Myths about the bushfires grow online before finding their way into the rightwing press and the mouths of politiciansThe impacts of the climate crisis are now clearly manifesting in ways beyond rising temperatures. In Australia, the conditions for severe bushfires are occurring far more regularly (hot days, dry land and high winds). And the country is now suffering its most intense bushfire season ever. The quantity of land burnt, the smoke pollution impacts, the temperatures and number of homes lost are all breaking historical records.Related: The Australian fires are a harbinger of things to come. Don't ignore their warning | Steve Pyne Continue reading...
‘It’s right up in our face’ – close proximity of stellar nursery to our solar system stuns scientistsAstronomers have discovered a gigantic, undulating wave of dust and gas where newborn stars are forged over a 50 million billion mile stretch of the Milky Way.The gaseous structure, which holds more mass than 3m suns, runs directly behind our solar system as viewed from the heart of the galaxy, but has eluded observation until now. Continue reading...
Exclusive: solicitors call for UK ban of textured variety associated with lymphomaAt least 61 women in the UK have been diagnosed with a potentially fatal cancer linked to breast implants, but the type they received continues to be used, with no plans by the regulator to follow France and Australia in banning them.Lawyers for more than 40 of the women, who are bringing legal action against the manufacturers as well as the clinics and doctors who carried out the surgery, say the textured implants linked to anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) should be withdrawn from the market. Smooth implants are available instead, which have no proven connection to the cancer of the white blood cells. Continue reading...
Biochemist who built on the work of Hans Krebs to make key discoveries concerning metabolic cyclesHans Kornberg became a biochemist just at the point, in the mid-20th century, when methods became available to explore how organisms convert food and oxygen into energy and tissue – the combustion engine of life. He was one of the pioneers who identified key participants in such metabolic reactions and measured their effects, knowledge that is fundamental to all of biology.Kornberg, who has died aged 91, was a brilliant bench scientist and never happier than when solving problems in his lab. Yet his genial personality and commitment to the wider scientific community ensured he was recruited to lead a succession of educational and scientific bodies, where he was able to foster further generations of researchers. Continue reading...
Pneumonia-like illness in Wuhan is unclear in origin, with officials racing to contain outbreak before people travel for new yearChina has been battling what may be a new strain of pneumonia after 59 people contracted a mysterious respiratory illness in central China, prompting fears of another Sars outbreak.Health officials are worried about the upcoming Spring Festival in late January, when China celebrates lunar new year and millions of people will be travelling across the country to go home. Authorities have warned citizens to be on the lookout for symptoms like fever, difficulty breathing or body ache. Continue reading...
Discovery of unusual cemetery in Somerton offers clues as to standing of those buried thereThe resting places of more than 50 adults and children have been found in an unusual Roman cemetery unearthed during building work for a new school in Somerset.Archaeologists say the discovery at Somerton, near Glastonbury, sheds significant light on life and death in the south-west of Britain after the Roman invasion. Continue reading...
Brain scans of Romanian orphans adopted in UK show early neglect left its markChildren who experience severe deprivation early in life have smaller brains in adulthood, researchers have found.The findings are based on scans of young adults who were adopted as children into UK families from Romania’s orphanages that rose under the regime of the dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu. Continue reading...
In an ideal world it would not be left to film stars to point to the science underlying the climate emergency“You are in no position to lecture the public about anything,†Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais told his audience in a pointedly irreverent opening speech on Sunday. By the evening’s end, following statements about the bushfires from actors including Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett, he had apparently changed his mind – ending the evening with his own call for donations to the relief efforts. Charitable gifts will no doubt be welcomed by their recipients (a $500,000 pledge by another Australian actor, Nicole Kidman, emerged on the same day). But the evening’s most consequential remarks were those, including Mr Crowe’s and Ms Blanchett’s, that firmly linked the fires to global heating – directly challenging the denialism of the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, who, even in the face of record temperatures and unthinkable devastation, refuses to commit his government to stronger decarbonisation measures, or withdraw his support for coal production and exports.In an ideal world, it would probably not fall to film stars to advocate for evidence-based policies to protect the planet from catastrophe, particularly when such policies are supported by the UN and scientific institutions around the world. But while speeches and social media posts expressing sympathy for victims of this and other disasters, or promoting fundraisers and campaigns on other issues, are often and easily mocked, it makes more sense to focus on the policy failures that give rise to such efforts than to criticise pop or sports stars for their philanthropic activities, even when these appear clumsy or self-serving. Continue reading...
Leading ophthalmologists call on the new government to develop a national plan to fight blindness and address the critical lack of fundingAs leading ophthalmologists and researchers we are joining the eye research charity Fight for Sight to call for urgent action on blindness in 2020 to address the research funding gap.We know that serious sight loss doesn’t discriminate – it can affect anyone at any time and it is on the increase. Science can already do so much and with the advent of new gene therapies and stem cell treatments we are so close to outcomes that were not possible a decade ago. Yet so much more needs to be done to develop new universal treatments. Continue reading...
Unfortunately there aren’t Nobel prizes for good apologies – but Dr Frances Arnold’s words should be an example to all of usA Nobel prize winner has issued a humble apology when a recent paper of hers was retracted.In a remarkable display of humility, Dr Frances Arnold, who won the Nobel prize in chemistry in 2018, came forward herself to let her followers know that a 2019 paper of hers had been retracted. Continue reading...
This inquiry into a 1970s experiment that shook the world of psychiatry makes for a compelling readThere are precious few biological tests for mental disorders, so diagnosis still rests on the observation of symptoms. Susannah Cahalan’s first book, Brain on Fire, described her first-hand experience of how catastrophically wayward such diagnosis can be.Cahalan was working as a reporter at the New York Post in 2009 when, aged 24, she developed what appeared to be a kind of paranoid schizophrenia. She believed bedbugs were invading her apartment, that her father had tried to abduct and kill his second wife, she heard voices, spoke gibberish, was unable to sleep and descended into catatonia. It was only the persistence of her parents, and an extra series of tests, that discovered an extremely rare autoimmune disease that was attacking her brain. The diagnosis saved her from the psychiatric ward, where, left unchecked, her illness would have left her cognitive functions irreparably damaged. Continue reading...
The unmistakeable W-shaped constellation represents a queen punished for claiming that her daughter was more beautiful than the NereidsThe constellation of Cassiopeia, the Queen, was one of the 48 constellations detailed by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD. The constellation is most notable because of its W shape, which is said to represent the Queen sitting on her throne. She was placed in the stars as a punishment for believing that her daughter Andromeda was more beautiful than the sea nymphs. Continue reading...
Fears of new epidemic after people taken to hospital in Wuhan with viral pneumoniaA mysterious respiratory illness that has infected dozens of people in a central Chinese city is not Sars, local authorities have said.The 2002-03 epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome started in southern China and killed more than 700 people. Fears of a recurrence arose this month after a number of people were taken to hospital with unexplained viral pneumonia in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. Continue reading...
Boris Johnson’s adviser wants more maths geniuses in the civil service. But real life is too messy to be boiled down to equationsAbout 10 years ago I had a conversation with a civil servant about Britain’s chemical decontamination units. He was in charge of calculating where in the country the government should keep them. These giant trucks had specialist equipment that could respond quickly if there was an anthrax attack or similar on our shores. But at the time there was only a small number of them, so they needed careful positioning to ensure they could reach as much of the country as quickly as possible in an emergency.It’s a decision that boils down to maths. It’s not an easy thing to work out either. It was a problem that I, as a mathematician, imagined had a number of top minds working to solve. Picture my astonishment, then, when I discovered that rather than some beautifully crafted numerical model, or some sophisticated custom-built software, the British government had left a question of such magnitude to one poor guy, working it out on his own. He was using an Excel spreadsheet. And we were having the conversation because his spreadsheet kept crashing. Continue reading...
I definitely don’t want more kids – but my visions of scalpels are so much worseI had two new year’s resolutions in 2018; to get a vasectomy and to pass my driving test. When December rolled around, I held my driving licence in my hand with satisfaction. True, I hadn’t achieved both my resolutions, but partial completion isn’t to be sniffed at, right?In 2019, I also had two resolutions – to get a vasectomy and to rejoin a gym. Again, December came and, again, I only managed one of them. I’m in infinitesimally better physical condition than I was a year ago, so that’s the same as getting a vasectomy. Isn’t it? Continue reading...
SpaceX’s 40,000 satellites will soon be ruining our view of the universe – not to mention aliens’ view of usMy best New Year’s Eve was 15 years ago. A mis-calibrated dose of prescription painkillers in a bed and breakfast near Wootton Courtenay meant I slept through the whole thing. I slept through the fear. I slept through the dread. I slept through the recriminations and regrets. And I slept through Jools Holland insisting on playing inappropriate boogie-woogie piano with – who will it be this year? – Peter Brötzmann, Napalm Death, Youssou N’Dour, Mark and Roxanne from LadBaby, or the future festive ghost of his own grinning self.This New Year’s Eve I lay on my back in the garden, long after midnight, belly full of Butty Bach™ ® beer and mini Quorn™ ® sausages, and looked at the stars. Do they have elections on those distant worlds, I wondered? Is there an alien Dominic Cummings, and if so, how would you know? Does the alien Sir Iain Duncan Smith eat his own mucus in public like our Earth Sir Iain, or does he just eat crisps? On Alien Sir Iain’s world is crisp-eating considered disgusting, while finger-picked mucus is the cuisine of the Princesses of Mars? And is that the space Jennifer Arcuri dancing round the Pole Star? Remember her? Thought not. Continue reading...
The astronaut, 56, on self-belief, G-force – and being the only girl in science classAlmost everything about my childhood was normal and mundane. Our nuclear family lived in a comfortable house in suburban Sheffield. I went to school at the local comp. No one exciting ever visited. It meant I thought only normal things could happen to me.When I was choosing my A-levels, a German teacher found me in a corridor and pointed out that if I were to pick physics and chemistry, I’d be the only girl in those classes. That was the first time I considered my gender in relation to science, and I decided pretty quickly that it wasn’t going to stop me. Continue reading...
Not since the 1960s have we witnessed such appetite for space missions. Here’s what to expect in the year ahead, from commercial launches to Chinese ambitionsSpace missions of a startling variety and ambition are scheduled for launch this year. Indeed, space engineers have not planned so much activity – for both manned and robot projects – since the heady days of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s. At last, humanity is returning to explore the heavens with renewed vigour.However, it is not just the US and Russia that are dominating this year’s space agenda. India, Japan and China are all planning complex programmes and are vying to become space powers in their own rights. Their plans for 2020 include missions to the moon, Mars and the asteroids. At the same time, the US will inaugurate its Artemis programme, which will eventually lead to a series of manned deep-space missions and a space station that will orbit the moon later in the next decade. Europe will be closely involved in Artemis and will also send its first robot rover to Mars in 2020. For good measure, the United Arab Emirates plans to become a space power in 2020, with its own robot mission to the red planet. Continue reading...
Our species, Homo sapiens, evolved in Africa over hundreds of thousands of years. Now we are beginning to understand howUnderneath our skins, we are all Africans. That is the recent, simple conclusion of scientists studying the origins of our species. Genes, ancient stone tools and fossil bones – analysed over the past few decades – make it clear that men and women today are the direct descendants of hunter-gatherers who evolved somewhere in Africa and took over the continent before one group departed to conquer the rest of the world tens of thousands of years ago.Where exactly in Africa we first appeared has never been established, however. Some researchers have argued that the cradle of humankind lay in the east, in Ethiopia or Kenya. Others have put their money on South Africa. But most were sure it would only be a matter of time before our species’ birthplace was pinpointed: perhaps on land covering a huge estuary that once groaned with fish or near a vast slice of savannah rich with game. It was here, in some Stone Age paradise, that our more primitive predecessors honed their intellectual and cultural skills and were transformed into Homo sapiens, a species of primate notable for its rounded skull, small face, prominent chin, advanced tools, high intelligence and sophisticated culture. Continue reading...
There is nowhere we can appreciate our planet more than from out thereWe begin a new decade swamped by visions of our planet in peril. Australia is in flames; Greenland and Antarctic ice shelves are crumbling; thousands of species face extinction, and millions of humans are at risk of losing their homes as sea levels rise and deserts spread.At the same time, amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – the cause of the global heating that threatens to ravage our world – continue to increase unabated. Our future is being threatened in a manner that would have seemed unthinkable only a couple of decades ago. Continue reading...
The best ways to improve your happiness and inner worth, from expressive writing to self-affirmation“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbours, and let each new year find you a better man,†wrote Benjamin Franklin, a lifelong advocate of self-improvement, in 1755.As 2020 kicks off, many of us will be taking a leaf out of Franklin’s book. Unfortunately, many new year’s resolutions are founded on wishful thinking rather than solid evidence, but psychological science can now offer some proved ways to boost your wellbeing. Continue reading...
Treatment could clear up persistent infections and reduce risk of cervical cancerThe broadest vaccine yet that could clear up persistent HPV infections and reduce the risk of women developing cervical cancer is to be tested in a clinical trial.Human papillomavirus infections are common and are generally cleared by the body. However, about 10% of infections are not cleared, with persistent infections of certain types of HPV known to increase the risk of a number of cancers, including cervical cancer. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#4XC07)
Global heating blamed as summer and winter records tumble in 2019A series of high temperature records were broken in the UK in 2019 as a consequence of the climate crisis, the Met Office has said.The hottest temperature ever recorded in the UK was exceeded on 25 July in Cambridge, where the thermometer hit 38.7C (101F). The record for the hottest February day was also broken, with Kew Gardens in London recording 21.2C on the 26th. Continue reading...
Few things are more frustrating than re-running the same fight with your partner or family. Here’s how to resolve it once and for allIf you have been in a relationship for a year or more, you will know exactly what “that argument†is. It is the one that keeps going round and round, always ending where it started.“You never pick up your dirty clothes, even though you know it drives me crazy.†“You’re always late, even when I remind you how much it matters to me.†And so on. Continue reading...
Happy New Year from the Science Weekly team. There is no new episode this week as we all take a festive break. The team will be back with a new episode on Friday 10 January Continue reading...
Immunologist whose groundbreaking work helped provide the basis for organ transplantationLeslie Baruch Brent, who has died aged 94, was a PhD student at University College London when he co-authored the first of two groundbreaking papers. In 1953 he showed that immunological tolerance – the capacity to accept an unrelated tissue transplant – could be experimentally induced. This won lifelong fame for him and his two senior colleagues, Peter Medawar, the team leader, and Rupert Billingham, a postdoctoral researcher. They were nicknamed “the Holy Trinity†by American immunologists. We now take for granted that tissues and organs can be transplanted even if the recipient is genetically dissimilar and perpetually takes powerful drugs that suppress the immune response. This was unthinkable in the early 1950s.In the 40s Medawar had proved that “foreign†tissues are usually rapidly destroyed by the same immune system that also fights infections. Billingham, Brent and Medawar began their landmark experiments inspired by previous observations. The US immunogeneticist Ray Owen had shown in 1945 that dizygotic (fraternal) twin calves have red blood cell chimerism, the red blood cells of each mingling with others originating from their twin while in the womb. Owen postulated that precursor red cells must have been exchanged before birth, that the foreign cells had been accepted, and that they had established their own lineage. Continue reading...
Across the world, voters are falling prey to leaders who appeal to their worst instincts. Why?With every new year, I typically set aside some time to write down what I’m grateful for. Health, family, friends, books, jazz, my dog, among other things. This year I added something I’ve been taking for granted. It’s democracy.Like many of us, I have worried about the rising tide of rightwing populism, nationalism and polarisation across the world. Within just a few years, we’ve witnessed the election of Donald Trump in the US, the Brexit decision in the UK, the rise of Matteo Salvini in Italy, Victor Orbán in Hungary, the Freedom party in Austria and the Law and Justice party in Poland. The world’s largest democracy, India, is menaced by a newly virulent nationalism and xenophobia. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#4XAVC)
More than 127,000 sign up to learn while Open University launches Scots language courseAlmost double the number of people in Scotland who already speak Scottish Gaelic have signed up to learn the language on the popular free platform Duolingo in over a month, concluding a proliferation in courses, prizes and performance in Gaelic and Scots during 2019, as younger people in particular shrug off the “cultural cringe†associated with speaking indigenous languages.The Duolingo course, which was launched just before St Andrew’s Day on 30 November and looks likely to be the company’s fastest-growing course ever, has garnered more than 127,000 sign-ups – 80% from Scotland itself, compared with just over 58,000 people who reported themselves as Gaelic speakers in the 2011 Scottish census. Continue reading...
Culture can connect people on a level unlike anything else – if you’ve experienced it, you know what I meanAustralia must realise that an important step towards reconciliation is showing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students that they are valued and important, and that we believe in their future. Providing opportunities for professional experience, learning and networking is a crucial component of this. I have been lucky enough to be involved in a number of programs aimed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and they have changed my life (and my peers’ lives) immensely.Growing up on my small island home of Tasmania, in a school full of hundreds of kids, I was only ever aware of three or four other students who also identified as Indigenous. For a long time, I struggled with understanding and embracing my identity and culture due to not having a network of other Indigenous kids around me – something which is all too common among our young people, as a consequence of the stolen generation and enduring prejudice within society. Continue reading...
Space programme seeks to bounce back after 2019 project ended with a crash landing on the lunar surfaceIndia plans to make a fresh attempt at an unmanned mission on the moon this year, the head of the country’s space programme has said, after a 2019 bid ended in a crash landing.Work was going “smoothly†on the Chandrayaan-3 mission to put a rover probe on the moon’s surface, Indian Space Research Organisation chairman K Sivan said. “We are targeting the launch for this year but it may spillover to next year,†Sivan said. Indian sources said authorities had set November as a provisional target for launch. Continue reading...
Research suggests tangles of tau could be used to predict how much shrinkage will occur and whereTangles of a protein found inside the brain cells of people with Alzheimer’s disease can be used to predict future brain shrinkage, research suggests.In healthy people, a protein called tau is important in supporting the internal structure of brain cells. However, in those with Alzheimer’s, chemical changes take place that cause the protein to form tangles that disrupt the cells. Such tangles have previously been linked to a loss of brain cells. Continue reading...
I am a climate scientist on holiday in the Blue Mountains, watching climate change in actionAfter years studying the climate, my work has brought me to Sydney where I’m studying the linkages between climate change and extreme weather events.Prior to beginning my sabbatical stay in Sydney, I took the opportunity this holiday season to vacation in Australia with my family. We went to see the Great Barrier Reef – one of the great wonders of this planet – while we still can. Subject to the twin assaults of warming-caused bleaching and ocean acidification, it will be gone in a matter of decades in the absence of a dramatic reduction in global carbon emissions. Continue reading...
Program developed by Google Health tested on mammograms of UK and US womenAn artificial intelligence program has been developed that is better at spotting breast cancer in mammograms than expert radiologists.The AI outperformed the specialists by detecting cancers that the radiologists missed in the images, while ignoring features they falsely flagged as possible tumours. Continue reading...
There are as many reasons for unpunctuality as there are habitually tardy people – and the underlying reasons can be complexSometimes, one of my psychotherapy clients will be late. “The tube got stuck; I do apologise.†If it happens once, I don’t treat it as significant. But some clients are perpetually late – perhaps just five or 10 minutes, but always – and out of breath when they get to the door. Then I am curious about what is behind their pattern of lateness, what it means and what purpose it serves.There are probably as many reasons for unpunctuality as there are habitually late people. Sometimes it seems unfathomable, but not always. One client remembered that his mother always spent so long in the bathroom that she made him late for school. She told him that it didn’t matter, and early people are uptight anyway. In his unconscious, being on time for things had got mixed up with being disloyal to his mother and therefore bad. Once he had found this narrative, he lost his compulsion for lateness. Continue reading...
We are living in a golden age and can defeat negativity, argue John Tierney and Roy F Baumeister in this complacent, reactionary bookWithout wishing to sound too Prince Andrew about this, there are hotels in New York where I won’t stay. One is called the Casablanca, and is extolled in this book as a fine example of how to stick it to the “power of badâ€.By “badâ€, the authors don’t mean moral or aesthetic bad, but what they call negativity bias. That bias means an unfortunate impression outweighs a good one; a financial loss is more painful than an equivalent gain; and that a hotel’s many five-star reviews on TripAdvisor have no clout over potential customers who have read the single one-star review – particularly if it mentions rats’ droppings in the bed. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#4X9FJ)
Tests to study behaviour of flames in zero gravity suggest fires could be more dangerous on moon than EarthPlaying with fire can be dangerous and never more so than when confined in a space capsule floating 250 miles above the Earth. But in the past week astronauts onboard the International Space Station have intentionally lit a series of blazes in research designed to study the behaviour of flames in zero gravity.The scientists behind the experiment, called Confined Combustion, say it will help improve fire safety on the ISS and on future lunar missions by helping predict how a blaze might progress in low gravity conditions. Continue reading...
This is the year to start taking happiness seriously. But how – and where do you find the time? Here are the tips and advice you need for a pleasure-filled yearThe last time I felt joy was at an event that would be many people’s vision of hell: a drunken Taylor Swift club-night singalong in the early hours of the morning a few weekends ago.I certainly experience joy, either as peaks of euphoria or in quiet, unexpected bursts. But as I go about my everyday business – sprinting to meet deadlines, standing in front of the open fridge – I wouldn’t say it looms large. Continue reading...
Steve has been around for eons, but has been mis-identified as aurora until nowHands up if you’ve ever seen Steve. No, not the chap living down the road, but Steve the winter sky phenomenon. First spotted by auroral photographers in 2016, “Steve†is a purple band of light, sometimes accompanied by green lines, nicknamed “picket-fencesâ€.Although Steve shares similarities with auroras – the glowing coloured lights visible from high latitudes during winter months – latest research shows that Steve is something quite different. Analysing photos of Steve taken from different locations, and using the stars in the background as markers, scientists have shown that Steve sits at between 130km and 270km altitude, while the picket fence is between 95km and 150km. Continue reading...
Scare stories abound but the evidence remains consistentThe past decade in British healthcare has been disappointing: improvements in life expectancy and neonatal mortality have stalled and public satisfaction with the NHS has fallen sharply.But one positive singled out in a recent review of healthcare developments was the rise of e-cigarettes use, which the article noted had given “tobacco cessation a boost at no cost to the public purseâ€. Continue reading...
He Jiankui was guilty of illegal practices in trying to alter the genetic makeup of twin girlsA Chinese court has sentenced He Jiankui, the scientist who sparked global controversy last year when he claimed to have created the world’s first “gene-edited†children, to three years in prison for violating medical regulations.He shocked the scientific community when he announced at a conference in Hong Kong that he had created genetically modified twin sisters, dubbed Lulu and Nana, and that a third child was on the way. Continue reading...
by Photographer Luke Duggleby and journalist Laure Si on (#4X7DX)
More than a million cases were reported in south-east Asia last year with poorer households most at riskThe global toll of dengue fever is becoming well known, with rising temperatures contributing to severe outbreaks that made 2019 the worst year on record for the disease.In 1970 only nine countries faced severe dengue outbreaks. But the disease, which is spread by mosquitoes that can only survive in warm temperatures, is now seen in more than 100 countries. There are thought to be 390m infections each year Continue reading...
The solutions to today’s puzzlesEarlier today I set you the following problems:1) How can someone born in 2020 be older than someone born in 2019? Continue reading...
Discoveries by Natural History Museum in 2019 include lichen, snakes and extinct dinosaursMore than 400 new species previously unknown to science have been discovered in the past year by experts at the Natural History Museum.Species described and named for the first time in 2019 include 171 beetles found around the world, one of which was named in honour of the teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg. Continue reading...
The new year deconstructed, and a prize challengeUPDATE: solutions and results now upIt’s almost the New Year, and – numerically speaking – I’m excited. Not only is twenty-twenty already a bona fide word in the dictionary, but once a month next year there will be a moment in the evening when the time is:20/20/20/20/2020 Continue reading...