Science | The Guardian

Anne Wojcicki made $305m bid for firm, which has lost customers since declaring bankruptcy, with backing of Fortune 500 company23andMe's former CEO is set to regain control of the genetic testing company after a $305m bid from a non-profit she controls topped a pharmaceutical company's offer for it in a bankruptcy auction.Last month, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals agreed to buy the firm for $256m, topping a $146m bid from Anne Wojcicki and the non-profit TTAM Research Institute. The larger offer prompted Wojcicki to raise her own with the backing of a Fortune 500 company, according to the former executive. The deal is expected to close in the coming weeks after a court hearing currently scheduled for 17 June, the company said on Friday. Continue reading...

Four booths hidden from view, prompting fury from Israel's defence ministry and visiting US Republicans

Celestial objects will be separated by less than a degree and the colour difference between them will be strikingLook into the western sky this week to see an eye-catching conjunction between Mars and Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation of Leo, the lion. The chart shows the view from London at 2300 BST on 16 June 2025.The pair of celestial objects will be separated by less than a degree, less than twice the apparent diameter of the full moon. This means that as well as being an easy spot with the naked eye, they are close enough to fit into the same field of view when viewed through binoculars. Although they will move further apart as the week continues. Continue reading...

Combination of two targeted drugs found to produce better outcomes and was more tolerable than chemotherapyA groundbreaking UK-wide trial has found a chemotherapy-free approach to treating leukaemia that may lead to better outcomes for some patients, with the results being hailed as a milestone".Led by researchers from Leeds, results from the Flair trial, which took place at 96 cancer centres across the UK, could reshape the way the most common form of leukaemia in adults is treated, scientists said. Continue reading...

Ride was the first US woman in space - but a National Geographic documentary looks at how she was forced to hide her queerness to succeedA week before Sally - a documentary about the first American woman to fly into space - landed at the Sundance film festival in January, Nasa employees received emails informing them how Donald Trump's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) rollbacks would take effect.Contracts and offices associated with DEI programs were to be terminated. Staff were given Orwellian instruction to inform the government of any attempt to disguise inclusion efforts in coded or imprecise language". In the weeks to follow, Nasa would take back its promise to send the first woman and person of color to the moon's surface. Meanwhile, employees are reported to be hiding their rainbow flags and any other expressions of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, allegedly because they were instructed to do so though Nasa denies those claims. Continue reading...

Chartered spaceflight for India, Poland and Hungary's first astronauts in decades delayed indefinitelyA chartered spaceflight for India, Poland and Hungary's first astronauts in decades has been delayed indefinitely because of leak concerns at the International Space Station.The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) said on Thursday that it had postponed the Axiom Mission 4 to the ISS to monitor the cabin pressure on the Russian side of the orbiting lab before accepting visitors. Officials stressed that the seven astronauts currently at the space station were safe and that other operations up there would not be affected. Continue reading...

An immensely readable dive into the predictive processing' hypothesis, our best guess as to how the mind really worksThe process of perception feels quite passive. We open our eyes and light floods in; the world is just there, waiting to be seen. But in reality there is an active element that we don't notice. Our brains are always filling in" our perceptual experience, supplementing incoming information with existing knowledge. For example, each of us has a spot at the back of our eye where there are no light receptors. We don't see the resulting hole in our field of vision because our brains ignore it. The phenomenon we call seeing" isthe result of a continuously updated model in your mind, made up partly ofincoming sensory information, but partly of pre-existing expectations. This is what is meant by the counterintuitive slogan of contemporary cognitive science: perception is acontrolledhallucination".A century ago, someone with an interest in psychology might have turned to the work of Freud for an overarching vision of how the mind works. To the extent there is a psychological theory even remotely as significant today, it is the predictive processing" hypothesis. The brain isaprediction machine and our perceptual experiences consist of our prior experiences as well as new data. Daniel Yon's A Trick of the Mind is just the latest popularisation of these ideas, but he makes an excellent guide, both as a scientist working at the leading edge of this field and as a writer of great clarity. Your brain is a skull bound scientist", he proposes, forming hypotheses about the world and collecting data to test them. Continue reading...

Vulnerable grassland birds listen in to the social rodents warning of the many threats both species facePrairie dogs bark to alert each other to the presence of predators, with different cries depending on whether the threat is airborne or approaching by land.But their warnings also seem to help a vulnerable grassland bird. Continue reading...

As a companion to the Guardian's Missing in the Amazon podcast, global environment editor Jon Watts goes in search of answers to the question Dom Phillips was investigating when he was murdered: how can we save the Amazon?In the final episode of a three-part series, Jon encounters a radical new view of the Amazon's history being uncovered by archaeologists. Far from an uninhabited wilderness, the rainforest has been shaped by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Jon finds out how their expert knowledge could be harnessed to secure the Amazon's futureListen to Missing in the AmazonSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Groundbreaking observations map chaotic patchwork of magnetic activity, said to be key to understanding how sun's field flipsThe sun's uncharted south pole has been revealed for the first time in striking images beamed back from the Solar Orbiter spacecraft.The joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Nasa mission swooped below the planetary plane and, for the first time, captured the sun's mysterious polar regions. The groundbreaking observations also mapped a chaotic patchwork of magnetic activity at the sun's pole that scientists say is key to understanding how the sun's field flips roughly every 11 years. Continue reading...

By slashing time and cost of restoration, technique could be used on paintings not valuable enough for traditional approachThe centuries can leave their mark on oil paintings as wear and tear and natural ageing produce cracks, discoloration and patches where pieces of pigment have flaked off.Repairing the damage can take conservators years, so the effort is reserved for the most valuable works, but a fresh approach promises to transform the process by restoring aged artworks in hours. Continue reading...

Researchers identify new species named Khankhuuluu mongoliensis from skeletons unearthed in MongoliaTyrannosaurs might evoke images of serrated teeth, massive bodies and powerful tails, but their most recent ancestor yet discovered was a slender, fleet-footed beast of rather more modest size.Experts say the new species - identified from two partial skeletons - helps fill a gap in the fossil record between the small, early ancestors of tyrannosaurs and the huge predators that evolved later. Continue reading...

Prototype is able to detect small concentrations of the toxic substance in alcoholic drinks or on someone's breathAustralian researchers have developed a prototype methanol breathalyser" capable of detecting small concentrations of the toxic substance in alcoholic drinks or on someone's breath.Methanol poisoning is a problem that affects thousands of people every year, killing 20-40% of victims, according to Doctors Without Borders. In November, Australian backpackers Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones, along with British lawyer Simone White, were among six tourists to die in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos. Continue reading...

As a companion to the Guardian's Missing in the Amazon, Jon Watts, global environment editor, goes in search of answers to the question Dom Phillips was investigating when he was murdered: how can we save the Amazon?In episode two, Jon meets the people trying to make sure the rainforest is worth more standing than cut down - from a government minister attempting to establish Brazil's bioeconomy' to a startup founder creating superfood supplements and a scientist organising night-time tours hunting for bioluminescent fungi. Jon explores new ways of finding value in the forest and asks whether they will be enough to secure its future survivalListen to Missing in the AmazonSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Users of Ozboneviz site can spin and zoom 3D scans of bones and skeletons. Scientists hope it helps disprove the myth that marsupials are less evolved Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton's free Clear Air newsletter hereThe skeleton of Australia's supremely weird southern marsupial mole has a distorted skull that looks like a god rammed it into a mountain side on its day of creation", says Vera Weisbecker.It is one of 189 Australian mammals in a new public database of 3D scans of bones and skeletons where users can spin the mole's skeleton around, zooming in and out, to marvel at its oddness. Continue reading...

Experts say thick slabs of cloud in YSES-1 system could consist of mineral dust and iron, which would rain downShould humans ever venture to a particular planet that circles a sun-like star in the constellation of the fly, they would do well to keep an eye on the weather.The thick slabs of cloud that blot the planet's skies are mostly made from mineral dust, but astronomers suspect there may be iron in them, too, which would rain down on the world below when the clouds break. Continue reading...

Australian researchers hope test is a game-changer' for diagnosing those following a strict gluten-free dietCoeliacs may soon no longer need to eat large amounts of gluten - the very thing suspected of making them sick - to get an accurate diagnosis.Australian research published on Tuesday in the journal Gastroenterology showed a blood test for gluten-specific T cells had a high accuracy in diagnosing coeliac disease, even when no gluten was eaten. Continue reading...

As a companion to the Guardian's Missing in the Amazon, the global environment editor Jon Watts goes in search of answers to the question Dom Phillips was investigating when he was murdered: how can we save the Amazon?In episode one of a three-part series, Watts explores what's at stake if we fail to act in time. He hears about the crucial role of the rainforest for South America and the global climate, and looks back at how cattle ranching came to dominate and destroy huge swathes of the forest - pushing it to a dangerous tipping point todayListen to Missing in the AmazonSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Scientist accused months ago of shipping material, described as related to worms, to University of Michigan labA Chinese scientist was arrested while arriving in the US at the Detroit airport, the second case in days involving the alleged smuggling of biological material, authorities said on Monday.The scientist is accused of shipping biological material months ago to staff at a laboratory at the University of Michigan. The FBI, in a court filing, described it as material related to certain worms that requires a government permit. Continue reading...

Critics had claimed that plan announced in May exposed complex of desert etchings to impact of informal miningPeru's government has abandoned a plan that reduced the size of a protected area around the country's ancient Nazca Lines, after criticism the change made them vulnerable to the impact of informal mining operations.Peru's culture ministry said on Sunday that it was reinstating with immediate effect the protected area covering 5,600 sq km (2,200 sq miles), that in late May had been cut back to 3,200 sq km. The government said at the time the decision was based on studies that had more precisely demarcated areas with real patrimonial value". Continue reading...

Over the last decade, Colombia's city of eternal spring' has embarked on an ambitious effort to restore greenery to public parks, transit corridors and even high-rises Continue reading...

Shubhanshu Shukla is part of four-person mission launching on Tuesday from USThe first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station is due to blast off as part of an effort by the world's most populous nation to catch up with the US, Russia and China in human space flight missions.Shubhanshu Shukla, a 39-year-old air force fighter pilot, is is part of four-person mission launching on Tuesday from the US with the private company Axiom Space, which is using a SpaceX capsule. Continue reading...

Happy birthday to usForgive me the indulgence of celebrating ten years of this column. Toot toot!I began posting biweekly brainteasers at the end of May 2015, originally addressing you folk as guzzlers" - Guardian puzzlers. The cringy coinage didn't stick, but the column did, and here we are a decade and 260 columns later. Continue reading...

Shining blood red above the horizon in the UK, the star is 15th brightest in night sky and 15 times mass of the sunSummer in the UK and similar northern latitudes is the best time of year to catch sight of the zodiacal constellation Scorpius, the scorpion. The constellation contains the beautiful star Antares. Shining blood-red just above the southern horizon, Antares is a prize well worth tracking down and this week, the moon helps point it out.The chart shows the view looking south from London at 23:00 BST on 9 June. The moon will be cruising through the constellation and Antares will be unmistakable, its sanguine hues contrasting beautifully with the silver light of the Earth's natural satellite. Continue reading...

Inquiry warns of rising risk in England and Wales of biased investigations, wrongful convictions and cases collapsing due to missing evidenceThe forensic science sector is in a graveyard spiral", according to a parliamentary inquiry that has warned of biased criminal investigations, a rising risk of wrongful convictions, and murder and sexual offence cases collapsing due to missing evidence.The three-year inquiry set up by the all-party parliamentary group on miscarriages of justice has outlined how a series of reckless policy decisions" over the past decade have brought forensic science to a point of crisis. A near-monopoly in the commercial sector means there is now a dangerous single point of failure and the increasing reliance on in-house police laboratories risks compromising scientific impartiality, the inquiry found. Continue reading...

Ocean acidification has already crossed a crucial threshold for planetary health, scientists say in unexpected finding

My friend Les Squires, who has died aged 76, was a scientific specialist in non-woven fabrics. He developed many materials and fabrics for medical, hygiene, insulation, agricultural and construction uses.After a long period in research at the chemicals company Johnson & Johnson, in the late 1990s he set up a business called Web Dynamics with a friend, Tim Woodbridge, to make new materials. They opened a factory near Bolton in Lancashire, and though they had some scary times as the economy fluctuated, they persevered and ultimately became very successful, opening a second factory in China. Continue reading...

Hawks, spikes and sonic repellants are among the measures used to deter these birds. Perhaps we should try sharing our planetAt this year's Cannes film festival, some unexpected hires joined the security detail at luxury hotel the Majestic. They were clad not in kevlar but in deep chestnut plumage, with wingspans up to four feet, talons for toes and meat-ripping ebony beaks. The new recruits were Harris hawks and their mission was clear: guard stars from the aerial menace of gulls daring to photobomb or snatch vol-au-vents.This might sound like an extreme solution to a benign problem - after all, haven't most of us lost sandwiches to swooping beaks and come out relatively unscathed? But as these notorious food pirates come ashore in growing numbers, cities around the world are increasingly grappling with how to manage them. Hiring hawks from local falconer Christophe Puzin was the Majestic's answer to curbing gull-related incidents (such as Sophie Marceau's 2011 wine-on-dress situation). But in metropolises such as New York, Rome, Amsterdam and London gulls are widely considered a menace, too, as they take up permanent residence on urban stoops.Sophie Pavelle is a writer and science communicator Continue reading...

Canada's most famous astronaut on his unusual party trick, predictions on extraterrestrial life and favourite space moviesWhat's the most chaotic thing that's ever happened to you in space?Launch - you go from no speed at all to 17,500 miles an hour in under nine minutes. The chaos is spectacular, the power of it is just wild, the physical vibration and force of it is mind-numbing - and it all happens so blisteringly fast. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, you go from lying on your back in Florida to being weightless in space. It's just the most amazing, chaotic, spectacular, rare human experience I've ever had. Continue reading...

Psychologist and writer's appearance on Aporia condemned for helping to normalise dangerous, discredited ideas'The Harvard psychologist and bestselling author Steven Pinker appeared on the podcast of Aporia, an outlet whose owners advocate for a revival of race science and have spoken of seeking legitimation by association" by platforming more mainstream figures.The appearance underlines past incidents in which Pinker has encountered criticism for his association with advocates of so-called human biodiversity", which other academics have called a rebranding" of racial genetic essentialism and scientific racism. Continue reading...

The row between the US president and his billionaire ex-buddy may seem entertaining, but wealth and power are still dangerously mergedIt would have taken a heart of stone to watch the death of the Trump-Musk bromance without laughing. Democrats passed the popcorn on Thursday night as the alliance between the world's most powerful man and the world's richest imploded via posts on their respective social media platforms.Less than a week ago they attempted a conscious uncoupling in the Oval Office. Then Elon Musk's attacks on Donald Trump's big, beautiful" tax and spending plan escalated to full-scale denunciation of a disgusting abomination" - objecting to its effect on the deficit, not the fact it snatches essential support from the poor and hands $1.1tn in tax cuts to the rich. Continue reading...

World's richest person says craft, which Nasa relies on to take astronauts to ISS, won't be decommissioned after pleas from X users

Controversial additive may be in as many as 11,000 US products and could lead to diabetes and obesityThe controversial food additive titanium dioxide likely has more toxic effects than previously thought, new peer-reviewed research shows, adding to growing evidence that unregulated nanoparticles used throughout the food system present an underestimated danger to consumers.In nanoparticle form, titanium dioxide may throw off the body's endocrine system by disrupting hormonal response to food and dysregulating blood sugar levels, which can lead to diabetes, obesity and other health problems, the study found. Continue reading...

The British journalist Dom Phillips and the Brazilian indigenous defender Bruno Pereira vanished three years ago while on a reporting trip near Brazil's remote Javari valley. The Guardian's Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, investigates what happened to them in a six-part podcast series. Find episode 2 and all future episodes by searching for Missing in the Amazon Continue reading...

Biological disadvantages may be shaped in first decade of a child's life depending on family affluenceChildren from poorer backgrounds are more likely to experience biological disadvantages such as ageing faster than their more affluent counterparts, according to a study.Academics at Imperial College London looked at data from 1,160 children aged between six and 11 from across Europe, for the study published in the Lancet. The children were scored using an international scale of family affluence, which is based on a number of factors including whether a child had their own room and the number of vehicles per household. Continue reading...

Resilience would have made history as the first non-US commercial lander to make a successful touchdownAn attempt to land a commercially built spacecraft on the surface of the moon looked to have ended in failure on Thursday, two years after its predecessor, launched by the same Japanese company, crashed following an uncontrolled descent.Resilience, an un-crewed vehicle from the Tokyo company ispace, would have made history as the first non-US commercial lander to make a successful touchdown, scheduled for 3.17pm ET Thursday (4.17am JST Friday) at Mare Frigoris (the Sea of Cold) in the far north of the moon. Continue reading...

Anne Wojcicki, ex-CEO of the DNA testing firm, put in a $305m bid, upending Regeneron's $256m agreementThe DNA testing company 23andMe is back up for sale, throwing a purchase agreement reached last month into chaos, court filings show.The board of directors of 23andMe, which filed for bankruptcy in March, had agreed to sell the company and its assets to the pharmaceutical firm Regeneron for $256m after conducting an auction in April. However, the founder and former CEO of the genetics company, Anne Wojcicki, put in a $305m bid through a newly formed non-profit, TTAM Research Institute, after the auction ended and pushed the bankruptcy court to reopen the sale process. She tried to buy the company multiple times during its long decline and bankruptcy but was rejected by the board. Continue reading...

Study finds medicines such as Ozempic associated with greater risk of developing age-related macular degenerationWeight loss drugs could at least double the risk of diabetic patients developing age-related macular degeneration, a large-scale study has found.Originally developed for diabetes patients, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) medicines have transformed how obesity is treated and there is growing evidence of wider health benefits. They help reduce blood sugar levels, slow digestion and reduce appetite. Continue reading...

Research finds more than 15m in US, UK, Germany and France with MASH have not been diagnosedMore than 15 million people in the US, UK, Germany and France do not know they have the most aggressive form of fatty liver disease, according to research.Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) - the formal name for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease - occurs in people who drink no or minimal amounts of alcohol whose liver contains more than 5% fat. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Melbourne team demonstrates way to make the virus visible within white blood cells, paving the way to fully clear it from the bodyA cure for HIV could be a step closer after researchers found a new way to force the virus out of hiding inside human cells.The virus's ability to conceal itself inside certain white blood cells has been one of the main challenges for scientists looking for a cure. It means there is a reservoir of the HIV in the body, capable of reactivation, that neither the immune system nor drugs can tackle. Continue reading...

Vast areas of the ocean are getting darker, according to research based on satellite imaging. Marine ecosystems are governed by faint light changes - from mass nightly migrations to coral spawning cycles - so what happens when that light begins to fade? Ian Sample talks to Prof Tim Smyth from the Plymouth Marine Laboratory about why this darkening is happening and how life in the photic zone' - the sunlit upper layer that is home to 90% of marine organisms - could be profoundly affected

Researchers enlisted help of AI along with radiocarbon dating to produce new insights into ancient textsMany of the Dead Sea scrolls could be older than previously thought, with some biblical texts dating from the time of their original authors, researchers say.The first of the ancient scrolls were discovered in the caves of Qumran in the Judean desert by Bedouin shepherds in the mid-20th century. The manuscripts range from legal documents to parts of the Hebrew Bible, and are thought to date from around the third century BCE to the second century CE. Continue reading...

Physicist and US government adviser who designed the first working hydrogen bombThe Nobel laureate Enrico Fermi called his student Richard Garwin the only true genius I've ever met". Garwin, who has died aged 97, is perhaps the most influential 20th-century scientist that you have never heard of, because he produced much of his work under the constraints of national or commercial secrecy. During 40 years working at IBM on an endless stream of research projects, he was granted 47 patents, in diverse areas including magnetic resonance imaging, high-speed laser printers and touch-screen monitors. Garwin, a polymath who was adviser to six US presidents, wrote papers on space weapons, pandemics, radioactive waste disposal, catastrophic risks and nuclear disarmament.Throughout much of that time, a greater secret remained: in 1951, aged 23, he had designed the world's first hydrogen bomb. Continue reading...

UK needs a clear national ambition' to avoid missing out as science changes rapidly, Space: 2075 report warnsHumanity must prepare for a sweeping revolution as nations and companies gear up to build moon bases, space stations and orbiting factories, and uncover evidence - if evidence is out there - that we are not alone in the universe.A horizon-scanning report from the Royal Society envisions a new era of space activities that will reshape the world, including clean energy beamed to Earth, robots that mine asteroids or recycle dead satellites, and manufacturing plants that circle the planet churning out products labelled Made in Space". Continue reading...

Half of those diagnosed will now survive for 10 years or more after advances in diagnosis and treatmentThe proportion of people surviving cancer in the UK has doubled since the 1970s amid a golden age" of progress in diagnosis and treatment, a report says.Half of those diagnosed will now survive for 10 years or more, up from 24%, according to the first study of 50 years of data on cancer mortality and cases. The rate of people dying from cancer has fallen by 23% since the 1970s, from 328 in every 100,000 people to 252. Continue reading...

Ian Sample meets Jaap de Roode, professor of biology at Emory University in Atlanta, and author of the book Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes and Other Animals Heal Themselves. De Roode explains how a chance discovery got him interested in animal medicine, the amazing ways that creatures use toxins to fight parasites and pathogens, and what humans have learnt about medicine from the animal world Continue reading...

Oncologists say patients rejecting proven treatments are dying needlessly because of increase in online cures'Cancer patients are snubbing proven treatments in favour of quackery such as coffee enemas and raw juice diets amid an alarming" increase in misinformation on the web, doctors have said.Some were dying needlessly or seeing tumours spread as a result, oncologists said. They raised their concerns at the world's largest cancer conference in Chicago, the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco). Continue reading...

Researchers say people born more recently, particularly women, have lower risk at same age as their grandparentsPeople born more recently are less likely to have dementia at any given age than earlier generations, research suggests, with the trend more pronounced in women.According to the World Health Organization, in 2021 there were 57 million people worldwide living with dementia, with women disproportionately affected. However, while the risk of dementia increases with age, experts have long stressed it is not not an inevitability of getting older. Continue reading...

Study utilises handwriting-generated electrical signal to measure tremor in tandem with AI machine learningIt won't be much good for taking down notes, but a 3D-printed pen filled with magnetic ink could help identify people with Parkinson's disease, a small pilot study suggests.More than 10 million people worldwide are thought to be living with Parkinson's, a neurodegenerative disorder with symptoms including tremors, rigidity, slowness of movement and mobility difficulties. While there is no cure, early diagnosis can help those affected access support and treatments earlier. Continue reading...

One pharmacist described scarcity of life-saving Creon as worst stock shortage' they have dealt withPeople with pancreatic cancer are eating only one meal a day because of an acute shortage of a drug that helps them digest their food.Patients with cystic fibrosis and pancreatitis are also affected by the widespread scarcity of Creon, a form of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT). Continue reading...