Picture is a test shot to see how a new telescope’s 18 hexagonal mirrors work together for a single coordinated imageNasa’s new space telescope has gazed into the distant universe and shown perfect vision: a spiky image of a faraway star photobombed by thousands of ancient galaxies.The image released on Wednesday from the James Webb Space telescope was a test shot – not an official science observation – to see how its 18 hexagonal mirrors worked together for a single coordinated image taken 1m miles (1.6m km) away from Earth. Officials said it worked better than expected. Continue reading...

Royal Society of Chemistry says black and minority ethic chemists paid less and less likely to get research fundingBlack and minority ethnic chemists face “pervasive” inequalities that restrict their access to research funding and derail their academic careers, according to a new report by the Royal Society of Chemistry.The report found that while black students were well represented at undergraduate level, very few were able to develop academic careers, with only one black professor of chemistry of the 575 professors working in UK universities. Continue reading...

Dr Hadyn Williams of the BACP says schools must have access to professional counselling services, while Pauline Chater highlights flaws in the government’s tutoring scheme and Peter Moore calls for a revised curriculumYour article (Teachers ‘buckling under strain’ of pupils’ mental health crisis, 11 March) highlights the serious impact that the pandemic is having on the mental wellbeing of children and school staff.We’ve long campaigned for government-funded counselling support in every secondary school, academy and further education college in England, provided by qualified staff. The need has never been more acute than now to support young people and alleviate the growing strain on school staff. Schools can’t do this alone. Continue reading...

Call comes as data shows 2- to 11-year-olds currently have the highest rate of infectionScientists are calling for the immediate rollout of Covid vaccines to primary-aged children, as new data suggests that even a single dose of the Pfizer jab helps to prevent older children against infection, and shortens the duration and severity of symptoms if they do get infected.According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, 2- to 11-year-olds have the highest rate of infections of any UK age group, with 4.2% testing positive during the week ending 5 March. Secondary-aged children (up to Year 11) have the lowest rate of infections, with 2.4% testing positive. Continue reading...

In the past couple of weeks, UK, Germany, France and others are experiencing a new wave. The US should get readyWhen it comes to Covid, the United States specializes in denialism. Deny the human-to-human transmission of the virus when China’s first cases were publicized in late 2019. Deny that the virus is airborne. Deny the need for boosters across all adult age groups. There are many more examples, but now one stands out – learning from other countries.In early 2020, with the major outbreak in the Lombardy region of Italy that rapidly and profoundly outstripped hospital resources and medical staffing, Americans expressed confidence that it won’t happen here. That it couldn’t happen here. And then it did.Eric Topol is the founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, professor of molecular medicine, and executive vice-president of Scripps Research Continue reading...

Though plants do not have nerves, their response to ether could shed light on how anaesthetics workPlants can be anaesthetised. When the sensitive Mimosa pudica is touched its leaves fold up, and in 1878 the French physiologist Claude Bernard anaesthetised the plant using ether, preventing the leaf movements. Since then other plant movements have been anaesthetised – but how these drugs work has been a mystery.

Illnesses including rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s more likely after long-term exposure to particulates, study findsLong-term exposure to air pollution can increase the risk of autoimmune disease, research has found.Exposure to particulates has already been linked to strokes, brain cancer, miscarriage and mental health problems. A global review, published in 2019, concluded that almost every cell in the body could be affected by dirty air. Continue reading...

Archaeologists discover burial sites “of remarkable scientific quality” below the fire-damaged cathedralSeveral tombs and a leaden sarcophagus likely dating from the 14th century have been uncovered by archaeologists at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris as work continues on the building’s reconstruction after its devastating 2019 fire.The burial sites “of remarkable scientific quality” were unearthed during preparatory work for rebuilding the ancient church’s spire at the central spot where the transept crosses the nave, France’s culture ministry announced late Monday. Continue reading...

Experts say rise was expected but further case increases and new variants are still a threatCovid infection levels in the UK on are on the rise once more. We take a look at the current situation, and what the future might hold. Continue reading...

Researchers find odds of having ovarian cancer up to 2.6 times higher for women carrying genetic risk factors for endometriosisWomen with genes that predispose them to endometriosis also have a higher risk of developing certain ovarian cancers, new research suggests.A study of genetic markers in nearly 15,000 women with endometriosis and more than 25,000 women with ovarian cancer has found what researchers say is a causal link between the two conditions. Continue reading...

Exclusive: scanning technique using AI to analyse ultrasound images could help assess risk of adverse pregnancy outcomesScientists are launching a trial of a new scanning technique that could identify women at high risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including stillbirth and pre-eclampsia, by analysing their placentas.The technology uses artificial intelligence to analyse ultrasound images taken during women’s 12-week scan and assign them a risk score – similar to the first trimester risk assessment for Down’s syndrome routinely offered at this point in women’s pregnancies. Those deemed at high risk could be offered additional scans or drugs to reduce their risk of adverse outcomes. Continue reading...

Ready to refresh your brain? From reconsidering maligned public figures to reframing ideas around sex, there’s a podcast for thatRecently named I iHeart Radio’s podcast of the yearYou’re Wrong About took off during lockdown for its conversational reassessment of events, people and phenomena “miscast in the public imagination”. From multi-part explorations of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the OJ Simpson trial, to busting the myths of Koko the signing gorilla, each episode is wryly funny but diligently researched, with attention paid to context and accuracy. Host Sarah Marshall’s compassion for misunderstood and maligned public figures stands out at a time when celebrities are increasingly speaking out about the toll of being in the spotlight. (You Must Remember This takes a similar tack to stories of early Hollywood.) The episode on cancel culture – in which Marshall and her former co-host Michael Hobbes unpick the culture wars without using the (often meaningless) word “cancel” – takes a cool, considered view of an often strategically inflamed issue. Continue reading...

As the world watches oil and gas prices soar – the next big shock could hit the dinner table. Collectively, Russia and Ukraine are responsible for more than a quarter of global wheat exports and for around 80% of the world’s supply of sunflower oil. Russia — along with ally, Belarus — is also a huge source of fertiliser, accounting for around 15% globally.The war in Ukraine will undoubtedly have a major impact on its agricultural production and exports, putting even more pressure on a system already in crisis. Madeleine Finlay speaks to food policy researcher, Dr Joseph Glauber, about what the war will mean for the supply and cost of food around the worldArchive: CNA, CNBC TV, Sky News Australia Continue reading...

Actor to be among six passengers on next launch of Jeff Bezos’ space travel venture, scheduled for 23 MarchPete Davidson is heading to space.The Saturday Night Live star is among the six passengers on the next launch of Jeff Bezos’ space travel venture Blue Origin, the company announced Monday. Continue reading...

Is it hoped discovery of medieval trading town Ravenser Odd can teach people about perils of climate crisisHopes are high that a fabled medieval town known as “Yorkshire’s Atlantis” is about to be located and will begin giving up secrets held for more than 650 years.Ravenser Odd was a prosperous port town built on sandbanks at the mouth of the Humber estuary before it was abandoned and later destroyed and submerged by a calamitous storm in 1362. Continue reading...

Mark Vande Hei, who is set to break the US single spaceflight record, will be riding a Russian capsule back to Earth

Psychologists say the secret to stop procrastinating over tasks you dislike is to do them for a few minutes. Could it work?Name: The three-minute rule.Age: New. Continue reading...

Program to facilitate access to antivirals will have a limited impact because pharmacists are restricted from prescribing the pillsA major new Biden administration initiative to facilitate access to Covid-19 antivirals will have a limited impact and fail to mitigate certain health inequities, major pharmacist groups argue, because pharmacists are restricted from prescribing the pills.Announced in Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, the “Test to Treat” program is meant to address the maddening difficulty Americans have had in accessing Covid-19 treatments. The administration will channel newly increasing stocks of antiviral pills to major retail pharmacies that have in-house clinics, providing one-stop testing and antivirals access. Continue reading...

Known as Cepheid variables, stars in constellation are used to measure distances to nearby galaxiesThis week, we’re going to concentrate on an often overlooked northern constellation. Cepheus is named after the king of ancient Aethiopia in Greek mythology. Part of the Perseus myth, Cepheus is married to Cassiopeia and is the father of Andromeda, the princess whom Perseus saved from the sea monster Cetus.Cepheus is one of the 48 constellations listed by the astronomer Ptolemy in the second century. The constellation is easy to miss as it contains only moderately bright to faint stars, but its shape is distinctive once located. Continue reading...

Authorities adopt a zero tolerance policy in Shenzhen, imposing a lockdown and testing every resident three timesChina’s government has locked down Shenzhen, a city of 17.5 million people, as it tries to contain its worst ever Covid-19 outbreak across multiple provinces, with case numbers tripling from Saturday to Sunday.A government notice on Sunday said all residential communities were now under “closed management”, meaning they would be locked down. Every resident would undergo three rounds of testing, for which they were allowed to leave their homes, and all buses and subways were suspended. Continue reading...

Schemes coming to an end is ‘yet another example of short-term thinking’Ministers have been accused of “turning off the headlights at the first sign of dawn” after scrapping nationwide Covid surveillance programmes, with scientists saying it will almost certainly end up costing more money in the long run.Last week, scientists announced that the React study – which randomly tests about 150,000 people across England each month to see how many are infected with coronavirus – will be scrapped at the end of March, and no further data will be collected beyond that point. Continue reading...

I try to use my training and experience to consider a young person’s story against the evidence in mental health research

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsIf someone managed to, hypothetically, avoid pollution, never be involved in an accident and followed all health advice to the letter, how long would they live for? Jane ShawPlease send new questions to nq@theguardian.com. Continue reading...

As science proves that acts of kindness benefit both giver and receiver, we ask why some people are so much better at putting others firstIt was freezing cold the day Neil Laybourn saw a man in a T-shirt sitting on a high ledge on Waterloo Bridge and made a split-second decision that would change both their lives for ever. “It’s hard to pin down what it was that made me stop… but it would have played on my mind if I hadn’t,” he said. “That’s not how you live your life is it? You don’t just walk past when you see someone in need.”On that January morning in London’s rush hour, hundreds of other people were doing exactly that. But Laybourn didn’t and – it turned out the man, Jonny Benjamin, was contemplating suicide. Six years later he would launch a campaign to find and thank Laybourn for persuading him down off that ledge. The two of them now give talks on mental health issues and suicide prevention together. Continue reading...

Instrument confiscated by the Danes is given back to the Sámi people after a lengthy campaignOn 7 December 1691, a precious rune drum, created to help a noaidi, or shaman, to enter a trance and walk among spirits, was confiscated by the authorities. The owner, Anders Poulsson – or Poala-Ánde in the name’s Sámi form – was tried for witchcraft the following year.Poulsson told the court, according to official records, that his mother had taught him how to use the rune drum, because “he wanted to help people in distress, and with his art he wanted to do good, and his mother said that she would teach him such an art”. Continue reading...

The celebrated US scientist and inventor on not being in it for the money, why diversity improves problem-solving, and his dedication to exercisingThe chemical engineer Robert Langer co-founded Covid-19 vaccine maker Moderna, and his innovations have helped create more than 100 products from artificial skin to messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. The 73-year-old has a mountain of research papers and patents to his name, on top of which he has started more than 40 companies and won more than 200 awards, including the Queen Elizabeth prize, which has been called the “Nobel for engineering”. Langer’s biomedical engineering lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he holds a professorship, employs more than 100 researchers. He spoke to the Observer to mark Unesco World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development, held earlier this month.Last year you debuted on Forbes magazine’s billionaires list. Being a co-founder of Moderna has been profitable! How did it feel?

My nine-year-old’s curiosity about the place I grew up and where generations of my family were raised has made me look at it with new eyes“Why don’t we live here? Why did you ever leave?” This is Solomon, nine, one of my sons; and these are familiar questions he enjoys directing my way. We’ve just left Goodison Park, the ground of Everton, our football team; and we’re walking back to my parents’ home, not far away. Everton won the game (never a given, recently), and Solly is on a high; he wants to linger in the streets around Goodison, as he does whenever we visit. He likes all the ways the area is different from our home. That it’s rougher, not as pretty – poorer, to put it plainly – than our bourgeois patch of Kensal Green, in London, is all upside to him. He likes the shop we’ve just popped into for sweets with its Haribos behind caged wire like so much precious cargo. He likes the cheeky lads on their bikes, larking around as if auditioning for a documentary dedicated to “life on the street”.If it were a pal alongside me, I’d be teasing him for romanticising my old home, for taking a walk on the wild side. But it’s my boy and I can’t help but smile at how much he’s enjoying himself. Continue reading...

As numbers admitted to hospital rise again, ministers face calls to extend fourth vaccination beyond the over-75s

Scientists at home and abroad criticise decision to cancel widely admired infection-surveillance projects including React-1 and Zoe

Analysis of 10 pieces by neurologist Dr Paul McCrory, who quit the Concussion in Sport Group, suggests he may have copied other work without proper attribution

Exclusive: Technology developed for new type of contraceptive pill could be applied to other medicinesNew technology that allows for daily medications to instead be taken just once a week or month could transform the lives of people with conditions ranging from schizophrenia to opioid addiction, researchers have said.The method has also been developed for a new type of contraceptive pill – a capsule, initially tested in pigs, that dissolves in the stomach to release a six-armed structure that delivers synthetic hormones over three weeks before falling apart and exiting the body. Continue reading...

Brandt’s vole found to engineer ecosystem to scan skies for shrikes and deny them perchesA rodent that lives on the plains of Inner Mongolia fells tall grasses so that it can scan the skies for flying predators, a study involving experts from the University of Exeter has found.The practice by Brandt’s voles also means that shrikes, a type of carnivorous bird, are denied handy perches and places to use as larders for their prey, the study discovered. Continue reading...

Another new coronavirus variant has been identified, this one containing elements of Delta and Omicron

Increase in infections to estimated one in 25 people follows similar trend in ScotlandOne in 25 people in England had Covid last week, figures show, causing a rise in the rates of hospital admissions.The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, based on swabs from randomly selected households, reveal an estimated 2,073,900 people in the community in England had Covid in the week ending 5 March, equating to 3.8% of the population or about one in 25 people. The week before, the figure was about one in 30. Continue reading...

From the kneejerk to the insincere, there are many kinds of apologies. But which ones count? Here’s how to get it right – and why it mattersIt had been 20 years since I’d seen my aunt. In that time I’d lived a full life, written a book and had a baby, but as she stared at my bottom, I knew what she was thinking. Then she said it: “Are you competing with Mary?” There was some skill here: in a few words, she’d deftly managed to insult both my cousin and me. The subtext was: you’ve got as fat as her.Fuelled by post-partum hormones, I decided to tell my aunt, for the first time, how insulting I found this. “I’m sorry,” she said, “if you chose to take offence at what I said.” Ah. The apology rendered immediately void by the word if. Continue reading...

With the film My Octopus Teacher showing their complexity, questions are being raised about plans for the world’s first farmOne of the hardest things about working with octopuses is their mood swings, says Dr Alex Schnell. They can be bold and gregarious one day, “and then the next day they refuse to come out of their den”, says the behavioural ecologist, who studies cephalopods.Octopuses are complex, intelligent creatures: they can change the colour and texture of their skin, disguise themselves, use tools and squeeze into tiny spaces. Their intricate lives burst into the public consciousness in 2020 with the Oscar-winning documentary My Octopus Teacher, about the relationship between a film-maker and an octopus. Continue reading...

Pair join Gordon Brown and 127 others in attack on ‘self-defeating nationalism, pharmaceutical monopolies and inequality’Prince Harry and Meghan, the actor Charlize Theron and the former British prime minister Gordon Brown are among 130 signatories to a letter lambasting wealthy countries’ approach to the Covid-19 pandemic, labelling it “immoral, entirely self-defeating and also an ethical, economic and epidemiological failure”.In a strongly worded open letter published on Friday, the signatories warned “the pandemic is not over”, and said the failure to vaccinate the world was down to “self-defeating nationalism, pharmaceutical monopolies and inequality”. Continue reading...

Australian researchers raise concerns mutated virus could spread in the community if patients given the drug are not monitored

Bleak picture for biodiversity as analysis of over 80,000 species forecasts more losers than winnersResearchers have categorised more than 80,000 plant species worldwide and found that most of them will “lose” in the face of humanity – going extinct because people don’t need them.This means that plant communities of the future will be hugely more homogenised than those of today, according to the paper published in the journal Plants, People, Planet. Continue reading...

Changes to birds’ size, habits and morphology have been linked to rising temperaturesGlobal warming is changing European birds as we know them, a study has found, but it’s not just the increase in temperature that’s to blame.Researchers have found that garden warblers, for example, are having a quarter fewer chicks, which has huge implications for the species. Chiffchaffs are laying their eggs 12 days earlier. Some birds are decreasing in size, while others, such as redstarts, are getting larger. Continue reading...

Imperial College study finds R value higher for older people, raising concerns about waning immunityCovid cases appear to be rising in older people as increased socialising, waning immunity and a more transmissible version of the Omicron variant threaten to fuel a resurgence of the virus.Tests on nearly 100,000 swabs from homes across England reveal that, while infections have fallen overall since the January peak, one in 35 people tested positive between 8 February and 1 March, with cases either level or rising in those aged 55 and over. Continue reading...

Although several countries around the world continue to have high rates of Covid-19 infections, including the UK and US, many of their citizens are yet to be infected with the Sars-Cov-2 virus. This includes countless individuals who have knowingly been exposed, often multiple times, but have still never had a positive test.Madeleine Finlay speaks to Linda Geddes about how scientists are trying to solve the mystery of why some people seemingly don’t catch Covid, and what could be behind this phenomenonArchive: KRON4 Continue reading...

Vessel located more than a century after it sank on voyage of exploration in the Antarctic

Scientists name ‘incredibly rare’ fossil in recognition of Biden’s ‘plans to address climate change and to fund scientific research’A newly discovered fossilized vampire squid has been named after the US president, Joe Biden, a team of paleontologists has announced.The Syllipsimopodi bideni, which has been described as an “incredibly rare” fossil, was first dug up in Montana and then donated to the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada in 1988. Continue reading...

Be guided by your child’s age and personality, and take practical steps to show them they’re safe in the present moment

From imperial decrees to Sappho’s poems, Ithaca system can find word patterns and suggest age of textArtificial intelligence could bring to life lost texts, from imperial decrees to the poems of Sappho, researchers have revealed, after developing a system that can fill in the gaps in ancient Greek inscriptions and pinpoint when and where they are from.Dr Thea Sommerschield, a co-author of the research at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Harvard University, said inscriptions were important as they were written directly by ancient people and were evidence of the thought, language, society and history of past civilisations. Continue reading...

Call comes as G7 agriculture ministers prepare to discuss food price volatility as war rages in Ukraine

We don’t fully understand the virus’s impact on the brain. It is vital that we maintain a high regard for the unpredictability of even mild infectionsOne of the most important studies in the pandemic – studying the potential impact of Covid on the brain – was just published. The major findings of loss of gray matter, reduced brain size, and cognitive decline are concerning and need to be placed in context.If you want to determine whether the SARS-CoV-2 virus can damage the brain, you would ideally have a MRI brain scan before and after the Covid infection and a matched (for age and sex, medical history) control group of people without infection who also had two sets of brain images. It just so happened that in the United Kingdom over tens of thousands of people enrolled in their UK Biobank had undergone a brain scan before the pandemic and a subset of these were brought back at an average three years later, with or without having had Covid. They also had basic cognitive testing – a connect-the-dots type of test – with their brain scans.Eric Topol is the founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, professor of molecular medicine, and executive vice-president of Scripps Research Continue reading...

Oldest known ancestor of octopuses unearthed in Montana in form of approximately 330m-year-old fossilScientists have found the oldest known ancestor of octopuses – an approximately 330m-year-old fossil unearthed in Montana.The researchers concluded the ancient creature lived millions of years earlier than previously believed, meaning that octopuses originated before the era of dinosaurs. Continue reading...