A first-of-its-kind non-hormonal drug to treat hot flushes has been approved in the US. Targeting connections in the brain that change during menopause, the drug, called fezolinetant, could provide relief for those who aren’t able to take hormonal replacement therapy. Madeleine Finlay speaks to endocrinologist and menopause specialist Prof Annice Mukherjee to find out what we know about the mechanism that causes hot flushes, how this new drug works, and what it might mean for those experiencing menopause in the future. Continue reading...

Researchers seeking alternative to cutting or burning away affected cells turn to device used on verrucasA medical device that uses microwaves to destroy verrucas could provide a less invasive way of treating pre-cancers and cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), as well as genital warts.Almost all cervical cancers and most cancers of the vagina, vulva, penis and anus are caused by HPV. Certain variants of the virus cause genital warts, a sexually transmitted infection that affects 3-4% of British adults. Continue reading...

Scientists find antibodies for widespread Epstein-Barr virus can misfire and attach to protein in brain and spinal cordScientists have uncovered how a common childhood virus could trigger multiple sclerosis (MS), in findings that could pave the way for new treatments for the devastating condition.The research suggests that the body’s immune response to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a normally harmless infection, can misfire and mistakenly target a crucial protein in the brain and spinal cord. Continue reading...

Nestled in Arkansas, the Buddhist center is remote and summers are sweltering. I spent a week shadowing practitioners to learn whether it changed them in the ways they had hopedAni Wangmo and I are being tailgated. We’re in a white pickup truck, and the man behind us is driving a mid-size silver Pontiac. There’s real risk: deer and armadillo are splattered all over the narrow, cliffside Ozark road. If we need to stop suddenly, there’s nowhere for the Pontiac to swerve. The car will drive into us, the oncoming lane, or off the cliff.We’re on the six-hour grocery run that Wangmo makes twice a month for the practitioners who are in retreat at the Katog Rit’hröd Buddhist center in Parthenon, Arkansas. These practitioners cannot go into town: they’re immersed in a three-year, off-grid retreat to intensively practice and study Nyingma Tibetan Buddhism. Continue reading...

‘Digital twin’ of ship created by deep-sea mapping firm may help shed new light on 1912 sinkingThe Titanic has been depicted in unprecedented detail in the first full-sized digital scan of the wreck.The unique 3D view of the entire vessel, seen as if the water has been drained away, could reveal fresh clues about how she came to sink on her maiden voyage in 1912. The scans also preserve a “digital twin” of the ship, which is rapidly being destroyed by iron-eating bacteria, salt corrosion and deep ocean currents. Continue reading...

The ink blots have been used as a diagnostic tool for 100 years, but the making of new ones, every five years, has been a closely guarded secret – until nowFor images that have been reproduced for more than a century and looked at, quite intently, by millions of people, there is a great deal of secrecy surrounding the Rorschach ink blots. These famous cards – both intensely guarded and instantly recognisable – continue to be used for psychological diagnosis around the world. New copies are only printed every five years or so, and no one has ever been allowed to document the process. So when I asked the publisher recently if I might do so, I had not expected them to say yes. There were conditions, of course: the most perplexing of which was that if I were to document the printing of the Rorschach ink blots, I must do so without revealing any information about the printing of the Rorschach ink blots. It seemed a test as exquisitely elegant as the one for which the cards themselves are used.The ink blots are named after Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychologist who died so young that he only makes it halfway through his biography. One Sunday in late March 1922 he is taking his wife Olga to see Peer Gynt at the theatre and a week – five pages – later he’s dead. He had been born in Zürich 37 years earlier, the first of three children – two boys and a girl – to Philippine and Ulrich. His father was an extremely skilled artist and wrote a 100-page treatise titled Outline of a Theory of Form in which he considered many aspects of visual perception, asking: “Who among us has not often and with pleasure turned our eyes and imagination to the ever-changing shapes and movements of the clouds and the mist?”. Hermann became a gifted student and joined the elite academic Gymnasium in Schaffhausen, northern Switzerland. His skill as an artist was perhaps his defining characteristic, however, and led to his admiringly mocking nickname of Klex, a shortening of klexen or klecksen, which means something like “to daub”. Klex also means ink blot. Continue reading...

Here before the dinosaurs, plants now face extinction due to illegal trade and vanishing tropical forestsCycads are the most threatened group of plants in the world. These ancient plants date back about 280m years, before the age of the dinosaurs, and they look primeval, with a rugged chunky trunk rising into a crown of stiff feathery leaves.They are disappearing as their tropical forest habitats are rapidly vanishing, and they also face extinction from an illegal multimillion-pound global trade in wild cycads. The rarer they become, the more their value increases, with some individual specimens selling for millions of pounds each. Continue reading...

Decades-long study involving over 250,000 Swedish men establishes strong link to risk of fatal prostate cancerMen who put on 2st (12.7kg) before turning 30 are 27% more likely to die from prostate cancer in old age than those who maintain their teenage weight, early research suggests.A decades-long study into more than 250,000 Swedish men indicated there was a strong link between men gaining weight across their healthiest years and developing prostate cancer. Continue reading...

Paediatrician and geneticist determined to save the lives of children in countries where malaria is endemicMalaria kills more than half a million people every year, mostly children under the age of five in Africa. Saving the lives of those children was the lifelong mission of Dominic Kwiatkowski, who has died suddenly aged 69.Allied to that ambition was his vision that genetic sequencing – a technology that was beginning to be affordable on a large scale in the 2000s – could answer questions about why some children died and others survived. Continue reading...

Chinese and Australian researchers have identified that a dye used in medical imaging can block the toxic effects

We have the tools to prepare, but post-Covid fatigue and a lack of political will mean they aren’t being usedLast month a pet dog in Canada died of H5N1, also known as bird flu, after eating a wild goose. Worryingly this follows a pattern, with an increasing number of bird flu cases appearing in mammals who come into contact with an infected bird, dead or alive.When you see a wild bird such as a duck or seagull, think bird flu. Because it’s actually more likely than not they’re infected with the virus. And many species of wild birds are asymptomatic, meaning that they don’t show any symptoms. The risk of transmission to pets is low, but they can get sick from chewing or eating an infected bird, whether it’s dead or alive.Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh Continue reading...

Two men believed to have been killed when building collapsed during early stages of AD79 volcanic eruptionThe remains of two people believed to have been killed by an earthquake that accompanied the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius have been found in the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii.The skeletons, thought to belong to two men in their mid-50s, were found during excavations at the Insula dei Casti Amanti, or Insula of the Chaste Lovers, an area of Pompeii made up of a cluster of homes and a bakery. Continue reading...

Eighty-six-minute movie starring 4,000-year-old Cornish stone billed as antithesis to flashy nature showsIt is a rock documentary but there is no pounding music, no terrible behaviour, no bombastic characters.Instead, the 86-minute film tells the slow but compelling story of 12 months in the life of a 4,000-year-old stone that stands sentinel in the Cornish landscape. Continue reading...

More than 40 leading scientists have resigned en masse from the editorial board of a top science journal in protest at what they describe as the ‘greed’ of the publisher. Ian Sample speaks to correspondent Hannah Devlin about the remarkably lucrative business of scientific publishing, hears from Prof Chris Chambers about what was behind the recent mass resignation, and finds out why researchers are demanding changeRead coverage of scientists’ resignation from journal Neuroimage here.Read Stephen Buranyi’s long read article about the business of scientific publishing here. Continue reading...

Ten-year science strategy of UK Health Security Agency will use data to combat infectious diseases faster and more effectivelyHealth officials in the UK have drawn up plans for a “genomics transformation” that aims to detect and deal with outbreaks of infectious diseases faster and more effectively in the light of the Covid pandemic.Information gleaned from the genetics of Covid proved crucial as the virus swept around the globe, revealing how the pathogen spread, evolved, and responded to a succession of vaccines and medicines developed to protect people. Continue reading...

The answers to today’s puzzlesEarlier today I set you these six puzzles about succession with a lower case ‘s’. Here they are again with solutions.1. Nob job Continue reading...

It happened 8 billion lightyears away and was unprecedentedly bright and powerful. And I for one am pretty excited about itSomething pretty huge happened in space recently. Well, that’s not strictly true – to be more accurate, something truly gargantuan happened in space approximately 8 billion years ago, that we are only just finding out about now. Last Friday, scientists revealed the largest cosmic explosion ever witnessed: like a supernova, but more than 10 times brighter and more powerful than any other seen before. And its cause? A giant cloud of gas being sucked into a supermassive black hole.If you want people to be excited about something, it’s important to come up with a catchy name. So, taking a leaf out of Elon Musk’s book of baby names, scientists called it AT2021lwx. But I’m gonna call her Sue. Sue Pernova. (You’re welcome.) Continue reading...

Remember when WeWork would kill commercial real estate? Crypto would abolish banks? The metaverse would end meeting people in real life?In the field of artificial intelligence, doomerism is as natural as an echo. Every development in the field, or to be more precise every development that the public notices, immediately generates an apocalyptic reaction. The fear is natural enough; it comes partly from the lizard-brain part of us that resists whatever is new and strange, and partly from the movies, which have instructed us, for a century, that artificial intelligence will take the form of an angry god that wants to destroy all humanity.The recent public letter calling for a six-month ban on AI lab work will not have the slightest measurable effect on the development of artificial intelligence, it goes without saying. But it has changed the conversation: every discussion about artificial intelligence must begin with the possibility of total human extinction. It’s silly and, worse, it’s an alibi, a distraction from the real dangers technology presents. Continue reading...

Pondering what comes nextUPDATE: Read the solutions hereToday’s puzzles are about succession, with a lower case ‘s’.(Apols to readers hoping to find a discussion of the TV series. Although I have made an attempt at making one of the questions relevant.) Continue reading...

The latest film by the directors of Leviathan combines disorientating, brutal surgery closeups with doctors’ candid chats to powerful effectLucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel are the French documentary film-makers who in 2012 gave us Leviathan, an experimental and immersively strange account of life on a fishing trawler in the north Atlantic. In 2017 their Somniloquies was a hallucinatory, image-driven film about sleep-talking, while Caniba was about the notorious Japanese murderer and cannibal Issei Sagawa and the strange half-life of his later years, when he was immobilised by a cerebral infarction.Their new film does for the human body what Leviathan did for the alien world of the sea: an account of surgical and clinical procedures in a number of Paris hospitals, with extreme, disorientating closeups and some deeply disturbing images, including one mortuary scene of a dead body being dressed in the “civilian” clothes of the living. It gives us brutally candid images of operations on the eye, the brain and the penis, and takes us into the surreal, microsurgical inner-space of the body: you might find yourself thinking of the 60s sci-fi classic Fantastic Voyage with Raquel Welch and other miniaturised adventurers journeying through the body’s macrocosmos. The title is taken from Andreas Vesalius’s classic anatomical study of 1543, revolutionary in its day for its fiercely rationalist, materialist emphasis on examining what the body really is, but with bizarre, nonrational illustrations of animated corpses appearing to open themselves up, like Jesus and the sacred heart. Continue reading...

Scientists find link between levels of adult speech and infant myelin, which surrounds nerves and makes signals more efficientThe amount of adult speech children are exposed to in their early years may help to shape the structure of their brains, researchers say.Studies have previously suggested there are benefits to talking to young children, with research suggesting it can help improve their language processing and boost their vocabularies. Continue reading...

Phenomenon caused by sunlight reflecting off Earth was first explained by Leonardo da Vinci in 16th centuryThis weekend will be a good time to look for the earthshine on the moon’s unilluminated face. On 21 May, look to the west about 21.00 BST, near the time of sunset (but of course never look at the sun directly). The moon will be a thin crescent with less than 5% of its visible surface illuminated by the sun.As the sky darkens, the moon’s unilluminated portion will also glow faintly. This is the earthshine, caused by sunlight reflecting off our planet on to the moon. Seen from the moon, Earth is 50 times brighter than the full moon seen from Earth, meaning the lunar nearside never experiences a truly dark night. Earthshine was first explained by Leonardo da Vinci in the 16th century. The phenomenon is also called the ashen glow, or the poetic “old moon in the arms of the new”. Continue reading...

Some organisms truck along slowly for aeons before suddenly surging into dominance – and something similar often happens with human inventions, too. But why? Continue reading...

Exclusive: IVF in UK ‘is the most successful and the safest it has ever been’, says Tim ChildA leading fertility expert has said the law should be overhauled so that rapid advancements in reproductive science do not stall.Prof Tim Child of the University of Oxford said IVF in the UK was “the most successful and the safest that it has ever been”, and noted that the chance of having a baby from a single embryo was rising and the likelihood of having multiple births dropping. Continue reading...

Thousands of Australian children live with dementia. Now recognition and research offer hope to the families raising children who will forgetIn many ways, Ronin and Ethan are typical young boys. They love Hot Wheels toy cars, Shaun the Sheep, rude noises and pizza nights. Nine-year-old Ethan dotes on the family pets. Ronin, seven, is always booting a soccer ball around the back yard. “They’re two absolutely lovable friendly kids, very affectionate and can be very loving when they’re happy and when things are going their way,” their mother, Teresa Lloyd, says.But Ronin and Ethan have dementia. When Ethan was two or three, his parents noticed his speech wasn’t developing properly. Now, at nine, he has the language skills of a toddler. He’s still walking unaided but this, Lloyd expects, will not last. He has no sense of personal safety and will dart out in front of a car without any awareness of the danger. He needs help with activities such as dressing and eating, the latter which requires constant supervision in case he doesn’t swallow properly and chokes. Continue reading...

She’s 10 years younger than me and lives on the other side of the world – but we forged the friendship of a lifetimeThere’s an assumption in life that by the time you’ve reached your more seasoned years, you’ve made all the close friends you need. Surely you’ve accumulated enough through school, university and work. But I’ve learned that close friends can be made at any age. In my case, one of my most meaningful, profound friendships was formed when I was in my mid-50s. It is a unique bond that crosses cultures, languages and continents.The first time I met Kyung-sook Shin I was unbelievably nervous. I was 56 and she was 10 years my junior. I was a New York literary agent and she the most famous author in Korea, comparable to JK Rowling. Her groundbreaking novel, Please Look After Mother, was all about a mother who sacrificed everything for her family only to be discarded by them. When it came out in Korea in 2009, it was the bestselling book that year. Continue reading...

Abusive, often violent tweets denying the climate emergency have become a barrage since Elon Musk acquired the platform, say UK expertsSome of the UK’s top scientists are struggling to deal with what they describe as a huge rise in abuse from climate crisis deniers on Twitter since the social media platform was taken over by Elon Musk last year.Since then, key figures who ensured “trusted” content was prioritised have been sacked, according to one scientist, and Twitter’s sustainability arm has vanished. At the same time several users with millions of followers who propagate false statements about the climate emergency, including Donald Trump and rightwing culture warrior Jordan Peterson, have had their accounts reinstated. Continue reading...

Anger at decision to axe the main task of the New Horizons spacecraft to probe the remote Kuiper beltIt may have reached the edge of the solar system and travelled more than 5 billion miles through space, but the New Horizons spacecraft is causing major ripples on Earth. A dispute has erupted between scientists and US space officials in the wake of Nasa’s decision to stop funding next year for the vessel’s main mission.The move was described as “misguided and unfortunate” by Alan Stern, New Horizons’s principal investigator. Continue reading...

More than ever, the relationship between our two worlds has been disrupted, says the historian. If we don’t mend our ways, will we face even deadlier threats than Covid, Sars and Mpox?In March 2021, the 13th month of the Covid confinement, the peepers, in their vast multitudes, sang out again. Down in the swampy wetlands below our house in Hudson Valley, New York, millions of Pseudacris crucifer (“cross-bearing false locusts” but actually minute frogs) puffed up their air sacs and warbled for a mate. That’s spring for you. The peepers are so tiny – an inch or so long – that you’ll never see one, no matter how carefully you creep up on them. Their blown-out song bags are nearly as big as the rest of them; it’s all they are: innocently inflated peeps of expectation.They are not alone. In recent years, the soprano peepers have been accompanied by a bass rhythm section – wood frogs, Lithobates sylvaticus, a tattoo of deep quacking, punctuated by raspy burps. They and the peepers survive bitter winters by means of antifreeze cryoprotectants stored within their bodies. When ice crystals begin to form on their skins, their livers flood the bloodstream with glucose, sending vital organs like the heart, its beating paused, into a dormant but protected state. Seventy per cent of the frogs’ body water can then freeze without compromising the organs that will magically reawaken in the spring. Continue reading...

Scientists at Southampton University say they accidentally stumbled upon the largest explosion ever recorded in the cosmos. Philip Wiseman, a lead researcher at the university, says his team believed the explosion, known as AT2021lwx, happened around 8bn years ago. Wiseman said it was only detectable from the earth because of the sheer magnitude of the explosion, which they believe was caused by a giant gas cloud plummeting into a black hole. Wiseman said: ‘A giant cloud of material far bigger than a normal star that is being shredded by or partially shredded by the black hole and that shredding is sending some kind of shock through the rest of the cloud, that shock is about 100 times the size of our solar system so it’s absolutely gargantuan’

Discovery of 62 new moons restores ringed planet’s lead after it was briefly overtaken by JupiterSaturn has regained its crown as the planet with the most moons in the solar system, just months after being overtaken by its fellow gas giant Jupiter.The leap-frog comes after the discovery of 62 new moons of Saturn, bringing its official total to 145. Jupiter, which added 12 moons to its tally in February, has 95 moons that have been formally designated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Continue reading...

Patients to be treated with medicines used for arthritis and lupus in relaunch of pioneering UK trialOne of the UK’s leading psychiatrists is calling for an overhaul of the diagnosis and treatment of psychotic disorders following evidence that a small but significant fraction of cases could be triggered by an autoimmune response.Speaking before the relaunch of a groundbreaking trial in which psychosis patients are being treated with medicines normally reserved for autoimmune conditions such as arthritis and lupus, Prof Belinda Lennox, the head of psychiatry at the University of Oxford, said she hoped the work would pave the way for new, more targeted approaches to treating conditions such as schizophrenia. This could include some patients being given immunotherapies to treat psychotic symptoms. Continue reading...

Cavendish made to resist fungus threatening variety worldwide is seen as safety net for growers if industry wiped out

Fireball ‘100 times the size of the solar system’ thought to have been caused by gas being sucked into supermassive black holeIt started as an unremarkable flicker in the night sky. But closer observations revealed that astronomers had captured the largest cosmic explosion ever witnessed, an event thought to have been triggered by a giant cloud of gas being gobbled up by a supermassive black hole.The flare-up, traced to 8bn light years away, is more than 10 times brighter than any known supernova and has so far lasted more than three years, making it the most energetic explosion on record. Continue reading...

Vaccines and medication will remain available for free ‘while supplies last’ but most Americans will have to pay for testingThursday marked the end of Covid-19’s public health emergency status in the US, concluding more than three years of free access to testing, vaccines, virtual accommodations and treatment for the majority of Americans.The end of the emergency designation comes just weeks after the World Health Organization declared an end to the global health emergency. But the nation’s leading health officials also wanted to be sure Americans don’t confuse this marker for the end of Covid-19 concerns. Continue reading...

Researchers say wipes contain chemical group called ‘quats’, which are linked to serious health problemsSince the pandemic’s outset, the global use of disinfectants has gone through the roof. Clorox dramatically boosted production of its wipe packs to 1.5m a day by mid-2021, and an industry trade group said 83% of consumers surveyed around the same time reported they had used a disinfectant wipe in the last week.But as schools reopened, a group of toxic chemical researchers grew concerned as they heard reports of kids regularly using disinfectant wipes on their classroom desks, or teachers running disinfectant foggers. Continue reading...

The course focuses on taming a ubiquitous emotion. But what about addressing its root causes?There are six rules of anger management, says my anger workbook. The first rule: “STOP, think, take a look at the BIG picture.” Then, because why use lower-case when you’ve got capitals: “ANGER MANAGEMENT IS A THINKING PERSON’S GAME!”But thinking, it turns out soon into the course, is discouraged. “I’m not here to psychoanalyze you,” says our group leader, a self-styled anger management guru. “I’m just here to help you follow the program. If you follow the program, you’ll see results.” Later, after one question too many, he tells me: “The problem with you, Olivia, is that you like to complicate things.” Continue reading...

Hunterian Museum collection amassed by 18th-century surgeon-anatomist John Hunter includes body parts of humans and animalsThe relaunch of an extraordinary collection of human and animal specimens gathered in the 18th century by a medical pioneer has prompted the Royal College of Surgeons in England (RCS) to commission research into complex questions about provenance and consent.The collection amassed by the surgeon-anatomist John Hunter includes human organs alongside the bodies and body parts of creatures ranging from bees to elephants. Human foetuses in glass jars, from nine weeks gestation to full term, pickled penises and female reproductive organs are preserved in carefully labelled glass jars. Continue reading...

The pioneering IVF procedure known as mitochondrial donation therapy (MDT) could prevent children from being born with devastating mitochondrial diseases. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Prof Darren Griffin, an expert in genetic diseases and reproduction, about how MDT works, the ethical considerations attached, and what techniques like it could mean for the future of reproductionRead science editor Ian Sample’s exclusive coverage of this story hereClip: Sky News Continue reading...

Researchers say mosquitoes may be attracted to soap because when not feeding on blood they supplement sugar intake with nectarLathering up with soap might seem a reasonable mosquito-evasion strategy on the basis that if they can’t smell you, they can’t bite you.However, a study suggests that rather than helping you go incognito, soapy fragrances could make you a more attractive target, with mosquitoes favouring the scent of volunteers who washed with three out of four popular soap brands tested. Continue reading...

Industry says the Albanese government is ‘defunding space programs without explanation’

Scientists have found microbes that can do this at 15C, in a potential breakthrough for recyclingMicrobes that can digest plastics at low temperatures have been discovered by scientists in the Alps and the Arctic, which could be a valuable tool in recycling.Many microorganisms that can do this have already been found, but they can usually only work at temperatures above 30C (86F). This means that using them in industrial practice is prohibitively expensive because of the heating required. It also means using them is not carbon neutral. Continue reading...

New genetics study finds some of the first arrivals came during the last ice age, and shortly after, in two distinct migrationsSome of the first humans to arrive in the Americas included people from what is now China, who arrived in two distinct migrations during and after the last ice age, a new genetics study has found.“Our findings indicate that besides the previously indicated ancestral sources of Native Americans in Siberia, the northern coastal China also served as a genetic reservoir contributing to the gene pool,” said Yu-Chun Li, one of the report authors. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Mitochondrial donation treatment aims to prevent children from inheriting incurable diseasesThe first UK baby created with DNA from three people has been born after doctors performed a groundbreaking IVF procedure that aims to prevent children from inheriting incurable diseases.The technique, known as mitochondrial donation treatment (MDT), uses tissue from the eggs of healthy female donors to create IVF embryos that are free from harmful mutations their mothers carry and are likely to pass on to their children. Continue reading...

Improving ties between the UK and EU could lead to agreements on youth mobility and research collaborationIt’s official. Relations between the EU and the UK have been reset. In an article for the Guardian, ambassadors and high commissioners of all 27 member states declared there had been a “regain in trust”.After seven years of tension, mistrust and sometimes downright contempt, the outbreak of civility is no small thing. “The task ahead is therefore to build on this re-engagement and to develop further the ties between the EU and the UK,” the ambassadors said. Continue reading...

Scott Knudsen was holding his baby when a strike tore through his body. He reflects on the challenging, laughter-filled path to reclaiming his health and identityFor Scott Knudsen, it was shaping up to be a good day. It was his daughter’s first birthday, and his wife Tracy had just called to say she had a surprise for him. Knudsen had been in town, fetching hay and running chores for their ranch in rural Texas. He thought Tracy might have got him another horse. But when he got home, it was even better: Tracy was there, with baby Hailey and they had washed his dirty tractor. Now, nearly 20 years later, still on the same ranch, Knudsen smiles at the memory. “Oh my goodness, it made me so happy.”It was mid-afternoon, on a July day in 2005. Knudsen was 37 years old. In the distance there was a thunderstorm – he could see the rain clouds, 15 or so miles away – but where they stood there were blue-skies and calm. Several of their horses were out to pasture; there were chickens around, pecking at the dirt. Tracy handed Hailey to Knudsen to hold. Continue reading...

Leaks of potent greenhouse gas could be easily fixed, say experts, and would rapidly reduce global heatingMethane leaks alone from Turkmenistan’s two main fossil fuel fields caused more global heating in 2022 than the entire carbon emissions of the UK, satellite data has revealed.Emissions of the potent greenhouse gas from the oil- and gas-rich country are “mind-boggling”, and an “infuriating” problem that should be easy to fix, experts have told the Guardian. Continue reading...

Psychedelic drugs have long been been used for their mind-altering effects. Now, they are making their way into western medicine as a treatment for mental health disorders. From July, psychiatrists in Australia will be able to prescribe MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder, making it the first country in the world to recognise psychedelics as medicines. The US could soon follow, with plans for the US Food and Drug Administration to be asked for approval to treat PTSD with MDMA this year. Ian Sample speaks to correspondent Hannah Devlin about how the science behind psychedelic therapy has progressed, and hears from Prof Celia Morgan about what treatment is actually like, what we know about the risks and what’s left to learnRead about the University of Exeter launching a postgraduate course in the clinical use of psychedelics.Listen to the podcast series Cotton Capital, which explores how transatlantic slavery shaped the Guardian. Continue reading...

High-resolution images from James Webb space telescope reveal two rings of debris around FomalhautAstronomers have spotted an asteroid belt and an enormous dust cloud around one of the nearest and brightest stars in the night sky.Known as Fomalhaut, the star lies 25 light years from Earth in the constellation of Piscis Austrinus, or the southern fish. Though best seen from the southern hemisphere, it can be viewed from a large part of the northern hemisphere, especially in the autumn. Its brightness and position mean it is still used for navigation. Continue reading...

Startups say their AI-powered, therapist-trained bots can help us navigate life’s challenges. I decided to put them to the testFor the last several months I have been a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. We moved to a new house last year only to find the place next door was about to undergo a massive construction project. Since then we’ve been living with a constant soundtrack of hammering and drilling. I’ve tried various coping methods – everything from saunas to noise-cancelling headphones to fantasies of revenge – but the noise and dust still raise my blood pressure to dangerous levels every day.Yet there was one thing I hadn’t tried until this week: An “emotional support chatbot”. Yes, those are a thing now: in our brave new world, where artificial intelligence is seemingly on the verge of disrupting every industry, not even therapists are safe from having their jobs taken by technology. On Tuesday a prominent startup called Inflection AI launched a chatbot called Pi (short for “personal intelligence”) which is designed to give friendly advice. It’s obviously not meant to replace a real-life therapist (not yet anyway), but is pitched as a supportive companion that can help you talk through your problems. The algorithm has been trained by about 600 “teachers”, including mental health professionals, to be sensitive and conversational. Continue reading...