The answers to today’s conundrumsEarlier today I set you these laugh-out-loud puzzles by the incomparable king of quizzers Frank Paul, winner of Only Connect, part time TV presenter and author of a new book of festive conundrums (of which more later.)Here are the puzzles again, with the answers. Continue reading...
With the right ethical safeguards, could ‘challenge trials’ defend against future pandemics?In the 1770s an English doctor called Edward Jenner noticed that milkmaids didn’t seem to catch smallpox, the terrifying disease that caused around a third of the people who caught it to die. He thought that their frequent exposure to cowpox, a similar but less severe virus, might be what protected them. In order to test his hypothesis he gave his gardener’s eight-year-old son cowpox and then deliberately infected him with smallpox to see if he had become immune. He had, and Jenner successfully repeated the experiment. “Vaccination”, from the Latin word for cow, soon became commonplace.It was of course highly irresponsible to expose a child to a deadly disease with no sure knowledge that he would survive. Even so, with hindsight, we can see that the benefits were immense: the vaccine was safe and highly effective. Demonstrating that fact and publicising it encouraged untold numbers of others to follow suit. Continue reading...
Company spun out of Oxford University makes DNA and RNA sequencing devices to identify viruses and variantsNot far from Didcot, once a halfway stop between London and Bristol on the Great Western Railway celebrated for Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s engineering, innovation has returned with a hi-tech factory manufacturing DNA and RNA sequencing machines.Oxford Nanopore, a spinout from Oxford University, produces devices used to identify viruses and spot variants in the genetic makeup of humans, animals and plants. Its sequencers have been used to track Covid-19 variants globally and are now being trialled on intensive care patients with respiratory infections at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals in London, and in the fight against the 200 drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis, the second-biggest killer worldwide after Covid in 2020. Continue reading...
Frank Paul’s finest lexical recreationsUPDATE: Answers can be read hereHe is the sultan of spoonerisms and the Aga Khan of anagrams. Today’s word puzzles are set by Frank Paul, a legend in the world of quizzes and puzzles.Paul is known to British TV viewers as a champion of Only Connect, and was co-host of Channel Four’s Answer Trap. He is also a fine artist, the son of artists Celia Paul and Lucian Freud. Continue reading...
Birds showing most self-control score higher in cognitive tests, suggesting they are more intelligentThe old saying states a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush but it appears Eurasian jays may beg to differ: researchers have found the corvids shun an immediate reward for a tastier, but delayed, treat.What’s more, the team found the birds that showed the most self-control scored higher on a variety of cognitive tests, suggesting they were more intelligent. Continue reading...
Faint constellation of Lacerta is now perfectly placed for northern hemisphere viewers to identifyThis week the small, admittedly faint constellation of Lacerta, the lizard, is perfectly placed for northern hemisphere viewers to identify. This grouping does not date to antiquity but was defined by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687, who originally proposed the name Stellio after the Mediterranean lizard species Laudakia stellio.The constellation is located between the brighter ones of Cygnus, the swan, Cassiopeia and Andromeda. Cassiopeia in particular can help locate it because both constellations share a “W” shape. In the case of Cassiopeia, the shape represents a queen sitting in her throne, whereas for Lacerta, the shape is made by the constellation’s brightest stars. Brightest in this context means only of the fourth magnitude. Continue reading...
Storyteller, nosy neighbour, bad therapist… a friendly ghost must be all these things‘I promise I’m not a sociopath,” I tell them. “But I will be asking a lot of questions that might seem deeply strange or outrageously rude. I’ll want to know what colour the walls were in the consultant’s office when you got the results, I’ll ask what the weather was on the day of the funeral, I’ll want to know about the hotel breakfast on your honeymoon. But it’s because we’re not telling a quick story on a chatshow, we’re writing a book.”When I meet potential subjects with a view to ghostwriting their story, I always begin with “the talk”, so they understand I have no malevolent intentions. I’ve been doing the job for more than a decade now, and it bears little resemblance to most people’s assumptions. Continue reading...
The winning essay in the Max Perutz science writing award 2022, published below, was written by Emily Cornish, a clinical research fellow and PhD candidate at University College LondonThe Medical Research Council (MRC) Max Perutz science writing award is open to MRC-funded PhD students, who are invited to write about why their area of research matters. This year’s 10 shortlisted topics included immune therapies for cancer, Scotland’s drug-related death rate and the neglected tropical disease schistosomiasis. The high quality of the entries made judging hard. Ultimately, the panel, made up of the Observer’s Ian Tucker, Roger Highfield of the Science Museum, the journalist Samira Ahmed, the science communication lecturer Andy Ridgeway, the MRC’s Jennifer Anderson and the award-winning young science writer Zara Hussan, agreed that the £1,500 prize should go to Emily Cornish, a Phd candidate at University College London’s EGA Institute for Women’s Health, for her essay about recurrent pregnancy loss. “I am so thrilled to have won this inspirational prize,” says Emily. Continue reading...
In a boost to a fledgling industry, UK-built mini-satellites will soon be able to begin their journey into orbit on home groundIn a few weeks, Britain will become a space power. A Virgin Orbit jumbo jet will take off from an airport in Cornwall, carrying a rocket strapped below one wing. As the plane flies 35,000ft above the Atlantic, it will drop its cargo, the rocket engine will be ignited, and a payload of small satellites will be hurled into Earth orbit.The LauncherOne mission – scheduled for mid-November – is intended to be the first of many launches from centres around the UK. Continue reading...
Satellite photo shows what appears to be a happy face pattern on the sun with dark patches called ‘coronal holes’A Nasa satellite captured an image of what appeared to be a happy face pattern on the sun earlier this week, prompting the US space agency to say the sun was seen “smiling”.The agency released the image on Wednesday on Twitter, writing: “Today, Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory caught the sun ‘smiling.’ Seen in ultraviolet light, these dark patches on the sun are known as coronal holes and are regions where fast solar wind gushes out into space.” Continue reading...
Device less than 1mm in diameter is designed to be inserted in body and produce images of tissue with ‘unprecedented speed’A tiny microscope that can be manoeuvred through small spaces inside the body during surgery could speed up breast cancer treatment, according to the scientists who created it.Experts from Imperial College London have developed an endo-microscope that is less than 1mm in diameter – about the width of 25 human hairs – and is designed to be inserted into the body to provide views of tissue and organs. Continue reading...
Researchers examining data going back to 1990s find global south has borne brunt despite causing least emissionsHeatwaves brought on by human-caused climate breakdown have cost the global economy about $16tn since the 1990s, according to a study.The research calculates the financial impact of extreme heat on infrastructure, agriculture, productivity, human health and other areas. Continue reading...
Technology allows sperm to be frozen longer than legal 50-year limit but poses medical and ethical questionsA change of law has paved the way for more babies to be born from sperm frozen up to 50 years ago, but experts say there is no scientific reason why sperm hundreds of years old cannot be used.This week, a boy was born using sperm frozen in 1996, collected when his father was diagnosed, aged 21, with Hodgkin lymphoma, in case his treatment caused infertility.
Nasa’s InSight lander measured the seismic waves as the Reconnaissance Orbiter sent images of the impactTwo Nasa spacecraft at Mars – one on the surface and the other in orbit – have recorded the biggest meteor strikes and impact craters yet.The high-speed barrages last year sent seismic waves rippling thousands of miles across Mars, the first ever detected near the surface of another planet, and carved out craters nearly 500ft (150 metres) across, scientists reported on Thursday in the journal Science. Continue reading...
Group’s earliest primogenitor was probably a diminutive creature with a long snout, researchers suggestThe last common ancestor of today’s placental mammals – a group that includes humans, whales and armadillos – was probably a shrew-like creature with a long snout, researchers have revealed.The forerunners of mammals are believed to have split from what eventually became reptiles around 320m years ago, but it was not until some time between 70 and 80m years ago that placental mammals arose. Continue reading...
Therapy that imagines a happy ending to a recurring bad dream more effective with corresponding sound, study suggestsBeing played a sound while asleep may help to reduce the frequency of nightmares and replace them with sweeter dreams, research suggests.Whether it is sitting an impossible exam, being chased by wolves or wandering around a labyrinth, nightmares are common. Continue reading...
Research shows bees rolling wooden balls despite having no apparent incentive to do soBumblebees are associated with lives of work rather than play, but researchers have for the first time observed the insects playing with balls for enjoyment, just like humans and dogs.A team of UK scientists watched bees interacting with inanimate objects as a form of play and said the findings added to growing evidence that their minds are more complex than previously imagined. Continue reading...
Working in Antarctica is a wildlife enthusiast’s dream, but seeing the reality of the climate disaster up close will be brutalAntarctica holds an almost mythical appeal. Detached from the rest of the world, its beauty is unique. It is a continent that has never seen a war, and where testing military capabilities is strictly forbidden. It is, as the Antarctic Treaty reminds us, “a natural reserve devoted to peace and science”.And this impressive wilderness is the place I will be calling home for the next five months, as I embark on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work for the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) at Port Lockroy, Antarctica. As a conservation biologist, I’m drawn to Antarctica for lots of reasons, not least my interest in the major role it plays in our climate system, and the opportunity to monitor the gentoo penguin colony that calls Port Lockroy home. Continue reading...
by Presented and produced by Madeleine Finlay with Ni on (#655JX)
Crushed by a cart, infected with parasitic worms and painful bunions caused by pointy shoes. These might sound like curses you’d wish on your worst enemy, but a group of researchers have discovered they were probably a part of normal life in medieval Cambridge. Across several archaeological sites, the team have excavated and analysed hundreds of bones to uncover the accidents and afflictions of people in the middle ages.In this Halloween special, Madeleine Finlay hears from Nicola Davis as she takes a trip to Cambridge to investigate what old skeletons can reveal about the lives of those in centuries gone by Continue reading...
Latest finding adds to theory that animals, including humans, naturally arrange things in a certain order, even without being able to countBees order numbers in increasing size from left to right, a study has shown for the first time, supporting the much-debated theory that this direction is inherent in all animals including humans.Western research has found that even before children learn to count, they start organising growing quantities from left to right in what has been called the “mental number line”. Continue reading...
Video shows captive Madagascan primates using elongated finger to pick nose and eat the mucusWith its big eyes, bushy tail and sensitive ears, the aye-aye may appear a cute, if quirky, creature. But now researchers have discovered it has a less endearing trait: it uses its long middle finger to pick its nose – and eat the mucus.Aye-ayes are – like humans – primates, but they are nocturnal, endangered and only found in Madagascar. An object of superstition, they have a number of unusual features, including rodent-like teeth and a skinny, elongated finger with a ball-and-socket joint. Continue reading...
Experts find artefacts from ancient empire during restoration of historic site destroyed by Islamic StateArchaeologists in northern Iraq have unearthed 2,700-year-old rock carvings featuring war scenes and trees from the Assyrian empire, an archaeologist has said.The carvings on marble slabs were discovered in Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, where experts have been working to restore the site of the ancient Mashki Gate, which was bulldozed by Islamic State militants in 2016. Continue reading...
The mathematician, writer, presenter and podcast host will be back on our screens fronting Secret Wonders of the Modern World. She explains why, after undergoing treatment for cancer, she has come to see the limits to logicEven before she became a mathematician, Hannah Fry had strived to live her life by logic. Her most memorable fight with her sister when they were teenagers was over “the optimal route” home. She used to say that if there was a nutritionally complete pill to replace food, she would take it.She even came up with a “mathematically informed” seating plan for her wedding, crunching factors such as age, political persuasion and predicted alcohol consumption to decide which guests should share a table. Continue reading...
Jumble of rocks in far-flung locations help researchers work out how big and how far-reaching impact would have beenAny dinosaur that survived the Chicxulub asteroid impact 66m years ago then faced a mega-tsunami that washed around the entire world and began as a mile-high wave, a study shows.It is no surprise that a 14km-wide asteroid slamming into the Gulf of Mexico would generate one hell of a tsunami but this is the first time anyone has worked out how big and how far-reaching it would have been. Continue reading...
My friend Donald Pigott, who has died aged 94, was the last surviving founding professor of Lancaster University, and as a plant ecologist was influential in setting up the National Vegetation Survey in the 1970s, the first detailed classification of the range of plant species and their distribution within the vegetation types of the British Isles. The results were published in five volumes between 1991 and 2000, and have formed the basis for many other ecological studies.Donald was born in Sutton, Surrey, to John, a tea importer, and his wife, Helen (nee Lee). His mother taught him to recognise many plant species from an early age, and at Mill Hill school in north London, which was evacuated to Cumbria in the second world war, he developed a fascination with the countryside. Continue reading...
Many in my field are struggling. I value this work, but when my day ends I feel heavyA few weeks ago, I took two weeks of unplanned sick leave. It was nothing dramatic, just a creep of symptoms so slow I didn’t notice them, until suddenly, I did. Bad sleep, nightmares about violent clients, fatigue, poor appetite and concentration. For the past three years, I’ve felt like a bunch of overcooked spaghetti, repeatedly tossed at a wall. Most often, I stick – valiantly – but this time I slid right off.When I went back to work and spoke to colleagues about it, there were many nods. We started talking about how we felt, beyond the superficial and safe banalities of “tired” or “busy”. Since then, I’ve had many conversations with therapist friends and colleagues across the globe. The echoes are the same – tired, busy, exhausted, dropping caseloads, leaving the profession, reducing clinical work, indulging escape fantasies, re-training. Continue reading...
Skygazers able to see phenomenon on Tuesday morning, with best views in most northerly areasA partial eclipse of the sun has ended after the sun was blocked out on Tuesday as the moon passed between it and the Earth.Skygazers across the UK were able to see the phenomenon, with those in northern Scotland expected to enjoy good views. Continue reading...
World Health Organization identifies priority pathogens of greatest threat to public health as diseases grow resistant to antifungal treatmentsHealth-threatening fungi are spreading in geographic range due to climate change, while some fungal diseases spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to authors of a newly released World Health Organization report.On Tuesday the WHO published its first ever list of fungal priority pathogens, cataloguing 19 organisms that experts identified as being of the greatest threat to public health.Sign up for our free morning newsletter and afternoon email to get your daily news roundup Continue reading...
Cats more responsive if owners speak to them like babies but less so if adult-to-adult tone used, study claimsAny cat owner knows that the correct way to get their pet’s attention is to sing “here, kitty kitty”, rather than utter a flat “come here cat”. Now research suggests cats may routinely tune into their owner’s tone of voice to detect when they are talking to them, rather than to other humans.Most people automatically adopt a higher-pitched, sing-song tone when speaking to animals and human infants. Although previous research has suggested that such “baby-talk” is more likely to capture dogs’ attention, less was known about how cats react to being spoken to in this way. Continue reading...
by Presented by Ian Sample, produced by Ned Carter Mi on (#65353)
Researchers have successfully transplanted human neurons into the brains of rats. The recent, groundbreaking study described how the human cells took root inside the rat brains, hooked up to their blood supplies and tapped into neural circuitry. Rather than create a kind of super-rat, the ultimate aim is to better understand neuropsychiatric disorders such as epilepsy and schizophrenia, and examine the effects of drugs in real time.But do the potential benefits outweigh the ethical questions that come with combining human cells with other animals? Ian Sample speaks to Prof Julian Savulescu about how the scientists managed to transplant the neurons, what this means, and how we decide where to draw the line in such an ethically complex field of researchArchive: ABC7 News Bay Area Continue reading...
Researchers found the RSV and influenza viruses fused together to form a new type of virus pathogenTwo common respiratory viruses can fuse to form a hybrid virus capable of evading the human immune system, and infecting lung cells – the first time such viral cooperation has ever been observed.Researchers believe the findings could help to explain why co-infections can lead to significantly worse disease for some patients, including hard-to-treat viral pneumonia. Continue reading...
Analysis of oldest DNA in Britain from pair of individuals unexpectedly shows two distinct ancestriesBritain was home to at least two genetically distinct groups of humans at the end of the last ice age, the oldest human DNA from the UK has revealed.About 19,000 years ago, ice sheets that had covered much of Britain were melting and the landscape once again became habitable to humans. Evidence of their return dates back to about 15,500 years ago. These early groups crossed now submerged land that once connected Britain to mainland Europe. Continue reading...
Two Just Stop Oil protesters have smeared cake on a Madame Tussauds waxwork of King Charles, quoting the monarch: 'In the words of the King, the science is clear.' They went on to say: 'The demand is simple, just stop new oil and gas, it's a piece of cake. The stunt was part of a series of protests organised by the environmental activist group Continue reading...
Our Future Health project to recruit 3m people to share health records, give blood samples and have DNA analysedA project to diagnose and treat diseases early – or even prevent them from developing – has been launched in the UK, with 3 million people to be invited to take part this autumn.The project, called Our Future Health, will eventually recruit 5 million or more people from all walks of life, with participants sharing their health records and giving blood samples, as well as having their weight, blood pressure and cholesterol measured, and their DNA analysed. Continue reading...
From the UK, a maximum of about 15% of the sun’s surface will be blacked by the moon on TuesdayA partial solar eclipse visible from the UK will take place on Tuesday. It will be visible from most of Europe, north Africa, the Middle East and western parts of Asia, but nowhere will there be a total solar eclipse.From London, the eclipse begins at 10.08am BST. Over the next 50 minutes, the silhouette of the moon will slip across the top left-hand limb of the sun. At 10.59am, the maximum eclipse will occur, with 15.17% of the sun’s surface blacked by the moon. This will not result in any noticeable difference to daytime illumination levels. Continue reading...
Naturalist penned document in response to request for sample of his handwriting to reprint in magazineA rare manuscript containing a passage from Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species is to be sold at auction in November.The document, which is expected to fetch between £530,000 and £700,000, is said to be the most significant autograph manuscript by Darwin to have appeared at auction. Continue reading...
The thrill of a frightening film can feel euphoric – and mild horror, say researchers, can also help foster lasting psychological resiliencePalms sweat, heartbeat quickens, muscles tense. Your skin prickles and stomach churns. When fear subsides, we can be left with feelings of pleasure. Is this just the relief of having survived – or is it something more? Continue reading...
Push back the sofa and roll out your mat for Hatha yoga sessions in your front roomYoga studios had a tough pandemic. Just as the public’s interest in yoga reached an all-time peak, in-person classes – with all that close bodily proximity and deep breathing – came to an abrupt stop. But a new paradigm emerged almost overnight: coffee tables were pushed aside for yoga mats and this ever-evolving form with its roots in the ascetic practices of medieval India entered the Zoom world. Teachers grappled with video conferencing and online payments, while students figured out how to use the mute button to stop the kids’ Fortnite sessions from interrupting everyone’s savasana.Yoga, it turned out, was coming home. A whopping 91% of yoga students and 86% of teachers continued their classes from home, more than double the number who had ever tried an online class before. Two and a half years on, there’s a new normal. Many studios have reopened and, much like office life, yoga has settled into a hybrid pattern that combines in-person and at-home practice. But look closer and it isn’t so new at all. Continue reading...
Many sportswomen say menstruation affects their performance, but researchers and companies hope to turn period woes into medalsIt should have been a show of British sporting dominance when Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita made it to the 100-metre final of the European Championships in August. Then, unexpectedly, Asher-Smith pulled up and Neita was not quick enough for the gold, both because of cramps. Later, Asher-Smith revealed hers to be a symptom of her period and shared her frustration at its impact on her sport. If it were a men’s issue, she argued, it would have been fixed by now.It is a feeling shared by many fellow athletes and coaches, including Chelsea FC’s manager, Emma Hayes. “Once a month for potentially up to around five days, many female players have an event that can cause significant distress and impact heavily on their performance,” she wrote in the Telegraph earlier this year. “Athletes deserve a greater understanding of the array of symptoms that can crop up.” Continue reading...
Despite encouraging survey, scientists warn of emergence of serious variant, leading to parallel epidemicBritain’s current wave of Covid-19 cases appears to be peaking at a lower level than previous outbreaks of the Omicron variant of the disease, researchers have revealed.The news is encouraging – though scientists have also warned that a further wave of the disease could sweep the nation before the end of the year. “We need to be vigilant and monitor the data with great care, all the time,” said Professor Mark Woolhouse, of Edinburgh University. Continue reading...
New medicines will be made available across the country to end regional disparitiesThe NHS believes it will prevent all new cases of HIV by 2030 after signing a series of deals to ensure new medicines are available across England to end regional disparities.People with HIV have access to injectable forms of cabotegravir and rilpivirine, and those with drug-resistant infections will be able to receive fostemsavir after it was approved last week. Continue reading...
When the oncologist and bestselling author of The Gene found himself drowning in a tide of sadness, he instinctively looked to cells for an explanation. Did the answers lie in the brain?In the spring of 2017, I was overwhelmed by the most profound wave of depression that I have ever experienced. I use the word “wave” deliberately: when it finally burst on me, having crept up slowly for months, I felt as if I were drowning in a tide of sadness I could not swim past or through. Superficially, my life seemed perfectly in control – but inside, I felt drenched in grief. There were days when getting out of bed, or even retrieving the newspaper outside the door, seemed unfathomably difficult. Simple moments of pleasure – my child’s funny drawing of a weeping shark (“Do the tears go up like bubbles, or just mingle into the saltwater?”) – seemed locked away in boxes, with all their keys thrown into the depths of the ocean.Why? I could not tell. Part of it, perhaps, was coming to terms with my father’s death a year before. In the wake of his passing, I had thrown myself manically back to work, neglecting to give myself time and space to grieve. Some of it was confronting the inevitability of ageing. I was at the edge of the last years of my 40s, staring into what seemed like an abyss. My knees hurt and creaked when I ran. An abdominal hernia appeared out of nowhere. The poems I could recite from memory? I would now have to search my brain for words that had gone missing (“I heard a Fly buzz – when I died – / The Stillness in the Room / Was like” … um … like what?). I was becoming fragmented. It wasn’t my skin that had begun to sag, but my brain. I heard a fly buzz. Continue reading...
Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Animal lovers describe what it’s like to care for an extremely talented animalWe bought Dexter as a puppy. He was an adorable bundle of energy, a pure-breed Brittany spaniel. My husband, two children and I fell in love with him straight away. We’d lost an elderly dog the year before, and had rescued another, who we tragically had to put to sleep. It devastated us. So we poured our love into Dexter. Continue reading...
Unlike previous waves fuelled by variants such as Alpha and Delta, the picture now is more complexAs the UK rides a new wave of Covid, we take a look at the variants causing infections, and what the future may hold. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#64ZM2)
After James Corden was accused of being ‘nasty’, psychologists explain why rudeness doesn’t payWhether it is clicking their fingers at the waiter, talking loudly on their phone or letting the kids go feral, there are few things as unappealing as a rude dining companion in a restaurant.But mistreating the staff is perhaps the cardinal sin of eating out, and has long been seen as indicative of a poor character. And this week, the talkshow host James Corden has found himself in hot water after such an allegation. Continue reading...
After decades of argument, psychologists finally seem to agree on the ‘facial feedback hypothesis’It won’t bring sunshine to the darkest days, but those in need of a little cheer may want to extend the corners of their lips towards their ears and lift their cheeks towards their eyes – using only their facial muscles, mind.After decades of argument and counter-argument, psychologists have apparently agreed that arranging one’s features into the shape of a smile helps brighten the mood. In other words, if you want to feel a little happier, try looking a little happier first. Continue reading...
‘Very small’ number of cases reported at Manston airfield, where about 3,000 people are staying in tentsThere has been an outbreak of diphtheria at an asylum seeker processing centre at a former MoD site in Kent.The Home Office refused to confirm the number of cases of diphtheria at Manston – an airfield in Ramsgate providing tented accommodation for about 3,000 people who have arrived in the UK on small boats – but said the number was “very small”. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Documents seen by Guardian detail effort to refute scientific research into paraquat and derail nomination of key EPA adviserFor decades, Swiss chemical giant Syngenta has manufactured and marketed a widely used weed-killing chemical called paraquat, and for much of that time the company has been dealing with external concerns that long-term exposure to the chemical may be a cause of the incurable brain ailment known as Parkinson’s disease.Syngenta has repeatedly told customers and regulators that scientific research does not prove a connection between its weedkiller and the disease, insisting that the chemical does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier, and does not affect brain cells in ways that cause Parkinson’s. Continue reading...