The striking thing is not the bad news, which is not really news for those who have followed the science closely. It’s the report’s insights on possibilities for cautious optimismThe first response many of us have to a cancer diagnosis is terror, horror and the conviction that we’re doomed. For those who haven’t been paying serious ongoing attention to climate chaos, reminders that we are facing catastrophe can bring the same kind of response. But if you’ve been through cancer or been close to people who have, you know that the usual next phase is figuring out what the treatment options are and, in most cases, going all out for them. The good news is going to be that you got approved for a promising new treatment, are responding well, you are in remission, feel healthier, have a good prognosis. That there are things worth doing that make a difference.Climate change is a nightmare, and this summer’s floods, fires and extreme heat, from China to Siberia to British Columbia, are reminders that the problem is rapidly growing worse. Yet the striking thing about the IPCC report released earlier this month is not the bad news, which is not really news at all for those who have followed the science closely. It’s the clarity about possibilities, which I found hopeful. Continue reading...

Young people more likely to be affected, with job losses and finances playing a possible role, say expertsMore than one in five adults said they experienced a complete breakdown in a relationship at home or at work in the past year, the UK’s largest study of social ties during the pandemic has revealed.Younger people were more likely to have their relationships affected, with experts saying it showed the disproportionate effect of the pandemic on this age group. They added that job losses and anxiety over finances could have played a role, as well as the inability to see people outside their household during the lockdown. Continue reading...

Infection rate peaked at one in six patients in May 2020, but hospitals are safer now, say researchers

Researchers blame lack of stimulation as parents balanced childcare with working from home

Research into life of Kik adds weight to theory that climate change could have contributed to species’ demiseHe was huge, hairy and boasted two enormous tusks: researchers say they have discovered a woolly mammoth called Kik who traipsed almost far enough in his life to circle the Earth twice.Experts say the work not only sheds light on the movements of the giant proboscideans, but adds weight to ideas that climate change or human activity may have contributed to the demise of most of the creatures about 12,000 years ago. Continue reading...

Despite popular beliefs that adolescents use more energy, new research suggests otherwiseTeenagers may be said to eat their parents out of house and home, but research suggests their daily energy expenditure isn’t much greater than that of adults.An international team of researchers has tracked the total daily energy expenditure of more than 6,000 people aged from eight days to 95 years, turning many tropes about metabolism on their heads. Continue reading...

Group of scientists release draft IPCC report as they fear it will be watered down by governmentsGlobal greenhouse gas emissions must peak in the next four years, coal and gas-fired power plants must close in the next decade and lifestyle and behavioural changes will be needed to avoid climate breakdown, according to the leaked draft of a report from the world’s leading authority on climate science.Rich people in every country are overwhelmingly more responsible for global heating than the poor, with SUVs and meat-eating singled out for blame, and the high-carbon basis for future economic growth is also questioned. Continue reading...

Number of items sold via internet surges by 151% between February and July

Just one drop of perspiration might soon be enough to identify a criminal or diagnose a cancer. But this fast-moving science could also pose a serious threat to civil liberties

Medics fear government is failing to gather data as ‘social media conspiracies’ slow vaccination take-up

Reversal of earlier rejection by Nice of abemaciclib – known as Verzenios – is welcomed by campaignersA breast cancer drug that was rejected for routine NHS use in England earlier this year has now been recommended by health officials after a discount was agreed with the manufacturer.The decision has been described as “fantastic news for thousands of women” by a charity, which said the introduction of this drug would give “precious extra months” for those who are very unwell. Continue reading...

The climate crisis is ‘unequivocally’ caused by human activities, according to a recent report from the IPCC. Many attempts are being made to conserve the environment, with one being to protect national parks. Patrick Greenfield and Phoebe Weston explore the impact that conservation and national parks can have on Indigenous communities and the biodiversity surrounding them.If you haven’t already, go back and listen to Tuesday’s episode on the history of national parks and some of the challenges they face Continue reading...

Researchers found that clots occurring after first dose of Oxford jab affected otherwise young and healthy people

Updated guidance comes after a CDC analysis of new safety data, as vaccination rates remain low among pregnant women in the USThe Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention urged all pregnant women Wednesday to get the Covid-19 vaccine as hospitals in hot spots around the US see disturbing numbers of unvaccinated mothers-to-be seriously ill with the virus.Expectant women run a higher higher risk of severe illness and pregnancy complications from the coronavirus, including perhaps miscarriages and stillbirths. But their vaccination rates are low, with only about 23% having received at least one dose, according to CDC data. Continue reading...

Road transport | Risk of death | Cricket | School notesI note that the Department for Transport spokesperson referred to special provisions for dealing with Brexit congestion as “temporary” in the announcement that the provisions are to be permanent (Report, 10 August). I am now assuming that Brexit “teething troubles” will continue for the rest of my life (like the “temporary” UK aid cut) – or until we rejoin the EU.

Pfizer reportedly asked to supply 35m more doses, with final go-ahead for this year’s programme still awaited

Critics balk at the cost of getting Britain to net zero, but the alternative is so much worseRuinous, eye-watering, crippling, stratospheric, massive. That’s the cost to the UK of beating the climate crisis, according to those who portray getting to net zero emissions as economic suicide that is being thrust on an unwilling population by posh eco-fundamentalists and zealots.This is not just wrong, it is the exact opposite of reality. The delusions come from those with histories of climate change scepticism and could be dismissed as the latest mutant variant thrown up by the death throes of denial. But they are having a real-world impact, slowing action at the precise moment acceleration is needed. Continue reading...

Exclusive: campaigners say aligning with EU ruling on chemical testing will ‘blow a hole’ in UK leadership on cruelty-free cosmeticsMinisters have opened the door to expanding the use of animal testing to ingredients used in cosmetic products for the first time in 23 years, an animal welfare charity has said.Cruelty Free International (CFI) said animal testing on ingredients exclusively used in cosmetics – which was banned in the UK in 1998 – could be required, after being told by the Home Office that the government had “reconsidered its policy.” Continue reading...

A major UN scientific report has concluded global heating is now irreversible and it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphereA landmark UN climate report has warned that global heating is irreversible and issued its starkest warning that, unless meaningful action is taken to reduce emissions, the world is on course for catastrophic warming. The sixth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which was published on Monday, says temperatures are likely to rise by more than 1.5C, bringing widespread extreme weather.The Guardian’s environment editor Damian Carrington tells Michael Safi that the world’s leading politicians now have nowhere to hide if they do not urgently act on the conclusions of the report. As the UK prepares to host the Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow later this year, Carrington says the path to limiting global heating to 1.5C is narrowing and commitments need to be backed with action to avert disaster. Continue reading...

Head of Oxford Vaccine Group rules out overall immunity, but also questions need for booster jabs

The world seems to be on the verge of collapse – yet I have just brought a baby into it“Babe, look!” my wife said excitedly, as we sprawled on the grass reading on one baking hot afternoon. She passed me her book: “Read this – this person is just like you!” I read the paragraph she was pointing to. A clearly distraught character was fulminating about poorly designed roundabouts; she kept going on and on and on about them. To be clear, I don’t have any opinions about roundabouts. Not a single one. I curtly informed my wife of this. “Yeah,” she said. “But you do have, you know, certain rants you keep coming back to. Like, incessantly.”I couldn’t argue. While I have always been a committed pessimist, recently I’ve gone into full-blown Chicken Little mode with existential obsessions. I’ll wake up, look at the latest terrifying news on my phone and immediately launch a diatribe about how we are almost certainly going to experience climate emergency-induced societal collapse in our lifetimes. “Have you seen what’s happening in Greece/northern California/Turkey?” I’ll screech. “Have you seen how many billionaires are fleeing to New Zealand to avoid the imminent apocalypse? The weather is out of control! Joe Biden and his woefully inadequate infrastructure bill aren’t going to fix anything! We are all doomed! DOOMED!” Continue reading...

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 does your brain know that you know something without being able to remember it at the time? For example, knowing a word that could be used perfectly in context but not being able to remember the word. Felix BudaPost your answers (and new questions) below or send them to nq@theguardian.com. A selection will be published on Sunday.

Women are twice as likely to get their tubes tied than men are to get the snip, even though tubal ligation is more invasive, riskier and harder to reverse. It’s time men step upAmerican men have come a long way, baby. They spend more time with their kids than ever before. Most of them say they want egalitarian marriages and better work-life balance. Two-thirds of married fathers have a wife who works outside the home and contributes to the family income, and about four in 10 of those men have a wife who outearns them. So why, when it comes to family planning, are women doing all the work and men doing so little? To put a finer point on it: why don’t more American men get vasectomies?The contraception gap is one of the most striking and persistent gender inequities. While close to 100% of American women take steps, at some point in their lives, to prevent pregnancy, the vast majority of them shoulder that burden alone. Fewer than one in 10 relied on condom use – a contraceptive method that requires men to take action. And only about one in 10 married or coupled men have had a vasectomy – the rate for single men is far lower. Continue reading...

Researchers say AI tool could lead to earlier diagnoses that could improve patients’ outcomesIt’s been used to detect eye diseases, make medical diagnoses, and spot early signs of oesophageal cancer. Now it has been claimed artificial intelligence may be able to diagnose dementia from just one brain scan, with researchers starting a trial to test the approach.The team behind the AI tool say the hope is that it will lead to earlier diagnoses, which could improve outcomes for patients, while it may also help to shed light on their prognoses. Continue reading...

With a new set about to be released, it’s time to consider how these little symbols enhance the way we communicateThroughout history, writing systems have reflected available technologies. Ancient Mesopotamian cuneiform featured triangles and lines because the characters were impressed into clay with a dowel; ancient Germanic runes were distinguished by angular shapes instead of curves because they were etched into stone. Now, with electronic writing and emojis at our fingertips, even those without any artistic talent can easily “write” a number of pictorial symbols, from a smirk to a syringe, from a bento box to a pregnant man.With emojis on the mind following the Unicode Consortium’s recently released draft of the newest forthcoming set, Emoji 14.0, it is a good time to ponder the relationship between emojis and the mind. Research conducted within the last few years has allowed us to begin answering some of these questions, such as whether emojis are language – and whether we can think in emojis. Continue reading...

More than 100,000 Britons under 25 have endured months of debilitating symptoms, while doctors struggle to help and others fail to take them seriously. Four young people describe what it’s likeIt took Niamh 20 minutes to wash her face – and she cried the whole time. That was in December 2020 when the 19-year-old first-year student at the University of Leeds had been living with long Covid for two months. “I didn’t have the energy to move my arms,” she says. She remembers sitting on the toilet, trying to muster the strength to stand up and run the tap. It took all her energy just to switch on the water. “It sounds daft, but I cried,” she says. “I was like, what is happening to me?”Niamh had led a physically active life until then. She went to the gym regularly and had swum competitively at school. But after catching Covid in freshers’ week, she became a shell of her former self. She would wake up in the morning and feel overwhelmed by a tiredness that felt as if it was deep in her bones. “I have never felt fatigue like it,” she says. “It was as if I’d been hit by a train or run a marathon.” Gentle activities, such as taking a walk with friends, would leave her gasping for breath. She couldn’t smell or taste anything. She had chest pains and palpitations. Mostly, she lay in bed, scrolling through social media and trying to ignore the thought that she was missing out on the student experience she had longed for. Continue reading...

The climate crisis is ‘unequivocally’ caused by human activities, according to a report from the IPCC. One attempt to conserve the environment, being pushed by Boris Johnson, is to protect 30% of UK land in a boost for biodiversity. A Guardian exclusive found that an area twice the size of Greater London is devoted to grouse shooting in UK national parks, which threatens efforts to tackle the climate crisis. Patrick Greenfield and Phoebe Weston investigate whether national parks benefit the environment and biodiversity, or if there might be a better way of doing things Continue reading...

Astronauts and cosmonauts living aboard the International Space Station have held their own mini-Olympics events. Split into two international teams, 'Team Soyuz' and 'Team Dragon,' the athletes competed in zero-gravity events such as 'No-hand Ball,' 'Synchronized Floating,' and 'Gymnastics.'Nasa did not report if any medals were awarded. Continue reading...

Research suggests those with higher loss are more likely to die early, even when exercise is taken into accountWomen who experience greater height loss during middle age may be at higher risk of death, research suggests.Scientists have previously found that shorter people may have an increased risk of heart disease, with researchers saying the two appear to be linked not just by lifestyle but by genes. Continue reading...

The world’s political leaders must heed the dramatic warning that climate scientists have deliveredThe sixth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was published against a glowing backdrop of orange skies, as vast wildfires sweep through Greece and California. In western Germany, thousands of homes remain without running water or electricity following the devastating floods of July. In Yakutsk in Siberia – the coldest winter city on earth – residents were warned last month to stay inside as forest fires filled the air with toxic smoke, following heatwaves that began in the spring.Eight years in the making, authored by the world’s leading climate scientists and approved by 195 national governments, the report confirmed the meaning of the evidence before our eyes: the cumulative impact of human activity since the Industrial Revolution is “unequivocally” causing rapid and potentially catastrophic changes to the climate. The future that environmental scientists foresaw with alarm, when the IPCC produced its first report three decades ago, has arrived. Continue reading...

Doctors express concern that record figures reflect prevalence of virus and issue of vaccine hesitancyA record number of pregnant women were admitted to intensive care with Covid last month, data shows, as doctors raised concerns about vaccine hesitancy among expectant mothers and urged them to get jabbed as soon as possible.Figures from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC) showed that in England, Wales and Northern Ireland 66 pregnant women ended up in intensive care in July, the highest number since the pandemic began and three times as many as April last year. A total of 46 recently pregnant women were also admitted to critical care. Continue reading...

Dr Chantal Meystre says video appointments enable clients to access a scarce resource on their own terms, and should be here to stay after CovidPsychotherapy over Zoom may not be a panacea, but it has been a boon during Covid-19 lockdowns (Therapy via Zoom should make mental healthcare available for all – it hasn’t, 3 August). I am an integrative psychotherapist and shied away from e-therapy in all forms, as it contravened my idea of the therapeutic frame within which I practised – rich with warmth and empathic relating.With lockdown, I rapidly trained in online etiquette, contracting, indemnity, and safety and security. Zoom security was helpfully improved early in 2020. Could I be therapeutic digitally? Continue reading...

Readers react to a long read on humanist Paul Gilroy, with one saying that discarding the idea of ‘race’ altogether feels rightRe Yohann Koshy’s long read on Paul Gilroy (The last humanist: how Paul Gilroy became the most vital guide to our age of crisis, 5 August), his point that “race is a fiction” and that we should look forward discarding the idea of “race” altogether feels exactly right. The geneticist Adam Rutherford has pointed out that in terms of DNA, racial distinctions by skin colour are meaningless. The sooner we can get to Gilroy’s ideal of “humanism” in a post-racial world, the better.

The answers to today’s counting conundrumEarlier today I set you the following problem about how to count in Ngkolmpu, a language spoken by about 100 people in New Guinea.Ngkolmpu does not have a base ten system like English does. In other words, it doesn’t count in tens, hundreds and thousands. Beyond its different base, however, it behaves very regularly. Continue reading...

DNA suggests body buried in feminine attire with swords had Klinefelter syndrome, researchers sayModern analysis of a 1,000-year-old grave in Finland challenges long-held beliefs about gender roles in ancient societies, and may suggest non-binary people were not only accepted but respected members of their communities, researchers have said.According to a peer-reviewed study in the European Journal of Archaeology, DNA analysis of remains in a late iron age grave at Suontaka Vesitorninmäki in Hattula, southern Finland, may have belonged to a high-status non-binary person. Continue reading...

Achieving net zero will require action from everyone – and a renewed emphasis on science and innovation

Steven Brooks took fampridine as part of a trial but was later told the treatment was no longer available

Nearly 70,000 estimated to be missing out on drug available on NHS in Wales and Scotland

When I asked other parents, each had noticed a very real preference for their sons. ‘My father-in-law only likes photos that feature our boy,’ one saidBy the time we left the hospital 34 hours after my son, Jules, was born on 14 July, two nurses had commented on the strength of his suck, four friends had written us some version of “Finally, you’ve got your boy!” and even my female obstetrician had commented favorably on the size of his penis. (If you must know, it had to do with the clamp used during his hospital circumcision.)Related: A childhood desire to wear women’s pants has returned. Is it perverted? | Ask Annalisa Continue reading...

People don’t listen to outsiders. They need enlightened insiders to offer them a ladder to climb downWhat should we do about people who refuse to get vaccinated, or who continue to deny that Covid is real? Debate on this issue has raged for months in the US. “Respect them!” scolded conservative commentators. “Shame them!” urged some. Others counselled empathy for them as victims of disinformation.But as the surging Delta variant ushers in the “pandemic of the unvaccinated”, uncertainty about persuading pandemic holdouts has given way to anger and despair. This was exemplified by the recent public reaction to a viral news video showing a Louisiana man recovering from a severe Covid-19 infection in a hospital bed, stating that he would still rather have had to be in hospital than accept a vaccine. It was the first time many of us saw the human face of a puzzling phenomenon which healthcare workers have been telling us about since last year: patients denying the realities of the virus even as they lay sick and dying from it. Continue reading...

Report warns temperatures likely to rise by more than 1.5C bringing widespread extreme weather

A pterosaur fossil found in the outback a decade ago, the largest known flying reptile on the continent, has finally been identified as a new species and is being compared to a dragonWith an estimated seven-metre wing span, 40 razor-sharp teeth, a circular crest below its jaw and no living relatives, a new species of pterosaur discovered in outback Queensland is being touted as the closest thing Australia ever had to a mythical dragon.The creature, thought to have lived 105m years ago, is the largest known flying reptile on the Australian continent and has been described for the first time in an article published on Monday in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Continue reading...

A rare way to countToday is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, which aims to raise awareness of issues concerning indigenous communities. Such as, for example, the survival of their languages. According to the Endangered Languages Project, more than 40 per cent of the world’s 7,000 languages are at risk of extinction.Among the fantastic diversity of the world’s languages is a diversity in counting systems. The following puzzle concerns the number words of Ngkolmpu, a language spoken by about 100 people in New Guinea. (They live in the border area between the Indonesian province of Papua and the country of Papua New Guinea.) Continue reading...

Second week of August brings the annual view of shooting stars as Earth enters a comet’s dust trailThe second week of August means only one thing to an astronomer: the annual Perseid meteor shower. Continue reading...

When journalist Jennie Agg suffered four miscarriages, she set out to better understand what is known about why women lose pregnancies and why conversations on the subject are still so difficultIn 2017, Jennie Agg had the first of what would be four miscarriages. Despite being told by medics that losing a pregnancy was incredibly common, she found that there was not a lot of solid information out there about what had actually happened to her.Now more and more high-profile women, including the prime minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson, are deciding to share their own stories of miscarriage. But as Jennie tells Rachel Humphreys, the conversations we have about miscarriage have changed very little over the years. Continue reading...

Exhibition at Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge to tell story of little known civilization that flourished from eighth to third century BCWisdom, as Bob Marley put it, is better than gold. From next month however, the precious metal is central to a major new historical exhibition in Cambridge using loaned artefacts telling the story of an ancient civilization little known beyond Kazakhstan.Golden objects unearthed from ancient burial mounds built by the Saka warrior people of central Asia – a culture which flourished from around the eighth century BC to the third century BC – will go on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum. Continue reading...

Discovery that traces of genetic material are all around us opens a non-invasive way to boost biodiversityDNA is in the air – literally. It is wafted around by all the Earth’s creatures, and now scientists have found a way to detect these invisible traces of genetic material so they can identify the animals that released them.The discovery – made independently by British and Danish research groups earlier this year – opens up a powerful way to pinpoint the presence of rare wildlife in deserts, rainforests and other hostile environments. Continue reading...

People from ethnic minorities live longer than white people, but are at greater risk from CovidAlthough our world seems increasingly awash with data, there are still data deserts, leading to gaps in understanding.One big omission is that death registrations in England and Wales do not hold information on ethnicity, but an experimental analysis by the Office for National Statistics linked 2011 census records to 88% of death registrations between 2011 and 2014, with results weighted to deal with limitations in the records. It may be surprising that life expectancy at birth was lower in UK White and Mixed ethnic groups than all other self-reported ethnicities. For example, Black African women had an estimated life expectancy of 89 years (87 to 91 years), around six years more than White and Mixed ethnic women, while for Black men it was around 84 years (83 to 85), longer than most other groups. Continue reading...

Those who attack Neil Ferguson and Sage’s pandemic predictions only expose their ignorance about science• Coronavirus – latest updates• See all our coronavirus coverageIt feels like open season on Professor Neil Ferguson right now. Sections of the media and several columnists delight in castigating the epidemiologist, or “Professor Lockdown”, for being “doomster in chief”, constantly predicting catastrophe and then back-pedalling when the worst numbers don’t materialise.Opponents of Covid restrictions blame Ferguson and his team at Imperial College London for persuading Boris Johnson to shake off his libertarian instincts and take us into lockdown. One presenter on new channel GB News described Ferguson as a “numpty” on air, and the very mention of his name attracts groans in some circles. Continue reading...