This prolonged state of hypervigilance can be exhausting. Self-compassion is crucial – as is taking time away from doom-scrolling to stay connected to others and move your bodyWe can survive almost anything if we know it has an endpoint.Struggles that seem to stretch limitlessly into the distance hit harder. Ceaseless uncertainty can chip away at resilience. Continue reading...
Once the novelty of a 3D tour inside a patient’s frozen shoulder has worn off, this is a tedious show that doesn’t even bother to ask key questionsSocial media is currently infested with people professing to be “empaths” who are suffering cruelly (with no apparent discount for it being remotely and, uh, imaginatively) through the crisis in Ukraine. It is sickening to watch, not least because it clothes narcissism in one of humanity’s finer qualities. The ability to put oneself in another’s shoes and stand there, looking out alertly and intelligently from that point of view, marks us out from the beasts as surely as language.The ability to empathise on camera without appearing inauthentic and being emetic is a refinement of such a gift, and one without which many human interest programmes become unwatchable. That Your Body Uncovered With Kate Garraway (BBC Two) succeeds at all is down to her genuine interest in people and ability to say the right thing with the right degree of sentiment. The whole thing is heightened, of course, by the knowledge of what she is going through at home, caring for her husband Derek Draper. He has been incapacitated – possibly long-term – by the after-effects of Covid and, as she put it in a recent interview, she has been learning to love him in a different way. Continue reading...
Once the novelty of a 3D tour inside a patient’s frozen shoulder has worn off, this is a tedious show that doesn’t even bother to ask key questionsSocial media is currently infested with people professing to be “empaths” who are suffering cruelly (with no apparent discount for it being remotely and, uh, imaginatively) through the crisis in Ukraine. It is sickening to watch, not least because it clothes narcissism in one of humanity’s finer qualities. The ability to put oneself in another’s shoes and stand there, looking out alertly and intelligently from that point of view, marks us out from the beasts as surely as language.The ability to empathise on camera without appearing inauthentic and being emetic is a refinement of such a gift, and one without which many human interest programmes become unwatchable. That Your Body Uncovered With Kate Garraway (BBC Two) succeeds at all is down to her genuine interest in people and ability to say the right thing with the right degree of sentiment. The whole thing is heightened, of course, by the knowledge of what she is going through at home, caring for her husband Derek Draper. He has been incapacitated – possibly long-term – by the after-effects of Covid and, as she put it in a recent interview, she has been learning to love him in a different way. Continue reading...
Space junk to smash into the far side of the moon at 5,800mph on Friday and it may take weeks, even months, to confirm the impactThe moon is about to get walloped by 3 tons of space junk, a punch that will carve out a crater that could fit several semi-tractor-trailers.The leftover rocket will smash into the far side of the moon at 5,800mph (9,300km/h) on Friday, away from telescopes’ prying eyes. It may take weeks, even months, to confirm the impact through satellite images. Continue reading...
Dr Megan Mooney is suing Texas governor Greg Abbott to stop his classification of gender-affirming care as ‘child abuse’On 22 February, the Texas governor, Greg Abbott, and state attorney general, Ken Paxton, released guidance to the state’s child protection services (CPS) classifying the provision of gender-affirming care to transgender adolescents as child abuse. The guidance threatened criminal penalties for licensed professionals, such as doctors, nurses and teachers, who fail to report suspicions of such “abuse” to the state. The policy’s implementation would also mean potentially removing trans kids from supportive parents and putting them in the state’s foster system.Considered the standard of care for transgender youth by the major medical associations in the US, gender-affirming care can include medical interventions such as puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapies. (US medical guidelines do not recommend genital surgeries for youth under 18.) Continue reading...
Change in screening programme could come as result of dramatic reductions in cervical cancerThe HPV vaccine is leading to such dramatic reductions in cervical cancer that those who receive it may only need one smear test in their lives, according to a leading cancer prevention scientist.The academic director of King’s Clinical Trials Unit, Prof Peter Sasieni, said the screening programme – which currently needs to be performed every three to five years – could soon change due to the encouraging results from the new HPV vaccine. Continue reading...
Researchers have a new view of HR 6819: two stars, one of them a ‘vampire’Astronomers who thought they had discovered a black hole on our cosmic doorstep have said they were mistaken, instead revealing they have found a two-star system involving a stellar “vampire”.The system, known as HR 6819 in the constellation Telescopium, was in the headlines in 2020 when researchers announced it contained a black hole. At just 1,000 light years from Earth, it was the closest yet found to our planet. Continue reading...
Recent experiments highlight potential of some rocks to lock in more carbon than previously thoughtIn the not too distant future we’re probably going to have to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, to address the climate emergency. Most carbon capture and storage methods involve injecting gaseous or dissolved carbon dioxide into underground reservoirs, but there is always a niggling worry that it could leak out again. The alternative is carbon mineralisation: a chemical reaction where the carbon from carbon dioxide is locked into a mineral.Carbon mineralisation happens naturally during rock weathering and stores carbon safely for thousands of years, but until now its potential was thought to be limited because mineralisation clogs up the pores in a rock, blocking entry and preventing further reactions. However, recent experiments indicate that in some rocks (such as olivine) the crystals created during the process of mineralisation expand the rock and force new cracks to appear, which create fresh surfaces and enhance the rock’s carbon storage capacity. Continue reading...
The study of fossils and prehistoric species is exploitative of local communities, says international teamThe public image of palaeontologists as dusty, but rather affable academics, could be due an update. The study of ancient life is a hotbed of unethical and inequitable scientific practices rooted in colonialism, which strip poorer countries of their fossil heritage, and devalue the contributions of local researchers, scientists say.Writing in the journal Royal Society Open Science, an international team of palaeontologists argue that there has been a steady drain of plesiosaurs, pterosaurs, prehistoric spiders, and other fossils from poorer countries into foreign repositories or local private collections – despite laws and regulations introduced to try to conserve their heritage. Continue reading...
Frontline NHS staff will no longer require vaccination as Sajid Javid also drops requirement for care workersMandatory Covid jabs for health and social care workers in England will be scrapped on 15 March, Sajid Javid has said, as he confirmed staff will no longer be required by law to get vaccinated.The rules came into force for care home staff in November, and had been due to be introduced for frontline NHS and wider social care staff in regulated settings from 1 April. Continue reading...
by Presented by Ian Sample with Damian Carrington, pr on (#5WM72)
A new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has given humanity a stark warning: without immediate and rapid action on climate breakdown, a liveable and sustainable future for all is at risk. The assessment, which is based on 34,000 studies, documents the ‘widespread and pervasive’ impacts on people and the natural world, and analyses how humanity can adapt.It also offers a small piece of good news – a liveable future remains within grasp. But the window of opportunity for action is ‘brief and rapidly closing’. Ian Sample speaks to environment editor Damian Carrington about the IPCC’s findings and how fast humanity needs to actArchive: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Continue reading...
Space agency says Northrop Grumman and SpaceX could assist after Russia raises prospect of pulling out over sanctions punishing its invasion of Ukraine
Experts say there is enough variation in samples to argue there was also a Tyrannosaurus imperator and a reginaWith its immense size, dagger-like teeth and sharp claws, Tyrannosaurus rex was a fearsome predator that once terrorised North America. Now researchers studying its fossils have suggested the beast may not have been the only tyrannosaurus species.Experts studying remains thought to belong to T rex have suggested their variation shows evidence of not one species but three. Continue reading...
Researchers say it is unlikely that the variant found in deer could bypass vaccines, but urge better monitoring of Covid in animalsCanadian researchers believe they have found the first-ever instance of a deer passing the coronavirus to a human, warning that broader surveillance of wildlife is needed to prevent further mutations from developing and spreading undetected.In a paper published last week, but not yet peer reviewed, scientists say at least one case of Covid-19 in humans can be traced to a strain of the virus found in hunted deer. Continue reading...
Gemini constellation is well placed at this time of year from northern hemisphereThe constellation of Gemini, the twins, is well placed at this time of year from the northern hemisphere. It sits to the south-west of Orion, the hunter, in-between Cancer, the crab, and Auriga, the charioteer.The chart shows the view looking south from London at 2100 GMT on Monday night. Continue reading...
HS2 may have been controversial, but it has also given rise to the biggest archaeological excavation in British history. With more than 100 digs, entire lost towns have been unearthed along the route – radically changing our understanding of the ancient pastThe green fields and woods of rural Northamptonshire look as apparently immutable as much of the British countryside. Next to the remote farm of Blackgrounds, however, a thin layer of innocuous green pasture has been peeled back. Below the surface is revealed a cobbled Roman road, walls, wells, pathways and shops: a bustling, prosperous international settlement long lost to memory.The town, its people and stories are emerging because it is part of the biggest-ever archaeological excavation in British history. It is one of more than 100 digs and investigations along the 134 miles of the HS2 high-speed rail route being built between London and Birmingham. Part of £900m of “enabling works” for the much-criticised project. Continue reading...
Projects in jeopardy as EU revokes millions in grant offers after failure of trade talksBritish science is facing the threat of a highly damaging brain drain that could see scores of top young researchers leaving the UK. In addition, the futures of several major British-led international projects are also now in jeopardy following a delay in funding by the European Union.Senior scientists say the UK’s scientific standing is at serious risk while others have warned that major programmes – including medical projects aimed at tackling global scourges such as malaria – face cancellation. Continue reading...
Eerie photographs recovered from the 1857 wreck of the SS Central America are now being published for the first timeIt is one of the most famous treasure wrecks ever discovered, a steamer named the “ship of gold” after it sank in 1857 off the coast of South Carolina with one of the largest cargoes of gold ever lost at sea. Miners who had struck it rich in the California gold rush were among those bringing home to New York their hard-earned wealth, only to lose their lives when the SS Central America was struck by a hurricane, sinking nearly a mile and a half beneath the waves.When nuggets, ingots and coins were recovered from the seabed in various expeditions between 1988 and 2014, the world was dazzled. But, with reported values of tens of millions of pounds, it sparked a complex legal case that landed its original treasure-hunter in jail. Continue reading...
Making sure adults and older children are vaccinated, as well as mask wearing and social distancing, is the best thing to do if worried about under-fives not being eligible, expert says
by Hosted by Jane Lee. Written by Donna Lu and Bronwy on (#5WHWM)
For four extraordinary people, superpowers are not beyond the imagination – they are an ordinary reality that they smell, remember and see every dayYou can read the original articles here:‘It’s awful to be a medical exception’: the woman who cannot forget Continue reading...
The goal of a universal vaccine would have seemed a fantasy only a few years ago. But not now…This week the government announced additional vaccine booster jabs for the over-75s and suggested a further shot is likely to be needed in the autumn. But imagine if the next Covid vaccine jab you have were the last you would ever need. That’s a dream being actively pursued now by researchers, who feel it could be possible to make a “universal” vaccine against the Sars-CoV-2 virus that would work well not only against all existing variants but any that the virus could plausibly mutate into in the future.Some are thinking even bigger. In January, Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, and two other experts called for more research into “universal coronavirus vaccines” that would work not only against Sars-CoV-2 but against the many other coronaviruses in animal populations that have the potential to spill over into humans and cause future pandemics. “We need a research approach that can characterise the global ‘coronaviral universe’ in multiple species,” Fauci and colleagues wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine, “and apply this information in developing broadly protective ‘universal’ vaccines against all [coronaviruses].” Continue reading...
Marianna Spring tackles Covid misinformation; Wendy Zukerman and Rose Rimler take Joe Rogan apart; and FunKids goes boldly and delightfully into spaceDeath by Conspiracy? (BBC Radio 4) | BBC SoundsScience Vs: Joe Rogan: The Malone Interview | Gimlet Media Continue reading...
Whether it’s making a heroine’s costume or using a traditional fabric, stitching garments can guide us in lifeIt was because of the movie Labyrinth that I learned to sew.When Jennifer Connelly’s character recites the monologue that I would, in turn, recite endlessly to an audience of Vermont pine (“My will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom as great”), she is wearing a loose, cream-coloured blouse with ample, pleated sleeves. Her costume marks her as a heroine, on a heroine’s quest. I had never seen anything so captivating. With the adamantine will and romantic imagination of an eight-year-old, I vowed not to rest until I could wear this most beautiful of all garments. Continue reading...
by Michael Schur. Photographs: Steven Ahlgren on (#5WHKR)
As we slowly rediscover a world of bad wifi and slow lifts, the US Office writer and creator of Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine explains why he can’t wait to get backOne of the first things we knew back in early 2020 was that we wouldn’t be going to work for a while. We thought that we would take a quick break – a week, maybe – and then reassess. So we cleaned out our cubicles and desks, and grabbed a few snacks from the kitchen (and toilet paper from the bathroom). One week became two, which became a month, which became a series of question marks spanning endlessly into the future, as the Zooms and FaceTimes and home office conversions gradually made the very idea of spending our workdays with other people seem like a quaint memory. Like childhood birthday parties, or answering machines, or properly functioning democracy.Some of us might never go back. Every so often we will hear about companies reassessing their relationship to the office, which has been proved unnecessary or at least outdated.‘In 1987,’ photographer Steven Ahlgren says, ‘when I was bored and unfulfilled, working as a banker in Minneapolis, I began taking frequent trips to look at a painting by Edward Hopper, Office at Night. What first drew me was its setting, which I related to each and every workday at the bank. But what kept pulling me back was its ambiguous narrative – who were these two people, what was their relationship, and why was the woman looking at that piece of paper on the floor?’ Continue reading...
‘Living with Covid’ plan means government’s chief scientific adviser and chief medical officer will step backSir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, and Sir Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, became household names after they were propelled into the spotlight by the Covid pandemic. For the past two years, they have flanked Boris Johnson at Downing Street briefings armed with PowerPoint slides and exponential curves. But with the announcement this week of England’s plan for “living with Covid” the advisers are expected to take a step back. Here are some of their most memorable moments. Continue reading...
Dinosaur probably belongs to carnivorous group called abelisaurs and may have used its head to ram its preyScientists in Argentina have unearthed the remains of a previously unknown species of meat-eating dinosaur that lived about 70m years ago that had puny arms and may have used its powerful head to ram its prey.The fossil skull of the Cretaceous period dinosaur, named Guemesia ochoai, was discovered in Argentina’s north-western Salta province. The researchers said it likely belongs to a carnivorous group of dinosaurs called abelisaurs, which walked on two legs and possessed only stub-like arms, even shorter than those of North America’s Tyrannosaurus rex. Continue reading...
Readers respond to Boris Johnson’s plan for the country to ‘live with Covid’, which includes removing restrictions even for those who test positiveBoris Johnson speaks of “protecting ourselves without losing our liberties”. This is frighteningly ridiculous. If you are Covid positive and don’t self-isolate, or you refuse to wear a mask in a crowded, poorly ventilated environment, then the risk is all on me. You will, in fact, be reducing the likelihood of my being able to protect myself and with it increasing the likelihood that I will lose my liberties.I behave responsibly, and care about other people’s health. Should I catch Covid, it would never occur to me to risk the health of others by continuing as I was doing (so-called exercising my liberty) and running the risk of infecting others (who would have every right to be angry with me if I knew beforehand that I was Covid positive). Continue reading...
Everyday noises also caused me pain: the toilet flushing, plates clinkingOne night at home in Greystones, Ireland in 2003, aged 25, I was watching a movie and noticed that my left ear felt as if it had water in it. At first I didn’t think much of it. Then the feeling persisted and got worse every time I heard a loud noise.I went to my GP, who said I had a small hole in my eardrum and prescribed antibiotics. The hole healed, but afterwards I began to find certain everyday noises painful – and both ears were affected. Continue reading...
New Brunswick officials say baffling disorder that causes memory loss and cognitive decline is from known neurological conditionAfter warning medical professionals to be on the lookout for a baffling neurological condition that produced memory loss, muscle wasting and severe cognitive decline, authorities in the Canadian province of New Brunswick have concluded that no such illness exists, a finding that has prompted skepticism and disbelief as families search for answers.New Brunswick officials last year flagged a possible “cluster” of residents suffering from an unknown neurological syndrome, similar to those of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Symptoms were varied and dramatic: some patients started drooling, and others felt as though bugs were crawling on their skin. Continue reading...
More was surplus, and so this woman gave away what she didn’t need. And giving made her happyI’d never done a reverse park before, and in the empty train station car park, my instructor directed me to reverse in beside the only other car in the area – a grey van.Reverse parking is horrible. I don’t understand why anyone would do it when they can forward park. As I squeezed in beside the van (the equivalent of sitting right next to someone in an empty train carriage), I noticed a hand adjusting the curtains in the back window. Continue reading...
Research finds behaviour changes in dogs who have lost a canine companionThe loss of a loved one can have a profound impact on humans, affecting everything from sleep patterns to appetite. Now researchers say they have found similar behaviour changes in dogs who have lost a canine companion.While the team say it is not clear if the findings can be described as grief, they say the work potentially indicates an overlooked welfare issue. Continue reading...
The crisis may be passing, but there’s no return to the ‘normal’ of 2019 – and we’re no longer the same people we wereThe pandemic changed everything about our lives: how we worked, socialised, travelled. Dealing with so many changes at once was a mental challenge for us all. As Covid-19 fizzles out, and things go back to “normal”, some of these pressures will ease as life becomes more recognisable. But the end of a pandemic will require an adjustment, just as the beginning did.For a start, we are not entering the same “normal” that we left – and we are not the same people we were then. Some of us will face lingering mental health problems, including those who have developed severe, chronic grief over the loss of loved ones, or people who have developed post-traumatic stress disorder because of experiences with the disease.Steven Taylor is a professor and clinical psychologist at the University of British Columbia, and author of The Psychology of Pandemics Continue reading...
Elsevier’s work with fossil fuel companies ‘drags us towards disaster’, climate researcher saysScientists working with one of the world’s largest climate research publishers say they’re increasingly alarmed that the company works with the fossil fuel industry to help increase oil and gas drilling, the Guardian can reveal.Elsevier, a Dutch company behind many renowned peer-reviewed scientific journals, including the Lancet and Global Environmental Change, is also one of the top publishers of books aimed at expanding fossil fuel production. Continue reading...
Light pollution is a modern scourge but a concerted effort to bring the darkness to Wales is under way – with the help of astronomy strolls led by experts wielding laser pensDuring a brief window between named storms this month, 30 or so people gather in a darkened car park on a hillside east of Snowdonia. Red lights are flashing hither and yon. “Has everyone got warm hats and decent shoes?” asks Dani Robertson, dark skies officer at the North Wales Dark Skies Partnership, with the tone of a concerned mum. “We’ve got some camping mats if you need them”The group mumbles in the affirmative, before setting off for a 15-minute walk up Moel Famau in the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. We’re here for an introductory astronomy session, one of a series of events organised for the first Welsh Dark Skies Week at several locations across the country – other options include a astro-archaeology lectures and astral photography courses. The red lights on torches and headlamps provided will allow night vision to develop – not just for the rocky path ahead, but hopefully for optimal stargazing, too. Continue reading...
by Presented by Ian Sample, produced by George Cooper on (#5WF49)
When the announcement came last week that all children aged five to 11 in England will be offered a Covid vaccine, emphasis was placed on parental decision-making. But with factors to consider including disease severity, transmission, long Covid and vaccine side-effects, for many parents and guardians this may not be an easy choice.Ian Sample speaks to Prof Adam Finn about how the evidence stacks up, and what parents should be thinking about when deciding whether to vaccinate their five- to 11-year-olds against Covid-19Archive: ITV News Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#5WF1X)
Oxford University research also finds pescatarians have 10% reduced risk compared with those who eat meat regularlyVegetarians have a 14% lower chance of developing cancer than carnivores, according to a large study that links meat-eating to a heightened risk of the disease.A team of researchers from Oxford University analysed data on more than 470,000 Britons and found that pescatarians had a 10% reduced risk. Compared with people who eat meat regularly – defined as more than five times a week – those who consumed small amounts had a 2% lower risk of developing cancer, the study found.Low meat-eaters – who consume meat five or fewer times a week – had a 9% lower risk of developing bowel cancer than regular meat-eaters.Vegetarian women were 18% less likely than those who ate meat regularly to develop postmenopausal breast cancer, though that may be due to their lower body mass index.Vegetarian men have a 31% lower risk of prostate cancer while among male pescatarians it is 20% lower. Continue reading...
Dozens of live-in workers have been forced to sleep rough in the Hong Kong winter after bosses refuse to allow them back in the houseLive-in domestic workers in Hong Kong have been left homeless after they were diagnosed with Covid-19 and their employers fired them or refused their return to the residence, support groups have said.Many of the workers, who are mostly women from Indonesia and the Philippines, were also left without insurance to cover their medical bills. Continue reading...
The drugmakers hope to catch up with rivals after reporting positive results from late-stage clinical trialsThe French and British drugmakers Sanofi and GSK are ready to seek approval from regulators for their Covid-19 vaccine after reporting positive results from late-stage clinical trials.The firms are hoping to catch up with rivals after falling far behind in the race to develop Covid-19 shots. Their product was delayed by an early dosing error during trials, initially disappointing results in older people and other issues. It will be available as a two-dose vaccine and as a booster. Continue reading...
Animals in northern hemisphere would have been more vulnerable to intense heat just after winterHaving an asteroid slam into Earth was catastrophic for the dinosaurs, but the season of the strike may have substantially ramped up extinction rates for others species, research suggests.Scientists have found evidence that the devastating impact 66m years ago, which wiped out three-quarters of Earth’s species and created the Chicxulub crater in modern-day Mexico, happened in the spring in the northern hemisphere. Continue reading...
Scientists report unexpected brain activity in patient, 87, as he died from heart attackWhen Harry Stamper sets off a bomb to save planet Earth in the film Armageddon, his life flashes before his eyes. Now research has revealed tantalising clues that such recall may not be Hollywood hyperbole.An international team of scientists has reported an unexpected situation in which they recorded the brain activity of an 87-year-old patient as he died. Continue reading...
Other items attracting large bids include 15g fragment of Winchcombe meteoriteWhile billionaires are battling it out in a race to colonise the moon, mere stratospherically rich mortals on Earth were able to grab a small slice of space rock for themselves on Wednesday at Christie’s annual sale of rare and unusual meteorites.Star-gazers and meteorite enthusiasts bid frantically for fragments of the “oldest matter humankind can touch” – as the auction house put it – while other objects such as a comet-cracked kennel from Costa Rica sold for tens of thousands of dollars. Continue reading...
Strategic and scientific motivations are not always neatly separable, but it’s clear Australia’s renewed interest in Antarctica is spurred in part by ChinaIn the 1950s, the Soviets came to Antarctica. As part of its contribution to the International Geophysical Year of 1957-8, a global scientific jamboree, the Soviet Union began building research stations across the great southern land – largely in areas claimed by Australia.Amid heightened cold war tensions, Australian officials were not pleased. Government records from the time reveal fears the Soviets might install defence infrastructure in Antarctica; the then foreign minister, Richard Casey, warned of missiles being launched on Sydney or Melbourne. The Australian Antarctic Territory is vast: at approximately 6m square kilometres (just shy of half of the landmass), the territory is almost the size of continental Australia itself. Plenty of room for Soviet missiles. Continue reading...