Science | The Guardian

An elephant at Berlin zoo used its trunk to interrupt flow of water from hose used by another elephantIf you get frustrated by the shower hog in your house you're not alone: research suggests such behaviour might even irritate elephants.Scientists say they have not only discovered an elephant with an astonishing ability to shower with a hose, but spotted another cutting off the flow of water - possibly in a deliberate act of sabotage. Continue reading...

CAR T-cell genetic therapy, typically used in cancer patients, could lead to cure for the disease, says expertDoctors are hailing a groundbreaking" new treatment for lupus that genetically modifies a patient's cells to fight the autoimmune disease and could end the need for lifelong medication.Lupus can range from mild to severe, with symptoms including joint pain, skin problems, fatigue and inflammation of major organs. Patients often have to take drugs their whole lives, ranging from ibuprofen to steroid tablets and injections, or other immunosuppressant or biological medicines. Continue reading...

Portrait of English mathematician Alan Turing was created by Ai-Da, one of the most advanced robots in the worldA portrait of English mathematician Alan Turing has become the first artwork by a humanoid robot to be sold at auction, fetching US$1.08m (566,000, A$1.63m) in New York on Thursday.The 2.2 metre (7.5 feet) portrait, titled A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing, was created by Ai-Da, the world's first ultra-realistic robot artist. It smashed pre-sale expectations between $120,000 and $180,000 when it went under the hammer at Sotheby's, which confirmed that 27 bids were placed on the work. Continue reading...

Moderate exercise such as brisk walking may almost halve new mothers' risk of major depression, analysis suggestsDoing more than an hour of moderate intensity exercise each week may reduce the severity of baby blues" and almost halve the risk of new mothers developing major clinical depression, the largest analysis of evidence suggests.However, researchers behind the study acknowledged that finding the time amid so many new responsibilities and challenges would not be easy, and recovery from childbirth should be prioritised. Continue reading...

Scientists studying DNA find one person in scene of cowering family was a man and not a mother'It is a tragic moment, frozen in time: a family of four shelters beneath a staircase as ash and pumice rains down on Pompeii. But scientists studying DNA of the victims say this famous scene is not what it seems: the mother" of the group is actually a man.When Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79, the Roman town of Pompeii was destroyed, and its remaining inhabitants were buried beneath a thick blanket of ash and pumice. These victims were later immortalised by archaeologists who used plaster to fill the voids left by their bodies. Continue reading...

Pollution is affecting the climate, biodiversity, ecosystems, ocean acidification and human health, according to analysisPlastic pollution is changing the processes of the entire Earth system, exacerbating climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, and the use of freshwater and land, according to scientific analysis.Plastic must not be treated as a waste problem alone, the authors said, but as a product that poses harm to ecosystems and human health. Continue reading...

Original purpose of King Arthur's Hall is a mystery and archaeologists say it is unique in EuropeAn enigmatic stone and turf structure on Bodmin Moor that was previously thought to be a medieval animal pen has been found to be 4,000 years older - and unique in Europe.The rectangular monument was built not in the early medieval period to corral livestock, as recorded by Historic England, but rather in the middle Neolithic, between 5,000 and 5,500 years ago, archaeologists have discovered. Continue reading...

Physicist whose silicon devices helped to unlock the secrets of the earliest fractions of a second of our universeThe physicist Ian Shipsey, who has died suddenly aged 65, developed silicon devices of exquisite precision to study the debris from subatomic particle collisions and light from the edge of the universe. Using these devices, he played a major role in unlocking the secrets of the earliest fractions of a second of our universe.Silicon devices also played a vital part in his everyday life. Rendered profoundly deaf after treatment for leukaemia in 1989, he received a cochlear implant 12 years later that allowed him to develop strategies to overcome this disability, to the extent that it often went unnoticed to interlocutors. Continue reading...

Researchers say choosing to climb stairs or cycle to the shops is enough to have a positive effectDoing just five extra minutes of exercise a day could help lower blood pressure, a study suggests.High blood pressure affects 1.28 billion adults worldwide and is one of the biggest causes of premature death. It can lead to strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, kidney damage and many other health problems, and is often described as a silent killer due to its lack of symptoms. Continue reading...

My husband, Niall Logan, who has died aged 70 of pulmonary fibrosis, was an expert on bacillus, a genus of rod-shaped bacteria with more than 250 named species that has many uses, including as an industrial enzyme, in food production, the making of detergents and in DNA research.One of his main contributions to the field was to help with the scientific classification (taxonomy) of bacillus, work that helped with the development of testing systems that can identify the various species. Continue reading...

Madeleine Finlay talks to science editor and podcast co-host Ian Sample about how Donald Trump approached science when in office last time, and what his second term is likely to mean for the environment, health and scientific researchClips: Fox News, CSPAN, MSNBCTrump's queasy prescription to make America healthy again' takes shape Continue reading...

Tumours could be reduced by targeting genetic material driving their growth with a new drug in early-stage trialsScientists have raised hopes of treating some of the most aggressive cases of cancer by targeting small fragments of rogue DNA that help tumours thrive and become resistant to chemotherapy.The breakthrough emerged from a US-UK study that found many hard-to-treat cancers contained loops of malignant genetic material that were crucial for the tumours to survive and withstand treatment. Continue reading...

Overblown concerns about potential dangers of a common chemical threaten to undermine scientific evidence to the contraryBecause of his job as a dermatologist, Dr Deshan Sebaratnam frequently gets asked questions by friends, family and strangers about skin treatments. But lately, he says, he has been confronted by a lot of myths around sunscreens", especially on his social media feed.Among the most frequent is that sunscreen can actually cause skin cancer", says Sebaratnam, a conjoint associate professor at the University of New South Wales. Continue reading...

Scientists think there may be benefits for older people who step back. I prefer to have thank you and goodbye' parties with my dearest friendsSome researchers at a Royal Society symposium, with nothing better to do, have come up with a theory that animals become less sociable as they age. They found that creatures from house sparrows to rhesus macaques have smaller social circles as they get older and that an antisocial old age might just be an advantage - in humans as well as animals. Not in my biased opinion. It sounds very dull. Anyway I question their findings: I actually think a decline in sociability is a general societal trend, rather than having anything to do with ageing.In my 10th decade I lead a ridiculously busy social life. In my younger days, I would sit on a film set, alone and bored, for up to 10 hours a day, waiting to say a few lines. At other times I had to refrain from speaking to anyone by day because I was saving my voice for the musical I was performing six nights a week. Nowadays, I am instead, as my father would have said, rushing around like a blue-arsed fly". Like many of my generation, my life is crammed full of campaigns and causes. I am obsessed with prison reform. Last week, I was talking to several hundred people in Lavenham, Suffolk, trying to persuade them that as well as enjoying their old age, they should be engaged in saving the planet. Next week, I will be at Dulwich College in London, talking about the importance of funding for palliative care at St Christopher's Hospice, of which I am an active vice-president. I cannot deny that when I see a clear day in my diary, I heave a sigh of relief. Until about midday. Then I get irritated at having to listen to, and not argue with, the protagonists on Radio 4, so I phone a friend to rant about the frustrating BBC impartiality rules. We oldies like to talk to one another, and we want to quickly change the world before we leave it.Sheila Hancock is an actor and a writerComments on this piece are premoderated to ensure discussion remains on topics raised by the writer. Please be aware there may be a short delay in comments appearing on the site. Continue reading...

Research suggests time when physical activity taken is crucial, opening way to targeted prevention strategiesBeing more active in the morning and evening may reduce the risk of bowel cancer by 11%, according to a study that suggests the timing of peak activity could play a crucial role" in warding off the disease.Researchers said that highlighting specific times when physical activity was most beneficial" could pave the way for targeted cancer prevention strategies. The findings were published in the journal BMC Medicine. Continue reading...

LignoSat, developed in Japan and launched from Florida, expected to reduce space junk as it burns up on re-entryThe world's first wooden satellite has been launched into space as part of study on using timber to help reduce the creation of space junk.Scientists at Kyoto University expect the wooden material to burn up when the device re-enters the atmosphere - potentially providing a way to avoid generating metal particles when a retired satellite returns to Earth. Continue reading...

Scientists use new technology to sequence the DNA of microscopic ocean creatures for the first timeOff the west coast of Greenland, a 17-metre (56ft) aluminium sailing boat creeps through a narrow, rocky fjord in the Arctic twilight. The research team onboard, still bleary-eyed from the rough nine-day passage across the Labrador Sea, lower nets to collect plankton. This is the first time anyone has sequenced the DNA of the tiny marine creatures that live here.Watching the nets with palpable excitement is Prof Leonid Moroz, a neuroscientist at the University of Florida's Whitney marine lab. This is what the world looked like when life began," he tells his friend, Peter Molnar, the expedition leader with whom he co-founded the Ocean Genome Atlas Project (Ogap). Continue reading...

Burnlaw, Northumberland: Sleepless at 4am and studying our sole satellite, I'm struck by the remarkable journey light takes to make it into our viewI have a habit, if I wake some nights,to get up and go downstairs to read. Last night was noteworthy because I could see the moon as a mere horn repeatedly swallowed then reborn from the passing clouds. Through binoculars, however, I could make out the other portion of the whole lunar sphere as a sort of ill-lit inference.It was Leonardo da Vinci who first suggested that this shadow part of the crescent moon is visible because of sunlight rebounding off the Earth and then re-transmitted on our one satellite. It was wonderful to imagine that the energy received here, even as I stood gazing, was re-presented out there a little over a second later. That is because light travels at a speed per second roughly similar to our distance from the moon (therespective figures are about 300,000 km/sec and an average 384,400 km). Continue reading...

Space-settling enthusiasts have long had an eye on Mars, and now they have the backing of the world's richest man. Elon Musk recently claimed that humans could be on the planet by 2030 and be living there in a self-sustaining city within 20 years. But is it really that simple? Madeleine Finlay heads to Imperial College London where Prof Sanjeev Gupta gives her a tour of the red planet, and meets Kelly Weinersmith who, along with her husband, Zach, recently won the Royal Society Trivedi science book prize for their book A City on Mars. She explains why life on Mars may not be the idyll some would have us believeClip: 60 Minutes AustraliaMars wind recordings: NASA/JPLCaltech/LANL/CNES/CNRS/ISAE-Supaero Continue reading...

It is gen Z's recreational drug of choice in the UK and US - and with rising use come big problems, including incontinence, bladder damage, renal failure, depression and extreme painThe first time Nick (not his real name) tried ketamine, he felt as if he'd entered another dimension. Though he smoked marijuana regularly and had experimented with other drugs, Nick had never even heard of ketamine. But when his friend pulled out a bag of white powder, I did what anybody else would do at 20 years old. I tried it," he says. And I found it really fun, to be honest." The floaty feeling, like he'd been lifted out of his own body, was euphoric", he says. Like you're in a fairy world."Sixteen years later, reality is biting hard. Nick, now 36, has spent the past three months in recovery for ketamine addiction after more than a decade of heavy use. His bladder is a fifth of the size it should be, he says. It's more than likely" that it will have to be removed and replaced with a urostomy bag. Continue reading...

Just how excited should we be about LaKe, the substance discovered by researchers at Denmark's Aarhus University?Can a pill really mimic all the beneficial effects of exercise? You'd think so from some of the stories about substances that could make going to the gym unnecessary". There was another rash of these a few weeks ago, when researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark announced that a drug called LaKe brings the body into a metabolic state corresponding to running 10km at high speed on an empty stomach". But what's going on here? Even if a pill can replicate parts of what exercise does for us, how useful is that, really?First things first: the most commonly accepted term for drugs like LaKe is mimetics", because what they do, as a rule, is mimic the biological effects of working out without the need to actually break a sweat. The idea has been around for a while: in 2008, San Diego's Salk Institute introduced the world to a drug called GW501516 (516 for short), which signals key genes to burn fat instead of sugar, helping rodent test subjects run for longer without hitting the proverbial wall. Continue reading...

Everything is easier with modern technology - except fulfilling your true potentialThe convenience of modern life is nothing short of astounding. As I write this, my phone is wirelessly sending some of the greatest hits from the 1700s (Bach, if you must know) to my portable speaker. I could use that same device to,within moments, get a car to pick me up, have fooddelivered to my house, or start chatting with someone on a dating app. To human beings from even the recent past this technology would be, to quote Arthur C Clarke's third law, indistinguishable from magic.The fact that, as a culture, we seek out and celebrate such short cuts is understandable. They take much of the tedium out of life, make it easier to have fun, and save us time and energy. That said, most people are able to intuit that convenience has a darker side. Continue reading...

The easiest way to find the constellation is to look for the large square body, marked by four starsWe will start the month with a look at one of the night sky's mythical creatures: Pegasus, the winged horse. According to Greek myth, Pegasus was ridden by the hero Perseus in his quest to save the beautiful Andromeda from the dreaded sea monster Cetus.The constellation is one of 48 listed by Ptolemy in the second century. The easiest way to spot Pegasus is to look for the large square body, marked by the stars Scheat, Markab, Algenib and Alpheratz. From the northern hemisphere, the horse is depicted as being upside down, with the neck represented by the star Homam and the snout by Enif. Continue reading...

Race is a fluid social, historical and political construct with no biological or genetic basis, say Bill Newman and Demetra GeorgiouWe were alarmed to read the findings of your investigation into an international network of race science" activists seeking to influence public debate with discredited ideas on race and eugenics (Revealed: International race science' network secretly funded by US tech boss, 16 October).As organisations representing leading researchers and clinicians working in human genetics, we can state unequivocally that race is a fluid social, historical and political construct with no biological or genetic basis. There is convincing evidence that there is more genetic variation within self-identified racial groups than there is between them. It is also widely recognised that the eugenics movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was not based on scientific evidence, as set out recently by the Royal College of Physicians in a statement on the history of the UK's eugenics movement. Continue reading...

It turns out long-held resentments exist even in the animal kingdom. Does that mean they hold an evolutionary advantage?The best thing that happened to me during the whole of the pandemic was a story on the internet. An Oregon resident, furloughed, saw on a daytime nature documentary that, if you fed crows, they would bring you small gifts. Curious, they tried it, and were delighted to find themselves in effective possession of a 15-strong crow family - but then things took a dark turn. The crows became an army, fiercely protective of their leader's property. If neighbours came near, the crows would dive-bomb them. To be clear," the person wrote on Reddit, they're not aggressive 100% of the time. If just the neighbours are out [on their own porch], they are friendly, normal crows. They only get aggressive when someone gets close to me or my property."It's such a lovely phrase, friendly, normal crows"; it's just a pity that it's an oxymoron. Crows are the most prodigious grudge-holders - something that John Marzluff, a professor of wildlife at the University of Washington, Seattle, discovered by capturing seven of the birds while wearing an ogre mask in 2006. A full 17 years later, crows were still regularly attacking him. Even if you were to query the ethics of his original experiment, you'd have to admit that he paid a high price. How such a thing is possible when the lifespan of a crow is only 12 years is this: not only can they hold a grudge, they can also pass it on to one another. Originally, even birds that witnessed the ogre-trap attacked Marzluff, then over time they transmitted the hostility to their offspring, creating a multigenerational grudge.Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Since the age of six Greta Solomon knew she was a writer, but gained a richer sense of self when she discovered her ancestors were gifted storytellers tooThere's a photo somewhere - taken to preserve history - of me swabbing my inner cheek with a cotton stick, ready for DNA testing to find my roots. Two years earlier, in 2008, my mother had died by suicide, aged 60. The coroner had said she was extraordinarily healthy for a woman her age, which only exposed the gulf between her physical and mental states. It was this sudden, shocking loss that propelled me to find a deeper meaning in my life.My mother had left Jamaica aged 10 to join her father and stepmother in England. Similarly, my father left the tiny Caribbean island of Nevis as a teenager, to study maths and engineering. They met, married and settled in a suburb of London, where I was born and raised. Continue reading...

Company that helped build Nasa's Saturn V rockets said to be keen to focus on fixing problems in core aircraft businessFor six decades, Boeing has been among the marquee names in human spaceflight.The company helped build Nasa's mighty Saturn V rockets that put man on the moon; it was a key contractor during the space shuttle era and international space station operations; and its engines are powering the agency's next leap for the stars, the peerless Space Launch System. Continue reading...

Cancer cell detector made of material that won its inventors Nobel prize is hailed as clinical milestone'A revolutionary device designed to transform the surgical treatment of brain tumours is set to have its first clinical trial in what scientists say could be a major medical breakthrough.The brain chip can pinpoint cancer cells through differences in their electrical emissions compared with those of healthy neural tissue. Continue reading...

Richard Scolyer was one of the world's leading melanoma researchers when he was struck with a brain tumour. Facing likely death, his team made him a guinea pig for his own medicine

A rare variation of the phenomenon in which people's senses are intermingled involves the mind's eye seeing speech in captions. Scientists believe the condition arises from excessive neural connectivity and stimulationImagine having a conversation with someone and seeing each word they use appear before your eyes like subtitles in a film, or even as speech bubbles near the speaker's mouth. Now, picture trying to read a book on a crowded train, only to have the sentences spoken around you intrude on your vision, as if they were printed right in front of your eyes. Or, even more intriguing, seeing your own thoughts written out in your mind's eye. This is the everyday experience of those living with ticker-tape synaesthesia.When you and I talk, everything you say appears as written words in my mind," says Francois Le Chevalier, 73, over Zoom. It's just like when I am reading - sometimes the words appear handwritten, other times typewritten, and occasionally even in bold." Continue reading...

Advocates urge government to allow precision breeding' to combat disease, but RSPCA warns of ethical dangersMinisters are preparing to introduce legislation that will permit the growing of gene-edited crops in England and Wales. But the new legislation will not cover the use of this technology to create farm animals that have increased resistance to disease or lower carbon footprints.The decision has dismayed some senior scientists, who had expected both uses of gene editing would be given the go-ahead. They fear the decision could hold back the creation of hardier, healthier herds and flocks. Animal welfare groups have welcomed the move, however. Continue reading...

Cambridge home of the engineer who developed fuel system used on Apollo 11 is to receive a blue plaqueIt has been nearly 70 years since Francis Thomas Bacon developed a source of clean green energy that would help power the first moon landing and change the course of history.Yet, few are aware of the Essex-born, Cambridge-based engineer whose invention of the first working hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell helped send Apollo 11 to the moon. His pioneering work is still a source of inspiration for scientists working on renewable energy solutions today. Continue reading...

Dancers and audiences are being fitted with electrode caps as part of a massive neurological study into how we respond to live performance - and the findings go far beyond what was first imaginedThe gel felt cold on my scalp and I had to forget how silly I must have looked, because we were in the midst of some serious science. This was back in 2021, anyway, still in the land of anti-bac and face masks - I'd long got over looking a bit silly in public in the name of science. The dance hub Siobhan Davies Studios in south London had been turned into a science lab, and I was being fitted with what looked like an elaborate swimming cap. It had electrodes dotted all over it to measure my brain activity, and the gel being squeezed into the holes aided the connection between electrode and scalp.I was playing a small part in a pioneering five-year research project, Neurolive. Run by cognitive neuroscientist Dr Guido Orgs and choreographer Matthias Sperling, it brings together neuroscience and dance to investigate what's happening in our brains when we watch live performance. The audience/guinea pigs, of which I was one, filed into the studio wired up to backpacks full of tech and watched a duet called Detective Work, where two performers danced out an abstract mystery dressed in suave green suits. I was very aware of being monitored. I'm a dance critic, and it felt as if I was being tested. Would my brain do the right thing? Continue reading...

Researchers report rise in material falling back to Earth and growing emissions from satellite megaconstellationsIt is easy to understand how the flame and power of rocket launches could cause air pollution. Less obvious is the air pollution caused by rocket parts, spacecraft and satellites re-entering the atmosphere.A new global inventory has catalogued air pollution from space activities from 2020 to 2022. The inventory includes time, position and pollution from 446 launchers as they ascended and the tracks of re-entries as objects are heated to extreme temperatures and break up or burn up in the upper atmosphere. Continue reading...

Australian mathematicians call into question the infinite monkey theorem' in new research on old adageMathematicians have called into question the old adage that a monkey typing randomly at a keyboard for long enough would eventually produce the complete works of Shakespeare.Two Australian mathematicians have deemed it misleading, working out that even if all the chimpanzees in the world were given the entire lifespan of the universe, they would almost certainly" never pen the works of the bard. Continue reading...

Risk of diabetes and high blood pressure significantly lower in middle age in UK adults given low-sugar diets in the womb and as infantsCutting the amount of sugar children get in the womb and as toddlers can protect them against diabetes and high blood pressure in adulthood, research suggests.The finding reveals a critical period for healthy nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life as babies initially absorb nutrients from their mother and move on to formulas and infant foods. Continue reading...

Set up to conserve traditional seeds, the Genetic Resources Research Institute is now helping smallholders diversify with crops resilient to the rapid changes in climateOn a winding road in the densely forested Kikuyu highlands of south-central Kenya lies a nondescript government building: the Genetic Resources Research Institute. Opened in 1988, during the country's green revolution", this little-known national gene bank was set up to hold and conserve seeds from the traditional crops that were in danger of disappearing as farmers and agricultural industry moved to higher-yield varieties.For decades, it has collaborated with researchers studying crop genetics and others working to develop improved varieties. But as the climate crisis worsens food insecurity, the repository of about 50,000 seed and crop collections could become a lifeline for farmers. Continue reading...

Biodiversity correspondent Phoebe Weston takes Madeleine Finlay through the news from the UN Cop16 biodiversity summit in Cali, Colombia. Countries are wrangling over funding to protect nature and who should profit from the natural resources of the world's least developed nationsFollow all the news from Cop 16 Continue reading...

To proceed would divide a profession that has only recently found a fragile unity via the Professional Standards Authority, writes Prof Andrew SamuelsAs a former chair of the UK Council for Psychotherapy, who led our fight against statutory regulation in the first decade of this century, I am disquieted to read of what feels like a new and unreflective rush towards statutory regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists, suffused with all kinds of sectional interests and hidden agendas (Letters, 25 October). To proceed will divide a profession that has only fairly recently found a fragile unity via the government-backed Professional Standards Authority, in which the vast majority of psychotherapists and counsellors sit in their specialist registers.Two things are needed: when someone is struck off for serious offences, the relevant registration body must make the decision known far andwide. They must pursue those scofflaws who just open another website. And there needs to be a national campaign to alert the public: Psychotherapy may be of help to you. Ask any prospective psychotherapist with whom they are registered. If they are not in any way connected to the Professional Standards Authority, we suggest you look elsewhere."

Tadpole that wriggled around 160m years ago surpasses previous record holder by about 20m yearsScientists have discovered the oldest-known fossil of a giant tadpole that wriggled around over 160m years ago.The new fossil, found in Argentina, surpasses the previous ancient record holder by about 20m years. Continue reading...

Researchers come up with theory for why jump scares' are often followed by laughter - with advice on how to find sweet spot' of fearWhether it's a friend jumping out from behind a bush or accidentally walking into a web of fake cobwebs, most of us will have fallen victim to a scare prank at some point.Now scientists have come up with a theory for why jump scares" are so often followed by laughter - with insights for pranksters hoping to concoct Halloween tricks that tickle rather than terrify. Continue reading...

Unlike the US, Canada and Australia, the UK is only giving free boosters to some. But the cost of restricting them could be hugeTrust me, no one, even in public health or medicine, wants to talk or think about Covid-19. The trauma of those pandemic years is burnt into our minds. But, whether we want to deal with it or not, Covid-19 is still affecting all of us, and circulating at fairly high levels in Britain this month. While community surveys are no longer conducted by the Office for National Statistics to estimate overall cases, hospital data from England indicates that the weekly hospital admission rate for Covid-19 is at 4.64 for every 100,000 people, with the north-east region at 8.91.These figures just cover people who are admitted to hospital and don't reflect those suffering at home or attending GP clinics. While we were mainly fixated on death rates during the pandemic, the longer legacy concerns people who had and cleared the infection, but are still suffering - what is usually referred to as long Covid.Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh Continue reading...

Range of species have ethanol in diet, normally arising through fermented fruits, sap and nectarHumans may have turned drinking into something of an art form but when it comes to animals putting alcohol away, Homo sapiens are not such an outlier, researchers say.A review of published evidence shows that alcohol occurs naturally in nearly every ecosystem on Earth, making it likely that most animals that feast on sugary fruits and nectar regularly imbibe the intoxicating substance. Continue reading...

Participants bonded more after watching films that sparked intense emotionsWhether it is laughing at a classic comedy or watching a horror film from behind a cushion, movies can generate myriad feelings. Now researchers say experiencing intense emotions alongside others makes people feel more connected - provided you can see them.It has long been known that experiencing emotional events together can strengthen bonds between people, with a previous study finding that watching emotional films with another person makes people feel more connected. Continue reading...

Research reveals positive cognitive health impacts of exercising once or twice a week are much the same as exercising more oftenCramming your exercise into the weekend not only brings physical benefits on a par with regular workouts, but is just as good for your brain, a study suggests.Research has previously revealed that physical exercise is associated with better brain health and lower risk of dementia in older age. Continue reading...

Mark Steyn lost a high court battle against Ofcom who he claimed killed' his career with rulings about Covid commentsA former GB News presenter who lost a high court battle with Ofcom has been ordered to pay 50,000 in legal costs before the final bill is determined.Mark Steyn claimed the regulator had killed" his career with rulings about Covid content on two of his 2022 shows, but in July Mrs Justice Farbey dismissed his legal challenge. Continue reading...

Archaeologists draw on laser mapping to find city they have named Valeriana, thought to have been founded pre-AD150After swapping machetes and binoculars for computer screens and laser mapping, a team of researchers have stumbled on a lost Maya city of temple pyramids, enclosed plazas and a reservoir, all of which had been hidden for centuries by the Mexican jungle.The discovery in the south-eastern Mexican state of Campeche came about after Luke Auld-Thomas, an anthropologist at Northern Arizona University, began wondering whether non-archaeological uses of the state-of-the-art laser mapping known as lidar could help shed light on the Maya world. Continue reading...

In avatar therapy, a clinician gives voice to their patients' inner demons. For some of the participants in a new trial, the results have been astoundingIn the summer of 2019, when Joe was 21, he went on a university rugby tour of California. One night, one of his teammates bought some cannabis edibles to share, and Joe ate some. For the next 12 hours, he believed he was in hell. He was on fire; his body was suffused with pain. His ears were filled first with incoherent screaming and then with sinister whispering. Joe's friends thought their teammate's bad trip was funny, even as they wrestled him away from the windows when he tried to jump from the seventh floor of their hotel.When he woke up the next morning, Joe was still in hell. A devilish, humanoid form lurking in the periphery of his vision was telling him he had died the previous night. A chorus of other voices joined in, wailing in agony. They were entirely real to him, even though he knew they couldn't be. He had a rugby match to play, and 10 minutes in, he couldn't see or feel his hands; he couldn't move. His teammates laughed as he came off the pitch. Poor old Joe. Continue reading...

A startup company, Heliospect Genomics, is offering to help wealthy couples screen their embryos for IQ using controversial technology that raises questions about the ethics of genetic enhancement. Science correspondent Hannah Devlin tells Madeleine Finlay about the joint investigation into the company by the Guardian and the campaign group Hope Not HateUS startup charging couples to screen embryos for IQ' Continue reading...

While decline in interactions is seen as negative for humans, it can have health benefits for animalsWhile Victor Meldrew was a cantankerous caricature, humans are known to become less social as they get older. Now researchers say we are not alone with many animals behaving in the same way - and the trait is not always a bad thing.Experts studying animals from wild deer to insects, monkeys and birds have revealed a host of insights into the relationship between age and social connections. Continue reading...