Science | The Guardian

BMJ analysis of 48,000 records also finds one in eight patients die within four months of discharge

In part two of The Age of Extinction takeover of Science Weekly, Patrick Greenfield and Phoebe Weston explore a relatively new and controversial technology called DNA barcoding that is helping scientists to differentiate between species – including fungi, which we heard about in part one. As the catastrophic loss of biodiversity around the world continues, could DNA barcoding at least allow us to accurately record the species that are perishing? Continue reading...

Emmanuel Macron announces three-week shutdown of schools after leaving restrictions ‘until last moment’

Research carried out during Covid spectator bans suggests support is not a key factor in match resultsWhile football players sweat it out on the field, their supporters in the stadium shout and sing, giving those playing at home an advantage. When Covid-19 hit, some expected that home advantage to disappear when spectators had to watch games on screens – but research suggests home teams retain a statistical advantage over their visitors.Researchers have long investigated the home advantage phenomenon – implicating crowd support, referee bias, psychological effects of expectations, travel fatigue, familiarity, territoriality, and tactical behaviour as factors, but there is no consensus on which are the main drivers. Continue reading...

Leading virologist says country is in ‘serious and complicated’ stage of pandemic

They may seem grandiose, but some narcissists are just compensating for their deep-set insecurities. Others are out-and-out psychopaths

Readers respond to Lucy Foulkes’ article on what we are getting wrong in the conversation around mental healthIt is pleasing that Lucy Foulkes’ experience (What we’re getting wrong in the conversation about mental health, 29 March) of supporting her friend through a relationship breakdown leads her to question the helpfulness of applying psychiatric diagnoses uncritically in this and other situations. Critical approaches to psychiatry, and indeed psychology and psychotherapy, now form a substantial body of work. Most importantly, this includes the experiences of service users who have found themselves to have been treated badly by traditional mental health services.One example, thankfully gaining visibility, is the cultural insensitivity of models of practice that have been developed in Europe and America, but which are then applied uncritically to people from a wide range of backgrounds. A forthcoming book, Racism in Psychology, edited by Craig Newnes, covers this ground in relation to psychology and psychotherapy practice. I know from many years of experience in mental health services that psychiatry and psychology/psychotherapy can be enormously helpful to people when their needs and wishes are carefully listened to and given the highest priority, rather than the insensitive application of theory.

Study finds testosterone associated with risk of developing potentially deadly skin cancer, but causation not provedMen with high levels of testosterone have an increased risk of developing a potentially deadly skin cancer, researchers have found.According to Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, one in 36 UK males and one in 47 UK females will be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in their lifetime. It said 86% of melanoma cases were preventable, typically caused by use of sunbeds or staying out in the sun, but other factors played a role in who is most at risk, including age and genetics. Continue reading...

Archaeologist says neolithic discovery may be among oldest salt-processing sites in western EuropeNeolithic people were manufacturing salt in Britain almost 6,000 years ago, before the building of Stonehenge and more than two millennia earlier than was first thought, a new archaeological discovery suggests.Excavations at a site at Street House farm in North Yorkshire have revealed evidence of the earliest salt production site ever found in the UK and one of the first of its kind in western Europe, dating to around 3,800BC. Continue reading...

Research finds lower risk among those who drink up to 14 units a week – especially if they drink red winePeople who consume up to 14 units of alcohol a week have less chance of developing cataracts, especially if they drink red wine, a new British study has found.Antioxidants found in wine could help explain why moderate drinkers are at up to 23% less risk of having to have cataract surgery than people who shun alcohol, the researchers believe. Continue reading...

Loss of grants, driven by deep cuts to foreign aid, threatens research and international collaborationsSenior scientists fear that deep cuts to government research spending will have “catastrophic” consequences for the UK, with projects cancelled midway through and some of the brightest minds moving to other countries.Hundreds of research projects tackling issues from the Covid pandemic to antimicrobial resistance and the climate crisis are already being axed after the country’s main science funder, UK Research and Innovation, told universities its budget for official development assistance (ODA) grants had been cut from £245m to £125m. Continue reading...

Planned IPO of life science group will test LSE’s appetite for funding high-growth tech

Study by Office for National Statistics based on data from blood test results

Commission security proposal would restrict UK access to Horizon Europe quantum computing projectBritain will join China in being locked out of research with the EU on cutting-edge quantum technology, such as new breeds of supercomputers, due to security concerns under a European commission proposal opposed by academics and 19 member states.At a meeting on Friday, commission officials said the EU needed to keep control of intellectual property on key projects and that working with even close allies such as the UK and Switzerland opened up an unacceptable risk. Continue reading...

Heatwaves to double and many properties will be uninsurable if global heating reaches 3C, Australian Academy of Science says

Whether you are a seasoned astronomer or new to stargazing, we’d like to see your photos from the last few weeksHave you taken a recent photograph of the cosmos that you’re particularly proud of? Whether you are a seasoned astronomer or new to stargazing, we would like to hear from you. Continue reading...

Mega-constellations could cause scientists to miss out on crucial discoveries, warn researchersArtificial satellites and space junk orbiting the Earth can increase the brightness of the night sky, researchers have found, with experts warning such light pollution could hinder astronomers’ ability to make observations of our universe.There are more than 9,200 tonnes of space objects in orbit around the Earth, ranging from defunct satellites to tiny fragments, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). Now it seems space junk not only poses a collision risk but, together with other space objects, is contributing to light pollution. Continue reading...

Spasms, memory loss and hallucinations among symptoms of 43 patients in Acadian region of New Brunswick provinceDoctors in Canada are concerned they could be dealing with a previously unknown brain disease amid a string of cases involving memory loss, hallucinations and muscle atrophy.Politicians in the province of New Brunswick have demanded answers, but with so few cases, experts say there are far more questions than answers and have urged the public not to panic. Continue reading...

Stanford University scientists determine sequences of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines from vials set to be discardedScientists have determined the “recipes” for two Covid-19 vaccines using leftovers in vials bound for the trash and published the mRNA sequences on Github, the online repository for software code.The group of scientists from Stanford University were able to determine the sequences of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and included the mRNA sequences in a post they published on Github last week, tech news site Motherboard first reported. Continue reading...

Two separate clusters of UK variant spread in Brisbane when unvaccinated health workers contracted coronavirusThe Queensland hospital system was already “stressed” before the latest Covid outbreak partly because everyone with the virus is moved from hotel quarantine into hospital, but not all hospital workers have been vaccinated yet, experts say.There are now two separate clusters of the infectious UK variant of coronavirus in Brisbane that spread when unvaccinated health workers contracted the virus. The cases have forced Brisbane into a snap three-day lockdown. Continue reading...

Last August, Pape and his family went on a city break to Birmingham, making the most of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s discount scheme. The day after he arrived home, his symptoms beganAmanda Pape didn’t want to go on a city break to Birmingham during a pandemic, but her husband, Bob, a 53-year-old lawyer, insisted. “Bob was convinced that the government would not allow people to travel if it wasn’t safe,” says Amanda, a 56-year-old former teacher. Bob was persuasive – he was a lawyer, after all – so she relented. Along with her daughter, Jazzy, 19, one of Jazzy’s friends and a child Bob and Amanda were fostering, they booked three nights in a Holiday Inn from 2 August 2020.The family, from Altrincham, Greater Manchester, stayed from Sunday to Wednesday, to make the most of the government’s “eat out to help out” (EOTHO) scheme, which offered food and soft drink discounts on Mondays to Wednesdays in August. Right until they left for Birmingham, Amanda was uneasy. She was on the verge of cancelling. It felt wrong. Continue reading...

Immunisation panel says there is ‘substantial uncertainty about the benefit’ of the vaccine given risk of rare type of blood clot

Adults can enhance their empathy but successful patients need ‘a certain base level’ to begin with, according to psychologists• Former branch secretary surprised Laming revelations ‘didn’t happen sooner’Experts have warned “there is no quick fix” for improving empathy, as besieged Coalition MP Andrew Laming takes leave to undertake an empathy training course the government has ordered him to complete.Psychologists from Monash University and the University of Western Australia have said that any meaningful behavioural change requires prolonged and “intense” therapy with a specially trained psychologist. “You can’t just walk into a workshop and come out with empathy” following a six-week course, they said, although this is the length Laming has suggested he hopes his will take. Continue reading...

Much-delayed report from team that visited Wuhan all but rules out lab leak theory

Cambridge researchers find prevalence varied by ethnicity and levels of deprivation in largest data analysis yetAutism is more common among children in England than previously thought, with rates higher among Black pupils than their white peers, researchers have revealed.Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects communication and behaviour and is thought to affect 1-2% of people around the world, with diagnoses more common among males than females. However, there has been little large-scale research into its prevalence, and whether it differs with ethnicity. Continue reading...

Increased use of psychiatric language means ordinary distress is being medicalised, while the seriously ill are not being heardMany years ago, in the fading hours of a house party, I sat outside in the garden with an old friend. From inside came the distant thud of music and pockets of laughter – a thousand miles from the conversation we were having. My friend’s relationship had ended a few weeks previously, and that night his heartbreak was palpable and raw. He told me how disconnected he felt from the people inside the house, from his life, and then he said something that made my heart sink. “When I look into the future,” he said, avoiding eye contact, “I can’t see anything ahead of me.” At that moment – I thought – something became clear: he was clinically depressed.Over the following days and weeks, I told my friend what I knew about the disorder, and the benefits of therapy and antidepressants, and encouraged him to go to the doctor. Even though he was reluctant, I was sure of how much he would benefit, so I persisted. But then, after about a month of checking in with him, something strange happened: he started to feel better, without any professional help at all. I distinctly remember the moment, a disintegration of what I thought I understood about mental health. Evidently, since my friend’s acute distress passed within a few weeks, he didn’t sit clearly in the territory of what we might call “mental illness”. But he certainly wasn’t mentally healthy for those weeks either. Instead, I realised, he sat somewhere in the vast grey plains between the two. Continue reading...

Now is the best time of year to see glow caused by sunlight scattering off dust particles in spaceNow is the best time of the year to see the zodiacal light in the evening sky from the northern hemisphere. It’s a subtle glow that takes some effort to notice, but is always worth your time because of its gossamer beauty. Continue reading...

People infected after having vaccine may also be less likely to transmit virus, initial findings show

Nadhim Zahawi hails milestone of 30m first doses and says UK still on track to protect all adults by July

Frank Land touches on the new opportunities provided by technology for exploration and novel experiences, while Ya’ir Klein says the pandemic has given us time for reflection, and Louise Smith uses science to explain strange happeningsI can appreciate Richard Friedman’s concerns about the damage lockdown can do to our brains and mental states (If you’re ecstatic after a trip to the shops, it’s your brain thanking you for the novelty, 25 March), but am surprised that he does not mention the new opportunities provided by technology for exploration and novel experiences.Each day brings an array of conferences, discussions and debates, bringing people from around the globe together in ways undreamed of only a short while ago. Using Zoom or Microsoft Teams, I have been able to attend, learn and contribute to a range of topics, some totally new to me, but fascinating – and opening new interests. Continue reading...

Twins unravel their family history when their mother dies; myths, science and the origins of the universe; and a harrowing account of postpartum psychosisClaire Fuller

The professor of environmental medicine explains how chemicals in plastics are causing our fertility to decline – and what we can do about itShanna Swan is a professor of environmental medicine and public health at Mount Sinai school of medicine in New York City, studying fertility trends. In 2017 she documented how average sperm counts among western men have more than halved in the past 40 years. Count Down is her new book.You’ve spent more than 20 years examining the effects of hormone disrupting chemicals on reproductive health. Are you now sounding the alarm?

A new book celebrates the trailblazing work of the English aristocrat, who successfully inoculated her daughterIt was a daring and dangerous experiment that paved the way for the development of the first safe vaccine and saved countless lives. Yet when Lady Mary Wortley Montagu deliberately infected her own daughter with a tiny dose of smallpox – successfully inoculating the three-year-old child in 1721 – her ideas were dismissed and she was denounced by 18th-century society as an “ignorant woman” .Three hundred years later, on the anniversary of that first groundbreaking inoculation on English soil, a new biography will aim to raise the profile of Wortley Montagu and reassert her rightful place in history as a trailblazing 18th-century scientist and early feminist. Continue reading...

The company has struggled, like its rivals, to keep up with demand. But it has achieved great things at low pricesAstraZeneca is one of the shining stars of the pandemic. Not only did it produce a vaccine where other big players failed, the UK-Swedish company has pledged to sell it at cost until it is able to declare the pandemic over.Because the vials that contain Astra’s vaccine can be kept in a normal refrigerator, it has managed to keep the cost down to about $3 (£2.20) a shot, compared with the $35 charged by US firm Moderna for its vaccine outside the States. Continue reading...

For more than a year the Recovery programme has used the NHS to test many Covid treatments, saving lives worldwideAs it is a novel disease, inevitably there have been numerous suggestions for treatments for Covid-19, ranging from herbal tonics to the anti-malarial hydroxychloroquine, as advocated by the former US president. The question is: what treatments work best?It is not enough just to compare what happened to people who did or did not have the treatment, which may, for example, have been given to healthier patients. The only reliable method is to allocate volunteers at random to either receive the novel treatment or a control, and, if possible, neither they nor the medical team know which. Randomised trials reduce statistical biases and, if they are large enough, researchers can robustly say whether the intervention helps. Continue reading...

Scientists alarmed as prime minister suggests people have had enough ‘days off’ while Labour pushes the right to work from home

Sid Jhamat, six, from Walsall came upon a horn coral while using his fossil-hunting kit to find wormsA six-year-old boy has found a fossil dating back millions of years in his garden after receiving a fossil-hunting kit for Christmas.Siddak Singh Jhamat, known as Sid, said he was excited to find the fossil in his garden in Walsall after digging for worms. Continue reading...

The importance of a beacon and having fortitude are key for lighthouse keepers – clues for us all when there’s little else aroundImagine being a lighthouse keeper. Before I dropped beneath the surface of this secluded, often secretive, occupation, the idea brought to mind wind-blown seagulls, or a bearded sea dog chewing his pipe. Such is the romantic notion many of us have about lighthouses. The reality is (or was, because the staffed lighthouse is now extinct) quite different.Land lights – those charming beacons you’ll find on the coast, the distinctive red stripe of Portland Bill or the thimble-shaped watchpoint at Llanddwyn – are appealing, but for me the sea towers hold the greatest allure. I’m talking about those majestic, improbable stations rising audaciously up out of the ocean – the Bell Rock, the Bishop, the Longships. The famous Eddystone, south of Plymouth, is the fourth built on that reef, in an effort that spanned almost 200 years. Its neighbouring “Smeaton’s Stump”, the remains of a third manifestation, serves as a stark reminder that water is not meant to hold buildings. Continue reading...

Head of Royal College of Psychiatrists warns that the emotional toll from the pandemic could last for years

Here are the current coronavirus hotspots and case locations in Queensland and what to do if you’ve visited them

His claim that ‘greed’ was the driver behind the UK’s vaccine success ignores the huge role of state funding

Chunk of space rock was once the ‘poster child for hazardous asteroids’ but it will be a while before humans need to worry about it againNasa has given Earth the all clear on the chances of an asteroid called Apophis hitting our planet any time in the next century, having worried space scientists for over 15 years.The 340-metre (1,100ft) chunk of space rock hit the headlines in 2004 after its discovery led to some worrying forecasts about its orbit. It became a “poster child for hazardous asteroids”, according to one Nasa expert. Continue reading...

New tools could help predict extent and severity of hay fever and allergy-related asthma months aheadThe climate emergency could increase future allergy season severity by up to 60%, a new pollen forecasting system suggests, while a separate system could predict the severity of grass pollen seasons months in advance.Such tools could help health professionals prepare for an increase in hay fever cases, or hospital admissions for allergy-related asthma. Seasonal pollen forecasts could also enable some hay fever sufferers to avoid particularly severe seasons by, for example, travelling abroad. Continue reading...

Warning comes amid signs people are already mingling more before next step of easing restrictions

Leap of 50% in cases in three months and just 7m jabs across continent ‘infecting 11 health workers an hour’

Residents in the Portland area of Oregon report sightings of strange lights streaking across the sky, which turned out to be debris from a SpaceX rocket launched in Florida 22 days ago. The rocket re-entered the atmosphere at the wrong angle, causing it to burn up

‘Cure-alls’ such as vitamin D and ivermectin seem appealing. But the truth is, specific diseases demand specific medicinesIf the coronavirus had struck in the middle ages, there would have been a cure. You could have got it at all good apothecaries, though not cheaply. It was called theriac, and it also cured epilepsy, indigestion, heart trouble and swellings and fevers of all kinds. The recipes were often secret but were said to include the roasted flesh of vipers – it was the original snake-oil remedy. Sugar may have been a common ingredient, too, as the name is the root of the English “treacle”.Theriac dates back at least to Roman times: Marcus Aurelius allegedly took a precautionary dose every day. Of course, it was totally useless – apart, perhaps, from giving a sugar rush in those times of calorie deprivation. But it attests to the longstanding wish for a cure-all. No historian of medicine will have been surprised by the bogus or questionable remedies being touted for Covid-19, from zinc supplements to hydroxychloroquine. Even Donald Trump’s proposal of bleach injections sounds mild compared with some of the medical interventions attempted in the past, which included concoctions of mercury and sulphuric acid. Continue reading...

A skilled storyteller reflects on the genius of Werner Heisenberg, who developed the theory that explains the evolution of stars and makes computers possibleThere are two kinds of geniuses, argued the celebrated mathematician Mark Kac. There is the “ordinary” kind, whom we could emulate if only we were a lot smarter than we actually are because there is no mystery as to how their minds work. After we have understood what they have done, we believe (perhaps foolishly) that we could have done it too. When it comes to the second kind of genius, the “magician”, even after we have understood what has been done, the process by which it was done remains forever a mystery.Werner Heisenberg was definitely a magician, who conjured up some of the most remarkable insights into the nature of reality. Carlo Rovelli recounts the first act of magic performed by Heisenberg in the opening of Helgoland, his remarkably wide-ranging new meditation on quantum theory. Continue reading...

Southern Launch facility on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula gets go-ahead to send up suborbital satellitesAustralia is one giant leap closer to becoming a space-faring nation again, with the first licence granted to establish a civilian rocket launch facility.The federal industry minister, Karen Andrews, announced on Thursday that South Australian company Southern Launch will be able to launch suborbital satellites from its Koonibba test range site. Continue reading...

A new £50 note featuring Alan Turing, the scientist best known for his codebreaking work during the second world war, has been unveiled by the Bank of England and will go into circulation on 23 June, the date of his birth.Turing was prosecuted for homosexual acts in 1952, and an inquest concluded that his death from cyanide poisoning two years later was suicide.The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, said: “I’m delighted that our new £50 features one of Britain’s most important scientists ... He was also gay and was treated appallingly as a result. By placing him on our new polymer £50 banknote, we are celebrating his achievements and the values he symbolises."