Association found between higher levels of omega 3 fatty acids from seafood and reduced risk of kidney problemsEating at least two portions of oily fish such as mackerel, sardines or herrings a week is linked to a lower risk of chronic kidney disease and a slower decline in the organ’s function, research suggests.Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects about 700 million people worldwide. It can lead to kidney failure and death, so there is an urgent need to identify factors that could prevent its onset and progression. Continue reading...
Switch to flour made from legumes would make loaves healthier and more sustainable, says professorBritain should switch to eating bread made with broad beans, researchers have said, because it would be more sustainable and easily deliver key nutrients.Using flour made from broad beans – also known as faba or fava beans – could represent one of the biggest changes to UK food in a generation, according to scientists at the University of Reading. Continue reading...
Study suggests children who were in the womb during Superstorm Sandy are more likely to have behavior disordersWhen Superstorm Sandy hit in October 2012, Celia Sporer-Newman was about eight months pregnant and working full-time as a paramedic in Queens, New York.Sporer-Newman had worked through previous disasters, including Hurricane Irene the year before, but this felt different. She saw news reports that said Sandy was going to be worse than anything New Yorkers had seen before. Continue reading...
Plantwatch pays tribute to a water-resistant species whose uses range from flood defence to Hendrix’s Fender StratocasterWeeks of rain, more expected and many fields left flooded. But in the defence against flooding, the alder tree can play a vital role, helping to soak up big rainfalls and slowing down the flow of water.
by Andrew Gissing for the Conversation on (#67XXR)
Our national research on bushfires since 2003 means we know much more about how they behave – and Australians are safer for itIt has been 20 years to the day since bushfires burst out of the Brindabella Ranges and into the suburbs of our nation’s bush capital. Four lives were lost, many people were injured and more than 500 homes were destroyed.There had been big bushfires before, and there were bigger bushfires to come, but the tragic day in Canberra of 18 January 2003 marked a pivotal moment in Australian bushfire science. Continue reading...
The 2,000-year-old inscription is among the earliest examples of runic writingArchaeologists in Norway have found what they claim is the world’s oldest runestone, saying the inscriptions are up to 2,000 years old and date back to the earliest days of the enigmatic history of runic writing.The flat, square block of brownish sandstone has carved scribbles, which may be the earliest example of words recorded in writing in Scandinavia, the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo said. Continue reading...
We need a high booster uptake of Covid and flu vaccines, writes Dr Simon Williams; the fewer anti-vax messages the betterIt is wholly appropriate that Andrew Bridgen lost the Tory whip after comparing the use of Covid vaccines to the Holocaust (Report, 11 January). As well as being unethical and offensive, his comments are potentially harmful to public health and public trust in vaccines. It is well established that Covid vaccines are safe and effective, and that the vast benefits outweigh any small potential risks.Many of Mr Bridgen’s tweets on Covid vaccines, including the one that resulted in him losing the whip, cite spurious sources, including far-right libertarian blogs and discredited scientists infamous for espousing misinformation. It is concerning that such misinformation is being amplified by a sitting MP, and all parties should work together to ensure that such misinformation is not held, or spread, more widely by others. Continue reading...
Rosalind Franklin laboratory in Leamington Spa no longer to be part of laboratory network processing Covid testsEngland’s PCR testing network for Covid is to be scaled back due to a fall in demand, public health officials have said.The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that the Rosalind Franklin laboratory in Leamington Spa – which at its peak was processing about 75,000 Covid PCR tests a day – will cease to operate as part of the processing network. Continue reading...
Practice may help regulate gut microbiome and lower risk of ill health, study of Buddhist monks findsIt is a practice favoured by Lena Dunham, Tom Hanks and Lady Gaga to boost their focus and bring about calmness in an often busy, distracted world.Now researchers have found evidence that frequent meditation over several years may help alter the human gut – boosting the body’s immune system and reducing the risk of anxiety, depression and heart disease. Continue reading...
Positive effects were stronger among those reporting the lowest annual household income, says Finnish studyVisits to parks, community gardens and other urban green spaces may lower city dwellers’ use of drugs for anxiety, insomnia, depression, high blood pressure, and asthma, research has found.Researchers in Finland found that visiting such areas three to four times a week cuts people’s chances of turning to drugs for mental health problems or high blood pressure by a third, and for asthma by about a quarter. Continue reading...
by Presented and produced by Madeleine Finlay, sound on (#67WZ0)
As the ninth series of ITV show Love Island kicked off yesterday, viewers may have noticed contestants’ perfectly straight, white teeth. But are there risks associated with achieving a flawless smile? Madeleine Finlay speaks to dentist Paul Woodhouse about some of the dangers of dental tourismIn a survey last year of over 1,000 dentists, the British Dental Association found that 94% of respondents had examined patients who had travelled abroad for dental treatments. For patients, this can be a cheaper way to achieve their ‘perfect smile’ and several previous Love Island contestants and social media influencers have shared videos of their own trips abroad to have veneers or crowns fitted. On TikTok, videos labelled with ‘turkey teeth’, named after one of the popular cosmetic dentistry destinations, have amassed more than 130m views. But there are also many well-documented cases of people being left with serious complications and significant follow-up costs to repair the damage done to their teeth.Dentist Paul Woodhouse tells Madeleine Finlay about the different kinds of cosmetic dentistry, how procedures can go wrong, and why patients considering going abroad need to know the risks Continue reading...
Research also finds unvaccinated Covid-infected women more likely to give birth prematurelyWomen are more likely to die in pregnancy if they catch Covid, according to researchers, who found the infection raised the risk of a swath of serious illnesses for mothers and their newborns.Reports throughout the pandemic have highlighted how pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to the virus, with doctors urging women to take up the offer of Covid vaccination to reduce the risk to themselves and their children. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#67WD2)
Scientists say phenomenon coupled with growing climate crisis likely to push global temperatures ‘off the chart’The return of the El Niño climate phenomenon later this year will cause global temperatures to rise “off the chart” and deliver unprecedented heatwaves, scientists have warned.Early forecasts suggest El Niño will return later in 2023, exacerbating extreme weather around the globe and making it “very likely” the world will exceed 1.5C of warming. The hottest year in recorded history, 2016, was driven by a major El Niño. Continue reading...
Demo during heavy storms at top of a Swiss mountain involved firing powerful laser pulses at thundercloudsScientists have steered lightning bolts with lasers for the first time in the field, according to a demonstration performed during heavy storms at the top of a Swiss mountain.The feat, which involved firing powerful laser pulses at thunderclouds over several months last year, paves the way for laser-based lightning protection systems at airports, launchpads and tall buildings. Continue reading...
The parasite-borne disease is classed as ‘neglected’ yet causes 12,000 deaths a year, mostly in Latin America. Can the world really wipe it out by 2030?The first time Elvira Idalia Hernández Cuevas heard of Chagas was when her then 18-year-old daughter tested positive.Hernández’s daughter, Idalia, had donated blood in her home town, near the city of Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico. When her sample was screened, she was told she was a carrier of the neglected tropical disease. Continue reading...
Recent research suggests plants may be able to learn and communicate. This really put me off my baked potatoIf you were starting to polish your Veganuary halo, sorry, I have upsetting news, gleaned from a Radio 4 programme called Is Eating Plants Wrong?. Spoiler alert: maybe.Plants, it explained, “can sense the world around them, learn, remember and engage in complex communication with the species around them”. Research suggests that pea seedlings can learn to associate a sound with the light they need and choose to grow in a particular direction as a result. They can also eavesdrop on each other and protect themselves based on what they “hear”. Sagebrush plants communicate to each other the risk of being chomped by insects and trees share nutrients through what Prof Suzanne Simard pleasingly calls the “wood wide web”; they do so more with trees they are related to than with “strangers”. Continue reading...
How toddlers interact with dogs helps explain how humans came to domesticate animals, scientists sayThe human urge to lend a hand extends to animals from the earliest years of life, according to researchers who observed toddlers interacting with friendly dogs.Children as young as two years old went out of their way to help dogs get toys and tasty treats that were placed beyond their reach, despite never having met the animals before, scientists found. Continue reading...
Planetary pairing will be visible to naked eye from across the globeThe brilliantly bright planet Venus passes Saturn this week in a particularly close conjunction that is visible across the globe. On the evening of Sunday 22 January, shortly after sunset, the two planets will appear low in the western sky, bathed in twilight.The chart shows the view looking west-south-west from London at 17.30 GMT on 22 January. Saturn will appear to be 75 times fainter than Venus. This is because although Saturn’s diameter of about 120,000km is almost 10 times wider than Venus, it is about seven times further away from Earth. Continue reading...
Poyll Vaaish, Isle of Man: One field on the island is a throwback to the heyday of mixed farming, full of veg and weeds. The resulting biodiversity is astonishingOn the south coast of the Isle of Man there exists a field so impossibly teeming with birds that I don’t know where to begin. I was last there on Christmas Day – an odd day to go birding perhaps, but not here. The island’s annual Bird Race, a collective effort to find as many species as possible, runs between Christmas and the new year. In 2022 we set a record: 121 species, three of which were found in this field and nowhere else.So what’s this field got that makes it so popular for birds? Weeds, glorious weeds – which modern society tells us to hate. Aren’t they wildflowers too? The field is a throwback to 70 years ago, to the heyday of mixed farming, when every farm had an acre of vegetables – and lots of weeds. Continue reading...
At Cern and elsewhere, a reluctance to give Russian researchers authorship credit on new papers has led to stalemateIn normal times, the four large physics experiments using proton collisions at Cern’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland publish numerous scientific articles a year. But in March 2022, the number of new research papers by the LHC experiments fell to zero. The reason: a lack of agreement on how to list Russian and Belarusian scientists and institutes, if at all. The temporary compromise, in place up to now, is not to publish.Publications are the hard currency of research, used for exchange of information and evidence of individuals’ and funding agencies’ contributions. The four largest LHC experiments comprise collaborations of thousands of scientists and engineers, with articles typically credited to all members of the project. Continue reading...
How cigarette smoke – something I’d always been repelled by – finally unlocked my headful of roiling emotions a month after my beloved father diedI have never been a smoker. Even from a very young age, I’ve been actively repelled by it. I confess I did eventually try a cigarette as a drunken student, largely due to peer pressure, and ended up with a scorched larynx and a mouth that tasted like a neglected car’s exhaust, which just reaffirmed my opinions on the matter.So it was quite surprising when, nearly two decades later, an encounter with secondhand cigarette smoke ended up easing the intense grief I was experiencing. It was May 2020 and the pandemic was well under way. We were in the heaviest lockdown and I was racked with grief. My otherwise healthy 58-year-old father had contracted the virus in March, and succumbed to it in April. My mum and dad had been young parents – they were 20 when they had me, I’m 40 now. When he died, I couldn’t be with him, or help in any way. What updates were possible were relayed to me second- and third-hand from desperately overwhelmed medical staff. When his condition deteriorated beyond all hope of recovery, I had to say goodbye to my father via WhatsApp. From my kitchen. With 20 minutes’ notice. It was, undeniably, hellish. Continue reading...
Charity launched in name of Alice Wakeling funds breakthrough that could lead to less aggressive treatment and save more livesAlice Wakeling was three when a lump began to grow on her neck. Doctors were initially puzzled but, after six weeks of tests, consultants gave her parents, David and Sara, the devastating news. Alice had rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare childhood cancer that develops in muscle or fibrous tissue.For the next four years, Alice went through gruelling bouts of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. For a brief period, it looked as if she was free from her cancer. But it returned, and Alice died in October 2019. She was seven. Continue reading...
Concerns at mesothelioma death rate trigger study to detect exposure to now banned material used in school buildingsThe threat of asbestos-related cancer to female teachers is to be examined after possible signs of an elevated risk of fatal illness.Trade unions are to work with one of the country’s leading cancer experts on a study of the exposure women in their late-40s to mid-60s may have had to the material inside school buildings. It comes after researchers detected a possible increase in mesothelioma deaths among the group that could be statistically significant. Continue reading...
PestFix had assets of £18,000 and 16 staff but won contracts worth £344m after being put on government’s high-priority supplier listA pest control supplies firm has disclosed it made a profit of more than £9m for supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic after it was put into the government’s controversial VIP procurement lane.Crisp Websites, which trades as PestFix, had assets of just over £18,000 and 16 employees before the pandemic, but won contracts worth £344m. In its latest accounts, the firm says it “does not intend to return to the PPE market”. Continue reading...
Belgium suggests 21 drinks a week is safe for men, while Australia recommends no more than 10 for anyone. What goes into the decision making?Craft beer in Melbourne, pinot noir in Paris, mojitos in Havana –alcohol is part of nearly every culture around the world. As the evidence of harm has accumulated, the message from health authorities globally is that we need to drink less and even abstain entirely. But the advice on exactly how much less isn’t consistent. Why?As an addiction medicine specialist and public health physician at the University of Sydney, Prof Kate Conigrave is more aware than most about the damage caused by alcohol. She chaired the group who authored Australia’s latest guidelines on reducing the health risks of alcohol, which in 2020 recommended healthy adults drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week, and no more than four in a day. It’s a reduction from the 2009 guidelines which recommended no more than two drinks a day for men and women. Continue reading...
The latest claims by scientists that they are able to break the most common digital encryption system are far-fetchedSecurity in a digital world requires that our communications are safe from digital eavesdroppers. The way we do that is to encrypt our messages using mathematical tools. The most powerful of these use trapdoor functions – that is, ones that work easily in one direction (making encryption easy) but not in the other (making decryption difficult).Trapdoor functions utilise a property of multiplication – its asymmetry. It’s simple to multiply two numbers together, for example, 971 and 1,249, to get 1,212,779, but it’s quite hard to start with 1,212,779 and work out which two prime numbers (its factors) have to be multiplied to produce it. And the task becomes exponentially harder the bigger the original numbers are. Which is why, up to now, computer scientists believe that it’s impossible in practice for a conventional computer, no matter how powerful, to factorise any number that’s longer than 2,048 bits. Why so? Because it would take it 300tn years, or about 22,000 times longer than the age of the universe (to use just one of the popular analogies), for the machine to crack the problem. Continue reading...
Researchers spurred by injustice explain why 18th century Irish man famed for his exceptional height deserves burial he wantedThomas Muinzer recalls the day when, as a bored student in Belfast learning about property law, a few sentences about the 18th century “Irish Giant” Charles Byrne caught his eye.“I saw a footnote about a celebrity Irish giant from Northern Ireland whose remains were stolen on the way to his funeral – querying whether or not that was the theft of property, because it was a dead body,” he says. Continue reading...
Research suggests hormone replacement therapy may reduce risk of Alzheimer’s in some womenHormone replacement therapy may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease in millions of women at risk of developing the condition, research suggests.Dementia is one of the world’s biggest health threats. The number of people living with the condition worldwide is set to nearly triple to 153 million by 2050, and experts have warned it presents a major and rapidly growing threat to future health and social care systems in every community, country and continent. Continue reading...
Aseem Malhotra’s ‘misguided’ views linking some Covid vaccines to excess heart disease deaths should not have aired, say expertsThe BBC has come under fire from scientists for interviewing a cardiologist who claimed certain Covid vaccines could be behind excess deaths from coronary artery disease.Experts have criticised Dr Aseem Malhotra’s appearance on the corporation’s news channel on Friday, accusing him of pushing “extreme fringe” views, which are “misguided”, “dangerous” and could mislead the public. Continue reading...
After watching LauncherOne abort, I felt briefly dejected. But our attempts to put these tiny satellites into space will pay offJust like any expectant parent, I had a bag packed and was waiting by the front door. In these situations you never know when things will kick off, so it’s best to be prepared. The birth that I was waiting for was not a child, but the UK’s new launch capability to get baby satellites (known as microsatellites) into space from right here in Britain.As a space scientist, and builder of satellites myself, I know of the frustration of a launch. Here in the UK we have developed an industry in small dynamic satellites. Microsatellites, unlike their larger brethren, can be turned around quickly. I spent part of my career working on the James Webb space telescope, a wonderful piece of hi-tech engineering designed to give us amazing new insight into the early universe and how it evolved. But it took about 40 years to develop, from concept to launch. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#67SA6)
Scientists say sensual discovery could be used to design low-fat product that mimics feel of high fatThe irresistible melt-in-the-mouth sensation of chocolate comes down to the way it lubricates the tongue, according to scientists.A study investigated the physical process by which a solid square of chocolate morphs into a smooth emulsion. It found that chocolate released a fatty film that coats the tongue, giving a smooth sensation for the entire time it is in the mouth. Continue reading...
Although many are attributed to drones or balloons, others point to the spying capabilities of rival nationsThe US government is examining 510 UFO reports, more than triple the number in its 2021 file. While many were caused by drones or balloons, hundreds remain unexplained, according to a report released on Thursday.The 2022 report (pdf) by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) said that 247 “unidentified anomalous phenomena” or UAP reports have been filed with it since June 2021, when it revealed that it had records of 144 sightings of suspicious aerial objects under examination. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#67RN0)
Research adds to concerns about the impact of human noise pollution on marine lifeWe have all experienced the frustration of trying to hold a conversation in a loud pub or restaurant. Now researchers have shown that dolphins may face a similar scenario, showing that they “shout” to each other when faced with background noise.The findings revealed that a noisy environment makes it harder for dolphins to communicate and cooperate on tasks, adding to concern about the impact of human noise pollution on marine life. Continue reading...
Guidance for NHS says extending cholesterol-lowering treatment could save thousands more livesAs many as 15 million more people could be eligible for cholesterol-lowering statins to protect them against heart attacks and strokes, according to draft guidelines for the NHS in England.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says the scope for those who can be considered for the drugs should be widened dramatically – in what would be the single biggest change in a decade – to save thousands more lives. Continue reading...
Baby western chimpanzee, of which there are said to be only 18,000 left across Africa, will be named after rock or pop starConservationists are celebrating the birth of the “world’s rarest chimpanzee” at a UK zoo.Chester zoo has welcomed the arrival of the male critically endangered western or west African chimpanzee, which was delivered after an eight-month pregnancy. Continue reading...
Women are increasingly discussing the forgetfulness, anxiety and suicidal thoughts they have experienced as their hormones change in midlife. Why is more help not available?At her lowest point, Karen Arthur came within a hair’s breadth of killing herself. Having been signed off from her teaching job with anxiety, which she had not then connected with going through the menopause, the 51-year-old had booked a few days away from home to try to clear her head. A long walk in the country brought her to a spot notorious for suicide attempts.At that stage, she says, she had not considered how she might kill herself, but she had put her affairs in order for her two daughters, who were away at university. “I did think it would be easier if I wasn’t here. The kids would get the house, the mortgage paid off.” Continue reading...
Fans say the use of an accurate physics engine to reimagine historic shipwrecks makes it ‘difficult to look away’A shark swims slowly and serenely beneath the Bismarck seconds before it sinks deep into the ocean. Seemingly out of nowhere, the battleship tilts and falls; its bow crashes on to the seabed. Its hull floods before briefly resurfacing out of the water. Then the voiceover says: “Oh! Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh! Boom!” The Bismarck snaps in half and sinks.This was not the Bismarck’s real end, but a shipwreck simulated by Alex Reifsnyder, a 27-year-old retail supervisor from Pennsylvania. Reifsnyder uses the physics simulator Floating Sandbox to sink ships with tidal waves, icebergs and lightning for between one and two hours almost every night. On his TikTok page @an_angry_flyy, 167,000 loyal followers cannot get enough. Continue reading...
Group says forcing polluters to store carbon dioxide underground is needed to help world reach net zeroFossil fuel companies should be forced to “take back” the carbon dioxide emitted from their products, handing them direct responsibility for cleaning up the climate, a group of scientists has argued.The principle that the producer of pollution should pay for its clean-up is established around the world, but has never been applied to the climate crisis. Continue reading...
The peculiar hush is partly due to less human activity, but also down to snow’s acoustic damping effectGoing outside after a snowfall can be magical, with the spectacle of a winter wonderland underlined by the change in the soundscape. Suddenly, all is quiet.The peculiar hush is partly due to the reduction in human activity. There are fewer people and less traffic about, often fewer planes and trains. Building sites, road mending and other sources of noise fall silent. Birdsong is equally subdued. Continue reading...
by Presented and produced by Madeleine Finlay, sound on (#67QYM)
A UN report has found the Earth’s ozone layer is on course to be healed within the next 40 years. What was once humanity’s most feared environmental peril is now an example of how the world can take collective action. Madeleine Finlay speaks to atmospheric scientist Paul Newman about this momentous achievement and whether it really is the end of the storyThe ozone layer is an important part of the Earth’s atmosphere that absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the sun. After alarm over the loss of the ozone layer in the 1980s, governments signed the Montreal protocol in 1987, an international agreement that has helped eliminate 99% of ozone-depleting chemicals, such as chlorofluorocarbons that were used as solvents and refrigerants.Since then, scientists have been monitoring levels of CFCs in the atmosphere and ozone depletion. This week, a UN report found that it is set to be completely healed by 2066. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Paul Newman, the chief scientist for earth sciences at Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Centre, about how this was achieved and what it means for the climate crisis. Continue reading...
The Swedish geneticist on winning the Nobel prize, his laureate father and early man’s sensitive sideA greyish neanderthal skeleton stands at the door of Svante Pääbo’s office, acting like a doorman to check up on his visitors, who have grown considerably in number since it was announced he was to receive a Nobel prize. It clutches a white party balloon in its left hand and is missing its right lower arm.“Unfortunately my son broke it off once,” says Pääbo with a chuckle, patting the skeleton’s head. Continue reading...
Antony Blinken says China is ‘greatest shared strategic challenge’ in the region as US backs Japan’s biggest military build-up since second world warThe US and Japan have said that an attack in space would trigger their security treaty, as senior officials from both countries warned that China represents the “greatest strategic challenge” to regional security.“We agree that [China] is the greatest shared strategic challenge that we, our allies and partners face,” the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Thursday after meeting his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, in Washington. Continue reading...
James Webb space telescope brings insight into birth of stars at ‘cosmic noon’ with image of NGC 346 clusterScientists have been given an unprecedented glimpse into the birth of stars and the early stages of the universe, after a new image was released by the James Webb space telescope.The image shows a young cluster of stars, known as NGC 346, which is more than 200,000 light years from Earth. Continue reading...
The 70s for over-60s | Essential services | ‘Working’ royals | Wordsearch | Coming outProf Rob Ford seems to have a very dim view of the ability of individuals to remember anything before they were adult if he really thinks that you need to be aged over 60 to have any “meaningful memory” of 1978 (Carrots, sticks and Thatcher replays: what is Sunak’s strikes strategy?, 6 January). I am over 60, but I vividly remember Churchill’s state funeral (when I was not yet six), the moon landing (aged 10), Harold Wilson as the first Labour prime minister in my lifetime (11), Ted Heath and the three-day week, and so on.
Space agency mounts rescue mission to bring home two cosmonauts and US astronaut marooned on ISSMoscow will launch a rescue vessel to the International Space Station next month to bring home three crew members who are in effect stuck in orbit after their original capsule was hit by a meteoroid.The docked Soyuz MS-22 sprang a major leak last month, spraying radiator coolant into space and prompting a pair of cosmonauts to abort a planned spacewalk. Continue reading...
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