Unapologetically optimistic and bracingly realistic, a philosopher’s guide to ‘ethical living’ for dangerous times“Lately I’m getting the feeling that I came in at the end,” Tony Soprano tells his therapist at their first session, and it’s natural to feel the same about your place in human history: that these are the twilight years. Hundreds of millennia of human activity stretch back behind us – the stone age and the bronze age and the iron age, the ancient world, the middle ages and onwards, culminating in today – whereas our mental image of our species’ future tends either to be hazy or, in the event of an extinction-level catastrophe, terrifyingly short.But there is another way to see things. Even if the world population were to fall by 90%, and if humans survive no longer than the average mammalian species, a million years in total, then 99.5% of all human experience has yet to be lived. If we can dodge the aforementioned catastrophe – a big “if”, obviously – then a staggeringly huge proportion of humanity’s time on Earth is almost certainly yet to come. Continue reading...

The Marches, Shropshire: As the heatwave passes, we seem to be left with decline and decompositionThey are darklings, leathern, nocturnal, folding into themselves, sludging towards corruption. They smell – not foul, but strongly of something overripe, a declining libertine, yeasty and gloriously soiled.These penny buns, the colour of old pennies, are the fruiting bodies of Boletus edulis, a bolete mushroom that appeared in the last days of the heatwave, growing along the edge of an avenue of lime trees in Oswestry’s Brogyntyn Park. Continue reading...

Many teenagers will receive their GCSE results today. These exams can have a significant impact on what they do next, so it can be a stressful time for students, their teachers and parents. Over the past decade, reported mental health problems among teenagers have been on the rise. A recent survey by the NHS statistics agency found rates of probable mental disorders in six- to 16-year-olds reached one in six in 2021. Madeleine Finlay speaks to the academic psychologist Dr Lucy Foulkes about what could be behind this crisis, how schools are trying to tackle it, and how we can help teenagers with their mental wellbeingArchive: Good Morning Britain, PBS News Hour Continue reading...

New research finds women’s relationship with alcohol can differ depending on their social class – for some it’s a social celebration, for others relief from loneliness and stressMany of us enjoy a drink at the end of a stressful day. But for some, this is less of a discretionary treat and more of a nightly must-have.While alcohol reduction campaigns ask us to check our relationship with alcohol, emphasising the role it can play in causing violence and disease, our research has found many Australian women view alcohol in a different way. Many don’t see alcohol as only a bad thing and have complex reasons for their relationships with alcohol.[I drink] just on my own; doesn’t bother me. I don’t need to be sociable and I don’t necessarily drink when I’m out […] alcohol has always played a fairly large role. Continue reading...

Ex-chancellor admits being furious about school closures, adding trade-offs of lockdowns were not properly considered by expertsRishi Sunak has claimed that it was a mistake to “empower scientists” during the coronavirus pandemic and that his opposition to closing schools was met with silence during one meeting.The Conservative leadership candidate believes one of the major errors was allowing the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) to have so much influence on decision making such as closing nurseries, schools and colleges in March 2020. Continue reading...

Academics ‘pretty confident’ extinct hominid species could walk as well as climb trees 7m years agoThe oldest known ancestor of humankind walked on two legs but could still climb trees like an ape, a study of some 7m-year-old bones suggests.Researchers analysed the fossil remains of Sahelanthropus tchadensis, unearthed 21 years ago in the deserts of Chad, central Africa. At the time, the discovery was said to have had “the impact of a small nuclear bomb” as it pushed back the ancestral line of hominids – the line leading to Homo sapiens – by a million years, closer to the split with chimpanzees. Continue reading...

Multiple footprints belonging to the Acrocanthosaurus dinosaur and dating back over 100m years discovered in bed of Paluxy RiverSevere drought conditions in Texas have revealed ancient dinosaur footprints that date back more than 100m years.Multiple dinosaur tracks belonging to the Acrocanthosaurus dinosaur were discovered recently at Dinosaur Valley state park in north-west Texas as widespread droughts have caused a river running through central Texas to dry up almost entirely. Continue reading...

To their admirers, beavers and their dams can help humans hang on to water when it’s scarce, and prevent flooding when it’s not. Others worry that they spell disaster for farmers. We weigh up the evidence from one lush valley in DevonIn the midst of the UK’s worst drought in living memory, a host of unfamiliar experiences assault our senses in a Devon valley. Before us is a field of lush green grass. To one side is a bush of blackberries swollen huge by perfect growing conditions. Squelch, squelch go our feet through the grass. There’s sticky black mud! Hang on, I’ve got wet feet.Despite a few drops of rain earlier in the week, the rolling hills of the West Country are parched yellow. And yet this small valley, where a tributary leads to the River Otter, is deep green. Continue reading...

Flavorings made from mealworms could one day be used on convenience food as a source of proteinInsects can be turned into meat-like flavors, helping provide a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional meat options, scientists have discovered.Mealworms, the larval form of the yellow mealworm beetle, have been cooked with sugar by researchers who found that the result is a meat-like flavoring that could one day be used on convenience food as a source of protein. Continue reading...

Diligent researchers have drawn up a formula to predict the precise timing of the screams. I could have saved them some workThe first time my son ever went in a car, aged three months, he screamed so hard he foamed at the mouth, turned purple and then passed out for an hour. In a good light, you can still see the self-inflicted nail marks in my thighs.Now, researchers have drawn up a neat little formula to explain precisely when such a tantrum (in this case known as “T”) may rear its head during a long car journey.Nell Frizzell is a journalist and author of The Panic Years Continue reading...

What the telescope’s incredible images show about how it operates – and the universe itself• This piece is extracted from our First Edition newsletter. To sign up, click here.On Christmas Day last year, 30 years after its conception, the James Webb space telescope launched from French Guiana. On 28 December, it went past the moon. On 24 January, it fired its thrusters for five minutes and settled into its final orbit about 1,500,000 km from Earth. On 12 July, after months of painstaking setup, it produced its first image – showing us, for the first time, faraway galaxies as they were more than 13bn years ago.The Webb telescope has been adding to this miraculous beginning ever since. Now it’s brought us something a little closer to home, a mere 615 million km away: the most extraordinarily detailed images of Jupiter we’ve ever seen. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: After the James Webb space telescope sends extraordinary images of Jupiter, astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst explains why it’s so importantGood morning. I was going to email you this morning about Liz Truss, but the idea filled me with such dread that I thought: sod it, let’s do the ineffable mysteries of the universe instead.On Christmas Day last year, 30 years after its conception, the James Webb space telescope launched from French Guiana. On 28 December, it went past the moon. On 24 January, it fired its thrusters for five minutes and settled into its final orbit about 1.5m km from Earth. On 12 July, after months of painstaking setup, it produced its first image – showing us, for the first time, faraway galaxies as they were more than 13bn years ago.Food | Companies at the centre of the global grain trade have enjoyed a record bonanza amid soaring food prices around the world, prompting calls for a windfall tax. The figures renewed concerns of profiteering and speculation in global food markets that could put staples beyond the reach of the poorest.UK News | An attempted public murder of a senior gang member caused a nine-year-old girl to be mistakenly shot dead while being shielded by her mother inside her Liverpool home, the Guardian has learned. Bouquets and cards were left outside the home of Olivia Pratt-Korbel amid widespread horror in her city at the killing.Conservatives | Liz Truss has refused to commit to appointing an ethics adviser if she became prime minister, saying she has “always acted with integrity”. The previous ethics adviser, Christopher Geidt, quit in June after conceding Boris Johnson may have broken the ministerial code over the Partygate scandal.UK News | The student nurse Owami Davies, who had been missing for nearly seven weeks, has been found “safe and well”, the Met police has said. Concerns had grown for the 24-year-old’s safety since she was last seen on 7 July.Coronavirus | Twice as many deaths involving Covid occurred this summer as last summer, according to analysis of new data. Some 5,700 Covid deaths have been registered since 8 June – but rates have fallen in recent weeks. Continue reading...

Successful sensing of earthquake in Indonesia raises hopes for wider use across planet – and even VenusOn 14 December 2021, a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia; its epicentre was located just under the seabed near the island of Flores.Within minutes, seismometers around the world were jolted by the earthquake waves as they rippled through and around the Earth. Continue reading...

Losing even one hour of rest reduces ‘innate desire of humans to help one another’, US research findsWhen Ebenezer Scrooge woke up on Christmas Day after a fitful night’s sleep, he realised he must renounce his stingy ways.Unfortunately, the same is unlikely to happen for the rest of us, according to research suggesting sleepless nights make us more selfish. Continue reading...

(Nasa Recordings)

Clinical trial will explore whether Tecovirimat can reduce time it takes for skin lesions and ulcers to healThe first clinical trial in patients with monkeypox of an antiviral drug that could speed their recovery has begun in the UK.The trial, known as Platinum, will explore whether Tecovirimat – a drug originally developed for smallpox – may reduce the length of time it takes for skin lesions and ulcers to heal. Continue reading...

Eerie audio emanating from the Perseus cluster reminds social media users of sci-fi films and hungry stomachsIf you were content to go through life without knowing what a supermassive black hole sounds like (perhaps because of its scary name or a desire not to think about endless darkness), your luck has run out.On Sunday Nasa released an audio clip that represents actual sound waves emanating from the enormous black hole at the centre of the Perseus galaxy cluster, which is more than 200m light years away. Continue reading...

On Sunday, Nasa released an audio clip that represents actual sound waves emanating from the enormous black hole at the centre of the Perseus galaxy cluster. The sound is edited so that human ears can hear it, with the agency saying they mixed it with “other data” and amplified it, adding that the idea that there is no sound in space was a misconception. Continue reading...

About 325 million years ago, when Britain sat near the equator as part of the supercontinent Pangaea, two populations of a small, scaly, swamp-dwelling creature separated from each other. One of these lineages, over millions and millions of years, evolved into mammals. Our ancestors shared the planet with dinosaurs, survived an asteroid and made it through an ice age. This fascinating history is documented in The Rise and Reign of the Mammals, a new book by the palaeontologist Prof Steve Brusatte. The Guardian science correspondent Nicola Davis talks to Madeleine Finlay about her visit with Brusatte and what she learned about the strange mammals that once walked the Earth. What might their past reveal about their future in a rapidly changing world? Continue reading...

The infrared images, taken in July, capture unprecedented views of the biggest planet’s storms, moon and surrounding ringsThe world’s newest and biggest space telescope is showing Jupiter as never before, auroras and all.Scientists released the shots on Monday of the solar system’s biggest planet. Continue reading...

The research suggested exercise could affect the severity of infection, rates of hospitalisation and deathRegular exercise lowers your risk of developing Covid-19 or falling seriously ill with the disease, with about 20 minutes a day providing the greatest benefit, a global analysis of data suggests.Regular physical activity is linked to a lower risk of Covid-19 infection, severity, hospitalisation and death, according to the new pooled data analysis of the available evidence published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Continue reading...

Peter Tanner, my father, who has died aged 92, was a research physicist who worked on a number of significant technological innovations.Born in Poplar, east London, Peter was one of five children of Alex (nee Zanerra) and William Tanner, an estate agent, who had served in the Royal Artillery during the first world war. His mother’s tenacity during the stark days of the Depression saw her boys win scholarships to the Coopers’ Company school. Continue reading...

The answers to today’s puzzlesToday’s three questions are variations of classic logic puzzles that used a cheap Take That reference as clickbait. Here’s my excuse.1. The fork in the road Continue reading...

Researchers suggest this treatment could help Alzheimer’s patients but critics are unsureGiving mild electric shocks to the brain could protect older people from short-term and long-term memory loss, research suggests.It remains unclear as to whether the approach could help people with dementia. Robert Reinhart, an assistant professor at Boston University and a co-author of the study, said memory loss was a normal symptom of cognitive decline experienced as we age, and that forgetfulness could affect decision-making, planning and learning, for example. Continue reading...

Research is first to demonstrate positive emotion provoking tears in a non-humanIf your canine companion ain’t nothing but a hound dog, crying all the time, it may be because they are brimming with emotion.Researchers in Japan say they have found that dogs produce tears when reuniting with their owners. What’s more, the blubbing appears to be linked to levels of the “bonding hormone” oxytocin. Continue reading...

While more extreme threats are unlikely to be realised, sticking to the precautionary principle is just plain common sense

(Solving) it only takes a minute, girlUPDATE: Solutions can be read hereApologies for those of you who are here to read about Take That. In this column’s defence, it is a continual challenge to find a funny headline with the world ‘logic’ in it.Today’s three puzzles require logical thinking. You may have heard the first one before. Still, it is a brilliant example of the elegance of this type of conundrum. Continue reading...

Exclusive: UK trial finds finds combination of drugs can work where tumours have become resistant to immunotherapyA new cancer treatment can stop the disease advancing in patients who are resistant to immunotherapy, doctors have discovered.

Second largest asteroid was discovered by four German astronomers in 1807 while looking for a missing planetThis week is a challenge. You will need a pair of binoculars but the prize is to see the asteroid Vesta as it makes its closest pass of the year to Earth.The chart shows the view looking south from London at 0200 BST on 23 August. Vesta will be 192.26m kms away. In theory, it will just be visible to the naked eye but it will be incredibly difficult to see unless you are viewing under perfect conditions in a dark sky without any light pollution. Preferably, you would also be located farther south than London, so that Vesta appears higher in the sky. Continue reading...

While de-extinction research may benefit conservation efforts overall, we shouldn’t have to rely on it to give a wildlife a future

Professors say two islands in Cardigan Bay are clearly marked on the Gough map held at Bodleian libraryIt is believed to be the Welsh Atlantis, a lost land lying below the water at Cardigan Bay. For at least 800 years, tales have been told of the legend of Cantre’r Gwaelod, but evidence that it really existed has been scant.Now, a medieval map depicting two islands off the Ceredigion coast provides some proof that the legend may be rooted in historical fact, according to a BBC report. Continue reading...

The treatment of long Covid offers an opportunity to use patient insight to shape how health conditions are treated, writes Stephanie SchreiberBen Bravery’s call to put patient perspective at the heart of medicine is spot-on and prescient, given the legacy of the Covid pandemic, which has left millions with stubborn Covid-related symptoms (As a cancer patient, I felt dismissed by doctors. As a doctor, I am desperate for the system to change, theguardian.com, 13 August). He is absolutely right to recommend a patient-led approach for doctors, but this is also necessary for all health and social care providers.The treatment for those with long Covid and other post-Covid issues presents a once- in-a-generation opportunity to use patient insight to shape how complex health conditions are treated. Two years into my own long Covid recovery, I was invited by Health Systems Innovation Lab at London South Bank University to take part in a series of workshops involving health and social care professionals (including clinicians). We worked to improve pathways of support. The success of this project has directly led to a new plan to embed patient input into their work. Continue reading...

Prof Christopher Smith of UK Research and Innovation responds to an article on grants being lost post-Brexit, and offers some reassuranceI was very sorry to read Prof José R Penadés’s experience of losing research funding (Thanks to Brexit, I lost a €2.5m research grant. I fear for the future of UK science, 18 August).I did want to take this opportunity, though, to reassure researchers who have been successful in the first and second wave of Horizon Europe calls that guaranteed funding is available through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Continue reading...

The story of women’s involvement with alcohol – both making and drinking it – is one of male control, says Mallory O’Meara“Wait, there aren’t any books about the history of women and drinking? Seriously?”I was texting my best friend to complain after I finished reading yet another cocktail history book that seemed to forget women exist. Months earlier, she had introduced me to the world of craft drinks. After years of being too intimidated to ask a bartender for anything more interesting than a vodka soda, I became immediately fascinated. There was so much talent and alchemy in the making of a cocktail that, for the first time in my life, I began to think more deeply about alcohol. I wanted to try more drinks, visit more bars, and most importantly, I wanted to learn. Continue reading...

Tailor-made supplements are being touted as the path to a healthier, happier, younger-looking you. Whether they work and whether they’re necessary is moot, say expertsCould a customised supplement plan created specifically for you be the answer to refreshing sleep, easy weight loss and a sunny state of mind? These are just some of the promises offered by the world’s personalised vitamin providers as I flick through their various questionnaires, each hinting at the tantalising possibility of looking healthier, happier and younger, all for the price of a subscription.I settle on one particular provider, Nourished, a company that offers an intriguing blend of tailored vitamins and 3D printing for a monthly fee of £35.99. Rather than popping a series of pills each morning, it promises to combine all the nutrients you need – based on your answers to questions that range from the minutiae of your exercise regime to how regularly you travel internationally – into a single layered gummy. Continue reading...

After a year on prescription stimulants, I started to unravel. Would a desperate experiment with street narcotics make me see things differently?At first being diagnosed with ADHD came as a relief. I cried in the psychiatrist’s office: maybe I wasn’t lazy after all. He gave me pills that, within days, offered me a glimpse of what I thought a neurotypical person’s brain might feel like: focused and smooth, like a game of leisurely tennis rather than a ball machine going berserk.Dexamphetamine felt like a silver bullet. Suddenly I could plan ahead, follow entire meetings, and pack a bag without having a nervous breakdown. Gone was the constantly harried feeling that had bullied me into perpetual motion for most of my 34 years. There seemed to be more time in each second to listen, absorb and think. I no longer wanted to punch people in the back of the head when they were blocking my way in the supermarket. Continue reading...

Jumping spiders display rapid eye movements and limb twitching similar to what is seen in dreaming dogs and cats, researchers sayThe question is not “do you have nightmares about spiders?” but, do spiders dream? About juicy flies, about humans, about anything at all?A US-European research partnership suggests that thousands of species of jumping spiders might experience rapid eye movement stages of sleep. That is the state in which humans have their most vivid dreams, though the study in question stops well short of concluding that spiders have dreams. Continue reading...

Unlike jabs, nasal vaccines target the respiratory tract, the body’s first line of defence against infectionPeople who receive a Covid booster dose in the UK next month will be among the first in the world to receive Moderna’s dual-variant vaccine, which protects against two strains of the virus. But scientists say there is a misconception that this latest vaccine is an upgrade on what has come before.The evolution of the Covid virus to be more transmissible and better evade immunity is outpacing even innovative mRNA vaccines such as Moderna’s. The current generation of vaccines remain essential to protect us against severe illness and death. But when it comes to controlling infection, we are in a situation equivalent to running at a steady speed on a treadmill that is accelerating. Continue reading...

We should be keeping endangered species alive rather than bringing animals back from extinctionThe last official sighting of a Tasmanian tiger in the wild occurred in 1930, when it was shot by a farmer. The marsupials, formally known as thylacines, were hunted to extinction by European settlers who considered them a threat to their sheep and poultry. However, the 6ft-long creatures may reappear if a group of biotechnologists have their way.The company Colossal Biosciences, along with researchers from the University of Melbourne, plans to “de-extinct” the thylacine by using gene-editing technology. Australia has the fastest rate of mammal extinction in the world; disappearances are down to the arrival of foreign species and wildfires linked to the climate crisis. Scientists argue that in Tasmania the loss of the thylacine left the numbers of smaller marsupials unchecked, leading to over-grazing and threatening a fragile ecological balance. Continue reading...

Reports of rise in social anxiety among overly cautious 11- to 25-year-olds who often interact onlineThey have been deemed “generation sensible” for their focus on social issues, healthy living and drinking less alcohol. But therapists say generation Z could miss out on a wealth of life experience due to their overly cautious attitude to taking risks.Many young people increasingly choose to stay within a comfort zone of a small network of like-minded friends in which much of their social activity is virtual, according to mental health experts. Continue reading...

An incredible storm blew up, as if we had released more than just an animalI’d been working as a gold miner for only 30 days when I made my big discovery. The company I’d been employed by, Treadstone Gold, had begun its second season mining a cut in Eureka Creek in a remote region in Yukon, north-western Canada.I had been operating various machines as I learned the ropes, and early in the afternoon of 21 June this year I was using an excavator with a “ripper” attachment – a big metal hook that allowed me to break through the permafrost. Continue reading...

Not on my watch!

Study of graves in Cambridge finds nearly twice as many monks died with worms compared with poorer folkMedieval clergy were more likely to suffer from intestinal parasites than the poorer public despite having better sanitation, research has found.Experts say those who dwelt in monasteries could have been at greater risk of such infections because they grew their own produce and may have used fresh human faeces as manure. Continue reading...

From deep inside a gold mine in Stawell, Victoria, researchers are hunting for the invisible substance thought to make up 85% of the matter in the universe

Largest research project of its kind also points to alcohol and being overweight as major contributorsSmoking, drinking alcohol, being overweight and other risk factors are responsible for almost half of all cancer deaths worldwide, according to the largest study of its kind.Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, and exposure to risk factors plays a key role in the biology and burden of many cancer types. Doctors do not know the exact causes of cancer, and not every case or death is avoidable, but there are risk factors that can increase people’s chance of developing it. Continue reading...

Archaeologists says prehistoric site in Huelva province could be one of largest of its kind in EuropeA huge megalithic complex of more than 500 standing stones has been discovered in southern Spain that could be one of the largest in Europe, archaeologists have said.The stones were discovered on a plot of land in Huelva, a province flanking the southernmost part of Spain’s border with Portugal, near the Guadiana River. Continue reading...

Trial is first successful demonstration of genetic engineering being used to directly target photosynthesis processGenetically modified soya beans designed to absorb light more efficiently produced a 25% greater yield in an advance that could significantly boost global food supplies.The field trials are the first successful demonstration that genetic engineering can be used to directly target the photosynthesis process in food crops. The improvements seen are almost unprecedented for this kind of intervention and would take decades to achieve through selective breeding. Continue reading...

Sexual offenders can be deceitful and cruel. But they may also be ashamed and desperate to change. Helping them is the only way to prevent more victims“I’ve got a list of questions I’d like to ask you about your sexual offending against children, if that’s OK,” I say. “You might find some of them … ” I pause, unable to find the words, “ … a bit detailed and personal.” The grizzled old man sitting in front of me nods, but does not make eye contact. I don’t know who is dreading the interview most, him or me.This was the first time I had been left on my own, in a cell, in a maximum-security prison, with a man convicted of serious sexual offences. It would be far from my last. I have spent the 25 years since that day in the mid-90s, when I was just 22 years old and in possession of a shiny new psychology degree, assessing, treating and researching men who commit sexual offences, including sexual murder.Rebecca Myers is a forensic psychologist who has worked with serious offenders for more than 25 years, and the author of Inside Job: The Life of a Prison Psychologist Continue reading...

Unlike most animals, mosquitoes can pick up on odours via several different pathways, study suggestsWhether you opt for repellant, long sleeves or citronella coils, the dreaded drone of a mosquito always seems to find its way back to you.Now researchers say they have found the mechanism behind the insect’s ability to home in on humans. Continue reading...

In rejecting EU funding programmes, Britain has jeopardised research and made itself far less attractive to overseas scientistsIn March, I was given a great scientific opportunity: a €2.5m grant from the European Research Council (ERC) to study how disease-causing bacteria swap genes with each other to become more infective, or evade treatments such as antibiotics. The ERC advanced grant is a very prestigious award, and it meant that I and the scientists at my lab at Imperial College London could finally get to work on questions and experiments we had been planning for the past few years.But just a few weeks later I was informed that the funding was in jeopardy. Because the UK failed to negotiate an agreement to remain in the EU’s Horizon Europe funding programme – which it had previously committed to doing – my grant, along with those of 142 other UK-based scientists, couldn’t be taken up in this country.José R Penadés is professor of microbiology at Imperial College London and the director of the MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection Continue reading...