Charlotte Edwardes interviews the Labour leader as he closes in on power, but who exactly is the man who wants to run Britain? Plus the extraordinary story of the woman who stepped in as a surrogate for her daughter's baby, and Sam Pyrah examines the latest scientific understanding about why we dream what we do Continue reading...

Lacklustre Euro 2024 performances may prompt faddish quick fixes but the real key to success may lie in replacing fear with the fun players felt as 10-year-oldsSporting success isn't down to pickle juice, according to a leading sports psychologist. The secret isn't to be found in the inflatable unicorns England's players famously mounted to recuperate in the pool. Or the 3,400 electric bikes they pedalled to boost their post-match recovery. It's not even about the manager.Instead, what I'm going to say will horrify you," said Michael Caulfield, who has worked in professional sport for more than 25 years. Football is - or should be - only about joy."Take your mind away from the consequences of your action and focus on the action. Anxiety, fear, stress are projections of the future: concentrate on the present.Learn how to change your perceived reality. Premier League footballers learn to shut out fans if they feel oppressed by them. This could help people who don't like public speaking, for example, who can see their audience as more intimidating than they may actually be.Find a ritual to recover from disappointment that creates positivity.Learn from those you admire. Stay close to them and be forgiving of their mistakes and failures.Don't have top tips, said Caulfield, because by tomorrow someone else will have come up with five other tips and you'll be completely confused". A good grandparent is better than any tip," he said. Turn to grey hair because the chances are they've been through a bit. They're not right or wrong but they'll ask the right questions and help you sort things out." Continue reading...

Leaked documents from Philip Morris reveal secret' strategy to market its heated tobacco product IQOSThe tobacco company Philip Morris International has been accused of manipulating science for profit" through funding research and advocacy work with scientists.Campaigners say that leaked documents from PMI and its Japanese affiliate also reveal plans to target politicians, doctors and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as part of the multinational's marketing strategy to attract non-smokers to its heated tobacco product, IQOS. Continue reading...

Viral video of Prince William prompts experts to laud benefits of men communicating their hormones', from lifting mood to boosting trustIn his early 20s, Prince William was often seen stumbling out of night clubs after a night of grooving. Now, however, as though a clock has struck 12, this youthful cavorting appears to have transformed into something altogether more cringeworthy: dad dancing.In a viral video captured at a Taylor Swift concert, the heir to the throne was filmed with his arms aloft, chest shimmying swiftly - and somewhat stiffly - to the beat. Continue reading...

The six US astronauts aboard International Space Station rush to their spacecrafts in case of emergency departureA defunct Russian satellite has broken up into nearly 200 pieces of debris in orbit, forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter for about an hour and adding to the mass of space junk already in orbit, US space agencies said.There were no immediate details on what caused the breakup of the Resurs-P1 Russian Earth observation satellite, which Russia declared dead in 2022. Continue reading...

Early onset ischaemic stroke more likely to affect adolescents with low cognitive function, study findsTeenagers with lower levels of mental ability may be three times more likely to experience a stroke before the age of 50, research suggests.The association held true even after accounting for a range of factors, prompting experts to say more comprehensive assessments beyond traditional stroke risk factors were now needed to ward off disability and death. Continue reading...

Higher incidence of damage to hips, jaws and thumbs reveals their writing efforts may have taken a tollFrom bad backs to eye strain, office work can take its toll on the body.But it seems such perils are nothing new: researchers have found Egyptian scribes experienced damage to their hips, jaws and thumbs as a result of their efforts. Continue reading...

Study shows population on Arctic island was stable until sudden demise, countering theory of genomic meltdown'The last woolly mammoths on Earth took their final stand on a remote Arctic island about 4,000 years ago, but the question of what sealed their fate has remained a mystery. Now a genetic analysis suggests that a freak event such as an extreme storm or a plague was to blame.The findings counter a previous theory that harmful genetic mutations caused by inbreeding led to a genomic meltdown" in the isolated population. The latest analysis confirms that although the group had low genetic diversity, a stable population of a few hundred mammoths had occupied the island for thousands of years before suddenly vanishing. Continue reading...

Psychologists usually expect ambivalence to be a driver of political apathy. But a new study appears to show a link between ambivalence in our views and the likelihood that we'll support extremist actions. Madeleine Finlay speaks to the study's co-author Richard Petty, professor of psychology at Ohio State University, to find out what pushes people to take extreme actions, how politics could be driving this behaviour and how it could be combated Continue reading...

UPFs should also be heavily taxed due to impact on health and mortality, says scientist who coined termUltra-processed foods (UPFs) are displacing healthy diets all over the world" despite growing evidence of the risks they pose and should be sold with tobacco-style warnings, according to the nutritional scientist who first coined the term.Prof Carlos Monteiro of the University of Sao Paulo will highlight the increasing danger UPFs present to children and adults at the International Congress on Obesity this week. Continue reading...

Researchers say in most cases condition is mild but it can increase risk of heart attacks and strokesOne in four healthy people aged 60 and over in the UK have undiagnosed heart valve disease, research suggests.The conditions develops when one or more of the heart valves do not work properly. The main problems are caused by the valves either not opening fully or not closing correctly. Continue reading...

Skull anatomy shows the boy or girl would have been severely disabled, yet survived until the age of sixA Neanderthal child with Down's syndrome survived until at least the age of six, according to a new study whose findings hint at compassionate caregiving among the extinct, archaic human species.Recent examination of a human fossil unearthed at the Cova Negra archaeological site in the Spanish province of Valencia found traits in the inner-ear anatomy which indicated Down syndrome, in the earliest-known evidence of the genetic condition. Continue reading...

Argument about a lemon- or orange-shaped planet highlights importance of international competition in science, curator saysIt was a row that split scientists, launched globe-trotting expeditions and for one man, ended in murder: was the Earth shaped like an orange or a lemon?The 18th-century debate - and the endeavours that settled it -can now be relived by visitors to this year's Royal Society summer science exhibition, in a display called Figuring the Earth". Continue reading...

Analysis of 400,000 healthy adults finds no health benefits from taking daily multivitaminsTaking a daily multivitamin does not help people to live any longer and may actually increase the risk of an early death, a major study has found.Researchers in the US analysed health records from nearly 400,000 adults with no major long-term diseases to see whether daily multivitamins reduced their risk of death over the next two decades. Continue reading...

Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams have spent better part of month in ISS as engineers work out problemBoeing's public relations crisis is now out of this world: the company's Starliner spacecraft - with two astronauts onboard - are currently stuck in space.After what started as an eight-day mission, US astronauts Sunita Suni" Williams and Barry Butch" Wilmore have now spent the better part of a month in the International Space Station as engineers work out the problems with Starliner. Continue reading...

Tectonic movement creates most basins and ridges, but study finds deep mantle temperatures also have a roleThe constant movement of Earth's tectonic plates reshapes our planet on a daily basis, but deep mantle processes also play a role, recent research shows.Many of Earth's most significant features sit on plate boundaries: mountain ranges such as the Himalayas appear where continental plates collide; volcanoes and ocean trenches like those around the Pacific Ocean occur where ocean plates dive beneath continental ones. But our planet also has many surface features that sit far from tectonic plate boundaries and cannot be explained so easily. Continue reading...

Alarm over high mortality and miscarriage rates as mutated virus spreads in eastern Democratic Republic of the CongoA dangerous strain of mpox that is killing children and causing miscarriages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most transmissible yet and could spread internationally, scientists have warned.The virus appears to be spreading from person to person via both sexual and non-sexual contact, in places ranging from brothels to schools. Continue reading...

UK researchers say study shows stopping use of the drugs is possible at scale without costly therapyAlmost half of long-term antidepressant users could stop taking the medication with GP support and access to internet or telephone helplines, a study suggests.Scientists said more than 40% of people involved in the research who were well and not at risk of relapse managed to come off the drugs with advice from their doctors. Continue reading...

Two-page letter written by physicist and fellow scientist, for sale at Christie's, urged US government to invest in researchA two-page letter written by Albert Einstein warning Franklin D Roosevelt - then the president of the US - that Nazi Germany might harness nuclear research to invent an atomic bomb is going up for sale at Christie's auctioneers in September with an estimate value of $4m.Einstein's letter - one of two the theoretical physicist drafted in a cabin on the north shore of New York's Long Island with a fellow scientist, Leo Szilard - warned that the German government was actively supporting nuclear research and could make extremely powerful bombs" like the kind that were eventually deployed by the US at the end of the second world war. Continue reading...

Money is emotional. Financial therapists can help make sense of these feelings, from budget plans to money scriptsNot many people seem to feel happy about their financial lives right now. In the US, 63% of Americans cited money as a significant stressor" in their lives, according to the American Psychological Association's 2023 Stress in America report. Among those aged 18 to 34, that number went up to 82%. In the UK, a November 2023 poll found that a third of adults had felt anxious in the past month because of their personal financial situation, and 9% reported feeling hopeless".cdxnmghThere are concrete reasons for this anxiety. In the US, high inflation has given consumers a grim outlook on the economy, and a cost of living crisis has seized the UK. Continue reading...

Study identifies 16,825 sites around the world where prioritising conservation would prevent extinction of thousands of unique speciesProtecting just 1.2% of the Earth's surface for nature would be enough to prevent the extinction of the world's most threatened species, according to a new study.Analysis published in the journal Frontiers in Science has found that the targeted expansion of protected areas on land would be enough to prevent the loss of thousands of the mammals, birds, amphibians and plants that are closest to disappearing. Continue reading...

Small increase in temperature of intruding water could lead to very big increase in loss of ice, scientists sayA newly identified tipping point for the loss of ice sheets in Antarctica and elsewhere could mean future sea level rise is significantly higher than current projections.A new study has examined how warming seawater intrudes between coastal ice sheets and the ground they rest on. The warm water melts cavities in the ice, allowing more water to flow in, expanding the cavities further in a feedback loop. This water then lubricates the collapse of ice into the ocean, pushing up sea levels. Continue reading...

On Tuesday, China's Chang'e-6 lunar mission achieved a milestone as its re-entry capsule successfully landed in Inner Mongolia, retrieving the first samples from the moon's far side. The capsule made its touchdown at 2.06 pm Beijing time, bringing back lunar soil that the probe had gathered earlier this month. The soil was collected from the South Pole-Aitken Basin, an impact crater that is 8 miles deep

Re-entry capsule containing precious cargo from mission has parachuted into Inner MongoliaChina has become the first country to gather samples from the far side of the moon and bring them back to Earth in a landmark achievement for the Beijing space programme.A re-entry capsule containing the precious cargo parachuted into a landing zone in the rural Siziwang Banner region of Inner Mongolia on Tuesday after being released into Earth's orbit by the uncrewed Chang'e-6 probe. Continue reading...

Artefacts including a roundhouse and a clay furnace - only the second ever found - have been discovered at Trelai ParkAt first sight, it does not feel like the sort of spot where you may happen upon extraordinary insights into the daily lives of the people who inhabited bronze age Britain.But in the corner of a sports field in Cardiff, archaeologists and volunteers are uncovering a trove of artefacts on the site of two roundhouses that give clues into how people lived and worked there 3,500 years ago. Continue reading...

Anyone who has had a urinary tract infection knows how agonising they can be. Some infections go away on their own, but many need antibiotics.Beneath the surface of this very common infection lie many mysteries, unanswered questions, and unnecessary suffering. And it gets to the heart of the challenge of tackling antimicrobial resistance.Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Jennifer Rohn, head of the centre for urological biology at University College London, about what we now understand about how UTIs take hold, and the complexity surrounding their treatmentFor more information about chronic UTI, visit the CUTIC website. Continue reading...

People who feel chronically lonely over long period of time at higher risk, finds first study of its kindLoneliness may increase the risk of stroke by as much as 56%, according to research that experts say explains why the issue poses a major health threat worldwide.The World Health Organization (WHO) has said loneliness is among the most significant global health concerns, affecting every facet of health, wellbeing and development. The US surgeon general has warned that its mortality effects are equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Continue reading...

The answers to today's puzzlesEarlier today I set you three symmetry puzzles. Here they are again with solutions.The most entertaining way to solve these problems is to cut the pieces out of paper and do the rearranging by hand. However, a generous reader made an interactive version available here. Continue reading...

71% of patients found to experience a relapse compared with 43% who received the pills twice a weekSlow-release ketamine pills have been found to prevent relapse into depression, in a trial that could pave the way for a new treatment option for patients with severe illness.Ketamine is already used as a treatment for depression when conventional antidepressant drugs and therapy have failed. But ketamine is currently only administered intravenously, which requires supervision in a clinic, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence ruled that a ketamine-like nasal spray should not be available on the NHS. Continue reading...

Oran Knowlson, who could suffer hundreds of seizures a day, had neurostimulator fitted at Great Ormond StreetA UK teenager with severe epilepsy has become the first person in the world to be fitted with a brain implant aimed at bringing seizures under control.Oran Knowlson's neurostimulator sits under the skull and sends electrical signals deep into the brain, reducing his daytime seizures by 80%. Continue reading...

An L-of a problemUPDATE: Read the answers hereToday's puzzles are of a piece. Two, three, and five pieces, to be exact.In each problem you are presented with a set of non-symmetrical shapes. The challenge is to rearrange them without overlaps so the combined shape has a line of symmetry. Continue reading...

Planet's yellow disc can be seen near the boundary of Pisces and Aquarius in two-day conjunctionThe moon heads for Saturn this week. The yellow disc of the sixth planet in the solar system can be found near the boundary of Pisces, the fish, and Aquarius, the water bearer, in the early hours of the morning.The chart shows the view looking south-east from London at 03.00 BST on 27 June. Continue reading...

We develop stories as short cuts to navigate our worlds and it requires focus and energy to re-evaluate them

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers' questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsWhy is it easier for me to remember that I've forgotten something than to remember the thing I've forgotten? John Gray, YorkSend new questions to nq@theguardian.com. Continue reading...

Genetically speaking, we are more microbe than human and, whether on our skin or up our nose, they are essential to our health. Here are simple ways to keep yours thrivingWe feel a strange sense of responsibility, in these microbiome-aware times, towards the bacteria, yeasts, fungi, viruses and protozoa living in and on us. While we can't see our tiny brethren, research has revealed their fundamental role in keeping us healthy and happy. Genetically speaking, we are more microbe than human. Even if we only count the microbes that live on our skin, says Adam Friedman, a professor of dermatology at George Washington University's School of Medicine and Health Sciences, We have more bacterial genes than we do human genes. Together, we are a superorganism."It is nigh on catastrophic, then, that so many typical 21st-century western behaviours - poor diet, obsessing over hygiene, sedentary jobs - are bad for our microbes. But at least now that we know, we can act. We are nothing without our bugs, so here is how to nurture them. Continue reading...

Insects from the famous Royal Navy flagship are helping experts plot the genome of the notorious timber pestThe oak timbers of HMS Victory have played an unexpected role in ensuring a scientific research triumph for Great Britain. A deathwatch beetle - taken from an infected beam on Nelson's great warship - has been used to create the first fully sequenced genome of the species.The project, carried out by scientists at the Sanger Institute and Oxford University and by National Museum of the Royal Navy conservationists, has made a key breakthrough, say researchers. Continue reading...

Debris was from a pallet released from space station that did not burn up in atmospheric re-entryA family in Naples, Florida, whose home was struck by debris that fell to Earth from outer space and punched a hole in the roof is pursuing $80,000 from Nasa in compensation for damages.The law firm Cranfill Sumner said in a press release that it filed a claim on behalf of plaintiff Alejandro Otero and his family. Continue reading...

Study suggests exposure to chemicals manufactured to resist water and heat likely to affect health of offspringNew research has found for the first time that PFAS forever chemicals" accumulate in the testes, and the exposure probably affects children's health.The toxic chemicals can damage sperm during a sensitive developmental period, potentially leading to liver disease and higher cholesterol, especially in male offspring, the paper, which looked at the chemicals in mice, noted. Continue reading...

Scientists hope wealth of prehistoric material in Wogan Cavern in Wales is well preserved enough to reveal what really happened to our most ancient ancestorsPembroke Castle has been a seat of power for centuries. It was the birthplace of Henry Tudor, father of Henry VIII, and is one of the country's best preserved medieval strongholds, containing amaze of passages, tunnels and stairways, as well as a vast gatehouse tower. Scientists have discovered that the fortress has also been concealing a startling secret. A cave, known as Wogan Cavern, which lies directly underneath Pembroke Castle, has been found to contain a treasure trove of prehistoric material, including ancient bones and stone tools left behind by early Homo sapiens and possibly by Neanderthals.These remains will provide key information about the settling of Britain in prehistoric times, say scientists, who last week began their first major excavation of the year at Wogan. Work on the site over coming years should provide answers to major puzzles about prehistoric Britain, including the end of the Neanderthals' occupation about 40,000 years ago. Continue reading...

Research raises possibility that tirzepatide could become first pharmaceutical treatment for the sleeping disorderA drug used for type 2 diabetes and weight loss could reduce the severity of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in people with obesity, research suggests, raising the possibility of the first pharmaceutical treatment for the condition.Tirzepatide, which is made by Eli Lilly and Company, together with other medications such as Wegovy from Novo Nordisk, are part of a new wave of medications sometimes referred to as skinny jabs" because they can result in dramatic weight loss. Continue reading...

Researchers challenge long-held idea that islanders chopped down palm trees at an unsustainable rateEaster Island has long been put forward as a prime example of humans undermining their own survival by destroying the environment they rely on. But now fresh data is turning the narrative on its head.Also known as Rapa Nui, the remote island in Polynesia is well known for its huge stone statues called moai" and for the idea that its growing population collapsed because of ecocide". Continue reading...

Some neurodivergent people do not experience smells in the same way as the neurotypical, writes an anonymous step-parentThe response to the parent concerned that her daughter has zero sense of personal hygiene" did not include the possibility that the daughter may not possess the same sensory experiences as the mother (My daughter rarely bathes and her room is smelly, but says she doesn't care, 14 June). The situation chimed with my own, in relation to my stepson's lack of awareness of hygiene and odours.Some neurodivergent individuals do not experience sensory input the same way as the neurotypical, and my stepson would simply not register what we might experience as overwhelming smells or a disgusting" messy room. I am not insisting that the daughter in this case is neurodivergent; I just wanted to raise the idea that we do not all experience sensory information in the same way, and open up the chance for communication aboutthese differences.

For people in north Queensland, a bright green caterpillar's sting feels like the seven rings of hell'. But scientists in Brisbane hope its toxin can be used to heal, not harmThe devil arrived at Andrew Walker's laboratory in a cardboard box. Its fluorescent green body, covered in a thicket of menacing spikes, was adorned at both ends with a pair of black horns.For residents of north-east Queensland, this devil - scientific name Comana monomorpha - is known as the electric caterpillar. Its sting, typically received while tending to lilly-pillies in the garden, is exceptionally painful. Continue reading...

Scientists call for regulation to stop regional use of marine cloud brightening having negative impact elsewhereA geoengineering technique designed to reduce high temperatures in California could inadvertently intensify heatwaves in Europe, according to a study that models the unintended consequences of regional tinkering with a changing climate.The paper shows that targeted interventions to lower temperature in one area for one season might bring temporary benefits to some populations, but this has to be set against potentially negative side-effects in other parts of the world and shifting degrees of effectiveness over time. Continue reading...

Study finds same-sex sexual behaviour in primates and other mammals widely observed but seldom publishedGeorge Murray Levick, an explorer with the Scott Antarctic expedition, spent the summer of 1911-12 taking detailed notes on the breeding cycle of Adelie penguins. Male penguins, he was surprised to discover, frequently had sex with other males, but this fact was deemed too shocking for inclusion in the official expedition report and it was another 50 years before it was noted in the scientific literature.Today, same-sex sexual behaviours have been reported in a wide variety of species, but a new analysis suggests a gulf remains between how often it happens and how often we hear about it. A survey of animal scientists found they widely observe, yet seldom publish about, same-sex sexual behaviour in primates and other mammals. Continue reading...

Lokiceratops, named after Norse god Loki, is possibly fifth species of Ceratops and roamed Earth nearly 78m years agoScientists may have dug up a new dinosaur species in the badlands of Montana.The Lokiceratops is possibly the fifth species of a large, horned family of dinosaurs found in the Kennedy Coulee, a dry gorge of fossil-bearing rocks along the border of Montana and Alberta, Canada. Continue reading...

We've stopped believing they're messages from the gods. So what are dreams - and what purpose do they serve? Here's what the science saysWhen my husband brought me a cup of tea in bed the other morning, I could barely muster a thank you". I was furious that he'd spent the night blatantly cavorting with another woman (a friend of ours, no less).Never mind that it only happened in a dream. The emotions - betrayal, outrage, rejection - felt real. My next words - I had a dream last night" - echoed what Oscar Wilde is said to have deemed the most frightening sentence in the English language. Continue reading...

Plans to show The Last Screenwriter, whose script is credited to ChatGPT 4.0', prompted complaints although the film-makers insist the feature is a contribution to the cause'A cinema in London has cancelled the world premiere of a film with a script generated by AI after a backlash.The Prince Charles cinema, located in London's West End and which traditionally screens cult and art films, was due to host a showing of a new production called The Last Screenwriter on Sunday. However the cinema announced on social media that the screening would not go ahead. Continue reading...

Ian Sample and science correspondent Hannah Devlin discuss some of the science stories that have made headlines this week, from a glimpse of a black hole awakening, to a new blood test that can detect Parkinson's seven years before symptoms appear, and a study exploring how some people manage to avoid Covid infectionFollow Hannah Devlin's reporting here Continue reading...

Australian research finds people who walked three to five times weekly stayed pain-free almost twice as longWalking three times a week to ease back pain almost halves the risk of its recurrence, according to the first study of its kind.About 800 million people worldwide have low back pain, and seven in 10 who recover experience flare-ups within a year. Continue reading...