, but often do not work. Continue reading...

Final module focuses on legacy and impact on mental health, particularly for key workers, vulnerable and bereaved peopleThe final module in the long-running Covid-19 inquiry has concluded, marking the end of public hearings that began almost three years ago.While other sections of the inquiry have focused on specific areas of the pandemic, such as the care sector, economy, vaccines and political decision-making, module 10 had a broader remit, looking at the overall impact on society and the legacy left behind. Continue reading...

Scientists are calling loss of biodiversity the homogenocene', where niche species are pushed out by generalists like pigeons and ratsPlants and animals are disappearing at an alarming rate across the planet, with some estimates suggesting a loss of up to 150 species every day. Meanwhile, the versatile species that thrive alongside humans, such as pigeons, rats and cockroaches, expand to fill the vacant gaps. Some scientists are calling this loss of biodiversity the homogenocene": the era when the world's wildlife became more samey.It started during the last ice age, when humans hunted large mammals such as the mammoth to extinction, and has continued to the present day as land is cleared to make way for fields, farms and cities. Specialist creatures that exploit a particular niche - such as the flightless Fijian bar-winged rail - have been pushed out by adaptable generalists, like mongooses, brought to Fiji by humans in the 1800s. More recently the homogenocene has hit the oceans, with warmer waters devastating coral reefs for example. Continue reading...

A rare total lunar eclipse on Tuesday night resulted in a spectacular blood moon, captured by Josh Aoraki from the Te Whatu Stardome in Auckland

A rare total lunar eclipse on Tuesday night resulted in a spectacular blood moon, seen first in Western Australia, then in parts of Asia, Europe and across North America. The next total eclipse will be New Year's Eve 2028

Eclipse will feature a deep, coppery-red full moon on 3 March. From Sydney to New York, use our guide to find out when the eclipse will be visible and the best time to see it tonight.North America, Australia and New Zealand will be treated to a rare total lunar eclipse on Tuesday known as a blood moon".As the full moon dips into the planet's shadow tonight it will change colour to a deep and coppery red", says astrophysicist Dr Rebecca Allen of Swinburne University. Continue reading...

Storeton Wood, Wirral: Two centuries ago, this area teemed with workmen busying building Liverpool; more than 200m years ago very different creatures roamed hereAt last, the sun shone after weeks of rain. While the distant Welsh hills were draped in snow, here on the Wirral it was dry and bright. Storeton Wood is a secondary woodland of oak, beech and silver birch, and formerly a quarry. Below, a cuprous layer of leaf has protected the soil from the recent assault of raindrops. Fallen limbs were a feast of fungi; in places, creamy white Storeton sandstone peeked through like discarded vertebrae. Great spotted woodpeckers drummed.Standing by the remnant of George Stephenson's quarry track, I envisaged the 1838 scene: workmen busy extracting sandstone, sudden shouts of discovery and confusion, handprints in the rock. They thought they were the signs of people perished in Noah's flood. Victorian scientists later confirmed that they were footprints of a crocodile-like creature named Chirotherium storetonense (Chirotherium meaning hand beast") dating from Triassic times, 240m summers ago. Continue reading...

In the past three months, Donald Trump's White House has reportedly used AI twice to effect regime change - once in its capture of Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro, and more recently to help plan the strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.The most recent strikes coincided with the end of the Pentagon's relationship with the AI company Anthropic over concerns its AI tool Claude was being used for purposes the company had explicitly prohibited. The government swiftly signed a new contract with Open AI.To find out what this means for the use of AI in forthcoming conflicts, Madeleine Finlay speaks to technology journalist Chris Stokel-Walker. He explains why he thinks this moment represents a dangerous turning point.Trump is using AI to fight his wars - this is a dangerous turning pointSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Largest study of its kind suggests high red meat consumption has biggest impact, followed by smokingMore than a quarter of healthy years lost to breast cancer are due to lifestyle factors such as red meat intake and smoking, according to the largest study of its kind.The study, published in the Lancet Oncology, used data from population-based cancer registries to produce a comprehensive analysis of breast cancer and its risk factors. Continue reading...

A magician reveals his visual tricksEarlier today I posted five optical illusions by Olivier Redon, a French-American inventor. Here they are again - with demonstrations of how he created the effects.Three of the images are inspired by the Necker cube, a two-dimensional drawing of a cube that can be understood in two ways: either with the bottom left face at the front, or the top right face at the front. Once your eyes settle on one interpretation, it is hard to see the other. Continue reading...

Insect taxonomist Art Borkent has described and named more than 300 species of midges but fears his field of science is dying out, despite millions of insects, fungi and other organisms waiting to be discoveredOnce Art Borkent starts speaking about biting midges, he rarely pauses for breath. Holding up a picture of a gnat trapped in amber from the time of the dinosaurs, the 72-year-old taxonomist explains that there are more than 6,000 ceratopogonidae species known to science. He has described and named more than 300 midges, mostly from his favourite family of flies. Some specialise in sucking blood from mammals, reptiles, other insects and even fish, often using the CO from their host's breath to locate their target, he says. Tens of thousands remain a mystery to science, waiting to be discovered.But to Borkent's knowledge, nobody will continue his life's work of identifying and studying this group of flies once he has gone. Continue reading...

The magical art of Olivier RedonLook at the Coca-Cola can in the main image.It is not a can, but an optical illusion - a trick of perspective. Can you work out what is going on? Continue reading...

Look west after sunset this week to see the pair converge in the dusk, closing in on a near-conjunction on 8 MarchLook west as the evening twilight gathers this week for a chance to spot the planets Venus and Saturn. The accompanying chart shows the view looking west from London at 18.10 GMT on 2 March.Venus will be the brighter of the pair, dominating the sky at magnitude -4. Saturn will be fainter, at about magnitude 0.6, and will take a little longer to be visible as the sky darkens. It lies slightly higher and to the east of Venus. Unlike stars, both planets will shine steadily, without twinkling. Continue reading...

Award-winning science fiction and horror writer died in Colorado on 21 February with family at his sideDan Simmons, the author of more than 30 novels and short story collections spanning horror, political thrillers and science fiction such as Hyperion and The Terror, has died at age 77.Simmons died in Longmont, Colorado on 21 February, with his wife and daughter at his side, his obituary announced. Continue reading...

When I found out my father had been adopted, I was curious to know more about his side of the family. Nothing could have prepared me for what I would discover ...Above my grandma's bed hung a framed blackand-white photograph of my dad. As asmall child I quietly admired it; his luminous eyes, dark hair and gentle smile. He embodied a tender yet spirited early adulthood, staring into the future. Handsome and seeking.As I grew older, I would discover that it was not, in fact, a photograph of my dad but of a man called ElvisPresley. Apparently he was very famous. My grandma had been a lifelong fan. My parents laughed - an adorable mistake - but I felt a hot pulse of humiliation. Continue reading...

Researchers are recreating ancient odours for museumgoers as interest in the archaeology of smell growsFrom the interior of Queen Elizabeth II's car to the scent of ancient Egyptian funerary practices, museumgoers are getting a whiff of the past like never before.Experts say the approach is more than a pungent stunt: it's part of a broader effort to try to reconstruct the sensory worlds of the past, with collaborations involving historians, scientists, heritage experts and perfumers. Continue reading...

Early trials of the drug VIR-5500 showed it shrinking tumours in some patientsA new drug for advanced prostate cancer has shown promise in early trials experts have said, with the medication shrinking tumours in some patients.Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in many countries, including the US and UK. About 1.5 million men are diagnosed worldwide each year. Continue reading...

Plans to return humans to the moon will come in later mission as agency grapples with delays and glitchesNasa announced on Friday radical changes to its delayed Artemis III mission to land humans back on the moon, as the US space agency grapples with technical glitches and criticism that it is trying to do too much too soon.The abrupt shift in strategy was laid out by the space agency's recently confirmed administrator, Jared Isaacman. Announcing the changes on Friday, he said that Nasa would introduce at least one new moon flight before attempting to put humans back on the lunar surface for the first time in more than half a century, in 2028. Continue reading...

The president's cuts have defunded and alienated thousands of American scientists. Europe can benefit, if it makes the right offerDonald Trump has spent much of his second term at war with science and scientists. He is cutting staff at institutions such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by a third, and has cancelled or frozen up to 8,000 federal research grants. This hasn't just hurt individual research programmes, it has damaged America's credibility as a reliable partner in the scientific community. It is not surprising that many researchers - one poll last year by the journal Nature gave the number of 75% - say they are considering leaving the US entirely.However, it is one thing to express dissatisfaction, and quite another to up sticks and leave. If the UK and EU want to attract elite scientific talent, their approach must be twofold: appealing directly to scientists concerned with political interference in their research, and offering stable, ringfenced money.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

It's hard to know what people can see in their own mind's eye. But for Maddie Thomas there was no doubt: she had especially vivid mental imagery

Study shows lower risk for multiple myeloma as well as pancreatic, prostate, breast and kidney cancersVegetarians have a substantially lower risk of five types of cancer, a landmark study on the role of diet has revealed.The research, using data from more than 1.8 million people who were tracked over many years, found that vegetarians had a 21% lower risk of pancreatic cancer, a 12% lower risk of prostate cancer and a 9% lower risk of breast cancer compared with meat eaters. Combined, these cancers account for around a fifth of cancer deaths in the UK. Continue reading...

Experimental therapy of applying stem cells during surgery could be major milestone' in treatment of birth defectsGiving stem cells to unborn babies diagnosed with spina bifida while they have in utero surgery could be a major milestone" in the treatment of birth defects, doctors say.A trial in the US found that applying stem cells from the mother's placenta to her baby's spine while it was being repaired was safe and improved the child's mobility and quality of life. Continue reading...

Largest ever image obtained by specialist telescope in Chile represents scientific and aesthetic breakthroughScientists have captured a beautiful image in unprecedented detail of the vast Milky Way galaxy, of which our own solar system is a part.The stunning image is the largest ever obtained by the specialist telescope in Chile called the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (Alma) radio telescope, according to the group behind the project. Continue reading...

Scientists say DNA evidence indicates male Neanderthals and human females interbred more often than oppositeTens of thousands of years ago, as modern humans migrated into northerly territories inhabited by our ancient cousins, the Neanderthals, the two species met - and sometimes mated.Now, genetic evidence has revealed a striking imbalance in these prehistoric trysts, suggesting that interbreeding was mostly between male Neanderthals and female humans. Continue reading...

Falling volcanic ash has for years been viewed as a nuisance. But a Sicilian project has discovered its agricultural potential and wants to spread the wordIn the Sicilian town of Giarre overlooking Mount Etna, Andrea Passanisi, a tropical and citrus fruits producer, uses an unusual fertiliser on his 100-hectare (247-acre) stretch of land: volcano ash.Like hundreds of farmers and citizens of rural towns perched on the slopes of Europe's highest and most active volcano, the 41-year-old's family has had to deal with the nuisance of falling volcanic ash for generations. But it is only in recent years that the quantity of ash has become so excessive that it required an alternative approach. Continue reading...

Orforglipron led to greater weight loss than semaglutide tablets and could offer more effective oral alternative to jabsA new daily pill could be a more effective GLP-1 tablet for weight loss, according to a clinical trial that may pave the way for an improved non-injection alternative to Wegovy and Mounjaro.The drug, called orforglipron and manufactured by Eli Lilly, is prescribed for type 2 diabetes and targets the same GLP-1 receptors as oral semaglutide. Like semaglutide, it lowers blood sugar levels, slows digestion and suppresses appetite. Unlike semaglutide tablets, it does not need to be taken on an empty stomach. Continue reading...

Sunrise is a majestic spectacle - but we should be grateful for the miles of vacuum between us and the starDawn on a still morning is a majestic spectacle, as sunlight spills silently across the landscape and the Earth gradually emerges from darkness. Sunrise has inspired countless pieces of music striving to express this soundless experience in audible form. But if we could actually hear the sun, it would be deafening.The sun is a giant nuclear fusion reactor, converting hydrogen into helium and releasing massive amounts of energy in the form of heat - and sound. Sound is essentially vibration and needs a medium to travel through. Continue reading...

Since the 1960s, global GDP has been rapidly rising and living standards have reached record highs. But something else has been rocketing up too - carbon emissions. For years, scientists and economists have been asking: is it possible to grow without heating and polluting the Earth? And as the climate becomes more unstable, the issue is only becoming more urgent. Madeleine Finlay hears from two economists arguing for a change in how we measure a country's success. Nick Stern is professor of economics and government at the London School of Economics and an advocate of green growth, an approach to growth that prioritises green industry. Jason Hickel is a political economist and professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona who advocates degrowth, shrinking parts of the economy that do not advance our social and ecological goals.Catch up with all the pieces in the Beyond Growth seriesSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Changes threaten ecosystems as flowering falls out of sync with fruit-eating, seed-dispersing animals and pollinatorsTropical flowers are blooming months earlier or later than they used to because of climate breakdown, with potentially cascading impacts across ecosystems", according to a study of 8,000 plants dating back 200 years.Researchers looked at flowers from a range of countries, including Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana and Thailand, home to the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth, but also the most understudied. Continue reading...

Gene-altering chemicals found in humpback dolphins and finless porpoises, raising alarm they may end up in human food chainToxic e-waste chemicals from television, computer and smartphone screens have been found in the brains and bodies of endangered dolphins and porpoises in the South China Sea.Research published in Environmental Science & Technology detected significant levels of gene-altering liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) in Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and finless porpoises. Continue reading...

Study finds participants saw reduction in depressive symptoms as researchers welcome promising' resultsA phase II clinical trial has found dimethyltryptamine (DMT), one of the psychoactive components traditionally used in the Amazonian psychedelic ritual ayahuasca, might be a promising therapy for depression.The psychedelic pharmaceutical company Small Pharma (now Cybin UK) sponsored and designed the trial, which was led by Dr David Erritzoe, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist at Imperial College London. The results were published in Nature this month. Continue reading...

It makes rejection, teasing or criticism feel unbearable, often prompting a strong physical reaction. Sufferers describe life with a condition that is only just starting to be understoodJenna Turnbull's chest is tightening. The 36-year-old civil servant, who lives in Cardiff, can picture herself as she speaks: an 11-year-old in her PE kit waiting with the other kids for her lesson to start. We were outside by the courts waiting to play netball," she says. Somebody commented that I had hairy arms, one of the boys." Her voice wobbles. The incident was clearly juvenile; rationally, she knows that. Yet 25 years on, her embarrassment is still visceral, with the power to cause instant physical discomfort.She searches for another example of her acute reaction to teasing and recalls a trip to the pub with her friends six years ago. Amid the loud conversation and laughter, a quip was made in the group about her being untidy at home. Or that's how she perceived it. About me not keeping on top of the house," she recalls. The person was having a laugh. It was just something that was said off the cuff." Yet while the memory and detail is hazy, the shame she feels about it is not. That comment still haunts me," she says. After that pub outing, she started cleaning her house obsessively - to such an extreme that it became one of the symptoms leading to her diagnosis of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). I've been known to spend four or five hours cleaning my bathroom," she says. Continue reading...

Researchers discover rare periods of a few thousands years when climate unexpectedly awoke from slumberDuring the "snowball Earth" period about 700m years ago, Earth's climate shut down. The planet was encased in ice and insulated from seasonal variations: spring, summer, autumn and winter all stopped. Or at least that was the theory.Recent examination of some ancient rocks from the west coast of Scotland has now overturned that thinking, suggesting there were periods during snowball Earth when the climate woke up. Continue reading...

Those with the condition share varying views of John Davidson's tic during Sunday's awards ceremonyIt was an incident that sparked a furore: during Sunday's Bafta ceremony Tourette syndrome (TS) activist John Davidson made several outbursts, including shouting the N-word as actors Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan were presenting a prize on stage.Among others to comment on the incident were actors including Oscar winner Jamie Foxx and Wendell Pierce, who starred alongside Jordan in The Wire. Continue reading...

Grace Bell says she is the happiest I've ever been in my life' after giving birth to baby Hugo in UK firstA baby boy named Hugo is the first child to be born in the UK to a mother with a womb transplant from a dead donor.Hugo Powell was delivered at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea hospital in London weighing 3.09kg (6lb 13oz), after his mother, Grace Bell, received a transplanted womb from someone who had died. Continue reading...

Wold Newton, East Yorkshire: On a dreary day in a nondescript field, I visit the site where a 4.56 billion-year-old bit of space rock came to EarthOn a low rise, beyond a screen of trees, behind a small holiday park in the Yorkshire Wolds, a brick obelisk stands incongruously at the edge of an otherwise nondescript field. It bears a plaque inscribed as follows: Here, on this spot, Decr. 13th, 1795 / fell from the Atmosphere AN EXTRAORDINARY STONE / In breadth 28 inches / Inlength 36 inches..."The words are carved in a variety of enthusiastic fonts, with the opening Here" given particularly earnest flourish. The extraordinary,extraterrestrial stone in question is the Wold Cottage meteorite, the first from anywhere to be widely recognised as a rock from outer space. After a 4.56bn-year journey, it now rests in the Treasures Gallery of the NaturalHistory Museum. Continue reading...

For a long time fat was seen simply as an inert yellow substance wrapping around our bodies, but now that's changing. Scientists are beginning to understand that our fat is actually intricate and dynamic, constantly in conversation with the rest of the body. It's now even considered by some to be an organ in its own right. To find out more about the complex role fat plays in our health, Ian Sample hears from co-host Madeleine Finlay and from Declan O'Regan, professor of cardiovascular AI at Imperial College LondonSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Vulnerable young people, partners of drug users and victims of sexual violence also among those afflicted in world's fastest growing HIV epidemicThe night her baby's heart stopped, Clare* blamed herself. Had she taken her out in the cold too much? Had she damaged her lungs by drinking iced water when she was pregnant? She fixated on Andi's tiny chest, willing it to suck in air, rushing her to hospital in Fiji for the second time in as many days.All through the early hours Andi* clung to life. Doctors performed CPR several times, puncturing the month-old baby's chest to insert a drain, removing fluid from around her lungs. She was really, really sick and they didn't know what was going on ... she was getting weaker and weaker," Clare says. She sat by her daughter's bedside. She prayed. Continue reading...

Scientists have discovered source of neigh's unique combination of high- and low-pitched soundsHorses whinny to find new friends, greet old ones and celebrate happy moments like feeding time.How exactly horses produce that distinctive sound - also called a neigh - has long eluded scientists. Continue reading...

Novo Nordisk's shares fall sharply after testing of CagriSema falls short of investors' expectations

Solar system's largest planet remains a brilliant, unwavering beacon, forming a striking trio with Castor and PolluxThroughout this month, Jupiter has remained in the constellation Gemini, providing a reliable reference point in the evening sky - and it will continue to do so into March. As the largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter shines brightly enough to cut through urban light pollution, making it easy to spot.Gemini is identified by its two principal stars, Castor and Pollux, which mark the twins' heads. During February, Jupiter sits between and slightly south of these stars, outshining both. Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands of visitors expected for month-long display of 13th-century saint's remainsSaint Francis of Assisi's skeleton is going on full public display from Sunday for the first time, in a move that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors.Inside a nitrogen-filled case with the Latin inscription Corpus Sancti Francisci" (the body of Saint Francis), the remains are being shown in the Italian hillside town's Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi. Continue reading...

Following in the wake of the original Golden Records, a new deep-space delivery hopes to introduce a mostly harmless' humanity to alien life

Omar Yaghi's invention uses ambient thermal energy and can generate up to 1,000 litres of clean water every dayA Nobel laureate's environmentally friendly invention that provides clean water if central supplies are knocked out by a hurricane or drought could be a life saver for vulnerable islands, its founder says.The invention, by the chemist Prof Omar Yaghi, uses a type of science called reticular chemistry to create molecularly engineered materials, which can extract moisture from the air and harvest water even in arid and desert conditions. Continue reading...

Authorities suspect Carl Grillmair was shot by man arrested for carjacking, as friends mourn him as irreplaceable'A renowned California Institute of Technology (Caltech) scientist who studied distant planets and other areas of astronomy for decades was recently shot to death at his home in a rural community outside Los Angeles, authorities said.Carl Grillmair, 67, died from a bullet wound to the torso on Monday in Llano, an unincorporated community in the Antelope Valley, according to information from the LA county medical examiner's office. The county sheriff's department said it had arrested a suspect in Grillmair's slaying, identifying him as 29-year-old Freddy Snyder. Continue reading...

Recruitment of children for study delayed after MHRA warns that participants should be no younger than 14A clinical trial into puberty blockers for children has been paused after the medicines regulator warned it should have a minimum age limit of 14 because of the unquantified risk" of long-term biological harms".Discussions between the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the trial sponsor, King's College London, will begin next week to discuss the wellbeing concerns, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said on Friday evening. Continue reading...

Administrator Jared Isaacman cites major progress' since earlier discovery of liquid hydrogen leaking from rocketNasa said on Friday it was planning to launch its delayed Artemis II moon mission on 6 March after successfully completing a fueling test that had caused it to stand down earlier this month.Jared Isaacman, the space agency's newly confirmed administrator, cited major progress" since the original so-called wet dress rehearsal in which engineers discovered liquid hydrogen leaking from the space launch system (SLS) rocket on its Florida launchpad at Cape Canaveral. Continue reading...

Research adds weight to theory Arrokoth's two lobes produced by gravitational collapse - and reveals processIt is the most distant and primitive object ever visited by a spacecraft from Earth: now researchers say they have fresh insights into how the ultra-red, 4bn-year-old body known as Arrokoth came to have its distinctive snowman-like shape.Arrokoth sits in the Kuiper belt, a vast, thick ring of icy objects that lies beyond the orbit of Neptune. This region of space is home to most of the known dwarf planets as well as comets and small, solid rubble heaps called planetesimals - the building blocks of planets. Continue reading...

As Trump slashes science funding, young researchers flee abroad. Without solid innovation, the US could cease to have the largest biomedical ecosystem in the worldIn April 2025, less than three months after Donald Trump returned to the White House, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put out its latest public health alert on so-called superbugs", strains of bacteria resistant to antibiotics.These drug-resistant germs, the CDC warned, are responsible for more than 3m infections in the US each year, claiming the lives of up to 48,000 Americans. Continue reading...