by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#4ZTQQ)
System on a ‘knife-edge’ due to skills shortages and funding cuts in England and WalesInnocent people are being wrongly convicted and criminals are escaping justice because of the failure of the forensic science system to meet basic standards, the regulator has said.Delivering a stark message before the release of her annual report on Tuesday, the forensic science regulator, Dr Gillian Tully, told the Guardian the service had been operating “on a knife-edge†for years. Continue reading...
African-American mathematician who played a key role in landing men on the moonIt was not the most arresting of titles: in 1959 the African-American mathematician Katherine Johnson, who has died aged 101, completed a paper entitled Determination of Azimuth Angle at Burnout for Placing a Satellite Over a Selected Earth Position. Thus did she become the first woman to have a credit on a report published by the flight research division of the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa).Even more significantly, those calculations were at the basis of a crucial part of Johnson’s work for the astronaut John Glenn, when, in 1962, he became the first American to orbit the Earth. “Get the girl,†the astronaut had said, refusing to fly unless Johnson, with her mastery of mathematics, had verified the computer’s work on her mechanical calculating machine. “If she says they’re good, then I’m ready to go.†She did, and he flew. Continue reading...
Leading researcher in animal flight who helped explain the workings of birds and batsColin Pennycuick, who has died aged 86, was the pre-eminent researcher in animal flight over the last century. He focused on the flight of bats and birds (and their possible ancestors), and asked the question: how do they work? To answer this deceptively simple question he brought to bear a mix of sharp logic and original and practical invention.Though he sought to ground his work in the rigorous application of physics and mathematics, he was not satisfied with abstract results and conclusions by themselves, but always sought to democratise his findings, first to the biological sciences community and then to the huge population of lay people fascinated with birds and their flight escapades. Continue reading...
InSight, which touched down in 2018, proves beyond doubt that Mars is seismically activeThe latest robot to land on Mars has felt the ground shake beneath its feet, whirlwinds tear across the surface and sudden blasts of air shoot past like “atmospheric tsunamisâ€.The measurements are the first to be released from Nasa’s InSight lander, which touched down in the barren expanse of Elysium Planitia in November 2018 on a mission to investigate the planet’s interior. Continue reading...
The solutions to today’s puzzlesEarlier today I set you these three problems about birthdays.1. Philippe [geddit?] was born on 29 February 2016. His parents decided to celebrate his first birthday 365 days later. Continue reading...
Johnson overcame racial and gender-based discrimination to become an integral part of Nasa’s work in space explorationKatherine Johnson, one of the trailblazing African American mathematicians whose story was told in the hit film Hidden Figures, has died, Nasa announced on Monday. She was 101.Related: How history forgot the black women behind Nasa’s space race Continue reading...
by Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent on (#4ZSSM)
Some victims’ diagnosis of HIV and hepatitis C was withheld for years, hearing toldThe guilt of infected blood donors and the anger of victims whose diagnosis of HIV and hepatitis C was withheld from them for years has emerged as evidence given in secret was read out to a public hearing in London.On Monday, witnesses who did not want to appear in person had their testimony delivered by intermediaries who interviewed them for the infected blood inquiry. It is examining how as many as 30,000 people became severely ill after being given contaminated blood products by the NHS in the 1970s and 80s; many have since died. Continue reading...
Quadrennial questionsIt’s not often a leap year comes around. About once every four years, in fact.To celebrate this year’s bonus day, which falls on Saturday, here are three puzzles about dates and births. Continue reading...
The film Black in Space: Breaking the Color Barrier dives into the under-reported history of efforts to include people of color in the space raceMost children who rise through the American education system are familiar with the US space program – or at least the story of the program’s achievements: John Glenn’s orbit of the earth, John F Kennedy’s promise to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s, the Apollo program, Neil Armstrong’s giant leap for mankind. “In the end, the big takeaway we get is that America was first in everything,†the documentary film-maker Laurens Grant told the Guardian. There’s an assumption, in American history textbooks, films and the many commemorative specials on last year’s 50th anniversary of the moon landing, of Nasa’s inevitability to get it right, and to be great.Related: Mercury 13: the untold story of women testing for spaceflight in the 1960s Continue reading...
by Presented by Rachel Humphreys with David Conn and on (#4ZS2H)
Manchester City’s fortunes changed dramatically with the takeover by Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi. But after years of success, Europe’s governing body has banned the club from its most prestigious tournament, the Champions League. David Conn explains why. Plus: Alok Jha on the ethics of gene editingIt was deep into injury time in the final match of the 2011-12 season and Manchester City needed a goal to win the Premier League with just seconds remaining. The Argentinian striker Sergio Agüero jinked past a QPR defender and smashed the ball into the net, sending the crowd into raptures and securing the club’s first league title for more than 30 years. More were to follow as the Manchester City trophy cabinet filled up over subsequent years, fuelled by a multimillion-pound spending spree on the world’s best players. All of it financed by Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi’s royal family.But after emails emerged in the German magazine Der Spiegel that appeared to show City had been flouting Uefa’s financial fair play rules, the club were put on notice for a possible sanction. When it came this month it shocked the world of football: a two-year ban from Europe’s most prestigious and lucrative club competition, the Champions League. Continue reading...
Ankara also suspends incoming flights as Iranian authorities try to contain outbreak in countryTurkey and Pakistan have both closed their borders with Iran, with Turkey also halting incoming flights, in an effort to stop the potential spread of coronavirus after Iran reported 43 cases of the disease.All highways and railways were closed at the border between Turkey and Iran as of 5pm local time and flights from Iran had been suspended, the Turkish health minister, Fahrettin Koca, said on Sunday. Flights from Turkey to Iran were still being allowed. Continue reading...
Seeing the hidden world of care, after my beloved brother’s devastating accident, taught me about people’s remarkable strength and graceI often find myself thinking back to a fairly unremarkable afternoon in 2010. I was sitting in the day room of a care home while my older brother Miles slept beside me, in his wheelchair. Steve, one of the other severely brain-injured residents dotted around the room in wheelchairs, was in distress. His hands were up by his face in tight fists and he was weeping. Nothing anyone did to comfort or soothe him worked; the look on his contorted face was one of pure anguish.And then, just as Miles was waking up, Steve’s wife Natalia entered the room. Seeing her husband, she dropped her bags and ran to him, holding his face in her hands and covering it in kisses. Normally an outspoken and wonderfully foul-mouthed woman, she spoke now in gentle, incantatory whispers. I’ve never seen relief like the relief that flooded Steve’s face; it spread over his face and even his limbs, his neck softening back into the headrest, hands uncurling. It was a moment of tenderness and care, but also such profound intimacy that I found myself turning away, as if I were intruding. Continue reading...
Patients and staff at a hospital near Daegu account for bulk of 229 new cases as links to controversial ‘sect’ are investigatedSouth Korea has reported another huge jump in cases of coronavirus as the country fights to contain the spread of the deadly disease.The number of infections has increased by 229 to 433, officials said on Saturday, with most of the cases linked to the city of Daegu and surrounding region two hours south of Seoul. Continue reading...
Case study of 20-year-old who infected relatives despite not showing signs of illness – and testing negative – stokes global pandemic fearsA 20-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan travelled hundreds of miles to another city where she is believed to have infected five relatives without showing signs of infection, scientists in China have said, offering fresh evidence that the new coronavirus can be spread asymptomatically.The case study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, offered clues about how the coronavirus is spreading, and suggested it might be difficult to stop. Continue reading...
New treatments involving anaesthesia drugs and neurofeedback could soon be used for getting over a breakupNothing is quite as shattering as a broken heart. A bad breakup has been known to trigger a range of psychological and physical symptoms, from nausea and insomnia to clinical depression. In more extreme scenarios, broken heart syndrome – when a person’s heart stops pumping blood properly after an emotional shock – can lead to death.Fortunately, recent breakthroughs suggest we may soon be able to beat it. In March, a Spanish study found propofol, a sedative used for anaesthesia, may also be able to mute the painful memories that come with heartbreak. Participants were injected with the drug immediately after recalling a distressing story and, when asked to recount it again 24 hours later, they found the memory to be less vivid. Continue reading...
The fossil-fuel companies know they’ll face increased social stigma unless they changeSometimes it has felt as if the rain might never stop.These storms have gone beyond the point of simply being storms now, each blurring into the next to create a strangely end-of-days feeling. Everything is freakishly sodden and swollen, and while the rural flood plain on which I live fortunately hasn’t flooded anything like as badly as some, the rivers are rising alarmingly. Yet still the lashing winds and biblical downpours keep coming. Suddenly the 40 Days of Action campaign that Extinction Rebellion (XR) will launch on Ash Wednesday (26 February), encouraging people to reflect on the environmental consequences of their actions in a kind of green Lent, feels ominously well named. Continue reading...
Thirty-two British and European passengers from Diamond Princess on board plane due to land in England on Saturday, Foreign Office saysThe British government has begun repatriating its citizens trapped on a coronavirus-hit cruise ship in Japan for more than two weeks.“The evacuation flight from Japan has now departed with 32 British and European passengers on board, as well as British government and medical staff,†the Foreign Office said in a statement on Saturday. Continue reading...
New diagnoses bring number of cruise ship evacuees brought to Darwin with Covid-19 to sixAnother two people evacuated to Darwin from the Diamond Princess cruise ship have tested positive for coronavirus, authorities have confirmed.Six Australians who left the ship on Thursday have now tested positive to the disease, with the figure expected to rise as another three patients were due to be screened on Saturday. Continue reading...
This year’s bleaching likely to be widespread although less intensive than previous outbreaks, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration saysThe Great Barrier Reef could be about to experience its most widespread outbreak of mass coral bleaching ever seen, according to an analysis from the US government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.But the analysis, seen by Guardian Australia, says while bleaching could hit the entire length of the world heritage-listed reef, the impacts may not be as intense as previous major outbreaks. Continue reading...
Virgin Voyages line poised to set sail as founder downplays threat of virus to new ventureSir Richard Branson has launched his first cruise ship and brushed off concerns that the coronavirus outbreak will dissuade younger holidaymakers from embracing his latest venture.Despite the unfortunate timing – with passengers on one ship quarantined in Japan after hundreds caught the virus, and another turned away by five countries over fears someone on board may be ill – Branson said at the launch of Scarlet Lady that he saw cruises as a growth area. Continue reading...
Fresh approach to detecting Covid-19 aims to limit spread of infection across capitalThe NHS has started testing people for coronavirus in their own homes in London. The new approach will be expanded to other areas outside the capital in the coming weeks.The World Health Organization is recommending that people take simple precautions to reduce exposure to and transmission of the Wuhan coronavirus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine. Continue reading...
by Angela Giuffrida Rome correspondent on (#4ZP6P)
Newly found monument honouring Romulus includes 2,600-year-old sarcophagusA newly discovered ancient shrine believed to have been dedicated to the cult of Romulus, the legendary founder and first king of Rome, has been unveiled.The monument was discovered by archaeologists in a chamber beneath the Roman Forum, the political heart of the Roman empire, and includes a 2,600-year-old sarcophagus and a circular stone structure that is believed to have been an altar. Continue reading...
After the deaths of young health workers, do we have to rethink who is at risk of infection?There have been a number of deaths from the coronavirus among doctors who are young and, as far as we know, otherwise healthy. Continue reading...
Hunting scene dated to 40,000 years ago ‘crumbling before our eyes’, say scientistsThe oldest known figurative paintings in the world, located near a cement mine in Indonesia, are under threat from industry, scientists have warned.In December, cave paintings depicting a hunting scene in the Indonesian island of Sulawesi were dated to at least 40,000 years ago. Continue reading...
Animal’s unique adaptation to low-oxygen life can be basis for protection, say researchersWolves living in the Himalayas are to be recognised as a subspecies of the grey wolf, with researchers predicting that the animals will soon be declared a unique species.The wolves surviving at high altitudes in Nepal and on the Tibetan plateau possess a genetic adaptation to cope with the lack of oxygen that is not found in any other wolf, a study reports. Continue reading...
by Presented by Steve Scott and produced by Max Sande on (#4ZNPY)
Gene-editing technologies have the power to change life as we know it. This week on the podcast, we’re bringing you the first episode from our Common Threads series, part of an innovative new Guardian project called The Gene Gap. We’ll be talking about science but without the scientists – instead we’ll hear from the people who could be most affected by the promise of gene editing.This first episode explores identity. What makes us human? And what does it mean to be different in a world that strives for perfection? To listen to episodes two and three, search ‘The Gene Gap: Common Threads’ wherever you get your podcasts
Spacecraft completes first critical stage of mission after successful deployment of boom armThe European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter has completed the first critical stage of its mission. Launched on 10 February from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the spacecraft has sent back its first readings after the deployment of its 4.4 metre-long boom arm.Made of titanium and carbon fibre, the boom arm points away from the spacecraft. It was folded for launch and carries sensors for three of the mission’s science instruments, including the magnetometer. Had it failed to deploy, the mission’s objectives would have been severely compromised. Continue reading...
Turquoise killifish is able to suspend its development for longer than its average lifespanThe curious ability of the African turquoise killifish to press pause on its development could have intriguing implications for human ageing, say researchers.Certain creatures, including the killifish, can put themselves into suspended animation as an embryo – a trait known as diapause. The phenomenon is thought to have evolved in response to pressures such as seasonal changes in the environment – for example ponds drying up – or sudden challenges that pose a risk to the creatures. In other words, diapause allows the animal to put its development or birth on ice until conditions improve. Continue reading...
by Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent on (#4ZMG4)
High cost of entry under immigration overhaul will put off applicants, says thinktankThe UK’s “sky-high†visa fees could deter vital NHS staff and the “brightest and best†scientists that Boris Johnson wants to attract with his new immigration policy, experts have warned.Nurses, lab technicians, engineers and tech experts who currently flock to the UK from the EU may not be able to afford to do so if the prime minister’s proposed immigration overhaul becomes law. Continue reading...
Wages | Alien life| Northern accents | Marmalade | school | YellowbelliesIt’s welcome news that the average weekly pay is now £474, but this highlights the danger of using averages to help paint a picture. I bet the majority of the 974,000 people on zero-hours contracts would be delighted to earn that amount (Lost decade limps to an end as wages creep above pre-crisis levels, 19 February).
Early results of trials on Covid-19 patients expected in MarchDoctors are likely to know within two to three weeks whether drugs being used to treat patients infected with the new coronavirus are working, according to the World Health Organization.The timetable for early results from two trials taking place in China is short but feasible because of the large concentration of sick people at the centre of the outbreak in Hubei province. That allows a significant number of people of similar ages, fitness and stage of illness to be compared. Continue reading...
Team at MIT says halicin kills some of the world’s most dangerous strainsA powerful antibiotic that kills some of the most dangerous drug-resistant bacteria in the world has been discovered using artificial intelligence.The drug works in a different way to existing antibacterials and is the first of its kind to be found by setting AI loose on vast digital libraries of pharmaceutical compounds. Continue reading...
Twenty years ago, Catherine Blackledge’s history of the vagina The Story of V broke boundaries. As it is reissued, she talks about anasyrma as activism and why we lie about the clitorisCatherine Blackledge immediately knew what her first book, a cultural history of the vagina spanning more than two millennia, should be called: Vagina. But two decades ago, this decision didn’t go down well.“I’ve always liked the word vagina. I think it sounds regal. But the publishers were having none of it. They were horrified by the idea,†says Blackledge today. “Some of the men in the meeting couldn’t even say the word.†Continue reading...
Travel restrictions leave many stranded, while those with flights booked await refundsForeign nationals who live in China or planned to visit say they have been left in limbo as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, with many unsure of when they can return to work or get a refund for their trip.Those who live and work in the country said travel restrictions had left them stranded and unable to return home, while people planning to visit the country could lose hundreds of pounds. Continue reading...
A public information campaign is urgently needed to tell people that all bar the very ill should access help from homeEveryone in my walk-in centre is getting a bit twitchy. Coronavirus is spreading, and we are waiting for our first case to arrive after the initial ones became known outside of China, in Singapore and Macau. After January 27, some of the receptionists – understandably nervous about getting infected themselves – begin to flag anyone travelling from a country where there has been a case.A couple come in who had already spoken to 111 because they were afraid after having travelled to such a country. They were told by 111 not to worry, but they still came to the urgent care centre wearing masks. Continue reading...
by Justin McCurry in Tokyo and agencies on (#4ZM1M)
US says efforts to contain spread ‘may not have been sufficient’ as Japanese health minister argues ‘we’ve been doing our best’Two passengers who were onboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise liner have died after being diagnosed with Covid-19, Japan’s health ministry said on Thursday.The victims – the first people connected to the ship to have died – were an 87-year-old man and an 84-year-old woman, both of whom had pre-existing medical conditions, the public broadcaster NHK said, adding that the man had been hospitalised on 11 February and the woman the following day. Continue reading...