Science | The Guardian

Launch delay from Elon Musk's company marks latest in streak of setbacks, including a liquid oxygen leak on SundaySpaceX was forced to scrap the launch of its giant Starship rocket from Texas again on Monday, this time due to weather, marking the latest in a streak of setbacks for the Elon Musk-run company.The 232ft (71-metre) tall Super Heavy booster and its 171ft tall Starship upper half - together taller than New York's Statue of Liberty - was due to take off from SpaceX's Starbase rocket facilities at 7.30pm local time. But the launch was called off at the last minute. Continue reading...

Genetically modified lung functioned for nine days, in latest development in xenotransplantation aimed at solving organ shortage crisisSurgeons have transplanted a lung from a genetically modified pig into a brain dead human recipient for the first time and found it functioned for nine days, researchers have revealed.The work is the latest development in a technique called xenotransplantation that is aimed at solving the organ shortage crisis: according to the World Health Organization, only up to 10% of the global need for such transplants is being met. Continue reading...

Exposure to high temperatures could result in long-lasting damage to health of billions of people, scientists warnRepeated exposure to heatwaves is accelerating ageing in people, according to a study. The impact is broadly comparable with the damage smoking, alcohol use, poor diet or limited exercise can have on health, the researchers said.Extreme temperatures are increasingly common owing to the climate crisis, potentially causing widespread and long-lasting damage to the health of billions, the scientists warned. Continue reading...

Since our early ancestors came down from the canopy, we may think we have learned how to live without trees. But our lives remain intertwined in incredible waysOnce upon a time there was a girl who lived in a tree. She had deep-set brown eyes and brown hair. She ate fruit - orange mangosteen and black juniper berries - crunched on nuts, sucked on sweet grasses and chewed juicy leaves, and dug up tubers and roots, knowing which ones were good, and which were hard or poisonous.Sometimes, she followed the trails that crisscrossed through the grass, but much of the time she clambered through the broad crowns of the trees, reaching up for branches and feeling the texture of the bark against her hands, balancing against the trunks and springing along boughs. At night she tucked herself into the fork of several branches and curled up to sleep, watching stars like diamonds and branches against the sky. Continue reading...

The constellation contains no bright stars - but once seen seems to dominate its patch of night skyIn August, track down the constellation of Hercules, the hero. It is well placed from the northern hemisphere at this time of year, but finding it requires a little bit of celestial sleuthing owing to the fact that the constellation contains no really bright stars. Once seen, however, it seems to dominate its patch of the night sky.The chart shows the view looking west-south-west from London on 25 August at 10pm BST. The constellation's most recognisable feature is the four stars making up the keystone shape that represents Hercules's body. Continue reading...

Elon Musk's ambitious timetable for reaching the moon and conquering Mars left hanging in the balanceThe launch of Elon Musk's gargantuan Starship space rocket was scrubbed late on Sunday afternoon, with the billionaire entrepreneur's ambitious timetable for reaching the moon and conquering Mars left hanging in the balance.SpaceX said it was standing down from the launch to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems", a post on social media read. There was no information on when the launch would be rescheduled. Continue reading...

Social media is helping drive trade in skulls, bones and skin products as UK legal void risks new era of body snatching'When it comes to human stuff, I'll take anything, pretty much," says Henry Scragg. As long as it's been ethically sourced, may I add."Speaking from his macabre curiosities shop in Essex in a recent YouTube interview, Scragg wears a shabby bowler hat, has tribal-style face tattoos and a ginger beard that descends into three pendulous dreadlocks. Continue reading...

The organisation that manages the Square Kilometre Array Observatory has denied whistleblower allegations of financial mismanagement

Satellite mega-constellation missions behind threefold increase in emissions of climate-altering soot and COScientists are calling for a new global regime to address air pollution caused by the space industry.Prof Eloise Marais's team at University College London (UCL) began tracking space activities in 2020. Their latest figures reveal 259 rocket launches in 2024, and 223 launches in 2023. These burned more than 153,000 tonnes of fuel. Continue reading...

Istiorachis macarthurae, named after sailor Ellen MacArthur, had a pronounced sail along its back that may have been used to attract matesScientists have discovered a new species of dinosaur with an eye-catching sail" along its back and tail that may have been used to attract mates.The iguanodontian dinosaur, whose fossils were found on the Isle of Wight, was identified by Dr Jeremy Lockwood, a PhD student at the University of Portsmouth and the Natural History Museum. Continue reading...

Researchers shocked' to discover some species settling down for sleep 50 minutes later than rural counterpartsUrban birds stay up significantly later than their rural counterparts, according to research that highlights the impact of light pollution on wildlife.The study, based on recordings submitted by bird enthusiasts to a popular species identification and mapping website, showed that light pollution caused birds to sing for an average of 50 minutes longer each day, with some species waking up an hour earlier and settling down for the evening an hour later. Continue reading...

South Lake Tahoe resident was probably bitten by infected flea while camping in the area, local health authorities sayA resident of South Lake Tahoe in California has tested positive for the plague, local authorities announced this week.A statement released on Tuesday by health officials in El Dorado county said they were notified of the situation by the California department of public health (CDPH). The statement said the individual is now recovering at home and is under the care of a medical professional. Continue reading...

My friend Michael Waldman, who has died aged 83, was a palaeontologist and an inspiring teacher of geology. He discovered one of the most productive and important fossil sites in Scotland, and named several new species of extinct animals.Mike discovered the fossil site in 1971, during a Duke of Edinburgh school trip that he was co-leading to Skye. There, near the village of Elgol, he found the first mammal fossil from the time of dinosaurs in Scotland, named Borealestes serendipitus, the northern rogue found by serendipity". On subsequent trips, he and colleagues discovered fossil skeletons of fish, salamanders, lizards, turtles and mammals from the Middle Jurassic, some of the most complete examples of their kind in the world. Continue reading...

Researchers also suggest system could resolve problems with irregular and weather-dependent Earth-based supplySolar panels in space could cut Europe's terrestrial renewable energy needs by 80% by 2050, a study has found.Using a detailed computer model of the continent's future power grid, the researchers found that a system of space-based panels designed by Nasa could reduce the cost of the whole European power system by as much as 15%. It could also cut battery use by more than two-thirds. Continue reading...

Charity says it is outrageous' tooth stem cell procedures are being advertised with claims about treating' autismCompanies are making thousands of pounds by misleading parents with claims that collecting stem cells from their children's teeth can be a treatment for diabetes and autism, an investigation has found.Tooth stem cell banking, also known as dental pulp cell banking, involves parents collecting and sending lost milk teeth to a laboratory where stem cells are harvested from the dental pulp. Firms that advertise tooth banking services claim these stem cells can be used in treatments for conditions such as diabetes as well as for autism. Continue reading...

Baby brain' is often referenced jokingly and dismissively when discussing pregnancy and forgetfulness. But a new brain scan study reveals something more profound: pregnancy does not weaken the brain, it rewires it. Neelam Tailor explores what this means for neuroscience and caregiving, and how little we still understand about women's health Continue reading...

Scientists have found the first robust evidence that people's genes affect their chances of developing myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a mysterious and debilitating illness that has been neglected and dismissed for decades by many in the medical community. To find out more, Madeleine Finlay speaks to science editor Ian Sample and to Nicky Proctor, who has ME and took part in the research. She also hears from Beth Pollack, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies ME/CFS and related conditions, about how scientific understanding of the illness has improved and how scientists are transforming this knowledge into ideas about future treatmentsSupport the Guardian Continue reading...

Entrepreneur who overcame the odds to realise his vision of a spaceport in the Shetland IslandsThe serial entrepreneur Frank Strang, who has died aged 67 of oesophageal cancer, seized an unpremeditated opportunity to deliver the first licensed spaceport for vertical launches in western Europe, overcoming multiple barriers along the way.Having acquired a disused RAF radar station at the most northerly point in the Shetland Islands a decade earlier - without any thought of spaceports - by 2017 Strang had realised the potential of his asset as the government sought to promote a UK launch capacity. Continue reading...

Isotopes shows animal began life in Wales, adding weight to theory cattle used in hauling stones across countryA cow's tooth from a jawbone deliberately placed beside the entrance to Stonehenge at the Neolithic monument's very beginning in 2995 to 2900BC could offer tantalising new evidence about how the stones were transported about 125 miles from Wales to Salisbury Plain.Analysis of the third molar tooth showed the animal began life in Wales, adding weight to a theory that cows were used as beasts of burden in hauling the enormous stones across the country. Continue reading...

Analysis of blood samples finds women with the disease have 20% lower levels, a pattern not seen in menWomen should ensure they are getting enough omega fatty acids in their diets according to researchers, who found unusually low levels of the compounds in female patients with Alzheimer's disease.The advice follows an analysis of blood samples from Alzheimer's patients and healthy individuals, which revealed levels of unsaturated fats, such as those containing omega fatty acids, were up to 20% lower in women with the disease. Continue reading...

Flash of light visible for hundreds of miles was an exceptionally bright meteor, say expertsA huge fireball dashed across the skies of western Japan, shocking residents and dazzling stargazers, though experts said it was a natural phenomenon and not an alien invasion.Videos and photos emerged online of the extremely bright ball of light visible for hundreds of miles shortly after 11.00pm local time (1400 BST) on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Why evolutionary theory should be applied to peacocks, politics, iPhones and quite a lot in betweenNobody expected the Spanish Inquisition, but then again no one could have predicted the giraffe, the iPhone or JD Vance. The laws of physics don't demand them; they all just evolved, expressions of how (for better or worse) things happened to turn out.Ecologist Mark Vellend's thesis is that to understand the world, physics and evolution are the only two things you need". Evolution, here, refers in the most general sense to outcomes that depend on what has gone before. Thus the world can be divided into things that are inescapable and things that are contingent, depending on circumstances. In the terminology he borrows from evolutionary biologist Graham Bell, the study of physical necessity is the first science"; that of historical contingency the second. So, the periodic table of 90 or so natural elements, which are inescapable given the laws of physics, would fall under the first science. Dung beetles and vice presidents, which aren't, fall under the second. Continue reading...

Triggerplants in particular live up to their name with a rapid response when touch-sensitive stamen are nudgedFlowers are surprisingly touchy, especially their male parts, the stamens, with hundreds of plant species performing touch-sensitive stamen movements that can be endlessly repeated. Insects visiting Berberis and Mahonia flowers to feed on nectar get slapped by stamens that bend over and smother pollen on to the insect's face or tongue. This unwelcome intrusion scares the insect into making only a short visit, so the flower avoids wasting its nectar and pollen. The insect then finds another flower where it brushes the pollen off on receptive female organs and cross-pollinates the flower.An insect landing on the flowers of the orchid Catasetum gets a violent reception - whacked by a pair of sticky pollen bags shooting out at such great speed the insect gets knocked out of the flower with the pollen bags glued to its body. Continue reading...

With the number of very hot days rising as well as average temperatures, more and more animals are vulnerable. But while some species can adapt, others are seeing huge population declinesThe residents of Tecolutilla, Mexico, knew the heatwave was bad when they heard the thuds. One by one, the town's howler monkeys, overcome with dehydration and exhaustion, were falling from the trees like apples, their limp bodies smacking the ground as temperatures sizzled past 43C (110F) in spring last year.Those that survived were given ice and intravenous drips by rescuers. At least 83 of the primates were found dead in the state of Tabasco, though local veterinarians estimated hundreds throughout the region probably perished. Continue reading...

American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children as young as six months and up to 23 months get the shotThe American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is urging that children as young as six months and up to 23 months receive the Covid-19 vaccine - a position that diverges from the current federal guidance given by the Trump administration's health agencies.The AAP released its updated childhood immunization schedule, which outlines recommendations for vaccines against Covid-19, influenza and RSV for individuals under 18. Continue reading...

Deaths from short-term exposure to fine particulates spewed by forest fires underestimated by 93%Choking smoke spewed by wildfires is far more dangerous than previously thought, a new study has found, with death tolls from short-term exposure to fine particulates underestimated by 93%.Researchers found that 535 people in Europe died on average each year between 2004 and 2022 as a result of breathing in the tiny toxic particles known as PM2.5 that are released when wildfires rage. Continue reading...

Hot summer also causing trees to shed their leaves as concerns raised over food gap' for wildlife in autumnAutumn is the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness", according to the poet John Keats - but anyone hoping for a glut of blackberries this September may be sorely disappointed.In many parts of the UK brambles have been bursting with fruit since mid-summer, with some now bearing only shrivelled berries. And it is not the only hallmark of autumn that appears to have come early: trees are dropping their leaves, apples are ripe and acorns are hitting the ground. Continue reading...

Amid collapse of global pollution treaty, scientists highlight environmental factors causing fertility crisisAction must be taken to curb the use of plastic additives linked to plummeting sperm counts, a leading reproductive scientist has warned, as splits over chemical regulation contributed to the collapse of a crucial treaty on plastic pollution.Across the world, sperm counts have been declining at a rate of about 1% a year for the past 50 years, and human fertility has been diminishing at a similar rate, studies have shown. Continue reading...

The solutions to today's teasersEarlier today I set you three puzzles from Tasty Japanese Morsels in Recreational Mathematics. Here they are again with solutions.1. Squid game Continue reading...

Results of studying cocoa bean fermentation in Colombia could pave way to manipulate flavour, say researchersWhether you enjoy an aromatic bar with notes of caramel or something less fancy, chocolate can have many tastes. Now researchers say they have shed fresh light on a key ingredient that could open the door to new flavours.They claim to have unpicked how and why the bacteria and fungi involved in the fermentation of cocoa beans influence the flavour of chocolate. Continue reading...

This really fun space rock' is only the third interstellar object to be observed. Where is it heading and can stargazers see it?An object that came from outside our solar system is hurtling towards the sun at roughly 61km (38 miles) a second.First detected in July, this visitor from outer space - known as 3I/Atlas - is only the third known interstellar object to have been observed, after Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. Continue reading...

Brain food from the land of the rising sumsUPDATE: Solutions are hereJapan is a world puzzle superpower. Its grid logic puzzles - like Sudoku, Kakuro, KenKen and many more - are played across the world by millions every day.The country also has its own culture of mathematical puzzles, nurtured by the Academy of Recreational Mathematics, Japan, which was founded in 1979. Continue reading...

The celestial triangle will take place in the constellation of Gemini, beside bright stars Castor and PolluxThere is an exquisite gathering of celestial objects to look out for this week when a beautifully slender crescent moon forms a triangle with the planets Jupiter and Venus, close to the bright stars Castor and Pollux.The chart shows the view looking east-north-east from London at 04:00 BST on the morning of 20 August. The celestial grouping will take place in the constellation of Gemini, the twins. Adding to the splendour, the majestic constellation of Orion, the hunter, will be rising to the east. Continue reading...

They helped create the modern world but are dangerously overused. How can we harness them sustainably?In 1954, just a few years after the widespread introduction of antibiotics, doctors were already aware of the problem of resistance. Natural selection meant that using these new medicines gave an advantage to the microbes that could survive the assault - and a treatment that worked today could become ineffective tomorrow. A British doctor put the challenge in military terms: We may run clean out of effective ammunition. Then how the bacteria and moulds will lord it."More than 70 years later, that concern looks prescient. The UN has called antibiotic resistance one of the most urgent global health threats". Researchers estimate that resistance already kills more than a million people a year, with that number forecast to grow. And new antibiotics are not being discovered fast enough; many that are essential today were discovered more than 60 years ago. Continue reading...

Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh

Groundbreaking footage shows surprisingly invasive' process and may help to improve infertility treatmentsA human embryo being implanted into a uterus has been pictured in real time and in 3D footage for the first time by a team of scientists.It shows images of an embryo implanting into a synthetic uterus, demonstrating how the process occurs naturally. Continue reading...

Critics say Jay Bhattacharya's comments on so-called failure of mRNA vaccines to earn public trust' are astounding'When the director of the National Institutes of Health this week said funding for the development of mRNA vaccines - the backbone of Covid vaccines - was being wound down because they had failed to earn public trust", it was met, publicly and privately, with exasperated incredulity.Critics say few have done more than Jay Bhattacharya and other top health officials in the Trump administration to sow doubts about public health institutions and, by extension, the value of the vaccines that saved millions of lives around the world. Continue reading...

Healthy fungal networks help trees and plants grow, making them key to successful reforestation. The only problem? Almost nothing is known about this subterranean ecologyEven in midsummer, the ancient hazelwoods on the Hebridean island of Seil are cool and quiet. Countless slanted stems of hazel support a thick canopy, which blots out the sun and blankets everything below in a sort of fairytale darkness", says Bethan Manley, a biologist at the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (Spun).Moss and lichen coat branches threaded with honeysuckle, forming a great dome above you, adds David Satori, a researcher at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Continue reading...

Stigma around mifepristone is stopping studies, experts in reproductive health claim in Lancet opinion pieceA drug used in medical abortions could help prevent women at high risk of breast cancer from developing the disease, according to an international group of doctors and scientists.However, stigma" around mifepristone is stopping pharmaceutical companies from investigating its potential as a new treatment doctors could offer to reduce the risk of breast cancer, they say. Continue reading...

US president is pushing an end run around' on safeguards, risking harm to wildlife, air and water, attorney saysA draft executive order from Donald Trump that aims to largely exempt space launches from environmental review is viewed as a gift to commercial space industry players such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and others who have long targeted the regulations.But its central components may be illegal and the US president is trying to do an end run around" the law, said Jared Margolis, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, which has litigated environmental issues around launches. Continue reading...

MSF charity calls situation beyond urgent' as thousands seeking refuge from war rely on contaminated waterThe worst cholera outbreak in years" has killed at least 40 people in the last week in Sudan, according to the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres.Overwhelmed medical centres are resorting to treating patients on mattresses on the floor, MSF said, as the country's two-year civil war aids the spread of the disease. Continue reading...

Experts warn of undermining environment that fostered foundations of artificial intelligence as federal agencies hitThe Trump administration released America's AI Action Plan" last month with the goal of expanding US dominance when it comes to AI in order to maintain a global edge, especially over China.But Donald Trump's cuts to scientific research funding through federal agencies - including the National Intitute Health, the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Nasa - will undermine that goal and threaten the research environment that fostered the foundations of AI, experts in the field said. Continue reading...

Europe is suffering from another heatwave as deadly temperatures of up to 44C hit the continent and wildfires blazed across the Mediterranean. To find out why Europe is heating faster than anywhere else, Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian's Europe environment correspondent, Ajit Niranjan, and to Adam Taylor, professor of anatomy at Lancaster University, to find out how we can try to stay cool as the temperature risesClips: ITV News, France 24 Continue reading...

Companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin may be able to forgo reviews required under National Environmental Policy ActDonald Trump is looking to relax environmental rules for commercial spaceship companies. In an executive order titled Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry" that he signed on Wednesday, he said it's imperative to national security that the private rocket-ship industry increase launches substantially" by 2030.That would mean, according to the executive order, that those companies may be able to forgo the environmental reviews that are required under the National Environmental Policy Act (Nepa). Private space companies are required to obtain launch permits from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). And, as part of that process, companies are subject to review under Nepa. Continue reading...

Research also suggests the medication lowers risks of substance misuse, transport accidents and criminalityAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder medication is linked to significantly lower risk of suicidal behaviours, substance misuse, transport accidents and criminality, according to a study of the wider outcomes of treatment.The research, based on the medical records of nearly 150,000 people in Sweden, suggested that the drugs could have meaningful benefits beyond helping with the core symptoms of ADHD. Continue reading...

Lifestyle factors such as drinking and smoking could contribute to increased severity of obstructive sleep apnoeaLetting your hair down at the weekend might be a well-known recipe for a hangover, but researchers say it might also increase the severity of a common sleep disorder.Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) involves complete pauses in breathing or partial reductions in airflow that arise because muscles in the back of the throat relax, causing the airways to narrow or close. It is more common in groups such as older people and people who are overweight or obese. Continue reading...

Ahead of the second Maha report, grassroots Defend Public Health warns that everything HHS is doing is horrifying'A grassroots organization of health professionals has released a report outlining major health challenges in the US and calling for the removal of Robert F Kennedy Jr from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).The report from Defend Public Health, a new organization of about 3,000 health professionals and allies, is an attempt to get ahead of misinformation and lack of information from health officials. Continue reading...

Scientist says new species described from 25-million-year-old fossil found in Victoria was a gnarly whale I wouldn't want to get in the water with'Small and deceptively cute, but definitely not harmless" is how scientists have described a new species of ancient whale, from a 25-million-year-old fossil found on Victoria's surf coast.This early species, called Janjucetus dullardi, was an extremely unusual animal, said Dr Erich Fitzgerald, senior curator of vertebrate palaeontology at Museums Victoria Research Institute. Continue reading...

The gunman who killed four people in the building of NFL's New York headquarters asked for his brain be studied for CTE. Neuroscientist Chris Nowinski on what happens nextShortly after news broke that a shooter had breached the New York City skyscraper where the NFL is headquartered and killed four people before turning the gun on himself, Chris Nowinski was called to duty.A former Harvard football player and professional wrestler turned neuroscientist, Nowinski helped establish the Unite Brain Bank at Boston University. It is the world's largest repository of brain samples dedicated to the study of CTE - or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive neurodegenerative disease linked to repetitive hits to the head and concussions. Some 1,600 brains have been examined there, with Nowinski helping to facilitate donations. Continue reading...

Today, Rayvon Stewart's model is celebrated as a symbol of the Caribbean's growing science and technology talent poolWhen the Jamaican university student Rayvon Stewart invented a workable model for a door handle that could disinfect itself after every touch, it was hailed as a potential gamechanger for hospitals, hotels and other businesses, with promising implications for controlling the spread of disease, particularly during pandemics like Covid-19.Speaking at a recent product launch, Alison Drayton, assistant secretary-general of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), a 15-member bloc of Caribbean countries, described the invention as a meaningful solution" for the region and a life-saving design that fits our reality". Continue reading...