Science | The Guardian

Jane Goodall Institute says tireless advocate' for natural world died in California during US speaking tourThe world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91, her institute has said.The Jane Goodall Institute announced that she had died of natural causes while in California as part of a US speaking tour. Continue reading...

The world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91 Continue reading...

Those diagnosed as small children typically have distinct genetic profile from those diagnosed later, study findsAutism should not be viewed as a single condition with a unified underlying cause, according to scientists who found that those diagnosed early in childhood typically have a distinct genetic profile to those diagnosed later.The international study, based on genetic data from more than 45,000 autistic people in Europe and the US, showed that those diagnosed in early childhood, typically before six years old, were more likely to show behavioural difficulties from early childhood, including problems with social interaction, but remain stable. Continue reading...

Ed Miliband's move to bring forward ban is gambit to stop would-be Reform voters from backing Nigel Farage's pro-fracking partyEd Miliband announced on Wednesday that Labour was speeding up plans to bring in a total ban" on fracking. But how will this work and could it stop a future Reform government from fracking? Continue reading...

The industry has always wanted the NHS to pay more for its drugs; now it is pulling research and investment out of BritainThis year so far, some of the biggest pharmaceutical corporations in the world have withdrawn about 2bn in proposed investment from the UK. One has even threatened to withhold new medicines from NHS patients. Taken together, it's hard not to conclude that big pharma is at war with the UK.Merck has scrapped a 1bn research facility, while AstraZeneca ditched a 450m vaccine lab and is rethinking an expansion of another research unit. Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) has cancelled 34 partnerships with the NHS in the last year, and Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Novartis are all believed to have put investments on hold". BMS is also threatening to play hardball with its new schizophrenia drug, saying it is prepared to make the difficult decision" to walk away" if the NHS won't pay the price the corporation wants to charge.Nick Dearden is director of Global Justice Now (formerly World Development Movement) Continue reading...

Scientists studying water vapour plume from Enceladus find presence of complex molecules that could harbour lifeThe likelihood that one of Saturn's moons may harbour life has risen, experts say, after finding an array of carbon-based substances being spewed out of Enceladus.The sixth largest of Saturn's moons, Enceladus has become one of the leading contenders in the search for bodies that could harbour extraterrestrial life, with the Cassini mission - which ended in 2017 - revealing the moon has a plume of water ice grains and vapours erupting from beneath the surface at its south pole. Continue reading...

If smoking was the cancer villain of the 20th century, eating ultra-processed food may be its 21st-century counterpart

Scientists say their early-stage work could help older women or same-sex male couples have childrenResearchers have created human eggs from skin cells, potentially transforming IVF treatment for couples who have no other options.The work is at an early stage but if scientists can perfect the process it would provide genetically related eggs for women who are infertile because of older age, illness or medical treatment. The same procedure could be used to make eggs for same-sex male couples. Continue reading...

Researchers say findings show inequality creates toxic environment and reducing it is a public health imperative'Scientists have linked the impact of living in an unequal society to structural changes in the brains of children - regardless of individual wealth - for the first time.A study of more than 10,000 young people in the US discovered altered brain development in children from wealthy and lower-income families in areas with higher rates of inequality, which were also associated with poorer mental health. Continue reading...

Some experts think a few sharks may be responsible for a disproportionate number of attacks. Should they be hunted down?First was the French tourist, killed while swimming off Saint-Martin in December 2020. The manager of a nearby water sports club raced out in a dinghy to help, only to find her lifeless body floating face down, a gaping wound where part of her right thigh should have been. Then, a month later, another victim. Several Caribbean islands away, a woman snorkelling off St Kitts and Nevis was badly bitten on her left leg by a shark. Fortunately, she survived.Soon after the fatal incident in December, Eric Clua, a marine biologist at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris, got a phone call. Island nations often ask for his help after a shark bite, he says, because I am actually presenting a new vision ... I say, You don't have a problem with sharks, you have a problem with one shark.'" Continue reading...

The Ig Nobel prizes were awarded recently - for science that makes you laugh and then think - and the peace prize was given to a cheeky study testing the link between alcohol and language proficiency. Does a drink really help us to converse more convincingly in another tongue, or does it just give us inflated confidence? To find out, Madeleine Finlay speaks to a member of the winning team, Dr Fritz Renner, a researcher in clinical psychology and psychotherapy at the University of Freiburg in GermanyTeflon diet, garlic milk and zebra cows triumph at 2025 Ig Nobel prizesSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Inquiry hears of children exposed to pornography and suffering grievous' harm without protection of schoolsThe Covid pandemic disrupted the very fabric of childhood", the UK inquiry has heard, on the first day of a four-week session devoted to its impact on children and young people.Clair Dobbin KC, counsel to the inquiry, said in her opening submission on Monday that some of the evidence drawn from the 18,000 stories and 400 targeted interviews would be hard to listen to". Continue reading...

Epidemiologist who advised health services in Tanzania, Bangladesh and the UK's Department for International DevelopmentPatrick Vaughan, who has died aged 87, was a pre-eminent epidemiologist and a director of the Tropical Epidemiology Unit at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). He authored more than 120 papers and gave health advice at the highest level: to the World Health Organization, governments, the World Bank and the NHS. He also advised charities, including the organisers of Live Aid, who in 1985 wanted to know how best to channel the 150m they had raised to relieve famine in Ethiopia.All this he achieved despite having reached the age of 12 with little formal education and being barely able to read. Nevertheless, the headteacher at Bishop Wordsworth's grammar school in Salisbury offered him a place, conditional on his catching up with his classmates within a year. He succeeded, transcending his chaotic childhood to gain four A-levels and, in 1955, a place at Guy's Hospital medical school in London. William Golding, a teacher at the school, reputedly said that Vaughan's strength of character inspired Piggy, one of the characters in his 1954 novel Lord of the Flies. Continue reading...

The solutions to today's puzzlesEarlier today I set ten puzzles from a new book of silly visual puzzles.Here they are again - I have put the solutions together at the bottom, just in case you are seeing them for the first time and don't want spoilers. Continue reading...

UK's biggest drugmaker will put its US shares on a par with its London-based stock but says HQ will stay in Cambridge

Riotous rebus riddlesUPDATE: Read the answers hereToday's puzzles are very silly.They're also hugely entertaining. Continue reading...

Choose the darkest site you can find an hour before dawn twilight to observe one of the more subtle celestial effectsThis week, skywatchers can search for one of the more subtle celestial effects. The zodiacal light is the soft glow of sunlight scattered off the interplanetary dust that lies in the plane of our solar system.The dust itself comes from comets and asteroid collisions. Continue reading...

Ministers and medical groups have acted quickly to limit fallout after US president made unproven link between paracetamol and autismWes Streeting, the UK health secretary, was in a government car heading back into central London from a flag-raising to mark the UK's recognition of Palestine when he saw the news. He was aghast," an aide said. Streeting was reading on his phone that Donald Trump had just warned women not to take Tylenol - known outside the US as paracetamol - during pregnancy.The US president had alleged without evidence that the common painkiller caused autism in children. Don't take Tylenol," Trump said about a drug also known as acetaminophen. Continue reading...

Researchers find specific self-descriptions predict mortality risks better than broader categories such as extraversionBeing organised, active and helpful could not just make you a better person, it may even help you live longer. On the other hand, being frequently stressed, anxious or moody could be linked to a shorter lifespan.Researchers said their findings, published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, could help doctors develop tools for predicting health risks based not only on blood pressure and cholesterol but also on how someone tends to think, feel and behave. Continue reading...

Cambridge trial suggests diabetes drug with antihistamine can partially repair damage in the nervous systemEarly results from a clinical trial suggest that a common diabetes drug taken with an antihistamine can partially repair damage in the nervous system that drives disability in multiple sclerosis.While the effect was too small for patients to notice a benefit after six months, tests did reveal improvements in nerve function, raising hopes that damage to the protective coatings around nerve fibres might be reversed with drugs. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: A gene therapy trial has successfully treated Huntington's for the first time - one of several recent groundbreaking medical advances bringing hope in gloomy timesGood morning. Few medical diagnoses are as brutal and devastating as Huntington's disease.For decades, those who inherited this cruel condition faced only despair. There was no cure. Symptoms began with mood swings and depression, then progressed to a loss of movement, followed by dementia, paralysis and, ultimately, death. Some patients died within a decade of diagnosis.France | The former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been found guilty of criminal conspiracy, and given a five-year prison sentence.UK politics | All working adults will need digital ID cards under plans to be announced by Keir Starmer, in a move that will spark a battle with civil liberties campaigners.Middle East | The White House is backing a plan that would see Tony Blair head a temporary administration of the Gaza Strip - initially without the direct involvement of the Palestinian Authority (PA), according to Israeli media reports.US news | James Comey, the former FBI director and one of Donald Trump's most frequent targets, was indicted on one count of making a false statement to Congress and one count of obstruction of justice, in the latest move in the president's retribution campaign against his political adversaries.UK news | The crown court backlog in England and Wales has hit a new record of almost 80,000 cases, while wait times for trial dates have reached up to four years. Continue reading...

The US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has long been consumed by the neurological condition autism - what causes it, and whether there's a treatment. This week, Donald Trump took on the cause, making claims about acetaminophen, also known as Tylenol and paracetamol, that were dismissed outright by medical experts around the world.Jonathan Freedland speaks to Carter Sherman, the reproductive health and justice reporter at Guardian US, about when and why the obsession with autism became politicalArchive: Good Morning America, NPR, NBC News, WHAS11, BBC News, CBS News, Jimmy Kimmel Live, LiveNowFox Continue reading...

Astronomers are warning that the proliferation of satellite constellations like SpaceX's Starlink, are making their work harder than it's ever beenDonald Trump has spent eight months attempting to remake the United States through a massive programme of cuts and deregulation. His administration has left almost no part of American life untouched - from classrooms to college campuses, offices to factory floors; museums, forests, oceans and even the stars.An executive order signed last month to streamline rocket launches has been celebrated by officials in the commercial space sector, who see it as integral to securing America's primacy as the world leader in space exploration. Continue reading...

Skull found in China may be Homo longi, potentially revising understanding of human evolutionA million-year-old human skull suggests that the origins of modern humans may reach back far deeper in time than previously thought and raises the possibility that Homo sapiens first emerged outside of Africa.Leading scientists reached this conclusion after reanalysis of a skull known as Yunxian 2 discovered in China and previously classified as belonging to a member of the primitive human species Homo erectus. Continue reading...

We look at the science behind vaping and the claims it causes tooth decay, gum disease and dry mouthThe actor Lily James has blamed vaping for damaging her teeth and driving tooth decay that required her to have her first dental filling. Here we look at what the science says about vaping and its potential impact on teeth and oral health. Continue reading...

Study monitored 500,000 women from Sweden and found 32% did not attend first mammogram appointmentWomen who miss their first breast cancer screening appointment have a 40% higher risk of dying from the disease, according to a new study.Experts at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden analysed data for about half a million women across Sweden, with the findings published in the British Medical Journal. The women all received their first screening invitation between 1991 and 2020 and were monitored for up to 25 years. Continue reading...

Scientists call for renewed global effort to curb fossil fuels as seven of nine planetary boundaries now transgressedThe world's oceans have failed a key planetary health check for the first time, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels, a report has shown.In its latest annual assessment, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research said ocean acidity had crossed a critical threshold for marine life. Continue reading...

Tests on Maria Branyas Morera, who was world's oldest person before she died last year aged 117, gave doctors a trove of discoveriesThe nonagenarian actor Dame Joan Collins may have been on to something when she declared age is just a number".The deepest dive yet into the biology of a supercentenarian has revealed that even extreme old age can be reached without the brain necessarily faltering or the usual illnesses mounting up. Continue reading...

Botanist says new Japanese species of dogbane is first evidence of plants copying antsIt's a stark demonstration of nature at its most devious: researchers have discovered a plant that attracts pollinating flies by mimicking the odour of half-eaten ants.The species of dogbane is the first plant known to boost its chances of reproducing by copying the scent that ants release as an alarm call to their nestmates when they come under attack by spiders and other predators. Continue reading...

In a televised press conference on Monday, Donald Trump and health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr made a series of unproven claims about autism and its links to paracetamol use in pregnant women, and about childhood vaccinations. The comments were immediately refuted by scientists and health agencies around the world, but many expressed concern about the impact of this misinformation being repeated at the highest levels of government. So what does the science really say? Madeleine Finlay speaks to Guardian science editor Ian Sample to factcheck the claims made in the announcement, and find out what decades of scientific research into autism tells us about its causes and why diagnoses are on the riseIs Tylenol the same as paracetamol, and should you take it in pregnancy? Here's why experts say Trump should be ignoredSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Surgical procedure to treat devastating illness slowed progress of disease by 75% in patients after three yearsHuntington's disease, a devastating degenerative illness that runs in families, has been treated successfully for the first time in a breakthrough gene therapy trial.The disease, caused by a single gene defect, steadily kills brain cells leading to dementia, paralysis and ultimately death. Those who have a parent with Huntington's have a 50% chance of developing the disease, which until now has been incurable. Continue reading...

Reform UK leader says he has no idea' if US president is right to tell women to avoid drug during pregnancy

Lenacapavir described as next best thing' to an HIV vaccine will cost $40 a year for each patient in 120 countries from 2027, funders sayCheap supplies of a groundbreaking twice-yearly HIV prevention jab will be available in many poorer countries within two years, funders have promised.Lenacapavir will cost $40 (30) a patient a year in 120 low- and middle-income countries from 2027, under two agreements with generic drug manufacturers announced this week. Continue reading...

Medical professionals, pregnant women and autistic people note guidance's disconnect from realityMedical professionals, pregnant people and readers with a relationship to autism are furious about Monday's announcement from the Trump administration involving Tylenol and its alleged connection to autism.Within hours of the Guardian publishing a call for responses to the announcement, hundreds sent in their thoughts. Many of these individuals noted that the announcement had fascist undertones and was largely disconnected from the realities of science and the experience of being pregnant. A number of respondents suggested that this announcement was a bad-faith ploy to distract voters from issues that Trump wants removed from the discourse. Continue reading...

Neeraj Ghaywan's film benefits from excellent lead performances, strong cinematography and an apparent mentorship from Martin ScorseseHaving screened earlier this year at the Cannes film festival, this Indian drama has already drawn inevitable comparisons with All We Imagine As Light, an Indian film at Cannes the year before - but they are only glancingly similar. Payal Kapadia's woozy, dreamy, femme-centric tale was primarily an urban-set story sprinkled with magical realist fairy dust. This is a much more four-square, on-the-nose, realist work about impoverished young men from a rural northern Indian town struggling to get ahead, and loosely based on a New York Times story published in 2020.But director Neeraj Ghaywan, whose 2015 debut Masaan was well-regarded, has a fairy godfather in Martin Scorsese no less, who apparently mentored Ghaywan through the script development and editing. Who knows who is responsible for which choices, but the end result is pretty damn good. It's an emotionally rich study of friendship that ought to play as a bit syrupy given the story, but the musical score, usually very to the fore in more mainstream Indian films, has been smartly stripped down to let the excellent lead performers and strong cinematography bring the drama on their own. Continue reading...

The US president claims the painkiller also known as acetaminophen is linked to autism. Here's what the science saysDonald Trump has urged pregnant women not to take acetaminophen, also known as Tylenol or paracetamol. He claimed it raises the chances of children being autistic.But the US president has been condemned by experts from across the world, who fear he is deliberately fostering a narrative of distrust that could be dangerous for women. Continue reading...

Growing desertification is putting traditional livelihoods at risk in western Africa and encouraging the search for rare stonesBy night, Lamine Hanoun works as a hospital guard in Bir Moghrein, near Mauritania's border with Morocco-occupied Western Sahara. By day, he twiddles his phone, checking TikTok and Facebook, which he uses to sell meteorites to the rest of the world.In this former French colonial garrison town, network signals come and go like the dusty wind. On a recent morning when the connection disappeared again and the Starlink at the local customs office was unavailable, he drove his silver Mitsubishi GLX to the town's outskirts.Hanoun holds a fragment of debris he says is from Mars Continue reading...

Health secretary joins medical experts in urging pregnant women to ignore US president's remarksWes Streeting has rejected Donald Trump's unproven claims of a link between taking paracetamol in pregnancy and autism, urging mothers-to-be to ignore the US president's remarks.The health secretary challenged Trump's statements, which medical experts have stressed are not based on evidence, as part of a drive to reassure mothers-to-be in the UK. Continue reading...

A trial is under way to find out if a 100 blood test could transform the way that the NHS diagnoses Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's is the leading cause of dementia and diagnosis is currently costly and time-consuming. To find out how this blood test could benefit patients, Ian Sample talks to Prof Jonathan Schott, who is co-leading the trial. He explains what the test involves and why it could pave the way for exciting new treatments for the devastating diseaseDoctors trial 100 blood test that could transform how NHS detects Alzheimer'sSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Researchers show interventions to reduce hostility only have short-term impact and there is no magical fix'Efforts to reduce the hostility people feel towards rival political parties can result in small changes - but such effects largely evaporate within two weeks, researchers have found.The team behind the work, which explored the impact of interventions ranging from correcting common misperceptions of the other side to enabling contact between political opponents, say their results suggest fresh approaches are needed to tackle what some have labelled the age of rage". Continue reading...

Completing a fiendish jigsaw certainly engages many areas of the brain, but genetics and other lifestyle factors also play their partThat's a very strong statement," cautions Roxi Carare, professor of clinical neuroanatomy at the University of Southampton. A more appropriate way to put it is: puzzles help delay the onset and worsening ofthe symptoms of dementia."Dementia is an umbrella term for conditions that lead to a decline in cognitive function. Some kinds have been linked to poor waste removal from the brain. Continue reading...

Conjunction is easier to spot from southern hemisphere because Antares is in southern constellation of ScorpiusThe moon all but kisses the brilliant red supergiant star Antares this week. It is a spectacular meeting but one that will require some effort to spot from the UK. To stand a chance of seeing the conjunction, you will need to find somewhere with a clear southern horizon. A hill to stand on would also be advantageous as the pair will already be setting by the time they become visible.The chart shows the view looking south-west from London at 19:30 BST. The pair will already be visible against the deepening twilight. The moon will be around five and a half days old, in its waxing crescent phase, and will have just under 30% of its visible surface illuminated. Continue reading...

From depression to obesity, the concept of evolutionary mismatch' can help foster self-compassion and point the way to a more rewarding existenceOne of the fascinating things about working as a psychotherapist is the opportunity to observe how many of our problems involve us getting in the way of ourselves. The difficulties we encounter are frequently the result of self-sabotage, and managing them often requires wrestling with our own drives, doing our best not to give in to every impulse. This is easier said than done, of course. To lose weight and keep it off, to successfully climb out of debt, to find meaningful work, to maintain long-term, happy relationships: all demand postponing our immediate desires in the service of a longer-term goal.Delaying gratification, as it's called, has been a useful tactic for aeons. But at a certain point it becomes reasonable to ask: why does so much of modern life seem to involve swimming upstream? Why is it that following our instincts often seems to land us in so much trouble? Continue reading...

People expect effort, not a token I'm sorry', but be careful not to over-script your acknowledgment of mistakesCalling the contrite: are you very sorry, or are you extremely remorseful? Do you see that what you did was very wrong, or have you recognised that it was exceedingly reprehensible?If that sounds like overdoing it, when it comes to expressing regret, syllables matter. That was the conclusion of a study published this week into the perceived sincerity of apologies, which found that when faced with an expression of remorse, we find it more meaningful if the apologiser has used longer words. Continue reading...

Silverpit crater off Yorkshire coast was caused by cathedral-sized asteroid that set off 100-metre tsunami 43m years agoDeep below the seabed, 80 miles off the coast of Yorkshire, is a remarkable crater that has divided scientists - was it, thrillingly, created by an asteroid crash? Or more mundanely was it the result of geological salt movements?Today, the decades-long scientific debate can be settled. The Silverpit crater 700 metres below the seabed under the North Sea was in all likelihood created by a direct hit from an asteroid or comet about the size of York Minster that hurtled towards the Earth more than 43m years ago. Continue reading...

Four out of five making staff cuts as physicists say findings are great concern' for UK's leadership in important areasThe heads of UK physics departments say their subject is facing a national crisis as one in four warns that their university departments are in danger of closing because of funding pressures.In an anonymous survey of department heads by the Institute of Physics (IoP), 26% said they faced potential closure of their department within the next two years, while 60% said they expected courses to be reduced. Continue reading...

From gardening and humming to getting a dog - there's more to boosting your gut microbiome than Greek yogurtWhen the gut health revolution began adecade or so ago, few could have predicted the sheervariety of pre- and probiotic foods that we wouldcome to embrace in our diets. From kimchi and natural yoghurt to fibre-rich jerusalem artichoke and probiotic shots, microbiome-nourishing foods and supplements once deemed left-field have become everyday essentials for many - with plenty of evidence that they help our gut bacteria to thrive.While many of us assume that diet is the onlywayto feed the trillions of microorganisms (including bacteria, fungi and viruses) that makeupthe microbiome, there are myriad daily habits that can help nurture this important part ofthe body. Continue reading...

Plus the right to roam the green and pleasant, and a 1,795-a-night solution to the postpartum bluesAn all-party parliamentary group is calling for everyone to be given the right to go wild camping and swimming across our green and pleasant land (and, I suppose our blue and hopefully non-besewaged waters). Apparently we only have the right to roam across 8% of England at the moment, a situation that strikes me as so perfectly us that it should be submitted to the Unesco intangible cultural heritage list immediately if not sooner. Continue reading...

Research which began with conversations round a campfire and went on to examine 7m gene variants shows how people survive with little water and a meat-rich dietA collaboration between African and American researchers and a community living in one of the most hostile landscapes of northern Kenya has uncovered key genetic adaptations that explain how pastoralist people have been able to thrive in the region.Underlying the population's abilities to live in Turkana, a place defined by extreme heat, water scarcity and limited vegetation, has been hundreds of years of natural selection, according to a study published in Science. Continue reading...

Researchers into idea to blend powdered PTFE into food as a zero-calorie filler to curb hunger win chemistry prizeFor decades scientists, doctors and public health officials have battled to solve the obesity crisis. Now researchers have won an Ig Nobel prize for a radical new approach: slashing people's calorie intake by feeding them Teflon.The left-field proposal was inspired by zero calorie drinks and envisaged food manufacturers blending powdered polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) into their products in the hope it would sate people's hunger before quietly sliding out. Continue reading...