Science | The Guardian

Ambitious UK project aims to forecast climate catastrophes using fleets of drones, cosmic ray detection, patterns of plankton blooms and moreAn ambitious attempt to develop an early warning system for climate tipping points will combine fleets of drones, cosmic ray detection and the patterns of plankton blooms with artificial intelligence and the most detailed computer models to date.The UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), which backs high-risk, high-reward projects, has awarded 81m to 27 teams. The quest is to find signals that forewarn of the greatest climate catastrophes the climate crisis could trigger. Tipping points occur when global temperature is pushed beyond a threshold, leading to unstoppable changes in the climate system. Continue reading...

About 20 people working on medicine devices at Food and Drug Administration dismissed amid government purgeUS Food and Drug Administration employees reviewing Elon Musk's brain implant company Neuralink were fired over the weekend as part of a broader purge of the federal workforce, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.The cuts included about 20 people in the FDA's office of neurological and physical medicine devices, several of whom worked on Neuralink, according to the two sources, who asked not to be identified because of fear of professional repercussions. That division includes reviewers overseeing clinical-trial applications by Neuralink and other companies making so-called brain-computer interface devices, the sources said. Continue reading...

The chemical compounds that block UV rays may lead to bleaching of coral and a decrease in fish fertilityUrgent investigation is needed into the potential impact sunscreen is having on marine environments, according to a new report.Sunscreens contain chemical compounds, known as pseudo persistent pollutants, which block the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays and can lead to bleaching and deformity in coral or a decrease in fish fertility. Continue reading...

The Scottish first minister, John Swinney, was recently forced to deny plans to ban cats after a report from independent experts said the species was a threat to Scotland's wildlife. In the UK, it is estimated that cats kill or bring home 57 million mammals and 27 million birds every year. Ian Sample hears from cat-owner Madeleine Finlay and the ecologist Prof Robbie McDonald about the best ways to reduce our feline companions' impact on wildlife without affecting welfareClips: Good Morning Britain, Channel 5 NewsSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

The answer to today's triangular teaserEarlier today I set you the following two problems. Here they are again with solutions.1. Tricky triangle Continue reading...

Researchers say woman treated for neuroblastoma as a child is longest known survivor after having CAR T-cell therapyA woman treated with a pioneering type of immunotherapy for a solid tumour has been in remission for more than 18 years with no further treatments, experts have revealed.The therapy involves taking T-cells, a type of white blood cell, from a patient and genetically engineering them to target and kill cancer cells. These modified T-cells are grown in a laboratory and then infused back into the patient. Continue reading...

Discovery of pest in UK raises fears for Sitka spruce, which accounts for half of country's commercial plantationsA beetle that has previously devastated Norway spruce populations across continental Europe has been found to be equally attracted to the Sitka spruce, a finding experts say could have significant implications for commercial forestry.The eight-toothed European spruce bark beetle has now been found in the UK, raising fears for the Sitka, which accounts for a quarter of Britain's forest cover and half its commercial forestry plantations. Continue reading...

Yes, I've made balsamic vinegar pearls and sous-vide swede - but trial and error still produces the most delicious foodTo make pearls of balsamic vinegar, first chill a good amount of olive oil in a tall glass. While it waits in the fridge, in a small saucepan over a medium heat, bring the vinegar and agar-agar to the beginning of a boil - just until the agar-agar has dissolved. Let this mixture cool, remove the oil from the fridge, and use a pipette to drop balls of the agar-stiffened vinegar into the oil to form the pearls. Drain into another container using a small sieve to catch the pearls. Reserve the oil for another use.I remember making these, my first and only foray into what is known as molecular gastronomy", in 2013. It was already a bit passe at that time, but the science experiment aspect of creating a simple acidic garnish for a chocolate and strawberry cupcake that Valentine's Day was undoubtedly fun. The lesson influenced how I'd go on to use agar-agar, a seaweed-derived vegan gelatin, in dishes like panna cotta or flan, but I never made the pearls again. They were a novelty, and now I have a fond memory of cosplaying as Ferran Adria, a Spanish chef who popularised these sorts of processes through the restaurant El Bulli.Alicia Kennedy is a food and culture writer and author of No Meat Required: The Cultural History and Culinary Future of Plant-Based Eating, and a forthcoming memoir On Eating: The Making and Unmaking of My Appetites Continue reading...

The TV reporter's struggles with depression and the suicide of his father, whose own father killed himself, prompt this incisive, highly personal investigationJames Longman is an English broadcast journalist who was the BBC's man in Beirut before joining US network ABC, where he is now chief international correspondent. He has reported from wars in Syria and Ukraine and covered Covid lockdowns, the queen's funeral and the 2018 cave rescue in Thailand.On screen, Longman is the type of British journalist that Americans love: eloquent, charismatic and unflappable. Behind the composure, however, runs a tragic legacy of mental illness. In 1996, when he was nine, Longman's father John, an artist who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in his 20s, died after setting fire to his Notting Hill flat. Longman's paternal grandfather also killed himself, and his mother, too, has endured mental health struggles. Longman's own experiences with depression from his mid-20s onwards have prompted him to wonder: Does sadness run in families? Have I inherited mental illness?"The Inherited Mind by James Longman is published by Hyperion Avenue (25). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply Continue reading...

Despite government efforts, armed groups control many remote areas. Now researchers are caught in the crosshairsRaul*, a biologist from Quito, has been leading conservation projects in the Choco rainforest in north-east Ecuador for more than 20 years. It has not been easy, he says, recalling the threats he has received over the years for reporting illegal hunters and loggers in reserves, but he never considered giving up.Last year, however, tensions in the area escalated after violence soared on the country's coast. Accounts of almost daily killings in the cities of Esmeraldas and Guayaquil emerged as gangs appeared to fight over territory, while forced recruitment in rural areas increased, as did extortions, known locally as vacunas, or vaccines. Continue reading...

A triangle and a rectangle walked into a pubUPDATE: Read the solutions hereToday's two questions test your geometrical smarts. The first is about a triangle, the second about a square.1. Tricky triangle Continue reading...

Dark skies away from street lights are required to view this formation attributed to the astronomer Petrus PlanciusThis week, we track down a faint and often overlooked constellation. Monoceros, the unicorn, spans the celestial equator, which makes it visible from most parts of the world. It often goes unnoticed, however, because it is surrounded by much more prominent constellations such as Orion, Canis Major, Canis Minor, and Gemini.The chart shows the view looking south-south-east from London at 20.00 GMT on 17 February, although the view will remain essentially the same all week. Because none of the stars in Monoceros will stand out, the easiest way to zero in on the unicorn is by identifying the brightest stars in the surrounding constellations. First, find Sirius in Canis Major. This is the brightest star in the night sky. From there proceed anti-clockwise to Rigel in Orion, then Betelgeuse. Hop across to Procyon in Canis Minor and you will have virtually encircled Monoceros. Continue reading...

I'm an intractable bedtime procrastinator. Why do the sensible thing when I can just lie on the couch, phone in hand, however exhausted I am?This says nothing good about me, but when I read that Oxford quantum physicists had made an exciting step towards teleportation, my first thought was: Will I live long enough for science to teleport me from the sofa into bed at night?"I'm an intractable bedtime procrastinator. However exhausted I am, once I achieve couch horizontality, bed seems pointless. With a heated blanket and the whole internet in my hand, why do the sensible thing when I can do what feels good right now? Continue reading...

Perhaps the problem might not be the world itself, but the way you see itThe question I am writing to you from the edge of the abyss... Hello! Despite the privileges I've had, my life has been a constant struggle. Since I was four, I've had little joie de vivre, thanks to a stew of mental health issues, a difficult home life and a recent discovery that I'm on the autistic spectrum. I don't blame my autism for everything - my personality would be difficult regardless - but it explains a lot.My life runs in cycles: denial of my feelings, stoicism, breaking point, sabotage and starting over. As a child, I'd bottle up frustrations at school, only to explode at home. In adulthood, these meltdowns have been more dramatic: quitting jobs, a half-baked suicide attempt, tantrums and, my biggest regret, the Pixie Cut Year. I've navigated life like the Charge of the Light Brigade, with little to show for it. I've had a string of odd jobs, television (ended in legal dispute), the Royal Albert Hall (unrequited crush) and living in a caravan in Scotland, where my job was to play chess with an elderly gentleman. Most recently, I worked for a religious leader despite being irreligious. For all my supposed creativity, I'm no closer to being a writer. Continue reading...

Memories emerge earlier in some cultures than others, but researchers have long puzzled over our inability to recall events before two or three years of age

Chrissi Kelly, who says anosmia is a like a bereavement', is trialling a simple procedure that could help those who lost sense of smell during Covid or other viral infectionsSmell loss was a defining symptom of Covid, and for some people, a curse. Most people regain their sense of smell as their infection fades, but some never recover. It means not being able to tell if milk is off, if there's a gas leak or what your newborn baby smells like.But for victims of anosmia and its crueller sibling, parosmia, where ordinary smells are transformed into the stench of rotting flesh or sewage, there is new hope. Researchers have discovered that a simple procedure can help people recover their sense of smell years after losing it to viral infections such as Covid, or even decades later. Continue reading...

That's the way to fulfil your goals and have fun in lifeWe all procrastinate, but most conventional advice for conquering it doesn't work, at least not for me, beyond chores like cleaning the kitchen or going to the gym or getting my tax return in on time. It certainly doesn't work for the kind of procrastination that has obstructed my best life: swerving that relationship I craved; postponing for years a book on the philosophy of love that I yearned to write before finally putting pen to paper; failing to pursue the hobby - piano playing - to which I've been devoted since childhood, while my piano sat in a corner, closed and silent.It's no use being told by self-help books to formulate my top priorities when I already have core goals that define who I am or want to become. Or to be urged to break up tasks into bite-sized steps, with a deadline for each step, because how does that work when it's a relationship or a vocation that I'm avoiding? Conventional advice says I should forgive myself my paralysis rather than beating myself up about it but, soothing as this is, it doesn't magically give me either the focus or the energy I need to fulfil those prized goals. I can remove external distractions, especially online access, but what am I to do about distractions inside my head: fantasising, say, about a holiday or a romance as an escape from the task in hand? Continue reading...

Paul Workman has researched untreatable chordoma for years. Now new technology points towards to a potential drug to beat itProfessor Paul Workman was 37 and already well established as a medical researcher when his mother, Ena, died of a rare bone cancer known as chordoma. About one in a million people are affected by the condition, which is untreatable.It was utterly frustrating," said Workman, who later became head of the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery and then chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research, London. Thirty-six years ago, there was little we could do to treat chordoma. There was little understanding of the disease and no drugs were available to help my mother." Continue reading...

Linda Geddes spends a week with a clown, a comic and some toddlers to test the science behind the uplifting power of playIf foreign politics, environmental collapse and the impending takeover of the world by machines are leaving you glum, psychologists have identified a strategy that could help bolster your resilience: lemonading".Rather than wallowing in an acerbic soup of despair, researchers have discovered that people with high levels of playfulness may be better equipped to cope with the dud cards life throws at them. Continue reading...

Sprinter and surgeon John McFall given medical certification for mission lasting up to six monthsA British Paralympic sprinter and surgeon has become the first person with a physical disability to be cleared to fly to the International Space Station in a landmark for human space exploration.John McFall, 43, is a member of the European Space Agency's astronaut corps and is now waiting to be assigned a mission after a feasibility study concluded there were no technical or medical reasons why he should not fly. Continue reading...

More than 1,700 academics complain about X owner's behaviour, citing his assault on scientific research'Pressure is growing on the Royal Society to expel Elon Musk from its fellowship after more than a thousand scientists signed an open letter expressing dismay at its lack of action on the matter.Musk, who owns the social media platform X, leads the US department of government efficiency" (Doge). He was elected a fellow of the UK's national academy of sciences in 2018 as a result of his work and impact in the space and electric vehicle industries. Continue reading...

Footage taken from the International Space Station shows the eerie green glow blanketing Earth on 4 January. The dazzling colours of the aurora were captured over Canada. Aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, is caused by electrically charged particles that are released by the sun Continue reading...

They ate the blueberry soy yoghurt right out of the dish by itself! Mad for it

Recruitment drive comes amid increasing focus on an asteroid with a low - but growing - likelihood of hitting earth in seven yearsChina has begun recruiting for a planetary defence force after risk assessments determined that an asteroid could conceivably hit Earth in 2032.Job ads posted online by China's State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) this week, sought young loyal graduates focused on aerospace engineering, international cooperation and asteroid detection. Continue reading...

Scientists hope that smell could be a non-invasive way to judge how well-preserved a mummy isSpicy, woody and sweet: it sounds like a description of a fancy air freshener. But researchers say the mix of aromas arise from something rather different: mummies.Researchers have used both human noses and scientific instruments to probe how ancient Egyptian mummies smell today, and to what extent the odours reflect the materials used during the mummification process. Continue reading...

Tributes paid to journalist remembered for infectious enthusiasm for science and talent for turning a phraseTim Radford, the Guardian's former science editor and mentor to a generation of writers who followed in his footsteps, has died aged 84.His reporting covered a breadth of topics from genetically modified crops and the environmental impact of greenhouse gases to the arrival of cloned animals and the discovery of gravitational waves, the ripples in the fabric of spacetime first predicted by Albert Einstein a century earlier. Continue reading...

Research aimed to improve detection of brain injury from intimate partner violence but critics say its non-fatal strangulation of animals was not justified

Geneticist who discovered hotspots of illnesses in Scottish islands calls for redirection of community benefit fundsA leading geneticist has called for the profits from windfarms to be used for the mass screening of Scottish islanders at risk of rare cancers and blood disorders.Prof Jim Wilson, who leads a Viking DNA project that has discovered hotspots of rare disorders in Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles, said that money could prove vital in identifying people who need life-saving treatments. Continue reading...

Suppressants a major' source of toxic pollution that causes heavy-metal levels to spike in the environmentThe US federal government and chemical makers have long concealed the contents of pink wildfire suppressants widely spread by firefighting aircraft to contain blazes, but new test results provide alarming answers - the substances are rife with cadmium, arsenic, chromium and other toxic heavy metals.The suppressants are a major" source of toxic pollution that causes heavy-metal levels to spike in the environment, and the products themselves contain metal levels up to 3,000 times above drinking water limits, the peer-reviewed research found. Continue reading...

Recently, a group of world-leading scientists called for a halt on research to create mirror life' microbes amid concerns that the synthetic organisms would present an unprecedented risk' to life on Earth. Ian Sample tells Madeleine Finlay about why this work initially seemed exciting for scientists and what the risks of it continuing could be. And Kate Adamala, assistant professor of genetics, cell biology and development at the University of Minnesota, describes what made her change her mind about pursuing her own research on mirror cellsUnprecedented risk' to life on Earth: Scientists call for halt on mirror life' microbe researchSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Judge takes rare step of naming Robert Charles Albon, who subjected mothers to nightmare' of controlling behaviourA sperm donor who subjected a couple to a nightmare" of controlling behaviour over their child has been named by a judge as a warning about the dangers of unregulated sperm donation.Robert Charles Albon claims to have fathered more than 180 children in several countries after advertising his sperm donation services under the name Joe Donor. Continue reading...

Genital microbiome or sexome' leaves specific signature even when barrier protection is used, which could be traced in absence of DNA material

Semaglutide, active ingredient of Wegovy and Ozempic, found to reduce cravings and cut drinking by 40%Weight-loss drugs could be used to help people reduce their intake of alcohol, researchers have said, after a study found they can cut cravings and curb heavy drinking.The medicines, originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes, have revolutionised the treatment of obesity, and evidence suggests they could have benefits in other areas of health, such as reducing risk of heart attacks and strokes. Continue reading...

Study, adding to rising evidence of plastic-linked health risks, points to gut biome changes as a cause of heart failure

Researchers found that most birds-of-paradise are biofluorescent - meaning they absorb light through their bodiesBirds-of-paradise are known for their bright and colourful plumage, but it turns out they are even more dazzling than previously thought.Researchers have found 37 of the 45 species show biofluorescence - in other words, patches of their plumage or other body parts absorb UV or blue light, and emit light at lower frequencies. Continue reading...

Major universities and 22 states sued over administration's proposal to slash National Institutes of Health (NIH) grantsA federal judge in Massachusetts blocked Donald Trump's administration from cutting scientific research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) after 22 mostly Democratic-leaning states sued.The Trump administration sought to impose a 15% cap on indirect costs" for grants - money that goes toward overhead, such as keeping the lights on in labs or maintaining advanced equipment. On Tuesday, major universities filed a second lawsuit, calling the administration's actions flagrantly unlawful" in a complaint. Continue reading...

Ben Lamm of de-extinction' specialist Colossal Biosciences not only has plans to bring back prehistoric creatures, but also preserve those on the verge of vanishingColossal Biosciences founder Ben Lamm is working to revive the woolly mammoth and the dodo - but he wants to make clear the ending will be different to that of Steven Spielberg's gory dinosaur epic Jurassic Park.People have to remember that that was a movie, right?" the serial entrepreneur sighs, sitting in the Hard Rock Cafe on the fringes of the World Economic Forum in Davos - a little outpost of America in the swank Swiss resort. Continue reading...

Scientists observe decreased motor function in rodents exposed to microplasticsMicroplastics can move through mice brains and block blood vessels, essentially mimicking blood clots that could potentially be fatal or otherwise disrupt brain function.The findings are detailed in a peer-reviewed paper for which researchers for the first time used real-time imaging to track bits of plastic as they moved through and accumulated in brain blood vessels. When one piece of plastic got stuck, others accumulated behind it, like a car crash", the authors reported. Continue reading...

Cuts to federal workforce due to Trump's orders are adding to pre-existing staffing concerns at agency, sources say

Social media storm of misinformation about Bovaer has drawn in Reform UK, the dairy industry and even Bill GatesScientists say a recent methane-related conspiracy theory was a wake-up call" for the industry, reminding them they need to communicate better and more directly with the public.Over the last few months, Bovaer, a cattle feed additive that is proven to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas, has been at the centre of a swirl of misinformation, drawing in Reform UK, the dairy industry and even the billionaire Bill Gates. Continue reading...

In a case of life imitating art, a 100-metre-wide asteroid has triggered global planetary defence procedures for the first time, after telescope observations revealed it had a chance of colliding with Earth in 2032. To find out what happens now and how worried we should be, Ian Sample hears from Richard Binzel, a professor of planetary sciences at MIT and inventor of the Torino scale, which is used to categorise the threat posed by objects such as asteroids and cometsClips: BBC News, NBC NewsAsteroid's chances of hitting Earth in 2032 just got higher - but don't panic Continue reading...

In August 1990, two hikers sent photos of a strange diamond-shaped aircraft to the press - but the story never appeared. Was it a prank, a hoax, an optical illusion or something else entirely?On a misty evening in August 1990, two men hiking on the moors surrounding Calvine, a pretty hamlet in Perth and Kinross, claimed to have seen a giant diamond-shaped aircraft flying above them. It apparently had no clear means of propulsion and left no smoke plume; it was silent and static, as if frozen in time. Terrified, they hit the ground and scrambled for cover behind a tree. Then a Harrier fighter jet roared into view, circling the diamond as if sizing it up for a scuffle. One of the men snapped a series of photographs just before the bizarre craft shot away vertically and disappeared.Craig Lindsay was a press officer at the RAF base in Pitreavie Castle in Dunfermline, 50 miles away, when the Daily Record got in touch a few days later. The hikers, who worked as chefs at Fisher's Hotel in Pitlochry, had sent six photos of the diamond to the newspaper and told their story. The Record's picture editor, Andy Allen, sent Lindsay thebest of the bunch. Continue reading...

When details about a scientific study in the 1960s became public, there was shock, outrage and anxiety. But exactly what happened?In 2019, Shahnaz Akhter, a postdoctoral researcher at Warwick University, was chatting to her sister, who mentioned a documentary that had aired on Channel 4 in the mid-1990s. It was about human radiation experiments, including one that had taken place in 1969 in Coventry. As part of an experiment on iron absorption, 21 Indian women had been fed chapatis baked with radioactive isotopes, apparently without their consent.Having grown up in Coventry's tight-knit South Asian community, Akhter was shocked that she had never heard of the experiment. When she looked into it, she found an inquiry by the Coventry Health Authority in 1995 conducted soon after the documentary aired. The inquiry examined whether the experiment put the subjects' health at risk and whether informed consent was obtained. But the only mention of the women's perspectives was a single sentence: At the public meeting, it was stated that two of the participants who had come forward had no recollection of giving informed consent." Continue reading...

Birds observed going to lengths to flavour food, with particular penchant for blueberry-flavoured soy yoghurt dipWhether you savour Ottolenghi's recipes or prefer a feast from Nigella's cookery books, humans enjoy mixing flavours and textures when preparing food. Now research suggests some cockatoos do too.Researchers have previously discovered that some of the birds dunk dry rusks in water before eating them, just as some people enjoy dunking a biscuit in tea, apparently reflecting a penchant for a soggy texture. Continue reading...

As certain terms are scrubbed from US health agency websites decades of vital data is vanishing, advocates warnAfter Donald Trump signed executive orders ordering for mentions of race, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities and other terms to be scrubbed from US health agency websites, experts say the implications for health and scientific research are vast.All pages at US health agencies were told to take down these mentions after Trump signed certain executive orders on his first day in office. Continue reading...

v-Fluence halts operations after widespread backlash over private portal profiling environmental health advocatesA US company that was secretly profiling hundreds of food and environmental health advocates in a private web portal has said it has halted the operations in the face of widespread backlash, after its actions were revealed by the Guardian and other reporting partners.The St Louis, Missouri-based company, v-Fluence, said it is shuttering the service, which it called a stakeholder wiki", that featured personal details about more than 500 environmental advocates, scientists, politicians and others seen as opponents of pesticides and genetically modified (GM) crops. Continue reading...

From seeing things to hearing voices, there's a finer line between hallucination and reality than you might supposeWhen did you last hallucinate? The visionary tendency is much more common among sane people than is generally suspected," wrote the 19th-century psychologist Sir Francis Galton. Setting aside the vivid, often emotive, cinema of our dreams, we are all more vulnerable to seeing things" than we might at first suppose.Around four fifths of people who have recently been bereaved report an encounter with their loved one: most commonly a lively sense of their presence, but some hear, see or speak with them. Up to 60% of people who lose sight in later life see things that aren't there, sometimes extravagant images such as the two young men ... wearing magnificent cloaks ... their hats ... trimmed with silver" who appeared in the first reported case of Charles Bonnet syndrome, as this phenomenon is known, before dissolving" away. A 20-year-old woman blindfolded for 12 hours saw cities, skies, kaleidoscopes, lions and sunsets so bright she could barely look at them'". After losing a limb, most people carry a constant or inconstant phantom of the missing member", as Weir Mitchell, the American neurologist who coined the term phantom limb after studying 90 cases from the American civil war, put it. Pilots on long flights, travellers through snowstorms and deserts, prisoners and hostages held in darkness; their restless brains are all prone to see the things of which they're being deprived. Continue reading...

Dazzling image shows galaxy more than 4bn light years away, whose starlight has been bent due to gravityThe Euclid space telescope has captured a rare phenomenon called an Einstein ring that reveals the extreme warping of space by a galaxy's gravity.The dazzling image shows a nearby galaxy, NGC 6505, surrounded by a perfect circle of light. The ring gives a glimpse of a more distant galaxy, sitting directly behind NGC 6505, whose starlight has been bent around the foreground galaxy. Continue reading...

The evening star will serve as a handy signpost for identifying the often unnoticed constellationHaving reached its highest point in the evening sky last week Venus is beginning to move back towards the sun. But before it disappears from view in March, it will continue to put on a dazzling show.It will blaze brightly on 16 February at a magnitude of -4.2, the brightest of this apparition. It will also still be high enough in the sky to be well visible several hours after the sun has set, when the sky is fully dark. Continue reading...

My friend and colleague Peter Honey, who has died aged 87, was a behavioural psychologist and independent consultant working with business managers and their staff.He designed workshops and courses emphasising behaviour that could be reviewed and dealt with directly. He would share the results of behavioural analysis (who asks questions? Who helps others? Who clarifies problems?) with those with whom he was working. Continue reading...