Archaeologists unearth monks’ cells and churches with biblical inscriptions dating back to fourth century ADA French-Norwegian archaeological team has discovered new Christian ruins in Egypt’s Western Desert, revealing monastic life in the region in the fifth century AD, the Egyptian antiquities ministry said.“The French-Norwegian mission discovered during its third excavation campaign at the site of Tal Ganoub Qasr al-Agouz in the Bahariya Oasis several buildings made of basalt, others carved into the bedrock and some made of mud bricks,” it said in a statement on Saturday. Continue reading...
It’s been a tough time to be 17 or 18, but there have been some upsides, tooMy sons are 18 and 17. It was the younger’s birthday this week and I made an awful cake that definitely breached my minimum cake standards (I hesitate to criticise Nigella, but there is such a thing as too much peanut butter). He looked a bit overwhelmed when we sang happy birthday, and I worried all day about him and his 17-year-old pandemic life, without access to the places and people that help being 17 make sense. There is nothing I can do about that, so I am fixating on the cake, sitting here wondering if I have time to make a replacement. I don’t, but I might anyway. What else do I have to offer him – another load of laundry?Because neither of my kids actually needs me now. They could live independently without dying of hunger or septic shock (the elder managed five weeks last summer) and after an emergency remedial tutorial on “what can’t go in a microwave” at Christmas, probably without fire or explosion either. They can clean a loo, iron trousers and brave an HMRC helpline; they can make absorption-method rice, a from-scratch pasta sauce and decent chocolate chip cookies. After six months of Covid testing, one has more savings than I do; the other is cagier, but after a decade of not spending his birthday and Christmas money, I suspect he does, too. Continue reading...
by Words: Alexandra Jones Illustration: Frieda Ruh on (#5F9KW)
This week sees the opening of the first UK high-street clinic offering psychedelic-assisted therapy. Could popping psilocybin be the future of mental healthcare?In the summer of 1981, when he was 13, Grant crashed a trail motorbike into a wall at his parents’ house in Cambridgeshire. He’d been hiding it in the shed, but “it was far too powerful for me, and on my very first time starting it in the garden, I smashed it into a wall”. His mother came outside to find the skinny teenager in a heap next to the crumpled motorbike. “I was in a lot of trouble.”Grant hadn’t given this childhood memory much thought in the intervening years, but one hot August day in 2019, it came back to him with such clarity that, at 53, now a stocky father of two, he suddenly understood it as a clue to his dangerously unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Continue reading...
Medical physicist who pioneered body scanning as a way to diagnose diseaseFrom the earliest X-rays to the latest body scanners, the ability to visualise the inside of the living body has revolutionised medical diagnosis. With a profound understanding of physics, great technical ingenuity and a mission to put these skills to use in the service of medicine, John Mallard, who has died aged 94, was one of the first to establish routine scanning services that revealed tumours in organs such as the brain and the liver. His team at the University of Aberdeen built the first whole-body MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner and produced the first clinically significant MRI images of a hospital patient.Mallard was interested in ends rather than means and pioneered several different forms of imaging technology, adopting another technique each time it offered the chance to produce clearer images or greater safety for the patient. In the beginning, locating tumours or other pathology involved injecting radioactive tracers and picking up their emissions with detectors outside the body. Continue reading...
Preliminary data presented to Sage shows women five times as likely to report new disability or increased fatigueWorking-age women who are hospitalised with coronavirus are five times as likely to develop long Covid as men in the same age group, according to research presented to the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).Preliminary data shared with scientific advisers suggests that women under 50 are five times as likely as men under 50 to report a new disability, six times as likely to experience greater breathlessness, and twice as likely to feel more fatigued up to 11 months after leaving hospital. Continue reading...
by Written by John Colapinto, read by Christopher Rag on (#5F8DB)
When I damaged my vocal cords, I was forced to change the way I spoke – and discovered how much our voices reveal who we are. By John Colapinto Continue reading...
Researchers claim breakthrough in study of 2,000-year-old Antikythera mechanism, an astronomical calculator found in seaFrom the moment it was discovered more than a century ago, scholars have puzzled over the Antikythera mechanism, a remarkable and baffling astronomical calculator that survives from the ancient world.The hand-powered, 2,000-year-old device displayed the motion of the universe, predicting the movement of the five known planets, the phases of the moon and the solar and lunar eclipses. But quite how it achieved such impressive feats has proved fiendishly hard to untangle. Continue reading...
New species of wētā, a giant flightless cricket, is seen as ‘reflecting traits’ of Jacinda ArdernNew Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has received what may be her greatest accolade yet: a large insect named in her honour.A new species of wētā – a giant flightless cricket that is endemic to New Zealand – has been named Hemiandrus jacinda for being Labour-party red in colour and “long-limbed”. Continue reading...
Peyo and his owner once competed at dressage events. Now they spend their time doing rounds in a French hospital, often staying with sick people until the end. All photographs by Jeremy Lempin/Divergence Continue reading...
Inquiry into 2012 burglary is revived after French police turn up a DNA match for unrelated crimeGerman police say they have solved a nine-year-old burglary case after DNA found on a half-eaten piece of sausage matched that of a man detained in France over an unrelated crime.Police in the western town of Schwelm said on Thursday the sausage belonged to the victim, and the suspect – a 30-year-old Albanian citizen – appeared to have helped himself to a bite during the break-in in Gevelsberg in March 2012. Continue reading...
Access to IVF and fertility services and postponement of parenthood drive rise in global twinning ratesTwins may be more common today than at any time in history, according to the first comprehensive survey of twin births around the world.Researchers analysed records from more than 100 countries and found a substantial rise in twin birthrates since the 1980s, with one in 42 people now born a twin, equivalent to 1.6 million children a year. According to the study, the global twin birthrate has risen by one-third, on average, over the past 40 years. Continue reading...
No trials of graded exercise have shown to harm patients, say Dr Alastair Miller, Prof Paul Garner and Prof Peter White, so those with post-Covid fatigue syndrome should not be discouraged from trying itDr Joanna Herman is right to call out the lack of care being offered to sufferers of long Covid (People with long Covid urgently need help. Why can’t we access it?, 10 March). The willingness of doctors to speak out as patients has done much to highlight the long-term effects of Covid-19.We know that long Covid is more than one disease, all of which will need different treatments. But we do not know that graded exercise therapy is detrimental to recovery from the post-Covid fatigue syndrome. There are no such studies. Continue reading...
by Presented by Alex Hern and produced by Madeleine F on (#5F6T0)
Last week videos of what appeared to be Tom Cruise at home and playing golf appeared on TikTok. It later emerged the clips were actually AI-generated by a creator of ‘deepfake’ videos. Deepfake videos depict situations that have never happened in the real world, and are becoming increasingly convincing. Alex Hern goes behind the scenes to find out exactly how such videos were made, and how far this technology has progressed Continue reading...
Designer babies and ethical quicksand ... The biographer of Steve Jobs tells the story of Jennifer Doudna and the development of gene-editingOne of the most striking passages in Walter Isaacson’s new book comes towards the end. It is 2019 and a scientific meeting is under way at the famous Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory in New York State, but James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, is banned from it because of the racist and scientifically unfounded views he has expressed on intelligence. Isaacson, who is to interview Watson, therefore has to make his way to the house on the nearby campus that the scientist has been allowed to keep. When the conversation sails dangerously close to the race issue, someone shouts from the kitchen: “If you are going to let him say these things, then I am going to have to ask you to leave.” The 91-year-old Watson shrugs and changes tack.The voice from the kitchen belonged to Rufus, Watson’s middle-aged son who suffers from schizophrenia. “My dad’s statements might make him out to be a bigot and discriminatory,” he once said. “They just represent his rather narrow interpretation of genetic destiny.” In many ways, Isaacson observes, Rufus is wiser than his father. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#5F68Y)
Innovation in NHS self-care will see patients in England swallow tiny cameras instead of having standard endoscopyPeople will be able to check if they have bowel cancer by swallowing a tiny capsule containing miniature cameras, in an extension of patient self-care.In what experts described as a trend towards more NHS at-home care, hastened by the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of people in England will be able to avoid the discomfort of having a camera inserted into their bowel by instead swallowing a capsule the size of a cod liver oil tablet. Continue reading...
Before the vaccine, Britain’s pandemic defences were in a scandalous state. The government must still be held to account for its failuresContact tracing was once advertised as the centrepiece of the government’s strategy for managing the pandemic. The coronavirus would be held at bay and other nations would be in awe at Britain’s “world-beating” system. Neither goal was achieved.A report, published on Wednesday by the Commons public accounts committee, struggled to find evidence that NHS test and trace has made a significant difference in reducing transmission. That is not to say it did nothing. Hundreds of thousands of daily tests have been administered. In the second half of last year, 2.5 million people who tested positive were contacted and a further 4.5 million people were told to self-isolate. (How many did so and for how long is another question.) Continue reading...
Those of us who have received free vaccinations may want to show our appreciation by contributing to a scheme to ensure vaccine rollout in lower income countries, writes Paul TylerThe timely reminder (A ‘me first’ approach to vaccination won’t defeat Covid, 5 March) from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, coincides with a growing public awareness that we are all in this pandemic together. UK citizens will not be safe – or able to travel freely – until all the world is protected. We who have received free vaccination – thanks to the NHS – may want to show our appreciation by contributing to the rollout in lower income countries.To this end, members from all parties of the House of Lords have come together with GAVI (the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) to enable UK residents to contribute to the Covax programme. Our #GetOneGiveOne campaign has raised £56,000 from individual donations in its first week. Continue reading...
Science-fiction author honoured in Nasa’s chosen name for Mars rover’s touchdown“Mars is a rock - cold, empty, almost airless, dead. Yet it’s heaven in a way,” Octavia E Butler wrote in her acclaimed novel Parable of the Sower. Decades later, Nasa has informally named the touchdown site of the Mars rover Perseverance after the late science fiction novelist.Nasa said there was “no better person” to mark the landing site than Butler. “Her guiding principle, ‘When using science, do so accurately,’ is what the science team at Nasa is all about. Her work continues to inspire today’s scientists and engineers across the globe – all in the name of a bolder, more equitable future for all,” said Nasa’s Thomas Zurbuchen. Continue reading...
Russian space agency Roscosmos and Chinese counterpart CNSA to develop research facilities on surface of moon or in its orbitRussia and China have unveiled plans for a joint lunar space station, with the Russian space agency Roscosmos saying it has signed an agreement with China’s National Space Administration (CNSA) to develop a “complex of experimental research facilities created on the surface and/or in the orbit of the moon”.The CNSA, for its part, said the project was “open to all interested countries and international partners” in what experts said would be China’s biggest international space cooperation project to date. Continue reading...
New findings cement idea that ritual and religion was invoked using talismans to soothe nervesWith sky-high levels of maternal mortality, the science of obstetrics virtually nonexistent and the threat of infectious disease always around the corner, pregnant medieval women put their faith in talismans to bring them divine protection during childbirth.From amulets to precious stones, the list of items that the church lent to pregnant women was substantial, but the most popular lucky charm was a “birthing girdle”. Continue reading...
Biak island residents say SpaceX launchpad would devastate island’s ecology and displace people from their homesPapuans whose island has been offered up as a potential launch site for Elon Musk’s SpaceX project have told the billionaire Tesla chief his company is not welcome on their land, and its presence would devastate their island’s ecosystem and drive people from their homes.Musk was offered use of part of the small island of Biak in Papua by Indonesian president Joko Widodo in December. Continue reading...
Scottish first minister announces limited changes to mixing, in particular for teenagers. This live blog has now closed – please follow the global coronavirus live blog for updates
by Presented by Linda Geddes and produced by Tiffany on (#5F3SK)
Social distancing measures mean most of us now have very little opportunity to talk to strangers and acquaintances. These chats might seem insignificant, but they can provide lots of psychological benefits. To find out more, Linda Geddes speaks to Gillian Sandstrom about what we’re currently missing out on. And, when told Gillian finds finishing a chat particularly hard, Linda gets in touch with the author of a recent paper asking why we find it so challenging to end a conversation Continue reading...
Octopuses and their relatives are remarkably clever and controlled. How many of our top politicians can say the same?Back in the gentler days of the internet, before it was just bots and people shouting at tea, I had a blog, and through it, occasional exchanges with a woman I described as my “cephalopod correspondent”. She would write, sharing interesting titbits about squid behaviour, cuttlefish news and, once, a picture of “an Octopus cyanea on a penny”.I think of her often now, as every week it seems we learn something spectacular about the tentacular. Octopuses are competent and creative problem-solvers, can master mazes, and frequently escape from captivity. They can even predict the outcome of football matches (OK, possibly not, but octopus Paul’s strike rate was impressive). Our collective fascination only deepened with last year’s Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher, a lovely exploration of the curiosity and resourcefulness of one uncommonly touching common octopus. Perhaps even better was the relatable recent revelation that octopuses sometimes punch their fish co-workers when on joint hunting missions: it has certainly deepened my respect for them. Continue reading...
Groundbreaking new analysis could allow more than 100,000 people to claim compensationFrance has consistently underestimated the devastating impact of its nuclear tests in French Polynesia in the 1960s and 70s, according to groundbreaking new research that could allow more than 100,000 people to claim compensation.France conducted 193 nuclear tests from 1966 to 1996 at Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls in French Polynesia, including 41 atmospheric tests until 1974 that exposed the local population, site workers and French soldiers to high levels of radiation. Continue reading...
Researchers at Japan's Nara Women's University have discovered a new trait exhibited by the sacoglossan sea slug – it has the ability to decapitate itself, then regrow its body. The process, from shedding all of itself below the neck to regrowing a new body, takes less than a month, in an extreme example of a process known as autotomy
‘Dream come true’ to locate first carbonaceous chondrite seen in UK, part of fireball that caused sonic boomA lump of a rare meteorite that lit up the night sky over the UK and northern Europe last week has been recovered from a driveway in Gloucestershire.The fragment, weighing nearly 300 grams, and other pieces of the space rock were located after scientists reconstructed the flight path of the fireball that unleashed a sonic boom as it tore across the sky shortly before 10pm UK time on Sunday 28 February. Continue reading...
Dr Annie Hickox advocates for the powerful combination of medication plus talking therapy. And Laurel Farrington highlights how empathy reduces when we are anxious and stressedAs a mental health professional, I was glad to read Jenny Stevens’ description of her experience of antidepressant medication and how it helped her during a mental health crisis that was exacerbated by Covid-19 (I’m not ashamed medication got me through the pandemic – but we need talking therapies too, 2 March). Her account of the initial effects of medication on her sleep and her ability to return to day-to-day activities that helped keep her “sane and stable” will resonate with many who have had severe depression.She rightly points out that despite the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, and her own recognised need, talking therapy was repeatedly unavailable to her on the NHS. The difficulty in accessing psychological support contributes greatly to the surge in antidepressant prescribing and increases the stigma surrounding medication by those whose agenda is driven by an anti-medication ideology and misinformation. Continue reading...
Zolgensma, which costs £1.79m for one-off treatment, will be available in England this year for the first timeThe world’s most expensive drug, which treats babies and young children with a rare and often fatal degenerative disorder, will be available this year for the first time on the NHS in England.Zolgensma, which costs £1.79m per dose, halts the progression of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), which involves loss of movement, muscle weakness and paralysis, and is the leading genetic cause of death in infants. Continue reading...
These insects have declined by a third over 50 years. While their appetites can be a nuisance, ultimately we must protect these gloriously beautiful, elusive creatures