Science | The Guardian

Silverpit crater off Yorkshire coast was caused by cathedral-sized asteroid that set off 100-metre tsunami 43m years agoDeep below the seabed, 80 miles off the coast of Yorkshire, is a remarkable crater that has divided scientists - was it, thrillingly, created by an asteroid crash? Or more mundanely was it the result of geological salt movements?Today, the decades-long scientific debate can be settled. The Silverpit crater 700 metres below the seabed under the North Sea was in all likelihood created by a direct hit from an asteroid or comet about the size of York Minster that hurtled towards the Earth more than 43m years ago. Continue reading...

Four out of five making staff cuts as physicists say findings are great concern' for UK's leadership in important areasThe heads of UK physics departments say their subject is facing a national crisis as one in four warns that their university departments are in danger of closing because of funding pressures.In an anonymous survey of department heads by the Institute of Physics (IoP), 26% said they faced potential closure of their department within the next two years, while 60% said they expected courses to be reduced. Continue reading...

From gardening and humming to getting a dog - there's more to boosting your gut microbiome than Greek yogurtWhen the gut health revolution began adecade or so ago, few could have predicted the sheervariety of pre- and probiotic foods that we wouldcome to embrace in our diets. From kimchi and natural yoghurt to fibre-rich jerusalem artichoke and probiotic shots, microbiome-nourishing foods and supplements once deemed left-field have become everyday essentials for many - with plenty of evidence that they help our gut bacteria to thrive.While many of us assume that diet is the onlywayto feed the trillions of microorganisms (including bacteria, fungi and viruses) that makeupthe microbiome, there are myriad daily habits that can help nurture this important part ofthe body. Continue reading...

Plus the right to roam the green and pleasant, and a 1,795-a-night solution to the postpartum bluesAn all-party parliamentary group is calling for everyone to be given the right to go wild camping and swimming across our green and pleasant land (and, I suppose our blue and hopefully non-besewaged waters). Apparently we only have the right to roam across 8% of England at the moment, a situation that strikes me as so perfectly us that it should be submitted to the Unesco intangible cultural heritage list immediately if not sooner. Continue reading...

Research which began with conversations round a campfire and went on to examine 7m gene variants shows how people survive with little water and a meat-rich dietA collaboration between African and American researchers and a community living in one of the most hostile landscapes of northern Kenya has uncovered key genetic adaptations that explain how pastoralist people have been able to thrive in the region.Underlying the population's abilities to live in Turkana, a place defined by extreme heat, water scarcity and limited vegetation, has been hundreds of years of natural selection, according to a study published in Science. Continue reading...

Researchers into idea to blend powdered PTFE into food as a zero-calorie filler to curb hunger win chemistry prizeFor decades scientists, doctors and public health officials have battled to solve the obesity crisis. Now researchers have won an Ig Nobel prize for a radical new approach: slashing people's calorie intake by feeding them Teflon.The left-field proposal was inspired by zero calorie drinks and envisaged food manufacturers blending powdered polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) into their products in the hope it would sate people's hunger before quietly sliding out. Continue reading...

Prices have risen by 34% since 2022, with 29% of psychologists refusing new patientsThe cost of seeing private psychologists is soaring and many are so busy they are turning away new clients, research has found.The prices psychologists charge have risen by 34% since 2022 and 12 sessions now cost an average of 1,550, compared with 1,152 just three years ago, according to a survey by myTribe Insurance, which tracks the cost of private medical care.The average cost of a consultation in the UK has risen from 96 in 2022 to 129.20 in 2025.Psychologists in England charge the most (131) per session and those in Scotland the least (124).Those in Scotland have the shortest waiting times (16.9 days), and people in Wales the longest (23.8 days). Continue reading...

Market value of drugmaker climbs by 6.5bn as trial shows significant weight loss' for pill version of Wegovy

On a tiny Italian island, scientists conducted a radical experiment to see if the bees were causing their wild cousins to declineOff the coast of Tuscany is a tiny island in the shape of a crescent moon. An hour from mainland Italy, Giannutri has just two beaches for boats to dock. In summer, hundreds of tourists flock there, hiking to the red and white lighthouse on its southern tip before diving into the clear waters. In winter, its population dwindles to 10. The island's rocky ridges are coated with thickets of rosemary and juniper, and in warmer months the air is sweetened by flowers and the gentle hum of bees.Residents are people who like fishing, or being alone, or who have retired. Everyone has their story," says Leonardo Dapporto, associate professor at the University of Florence.Giannutri island's remote location made it a perfect open-air laboratory for the bee experiments. Photographs: Giuseppe Nucci Continue reading...

The murder of political activist Charlie Kirk has prompted fears about rising levels of political violence in the US after a number of high-profile assassinations and attempted assassinations of political figures in recent years. But how connected are these events and do they signal a rise in public support for this kind of violence? To find out Ian Sample speaks to Sean Westwood, an associate professor in political science at Dartmouth College and director of the Polarization Research Lab. He explains how political violence has evolved and why overestimating the support for such acts can be dangerousObama says Trump deepened US divide in rush to identify enemy' after Charlie Kirk shootingSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii release recommendations in wake of firings at federal health agenciesFour western states are issuing their own joint recommendations for who should receive Covid, flu and RSV vaccines this fall, providing a counterbalance in anticipation of new vaccine guidance from the Trump administration, which has purged prominent scientists from the federal health department and appointed vaccine skeptics and critics to key roles.The new recommendations come as a recently fired director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Susan Monarez, testified to Congress that she feared that under Robert F Kennedy Jr, the Trump-appointed head of the Department of Health and Human Services, there was a real risk that recommendations could be made restricting access to vaccines for children and others in need, without rigorous scientific review". Continue reading...

Swedish researchers find low daily dose can halve risk in post-surgery patients with specific gene mutationsA daily dose of aspirin can substantially reduce the risk of some colorectal cancers returning after surgery, according to a major trial into the protective effects of the everyday painkiller.Swedish researchers found that people who took a low daily dose of aspirin after having their tumour removed were half as likely to have their cancer return over the next three years than patients who took a placebo. Continue reading...

Study finds chimpanzees' enthusiasm for guzzling ripe fruit puts their ethanol intake at about 14g per daySomeone have a word with the chimps? Observations of the apes in the wild show them imbibing the alcoholic equivalent of a half pint of beer a day through the vast amount of fermented fruit in their diet.Researchers arrived at the first estimates of wild chimp daily alcohol intake after measuring ethanol levels in fallen fruit that the apes gather from the forest floor in Kibale national park in Uganda and in Tai national park in Ivory Coast. Continue reading...

My husband, Ulrich Loening, who has died aged 94, was a lecturer first in the botany and then in the zoology departments (now the molecular plant sciences and biological sciences departments) of Edinburgh University. He engaged in fundamental research and made significant contributions to the developing science of molecular biology.He had always had a great interest and concern for the natural world. After the establishment by Conrad Waddington, a professor of genetics, of the school of the man-made future at Edinburgh, Ulrich became actively involved in environmental and green issues. Continue reading...

Delphi-2M uses diagnoses, medical events' and lifestyle factors to create forecasts for next decade and beyondScientists have developed a new artificial intelligence tool that can predict your personal risk of more than 1,000 diseases, and forecast changes in health a decade in advance.The generative AI tool was custom-built by experts from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the German Cancer Research Centre and the University of Copenhagen, using algorithmic concepts similar to those used in large language models (LLMs). Continue reading...

One in five people who took orforglipron once a day for 72 weeks lost 20% or more of their weight, maker Eli Lilly saysA daily pill for weight loss can help people reduce their body weight by as much as a fifth, according to a trial that could pave the way for millions more people to shed pounds.The drug, called orforglipron, is manufactured by Eli Lilly and targets the same GLP-1 receptors as weight loss injections such as Mounjaro and Wegovy. In a trial of 3,127 adults, one in five people who took the once-a-day tablet for 72 weeks lost 20% or more of their body weight. Continue reading...

Patrick Vallance says relations must improve and NHS has to reverse decline in drugs investmentThe UK is determined to resolve its standoff with the pharmaceutical industry and reverse a 10-year decline in NHS spending on medicines, the science minister has told MPs after a string of drugmakers cancelled projects worth nearly 2bn.Patrick Vallance, a former executive at drugmaker GSK, said the country needed to increase spending on medicines and reverse a decade of declining investment. Continue reading...

Survey of 12,000 women also revealed severity of long Covid symptoms rose and fell across menstrual cycleWomen with long Covid are prone to longer, heavier periods, which could put them at greater risk of iron deficiency that exacerbates common symptoms of the condition, doctors say.The findings emerged from a UK survey of more than 12,000 women, which also found that the severity of long Covid symptoms rose and fell across the menstrual cycle and became worse when women had their periods. Continue reading...

The next pandemic or geopolitical shock could be close at hand. To look after our people, we're looking after our supply chains, agriculture and fuel reserves

At a recent ceremony for world leaders in Beijing, a hot mic picked up a surprising exchange between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping about the possibility of living to 150. Putin suggested the secret might lie in repeated organ transplants. But is this the new frontier of anti-ageing research or a fringe and unproven theory? To find out, science editor Ian Sample speaks to Russian affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer and to John S Tregoning, professor of vaccine immunology at Imperial College London and author of Live Forever: A Curious Scientist's Guide to Wellness, Ageing and DeathPeople can get younger, perhaps even immortal': Putin's pursuit of longevitySupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

FAA ruled to have satisfied obligations in granting approval for expanded SpaceX operations next to wildlife refugeA US district court judge on Monday rejected a suit by conservation groups challenging the Federal Aviation Administration approval in 2022 of expanded rocket launch operations by Elon Musk's SpaceX next to a national wildlife refuge in south Texas.The groups said noise, light pollution, construction and road traffic also degrade the area, home to endangered ocelots and jaguarundis, as well as nesting sites for endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtles and for threatened shorebirds. Continue reading...

Manganese blue pigment, used in Pollock's Number 1A, 1948, was since phased out for environmental reasonsScientists have identified the origins of the blue color in one of Jackson Pollock's paintings with a little help from chemistry, confirming for the first time that the abstract expressionist used a vibrant, synthetic pigment known as manganese blue.The work titled Number 1A, 1948 showcases Pollock's classic style: paint has been dripped and splattered across the canvas, creating a vivid, multicolored piece. Pollock even gave it a personal touch, adding his handprints near the top. Continue reading...

The industry's retreat from the UK reflects a deeper shift about how Beijing is rewriting the rules of innovationWhen Merck abruptly scrapped its billion-pound London research hub last week, critics blamed Britain's lacklustre support for life sciences and a Scrooge-like grip on NHS drug prices. But one important factor may have been missed. That Merck, which is also cutting jobs elsewhere - 6,000 globally - is recalibrating not just in response to the UK or the US, but to China.Merck's cash cow is pembrolizumab (brand name Keytruda), an immunotherapy drug launched in 2014 that has successfully treated advanced melanoma, head and neck, lung, cervical and other cancers. It blocks an antibody called PD-1, teaching the immune system to fight the cancer. Because some patients are out of otheroptions, the results sometimes seem miraculous.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

It felt like a gargantuan achievement - I'm someone who regularly forgets the most important item on a shopping list

The answer to today's T-zerEarlier today I set you a classic 19th century puzzleThe T-puzzle Continue reading...

Staggeringly simple, tormentingly toughToday's puzzle is a classic - one of the most celebrated, perhaps, of all time.The T-puzzle Continue reading...

Autumnal equinox arrives in northern hemisphere this week, but we must wait a few more days for the equiluxSo that's it for the summer. The season comes to a close for us in the northern hemisphere this week on 22 September as we enter the autumn.The moment is marked by the autumnal equinox, which is the moment when the sun crosses the celestial equator, moving south, and the days become shorter than the nights. The exact moment this happens is 19:19 BST on 22 September and it is caused by the movement of Earth along its orbit, gradually tilting the northern hemisphere away from the sun. Continue reading...

Research shows most patients can read extra lines on eye test charts after twice-daily treatmentDoctors have developed special eye drops for people with longsightedness that could replace the need for reading glasses or surgery.Hundreds of millions of people worldwide have presbyopia, which is when the eyes find it difficult to focus on objects and text up close. Glasses or surgery can usually resolve the problem but many find wearing spectacles inconvenient and having an operation is not an option for everyone. Continue reading...

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers' questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsMust what goes up always come down? Sadia, via emailSend new questions to nq@theguardian.com. Continue reading...

Laura Marie is one of six research volunteers preparing to spend 378 days inside Nasa's Mars Dune Alpha in HoustonIt sounds like the premise of a new reality show: take four strangers, isolate them in a 3D-printed Martian habitat for more than a year, and watch them tackle equipment failures, communication delays and attempts to grow vegetables. In fact, it is a scientific simulation - and for the first time a British pilot is among those training for the mission.Laura Marie, who was born in the UK and is now a pilot for a regional airline in the US, beat about 8,000 applicants to become one of six research volunteers who are preparing to spend 378 days inside the 158-sq-metre (1,700 sq ft) Mars Dune Alpha habitat at Nasa's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Continue reading...

My novel explores the consequences of extreme longevity. Meanwhile, Putin and Xi are pondering immortality in real lifeI was in bed scrolling on my phone when I read the headline: Hot mic catches Xi and Putin discussing organ transplants and immortality. It took me a long time to get to sleep after that. Not yet, I thought. I pride myself on my prescience, but I wasn't ready for the future I had imagined to arrive so soon.Since 2017, I've been thinking about the implications of longevity research, sketching out possible futures - the shifts in society, the complications and subcultures. This year I published the result of my thought experiment, Who Wants to Live Forever, a speculative literary novel. It follows Yuki and Sam, a couple at a crossroads at the same time that a new drug, called Yareta - which extends the human lifespan by 200 years and preserves youth - becomes available. Sam takes it, Yuki doesn't, and the novel follows the fallout as the world changes around them. The story ends in 2039. Naively, considering the billions being poured into longevity research by the likes of Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos and Bryan Johnson (subject of this year's Netflix documentary Don't Die), I thought that was how long it might take for my fiction to become reality.Hanna Thomas Uose is a writer and strategist. She is the author of Who Wants to Live Forever Continue reading...

Need something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the past seven days Continue reading...

Kennedy is unfit to be our nation's leading public health official because he rejects the fundamental principles of modern scienceSince taking office, Robert F Kennedy Jr, the secretary of the health and human services department (HHS), has undermined vaccines at every turn. He has dismissed the entire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine advisory panel, narrowed access to life-saving Covid-19 vaccines, filled scientific advisory boards with conspiracy theorists and fired the newly appointed CDC director for refusing to rubber-stamp his actions.But his rejection of vaccines is only part of the problem. Secretary Kennedy is unfit to be our nation's leading public health official because he rejects the fundamental principles of modern science. Continue reading...

Sanofi's market access chief urges ministers to come up with a roadmap to raise spending on new treatments

Judges have announced the winning images from the Royal Observatory Greenwich's annual competition. The photographs will be exhibited at the National Maritime Museum in London from Friday Continue reading...

DNA analysis of endemic specimens in museums finds 79% of ant populations in Pacific archipelago are shrinkingIsland-dwelling insects have not been spared the ravages of humanity that have pushed so many of their invertebrate kin into freefall around the world, new research on Fijian ant populations has found.Hundreds of thousands of insect species have been lost over the past 150 years and it is believed the world is now losing between 1% and 2.5% a year of its remaining insect biomass - a decline so steep that many entomologists say we are living through an insect apocalypse". Yet long-term data for individual insect populations is sparse and patchy. Continue reading...

Court declined preliminary injunction in case brought by scientists seeking to halt purge of more than 1,600 grantsThe Trump administration can go ahead and purge more than 1,600 research grants issued by National Science Foundation (NSF) worth more than $1bn, after a judge declined to grant a preliminary injunction in a case brought by a coalition of organizations representing thousands of scientists.The NSF is the premier federal investor in basic and cutting-edge science and engineering, which until Trump's second term enjoyed bipartisan support, with the agency's independent review process revered globally as the gold standard. Continue reading...

Creatures favour front arms for most tasks, study suggests, despite fact all eight arms are capable of all actionsWhile some humans find they have two left feet on the dancefloor, octopuses manage to coordinate eight highly flexible arms across a host of behaviours, from foraging to den-building, or moving around the seafloor.Now researchers say they have completed the most comprehensive study of its kind, not only identifying the actions and small motions involved in different types of movements, but revealing that - like primates, rodents and fish - the cephalopods prefer to use particular limbs for certain tasks. Continue reading...

Comments by former professor of medicine at Oxford follow scrapping of planned London research centreSir John Bell, a prominent scientist who brought business and government together during the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, has warned that other big pharmaceutical companies will stop investing in the UK, after the US drugmaker MSD's decision to scrap its planned 1bn London research centre.Bell, a former regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford, told Today on BBC Radio 4 that he had spoken to several chief executives of large companies in the past six months and that they were all in the same space. And that is: they're not going to do any more investing in the UK." Continue reading...

People attempting to obtain vaccine report major hurdles amid new limitations brought in by Trump health secretaryThe first deployment of updated Covid shots under the Trump administration has been plagued by access issues and misinformation amid confusion and chaos at US health agencies.People attempting to get the vaccines say they have struggled to understand eligibility requirements, book appointments, process insurance claims, battle misinformation from pharmacists and obtain prescriptions from their doctors in some states. Such hurdles will disproportionately affect people of color and low-income people, experts say. Continue reading...

Nasa dismisses theory by Harvard astronomer who suggested an object from beyond the solar system could be a relic from a distant civilizationSkywatchers at Nasa have discounted a Harvard astronomer's hypothesis that a rare interstellar object hurtling through our solar system is a relic from a civilization in another celestial neighborhood, and could potentially be dire for humanity".Avi Loeb, head of Harvard University's Galileo Project, which searches for evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence, raised eyebrows by suggesting in a scientific paper in July that Comet 3I/Atlas, set for a close pass with Mars next month, could be artificially made. Continue reading...

Weather forecasting was still banned under the 1735 Witchcraft Act when the Met Office was founded in 1854Forecasting the weather used to be less scientific and more magical, to the point that practitioners could be accused of witchcraft.The mathematician and astronomer Ptolemy of Alexandria drew up tables of planetary motions in the second century. Ptolemy was a notable pioneer in astronomy, but went too far in his conclusions about planets influencing our atmosphere. He devised a complex set of calculations to determine their supposed effects on the weather, in a branch of astrology known as astrometeorology. Continue reading...

The fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen for the third year in a row - a trend mirrored across the world, with two-thirds of the global population now living in countries with below-replacement-level fertility. In the second episode of a two-part series, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dean Spears, assistant professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin, and Dr Jennifer Sciubba, chief executive of the Population Reference Bureau, to ask whether declining birth rates are really something to worry about - and how societies can adapt to a future with fewer children.

Move comes amid escalating anti-China rhetoric under Donald Trump's administrationNasa has begun barring Chinese nationals with valid visas from joining its programs, underscoring the intensifying space race between the the US and China.The policy shift was first reported by Bloomberg News and confirmed by the US government agency. Continue reading...

New blow to UK's key life science sector as industry body says country is losing ground on investment and researchThe US drugmaker Merck has scrapped a 1bn London research centre and is laying off 125 scientists in the capital this year, in a big blow to the UK's important life science sector.Keir Starmer's government has described life sciences as one of the crown jewels of the UK economy" and the previous Conservative government had vowed to turn the country into a global science and technology superpower" by 2030. Continue reading...

Saturn will be highly visible all September and scientists say gazing at planets and stars lets us see the biggest picture'It has baffled minds as great as Galileo's, inspired composers and fuelled sci-fi fantasies, but while Saturn will be on show all September, is anyone watching?The ringed gas giant will be highly visible in the night sky all month, reaching its brightest on the 21st when Earth will sit directly between Saturn and the sun, a configuration known as opposition. Continue reading...

Surface spots and nodules on rocks in ancient river valley are described in new study as potential biosignatures'Unusual features found in rocks on Mars may be the handiwork of ancient microbial life that eked out an existence on the red planet billions of years ago.The rocks were spotted by Nasa's Perseverance rover as it trundled along Neretva Vallis, an ancient river valley that was carved into the landscape by water flowing into the Jezero crater in the planet's distant past. Continue reading...

When in distress, babies produce chaotic wails which have pronounced effects on humans, including changes in facial temperatureThe cry of a distressed baby triggers a rapid emotional response in both men and women that is enough to make them physically hotter, researchers say.Thermal imaging revealed that people experienced a rush of blood to the face that raised the temperature of their skin when they were played recordings of babies wailing. Continue reading...

Evidence of millions of animal bones at sites in West Country and Surrey points to age of feasting'These days, revellers converge on the West Country from all parts of the UK and beyond to take part in the wonderful craziness of the Glastonbury festival.It turns out that at the end of the bronze age - also a time of climatic and economic crisis - the same sort of impulse gripped people. Continue reading...

More than 1,000 patients to take part in trial to see if the approach leads to faster and more reliable diagnosesDoctors have launched a clinical trial of a 100 blood test for Alzheimer's disease in the hope of transforming diagnosis of the devastating condition in the NHS.More than 1,000 patients with suspected dementia are being recruited from memory clinics across the UK to see whether the test leads to faster and more reliable diagnoses and better care for those found to have the disease. Continue reading...