Picture released of star in Sagitta constellation on the cusp of going supernova

Belgrade theatre, Coventry

Analysis of bones found in 1987 suggest Jurassic-era sauropod was animal with longest known neckA dinosaur that roamed east Asia more than 160m years ago has been named a contender for the animal with the longest neck ever known.A new analysis of bones from the beast’s neck and skull revealed that the dinosaur, known as Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum, sported a neck 15metres long, or one-and-a-half times the length of a doubledecker bus. Continue reading...

Global research teams who can improve AI and accelerate decoding could win $250,000 in prizesThe eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79 laid waste to Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum where the intense blast of hot gas carbonised hundreds of ancient scrolls in the library of an enormous luxury villa.Now, researchers are launching a global contest to read the charred papyri after demonstrating that an artificial intelligence programme can extract letters and symbols from high-resolution X-ray images of the fragile, unrolled documents. Continue reading...

Area in Kent has more threatened species than any other brownfield site in UK – but its future is at riskBrownfield sites are derelict industrial wastelands and hardly glamorous – but some have become outstanding natural havens.Swanscombe peninsula in the Thames estuary was used for quarrying chalk and aggregate, cement works, gas works and landfill. When the industry moved out, the poor soil left behind was colonised by rare plants that could not survive on fertile land elsewhere. Continue reading...

Indian state in crisis after adenovirus hits 12,000 people this year and families with sick children camp outside Kolkata hospitalNineteen children have died of acute respiratory infections in West Bengal this year, and thousands more are in hospital as India grapples with an adenovirus outbreak.More than 12,000 cases of adenovirus have been recorded in the state since January. More than 3,000 children have been admitted to hospital with severe flu-like symptoms. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Foreign Office rejected record number of academics in 2022 on national security grounds

Findings could lead to use of calorie-free caffeinated drinks to cut obesity and type 2 diabetes – but more research neededHaving high levels of caffeine in your blood may lower the amount of body fat you carry and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, research suggests.The findings could lead to calorie-free caffeinated drinks being used to reduce obesity and type 2 diabetes, though further research is required, the researchers wrote in the BMJ Medicine journal. Continue reading...

Nobel prizewinning biochemist who was a pioneer in the field of genetic engineeringThe Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 was built on the principle of stitching together DNA from two viruses, one to enable the vaccine to enter cells and the other to provoke an immune response.In 1972 Paul Berg, who has died aged 96, became the first person to combine the DNA of two organisms in this way. Recombinant DNA has become a fundamental tool of biomedical research and drug discovery, making it possible to grow drugs such as human insulin in bacteria as well as to develop tailor-made vaccines. Continue reading...

Pharmacists told to stop supplying 20 brands after review finds raised risk of rare anaphylaxis in people who later have general anaestheticHealth officials have withdrawn 20 brands of dry cough medicine amid concerns they can trigger sudden, life-threatening allergic reactions in people who go on to have a general anaesthetic before surgery up to a year later.Pharmacists have been ordered to stop supplying medicines that contain the cough suppressant pholcodine immediately and to quarantine all remaining stock before returning the products to the relevant supplier. Continue reading...

Study shows high ozone levels make males emit fewer pheromones to attract females, which may lead to population declineAir pollution is making it harder for fruit flies to mate because females cannot easily recognise a male’s scent, a study has found.Female fruit flies select their mates for reproduction through the scent of their pheromones, but ozone pollution can disrupt the male’s ability to emit their characteristic odour, researchers have found. This means contaminated air can pose a threat to how successfully fruit flies and other insects reproduce, and could lead to population decline. Continue reading...

Drugs targeting the ‘happy hormone’ are widely used for depression. But some question whether the condition is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brainDaniela da Silva is feeling good. Lying cocooned under fleece blankets inside a medical scanner, her eyes are closed and her mind is focused and remarkably unperturbed by negative thoughts. Three hours earlier, the 39-year-old yoga teacher and neuroscience student was given a dose of the stimulant drug dextroamphetamine, which is often used to treat ADHD. “I’m having a serotonin increase. Oh definitely,” she predicts before entering the PET scanner.Da Silva is a healthy volunteer in a trial using a pioneering brain imaging technique designed to measure serotonin changes in the brains of living people. Last year, scientists used the scan to obtain what they claimed to be the first direct evidence that serotonin release is blunted in the brains of people with depression. The findings added fuel to a fiercely fought debate over the role of the brain chemical – if any – in depression. Just months earlier, a high-profile scientific review caused a stir when it reached the opposite conclusion that “after a vast amount of research, conducted over several decades, there is no convincing evidence” for the idea that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Continue reading...

Data from more than 60,000 Britons suggests plant-rich diet may help regardless of person’s genetic riskA Mediterranean diet of nuts, seafood, whole grains and vegetables could lower the risk of dementia by almost a quarter, according to promising early research that could pave the way for new preventive treatments.The data suggests eating lots of plant-based foods may have a “protective effect” against dementia, regardless of a person’s genetic risk, which the researchers said could form the basis for future public health strategies if further research confirms their findings. Continue reading...

Madeleine Finlay speaks to Guardian science correspondent Linda Geddes about the possibility of a fungal pandemic like the one depicted in apocalyptic thriller The Last of Us. They discuss the strange world of fungi, the risks of infections and treatment resistance, and what we can do to protect ourselves from future fungal threats Continue reading...

Effect of shorter sleep comparable to waning of Covid antibodies two months after vaccination, study findsSleeping for less than six hours per night reduces the immune response to vaccination, particularly in younger men, data suggests.The reduction is comparable to the waning of Covid-19 antibodies two months after vaccination. Continue reading...

Archaeologists hail ‘once in a lifetime’ discovery of Roman and Saxon site dating back 1,600 yearsSkeletal remains of a Roman aristocrat have been unearthed in a “truly extraordinary” hidden cemetery dating back 1,600 years.Bones belonging to the high-status woman were discovered in an ancient lead coffin during a dig in the town of Garforth, near Leeds. Continue reading...

The biological ‘brainwashing’ that happens while you are sleeping is crucial for filtering out toxins. Here’s how to optimise your overnight cycleTonight, and almost every night, something amazing will happen inside your brain. As you turn off the light switch and fall asleep, you will be switching on the neurological equivalent of a dishwasher deep-clean cycle. First, the activity of billions of brain cells will begin to synchronise, and oscillate between bursts of excitation and rest. Coupled with these “slow waves”, blood will begin to flow in and out of your brain, allowing pulses of the straw-coloured cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that usually surrounds your brain to wash in and be pushed through the brain tissue, carrying the day’s molecular detritus away as it leaves.Most people recognise that if they don’t get enough sleep, their mood and memory will suffer the next day. But mounting evidence is implicating this “brainwashing” function of sleep in longer-term brain health. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Stack of factory-made modular labs due to open in May to serve growing demand for lab spaceA stack of factory-made modular labs, with a roof terrace and grass growing on top, has sprung up at Canada Water in south-east London and is due to open in late May.With growing demand for lab space, the company behind them, British Land, is also unveiling plans for a large new research building on Monday, part of a nascent life sciences cluster south of the Thames. Continue reading...

Vlad Beliavsky dreamed that his new psychology book would help end wars. He has now spent a year in uniform, trying to catch saboteurs and fend off Russian cyber attacksVlad Beliavsky hoped to bring some peace to the world with his first book, The Pyramid Mind. If we all trained our minds properly, he thought, we could live together in harmony. At best, he imagined his book might even stop wars.Today, he is in Kyiv, wearing military uniform and silhouetted against a neutral background. It is safer not to give details of where; he simply says he is in a military building. As his book is published, 13 years after it was conceived, Lieutenant Beliavsky is marking a year spent fighting for the future of Ukraine. Continue reading...

SEN success | Double your rubbish | Easy peeler | Mouse fathers | Wheely wild words | Concentric curlsAs recent WhatsApp messages showed our government’s contempt for teachers (Report, 2 March), I doubt if any past or present education secretary watched A Special School on BBC Two. It showed what can be achieved for SEN pupils with decent funding, outstanding leadership and dedicated teamwork. Not a dry eye on board.

‘Fueling vaccine hesitancy undermines effort’ to protect lives, warns letter to Dr Joseph Ladapo sent by FDA and CDCUS health agencies have sent a letter to the surgeon general of Florida, warning that his claims about Covid-19 vaccine risks are harmful to the public.The letter was sent to Joseph Ladapo on Friday by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It was a response to a letter Ladapo wrote to the agencies last month, expressing concerns about what he described as adverse effects from Covid vaccines. Continue reading...

The simple messaging favoured by media advisers doesn’t chime with a discipline that is messy and incompleteMatt Hancock’s views about the independent experts advising government, detailed in the Lockdown Files, are revealing. They were “totally unreliable” and “wacky” (Dame Kate Bingham); a “totally offside… loudmouth” (Sir Jeremy Farrar); and a “prize idiot” (Prof Jon Deeks); while Prof Sharon Peacock, the amazing scientist who set up Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium (COG-UK), was deemed “a total outrage”, because she didn’t warn him months earlier that the Alpha variant was coming (revealing Hancock’s misunderstanding of the work of these genome sequencers). Nor was it just Hancock who seemed to view these pesky scientists as an inconvenience. When asked to deal with Farrar, one of Hancock’s special advisers replied: “What is your ask? Get rid or neutralise?”Now I’m not averse to a bit of ripe language myself and I am mindful that these messages were intended to be private. But they do reinforce my belief that science and politics are best when bathed in the clear blue waters of separation. We need scientific advice to government at times of crisis and I think Sage did that very well. But the rolling of science into politics through government communications is where things get problematic. Continue reading...

With the public facing an ever-increasing barrage of sums, calculations and data, here are some numerical tricks and ideas that can help people make better sense of the worldThese days, keeping up with the news can sometimes feel like a maths exam. We face a constant barrage of figures, whether through national budgets, coronavirus data, hospital waiting lists or football transfer fees. It can be very easy to switch off and ignore all this, but being able to put these numbers into context and understand what they really mean is vital to our role as informed citizens. Here are some mathematical tricks and ideas that can help you make better sense of the world. Continue reading...

Excessive use of phosphorus is depleting reserves vital to global food production, while also adding to the climate crisisOur planet faces “phosphogeddon”, scientists have warned. They fear our misuse of phosphorus could lead to deadly shortages of fertilisers that would disrupt global food production.At the same time, phosphate fertiliser washed from fields – together with sewage inputs into rivers, lakes and seas – is giving rise to widespread algal blooms and creating aquatic dead zones that threaten fish stocks. Continue reading...

A picture is emerging of a healthy lifestyle which is key to the condition’s prevention – exercise, being sociable, and looking after your earsThe idea was simple. Recruit hundreds of people in their 80s and 90s, equip them with fitness trackers, and monitor their physical activity. Then, when the participants died, collect their brains and examine the tissue. Is there evidence, lurking in the tissue, that exercise benefits the brain?The results, from a 2022 collaboration between the University of California in San Francisco and the University of British Columbia, were striking. Physical exercise, late in life, seemed to protect the ageing connections between brain cells – the synapses where memories are made. The work, if backed up by further studies, could see exercise, and potentially drugs that mimic biochemical aspects of activity – prescribed to help slow the onset of dementia. Continue reading...

Scathing open letter accuses big pharma of ‘exploiting’ publically funded vaccines and says humanity must come before commerceThe Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, former first lady of South Africa and Mozambique Graça Machel and former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon are among nearly 200 signatories to a letter calling on governments to “never again” allow “profiteering and nationalism” to come before the needs of humanity, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.In a scathing open letter, published on 11 March, current and former presidents and ministers, Nobel laureates, faith leaders, heads of civil society organisations and health experts say Covid-19 vaccines and treatments had been developed with public funding but that pharmaceutical companies had exploited them to “fuel extraordinary profits”. Continue reading...

Asteroid known as 2023 DW is 50 metres wide and has a 1-in-607 chance of striking Earth – but not for two decades at leastSpace experts predict a large asteroid could hit Earth just in time to ruin Valentine’s Day – in 2046.The 50-metre wide asteroid, known as 2023 DW, is forecast to take more than two decades to reach us, perhaps almost three. Continue reading...

A report has been seized upon to argue that lockdown had little effect on mental health – but the truth is more nuancedImagine that your teenager was a star athlete, on track for a university athletics scholarship. But then they develop long Covid at the height of the pandemic, meaning they no longer had the lung capacity to run, let alone live independently. If that was your experience, you’re likely to think the government didn’t do enough to protect children from Covid-19, or vaccinate them fast enough.On the other hand, what if your child developed an eating disorder due to social isolation and depression? In that case, you might think that lockdown measures were disproportionate. If you lost a loved one to the disease, then you might blame government for doing too little. If your small business of 20 years shut down, you might blame government for doing too much.Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh Continue reading...

Those exposed to more light in hours before sleep appear more likely to develop gestational diabetes, researchers suggestWhile reading until the small hours or scrolling under the covers are common bedtime habits, pregnant women might want to switch off sooner to reduce their risk of developing gestational diabetes, researchers have suggested.According to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, gestational diabetes affects at least four to five in 100 women during pregnancy. If it is not well controlled it can lead to complications, including health problems for the baby. Continue reading...

My throat made strange gurgling noises, like a creaky floorboard. My body would get full of airWhen I was about four, I watched my two-year-old brother throw up into a basket of fries in a restaurant. He had a hypersensitive gag reflex, which meant vomiting was a common occurrence. I could never get that basket of fries out of my head.I developed a fear of vomiting called emetophobia, meaning I’d avoid throwing up at all costs. This phobia has had a much greater impact on my health than I ever could have thought. Continue reading...

Scientists call for collective effort to protect Earth’s orbit from dangers posed by space junkSatellite makers and operators must be held responsible for the growing hazard of space debris, according to experts who say a legally binding global treaty must be thrashed out to protect the orbital environment.With the number of satellites rising dramatically, the agreement would make manufacturers and users responsible for de-orbiting defunct hardware and cleaning up any debris created when orbiting objects slam into one another. Continue reading...

The Barbie modelled on me is a space scientist with her own telescope. Girls should be shown that anything is possible

Climate crisis to deliver ‘ongoing systemic shocks’ to production as hot conditions become more frequent, researchers sayClimate conditions that reduce coffee yield have become more frequent over the past four decades, with rising temperatures from global heating likely to lead to “ongoing systemic shocks” to coffee production globally, new research suggests.Researchers analysed the impacts of climate factors such as temperature, rainfall and humidity in the top 12 coffee-producing countries globally between 1980 and 2020. Continue reading...

The film Everything Everywhere All at Once has enjoyed critical acclaim and awards success. Ahead of the Oscars, where it’s tipped to sweep the board, Ian Sample speaks to theoretical physicist and philosopher Sean Carroll about why we seem to be drawn to the idea of multiple worlds, and what the science says about how the multiverse might actually workClips: Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24), Independent Spirit Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards Continue reading...

Pandemic resulted in ‘minimal’ changes in symptoms, according to review led by McGill University researchersCovid-19 may not have taken as great a toll on the mental health of most people as earlier research has indicated, a new study suggests.The pandemic resulted in “minimal” changes in mental health symptoms among the general population, according to a review of 137 studies from around the world led by researchers at McGill University in Canada, and published in the British Medical Journal. Continue reading...

BGI Group, which is said to have made multiple attempts to hack into Genomics England, was given £11m testing contract in 2021

‘Cleanup is futile’ if production continues at current rate, amid rapid rise in marine pollutionAn unprecedented rise in plastic pollution has been uncovered by scientists, who have calculated that more than 170tn plastic particles are afloat in the oceans.They have called for a reduction in the production of plastics, warning that “cleanup is futile” if they continue to be pumped into the environment at the current rate. Continue reading...

Gold disc represents first solid evidence of main Norse god being worshipped in fifth centuryScandinavian scientists have identified the oldest known inscription referencing the Norse god Odin on part of a gold disc unearthed in western Denmark.Lisbeth Imer, a runologist with the National Museum in Copenhagen, said the inscription represented the first solid evidence of Odin being worshipped as early as the fifth century – at least 150 years earlier than the previous oldest known reference, which was on a brooch found in southern Germany and dated to the second half of the sixth century. Continue reading...

Creation of mammal with two biological fathers could pave way for new fertility treatments in humansScientists have created mice with two biological fathers by generating eggs from male cells, a development that opens up radical new possibilities for reproduction.The advance could ultimately pave the way for treatments for severe forms of infertility, as well as raising the tantalising prospect of same-sex couples being able to have a biological child together in the future. Continue reading...

New twist in debate over whether bryozoans cropped up during Cambrian explosion or laterA group of fossils previously thought to be of ancient marine creatures may actually be of a type of seaweed, a study has suggested, hinting that the blueprints of animal life did necessarily not crop up in the same era.Researchers say the potential of evolution to throw up novel body plans among animals did not end with the Cambrian explosion more than 500m years ago. During the Cambrian period, which began about 540m years ago, there was a huge burst in the diversity of life on Earth, with the body plans that help to define different major animal groups – such as the shells of molluscs and jointed skeletons of arthropods – cropping upabout 520m years ago. Continue reading...

UK trial of first non-hormonal drug for condition may lead to ‘long overdue’ innovation in relieving often debilitating pain

Archaeologists find broken altar stone in cathedral gardens they say was likely used as private shrine or cult roomThe Normans began construction more than 900 years ago on the building that would become Leicester Cathedral, but legend has long had it that the site has been one of worship as far back as the Roman occupation of Britain.Now, an archaeological discovery has experts suggesting the legend may well be true. Continue reading...

Those eligible are being urged to come forward for the jab as infections remain high across UKVulnerable people in the UK are to be offered another Covid booster jab this spring, public health bodies have said, as the virus continues to circulate at high levels.According to the latest data from Office for National Statistics, about one in 45 people in England, Scotland and Wales had Covid in the week ending 21 February, with the figure at one in 90 for Northern Ireland. In England, infection levels are rising, including in people aged 70 and over. Continue reading...

Japan's H3 rocket, billed as a possible competitor to SpaceX's Falcon 9, self-destructed after liftoff when its second-stage engine apparently failed. It is the second H3 failure for Japan's space agency, Jaxa, after the rocket failed to leave the launchpad in a previous attempt in February. Footage taken from Jaxa's livestream shows Tuesday's launch from the Tanegashima space centre in south-western Japan. The launch initially appeared to be a success, with the rocket lifting off and the first-stage separation appearing to go as planned. Moments later, the livestream was paused before operators announced they had ordered the rocket to self-destruct

Ian Sample speaks to mathematical biologist Kit Yates about what Matt Hancock’s leaked WhatsApp messages reveal about scientific understanding at the heart of government during the pandemic, and what should be done to prepare for the futureClips: BBC, ITV Continue reading...

Next-generation rocket, which Jaxa space agency hopes can compete against SpaceX Falcon, blows itself up after engine failureJapan’s next-generation H3 rocket has self-destructed after liftoff when its second-stage engine apparently failed.The mission was to launch an observation satellite. The rocket has been mooted as a possible competitor to SpaceX’s Falcon 9. Continue reading...

Research compared development of children of heterosexual couples with those of lesbian and gay parentsThe children of same-sex couples fare just as well, if not better, than those of heterosexual couples, research has shown.While data on so-called “sexual minority families” is limited, the UK’s Office for National Statistics recorded 212,000 same-sex families in the UK in 2019, a 40% rise since 2015. The number of same-sex parents rose from 4,000 in 2010 to 12,000 in 2013. Continue reading...

My colleague, mentor and friend Heidy Mader, who has died aged 61 of cancer, was an outstanding experimental scientist. She applied lessons learned in developing the Wispa chocolate bar as a research physicist at Cadbury to lead a revolution in understanding the flow of lava and magma as a professor at Bristol University.Heidy was born in Cosford, Shropshire, to Renate (nee Pitz) and Eric Mader. Eric was an officer in the RAF, and Renate, who came from Germany, went on to become a teacher. The family moved frequently within the UK, following Eric’s postings. Continue reading...

Jeremy Quin says it is unprecedented for serving permanent secretary to resign to take job with leader of opposition. This blog is now closed

Guy Standing on the questions that remain with regard to the historic deal to protect international watersThe ocean treaty is good news (High seas treaty: historic deal to protect international waters finally reached at UN, 5 March), promising to protect biodiversity in the high seas. It is a rare case of multilateralism in this century. But euphoria should be tempered by the realisation that giving it effective teeth will be enormously challenging.It promises to create a body to manage conservation and establish marine protected areas in the high seas, the 64% of sea outside national exclusive economic zones. Those cheering the treaty should recall that the last great multilateral agreement, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), reached in 1982, set up a body to manage the international seabed and establish a benefit-sharing system. Continue reading...