Last week Boris Johnson announced that all Covid regulations in England, including the requirement to isolate after testing positive, were due to be abolished on 24 February. Whilst the Omicron variant has caused fewer hospitalisations and deaths than many predicted, some scientists say the changes may be going too far, too soon. Madeleine Finlay gets the Guardian science correspondent Hannah Devlin’s view on whether there’s scientific evidence backing up this decision and what the changes could look likeArchive: Daily Mail, Sky News Continue reading...

Astronomers say mistake over object that is due to hit lunar surface in March highlights difficulties of deep space trackingA rocket expected to crash into the moon in early March was built by China, not SpaceX, it has emerged.A rocket will indeed strike the lunar surface on 4 March, but contrary to what had been announced, it was built not by Elon Musk’s company, but by Beijing, experts now say. Continue reading...

Instead of pollution or 5G, it was most likely another bird that caused deaths caught on camera in CuauhtémocHundreds of yellow-headed blackbirds have been filmed appearing to fall from the sky, some of them dying, in mysterious circumstances in the northern Mexican city of Cuauhtémoc.The cause of death remains unclear but experts said it was most likely the flock was “flushed” from above by a predatory bird swooping down to make a catch. Continue reading...

Scientists think surveillance is urgent as deer could act as large reservoirs for the virus, and serve as a source for new variantsMichael Tonkovich spent the week after Thanksgiving at deer processors around Ohio, swabbing the carcasses to test for Sars-CoV-2, the virus that can cause Covid-19.When he explained his goal to hunters, a common reaction was: help yourself. And perhaps you can butcher it too, they joked. Continue reading...

On Wednesday, an hour after moonrise, Algieba and Regulus will frame the moon in the darkening skyThis week, watch the full moon rise between the two brightest stars of Leo, the lion.On Wednesday, the moon will rise in the gathering twilight at around 4.52pm GMT. About an hour later, the stars Algieba and Regulus will be visible on either side of it, against the darkening sky. Continue reading...

Charlatans and scientists | The PM and the police | San Serriffe | CBeebies | RecordersThere is a simple rule of thumb for distinguishing between charlatans like the Net Zero Scrutiny Group (Report, 8 February), the European Research Group and anti-vaxxers on the one hand, and the science community on the other: charlatans only look for evidence that they are right; scientists are only interested in evidence that they are wrong.

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsHow do you conquer your Fomo (fear of missing out)? Richard Orlando, QuebecSend new questions to nq@theguardian.com. Continue reading...

The fusion energy industry could produce a breakthrough in human history akin to the adoption of electricityIf you want proof that the process known as nuclear fusion can produce energy at scale somewhere in the universe, you need only look at the night sky: each pinprick of light is a natural nuclear fusion-powered reactor. For decades, scientists have sought to bring the power source of stars down to Earth and, in a stunning result recently announced, the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire has reached a new landmark in sparking and sustaining a mini star.Scientists working on a doughnut-shaped machine called Jet, or the Joint European Torus, were able to double the previous world record (set in 1997) for energy released by fusion reactions. While the experiment ran, the output of fusion power was equivalent to four onshore wind turbines – a step towards power production at an industrial scale. Continue reading...

New research into sudden weight loss finds a possible cause of cachexia in cancer patients and Cockayne syndrome in childrenOne of the most serious impacts of cancer is the sudden loss of weight, appetite, and muscle that can hit some patients in the later stages of the disease. This wasting syndrome is known as cachexia and it can be triggered in other serious conditions, including heart disease and HIV.In addition, an inherited version of extreme wasting syndromes can affect children. Known as Cockayne syndrome, it causes them to suffer severe malnutrition and wasting that parallels the effect of cachexia. Continue reading...

A study that finds ‘agreeable’, ‘neurotic’ and ‘open’ types are fans of the same artists misses the point of music – and peopleDoes music taste reflect personality? A study from the University of Cambridge involving 350,000 participants, from 50 countries, across six continents, posits that people with similar traits across the globe are drawn to similar music genres. So, “extroverts” love Ed Sheeran, Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake. The “open” thrill to Daft Punk, Radiohead and Jimi Hendrix. The “agreeable” are into Marvin Gaye, U2 and Taylor Swift. The “neurotic” enjoy, presumably as much they can, the work of David Bowie, Nirvana, and the Killers. And so on.While the study doesn’t claim to be definitive, how strange to be allotted only one personality trait/genre each. It sounds like Colour Me Beautiful for music. “What sound best goes with my personality? Did you bring along swatches?” Certainly, back when I worked for the New Musical Express, journalists, musicians and readers alike resisted being wrangled into such rigid categories. Continue reading...

This exciting industrial advance will bring new jobs – especially if we put ethics at its coreIt’s easy to miss good news amid coverage of the pandemic, the rising cost of living and the, ahem, rest. However, the United Kingdom is getting something right.On Thursday, the government announced that it is investing up to £23m to boost artificial intelligence (AI) skills by creating up to 2,000 scholarships across England. This will fund masters conversion courses for people from non-Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) degrees. Continue reading...

Demands grow for government science chiefs to reveal evidence backing move to lift last protective measuresA future variant of Covid-19 could be much more dangerous and cause far higher numbers of deaths and cases of serious illness than Omicron, leading UK scientists have warned.As a result, many of them say that caution needs to be taken in lifting the last Covid restrictions in England, as Boris Johnson plans to do next week. Continue reading...

The clinical psychologist has 3 million followers for her self-help TikToks and now her book is a bestseller. She talks about social media, the pandemic and the simple tools that really helpDr Julie Smith, 37, is a clinical psychologist who has a private practice in Hampshire and has spent 10 years working for the NHS. In November 2019, she started making TikToks containing clear, engaging advice about various mental health issues. She has more than 3 million followers and in January published her first book, Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?, which has spent four weeks at the top of bestseller lists.There are a lot of self-help books published; why do you think yours has struck a chord?

Thousands who experience ongoing effects from the virus are crying out for integrated care to treat the myriad symptoms as they struggle to live with an interminable illness

Equipment worth £1.7bn sourced from politically connected companies was stockpiled after government over-orderedMore than half the £1.7bn paid by the government to politically connected “VIP” companies to supply PPE in the pandemic was spent on equipment that has not been used, according to new figures.The total value of unused PPE was £2.8bn for 1.9bn items, according to newly released figures from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). Continue reading...

Research busts myth childcare rejuvenates grandparents – but suggests looking after a neighbour’s child mightGrandparents planning hefty amounts of childcare this half-term might want to think again after research claimed to disprove previous findings of a “rejuvenating effect” from looking after grandchildren.Many studies have appeared to show mental and physical health advantages for those who care for their grandchildren. But none involved researchers talking to the same grandparents before and after their caregiving responsibilities began. Continue reading...

The South Downs national park is one of 19 International Dark Sky Reserves, and its popular cosmic photography contest produced awe-inspiring winning images. The public will have two weeks to vote for their favourite night-time shot from shortlisted images, with a prize of £50 going to the winner for the people’s choice award

5,000-year-old chalk drum decorated with motifs was discovered in Yorkshire alongside burial of three childrenA 5,000-year-old chalk sculpture discovered in east Yorkshire, due to be displayed at the British Museum, has been described as the most important piece of prehistoric art to be found in Britain in the last century.The object, which archaeologists have named the “Burton Agnes drum”, is a chalk sculpture which had been decorated with motifs similar to the artistic style at the same time as Stonehenge was built. The drum was discovered alongside the burial of three children. Continue reading...

Research raises hopes for new therapies that could help tackle disease and symptomsPeople who develop Alzheimer’s disease can experience sleep disturbances years before the condition takes hold, but whether one causes the other, or something more complex is afoot, has always proved hard for scientists to determine.Now, researchers in the US have shed light on the mystery, in work that raises hopes for new therapies, and how “good sleep hygiene” could help to tackle the disease and its symptoms. Continue reading...

Scientists who examined a fossil of ‘Dolly’ say it would have suffered coughing, sneezing and feverIn a timely reminder that respiratory infections are not a modern malaise, researchers have found the first evidence of such an affliction in a dinosaur that lived 150m years ago.Palaeontologists made the discovery when they examined the fossilised neck bones from a diplodocid, a huge, long-necked herbivore that walked the Earth in the late Jurassic period. Continue reading...

To know the story of this dark science is to inoculate ourselves against its being repeated, argues the science writer and broadcasterThis is a short book about a big subject, with a thorny history stretching from the Spartans and Plato’s Republic, all the way to present-day science and policymaking. A glance at the index gives some idea of its scope. Ancient Greece rubs shoulders with Avengers: Infinity War and the “Do Not Resuscitate” notices of the Covid-19 pandemic with the doctors’ trial at Nuremberg.It takes patience to trace the complicated web linking these ideas, and Rutherford does so with much-needed nuance and an absence of alarmism. “For just over a century, we have referred to the deliberate crafting of society specifically by biological design with a word which was for half of its existence regarded as desirable, and for the other half, poisonous,” he writes. As a geneticist and author of books such as How to Argue with a Racist, Rutherford aims to distil a rounded, scientific analysis from the deeply tainted and overheated subject of eugenics. Continue reading...

Proxima d is the third planet to have been spotted circling Proxima Centauri four light years awayAstronomers have found evidence for a new planet circling Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the sun.The alien world is only a quarter of the mass of Earth and orbits extremely close to its parent star, at one tenth of the distance between the sun and Mercury, the solar system’s innermost planet. Continue reading...

A few weeks ago, Elon Musk’s company Neuralink posted a job advert recruiting for a ‘clinical trial director’ to run tests of their brain-computer interface technology in humans. Neuralink’s initial aim is to implant chips in the brain that would allow people with severe spinal cord injuries to walk again. But, Musk himself has said that he believes this technology could one day be used to digitally store and replay memories.Madeleine Finlay speaks to Prof Andrew Jackson about how brain-computer interfaces actually work, where the technology is at the moment, and if in the future we could all end up communicating telepathicallyArchive: Today, Fox 35 Orlando, Space X, Wall Street Journal, CNET, Neuralink Continue reading...

The US agency says Elon Musk’s expansion could flood Earth’s orbit with objects, making flights and observations more difficultNasa has raised concerns about SpaceX’s plan to deploy about 30,000 satellites for its Starlink, as have some major companies.Elon Musk’s SpaceX previously received authorisation for about 12,000 satellites to offer broadband internet and has requested the go-ahead for a second-generation constellation of 30,000 satellites. Continue reading...

Science Museum hopes fellow travellers of the late cosmologist will join visitors to display of his office miscellanyHaving devoted his life to the conundrums of the cosmos, Prof Stephen Hawking has left behind a mystery of his own amid the eclectic contents of his former office.The Cambridge cosmologist, who died in 2018 at the age of 76, treasured a blackboard that became smothered with cartoons, doodles and equations at a conference he arranged in 1980. But what all the graffiti and in-jokes mean is taking some time to unravel. Continue reading...

Keytruda treatment found to cut risk of aggressive cancer returning after surgery by more than a thirdThousands of lives could be saved with a “promising” immunotherapy drug that can cut the risk of an aggressive form of breast cancer returning by more than a third, according to “exciting” results from a long-term global study.Keytruda, also known as pembrolizumab, uses the patient’s own immune system to fight cancer. The drug works by helping the immune system recognise and attack cancer cells, and is already used to treat lung cancer, skin cancer, bladder cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma. It is administered in a solution via a drip into the patient’s bloodstream, with the number of sessions depending on the type of cancer. Continue reading...

Researchers find Homo sapiens moved into Madrin cave in France one year after Neanderthals abandoned itHomo sapiens ventured into Neanderthal territory in Europe much earlier than previously thought, according to a new archaeological study.Up to now, archaeological discoveries had indicated that Neanderthals disappeared from the European continent about 40,000 years ago, shortly after the arrival of their “cousin” Homo sapiens, barely 5,000 years earlier and there was no evidence of an encounter between these two groups. Continue reading...

Analysis: Plans to end isolation rules have been gleefully announced, but questions about infection control remain

A Texas-based group has drawn up a new list of as part of its quest to find species lost to science and possibly extinctA blind salamander, a tap-dancing spider and a “fat” catfish that has been likened to the Michelin man are among a list of vanished species that one US-based conservation group is aiming to rediscover in the wild and help protect.The Texas-based group, called Re:wild, has drawn up a new list of the “25 most wanted lost species” as part of its quest to find species lost to science and possibly extinct.This article was amended on 9 February 2022 to clarify that a fungus is not a type of plant. Continue reading...

Oxfordshire scientists’ feat raises hopes of using reactions that power sun for low-carbon energyThe prospect of harnessing the power of the stars has moved a step closer to reality after scientists set a new record for the amount of energy released in a sustained fusion reaction.Researchers at the Joint European Torus (JET), a fusion experiment in Oxfordshire, generated 59 megajoules of heat – equivalent to about 14kg of TNT – during a five-second burst of fusion, more than doubling the previous record of 21.7 megajoules set in 1997 by the same facility. Continue reading...

Health minister Gillian Keegan says she should have immediately ended the meeting when she got lateral flow result

Elon Musk’s firm says 80% of the satellites it launched last week are expected to burn up instead of reaching orbitSpaceX will lose up to 40 of the 49 Starlink satellites it launched last week as the result of a geomagnetic storm, the company has announced.Elon Musk’s firm launched the satellites into low-Earth orbit on 3 February from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but 80% of them are now expected to burn up instead of reaching their intended orbit. Continue reading...

Large parts of the world are opening up, but Hong Kong is still pursuing ‘dynamic zero’ despite rising cases and a public running out of patienceA viral open letter from a member of Facebook group, HK Moms, marked something of a shift in public opinion. The group is the type not usually preoccupied with the city’s political upheavals, but the letter revealed a limit had been reached.Addressing Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, it accused the government of holding its citizens hostage with new Covid measures – the toughest restrictions since June 2020. Continue reading...

Despite lawsuit filed against Dr Robert Karas by four inmates, local officials have praised him for a ‘job well done’An Arkansas doctor accused of prescribing ivermectin to inmates in his state without their consent has been praised by local officials for a “job well done” despite widespread outrage at his actions.In January, the Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued Dr Robert Karas, the physician at Arkansas’s Washington county detention center, on behalf of four inmates who said they were given ivermectin to treat Covid-19 as a form of “medical experiment”. Continue reading...

Covid has made it clear: the likes of Pfizer, in thrall to shareholders, only really care about their huge profitsPfizer has had an exceptionally good pandemic. Today it announced that its Covid-19 vaccine brought in $37bn billion last year, making it easily the most lucrative medicine in any given year in history.That isn’t all. For a company that was until recently the least trusted company in the least trusted industrial sector in the United States, Covid-19 has been a PR coup. Pfizer has become a household name over the last 12 months. The company was toasted on nights out in Tel Aviv, and there are cocktails named after its vaccine in bars across the world. The US president referred to Pfizer’s chief executive, Albert Bourla, as a “good friend”, and the great man parked his jet next to Boris Johnson’s at last year’s G7 summit in Cornwall.Nick Dearden is director of Global Justice Now Continue reading...

Research confirms a pet shop was the likely source of the recent Delta variant outbreak in Hong Kong

EU agreed to associate membership of Horizon Europe programme for UK but has not yet ratified dealThe EU is being urged to stop punishing scientists and end the year-long delay in letting British universities and laboratories access its flagship £80bn Horizon Europe funding programme.Scientists across the UK and Europe have launched a campaign to get the UK admitted into the programme amid continuing fears that Brussels is using the fund as leverage in negotiations over the Northern Ireland protocol. Continue reading...

Nice approves use of semaglutide, opening door to new treatment for thousands of adults with obesityThousands of people with obesity in England will be able to get a new weight loss drug on the NHS after a watchdog approved its use.Patients on the weekly injections have seen their weight fall by an average of 12% after one year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said. Continue reading...

In overweight adults, extra sleep could lead to weight loss without daytime diet changes, researchers sayGetting an hour or so more sleep each night can help people to cut calories, according a small clinical trial in overweight adults.Researchers in the US found that people who typically slept for less than 6.5 hours a night shed an average of 270 calories from their daily intake when they got an extra 1.2 hours of sleep. Continue reading...

Use of drug could raise risk of heart disease and stroke over time, study of 110 people suggestsLong-term paracetamol use could increase the risk of heart disease and strokes in people with high blood pressure, a study suggests.Patients who have a long-term prescription for the painkiller, usually used for the treatment of chronic pain, should opt for the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time, researchers say. Continue reading...

The pandemic has proved that the Conservatives have no interest in protecting vulnerable people like my father

Research suggests electric shocks could be key to growing raindropsAn electric shock might be just the thing to persuade a cloud to produce some rain. New research suggests that supercharging a cloud could increase the attractive forces between droplets and help raindrops to grow. Have we finally found the recipe for making rain?Electric charge is all around us. Thunderclouds literally crackle with it, but even the air we breathe has some charged aerosols and droplets in it. Giles Harrison, a meteorologist at the University of Reading, and colleagues have been investigating the electric charge of drops in non-thunderstorm clouds. Continue reading...

Findings published in the journal Current Biology contribute to ongoing debate about empathy among animalsFor humans, the first instinct would be to disinfect it and then cover it with a bandage.But chimpanzees have invented a more creative method: catching insects and applying them directly to the open wound. Continue reading...

Late in November, the World Health Organization designated the Covid variant B.1.1.529, with its many mutations, as a variant of concern. Dubbed Omicron, within weeks it had rapidly spread across the globe and become the dominant variant. But not far behind has been its even more transmissible cousin, BA.2. Initially taking off in Denmark and India, BA.2 is now making headway in several countries around the world, including the US and UK.Ian Sample speaks to Prof Nick Loman about how worried we should be about BA.2, and what we still need to learn about this new subvariantArchive: DW News, WION Continue reading...

Rhesus macaques in Puerto Rico appear to have aged by about two years more than expectedMonkeys that survived a devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico were prematurely aged by the experience, a study has found.Scientists say the findings suggest that an increase in extreme weather around the world may have negative biological consequences for the humans and animals affected. Continue reading...

Level of maths anxiety within same school or classroom found to predict individuals’ maths achievementIf the thought of fractions or differential equations makes you break you out in a cold sweat, you are not alone. Maths anxiety – a negative emotional reaction to mathematics – is a global phenomenon, hampering maths achievement regardless of where people live, research has found.It’s not only a child’s own maths anxiety that affects their performance but that of their peers: the largest and most culturally diverse study to date shows that in about half of countries, including England, the average level of maths anxiety within the same school or classroom predicts individual students’ maths achievement, independently of their own anxiety levels. Continue reading...

Research by Venice student uncovers evidence explorer may have been father of woman called AgneseA researcher in Venice has found evidence revealing that Marco Polo had a daughter out of wedlock.Agnese is believed to have been born between 1295, the year the merchant and explorer returned to Venice after more than two decades travelling through Asia, and 1298, the year he was imprisoned in Genoa for his involvement in a naval conflict between the two cities. Continue reading...

The answers to today’s puzzlesInspired by the success of Wordle, earlier today I set you these three word puzzles that also test lexical ingenuity and pattern-spotting skills.I also said I’d tell you what my Wordle starting word is. See below. Continue reading...

After a crash, Michel Roccati lost all movement in his legs – but his new implants mean he can now ride a bikeA man who was paralysed in a motorcycle accident in 2017 has regained the ability to walk after doctors implanted electrodes in his spine to reactivate his muscles.Michel Roccati lost all feeling and movement in his legs after the crash that severed his spinal cord, but can stand and walk with electrical stimulation that is controlled wirelessly from a tablet. Continue reading...

Play these ones by the letterUPDATE: you can read the solutions here.Unless you have been hiding under a rock this year, you’ve heard of Wordle. It has been thrilling to see a puzzle’s popularity explode and dominate the national conversation. This doesn’t happen often!Today’s challenges are for those of you caught up in the craze. If you enjoy Wordle’s playful mixture of pattern spotting, logical reasoning and vocab-hunting, these puzzles will be right up your street. Continue reading...