Fossil found in Canada suggests pair were curled up together in a den when they diedFossil hunters say they have unearthed the earliest evidence yet of four-limbed vertebrates looking after their young, after discovering the entwined remains of two lizard-like creatures preserved in an ancient plant stump.The fossil found in Nova Scotia, Canada, is thought to be the remains of an adult and young of a newly identified species of varanopid. Continue reading...

Poll after poll shows that people now want action. But at the international level progress is being deliberately stymied

The “evening star” blazes near the south-west horizon, joined by a tiny crescent moonVenus continues to shine brightly as the “evening star” this week. It is the third brightest celestial object in the sky, beaten only by the sun and the moon. A good south-western horizon will be needed as the planet is not very high in the sky at the moment, but it is well worth searching for. Seen blazing brilliantly through the sunset sky, Venus is a breathtaking sight. Adding to the beauty, this week the planet is joined by another jewel of the twilight sky: a very thin crescent moon. This will be tricky to spot: the moon will be low in the sky and only 6.3% of its surface will be illuminated from earth. The chart shows the view looking towards the south-west from London on 28 December at 17:00 GMT. A day later, the moon will have moved to the other side of Venus, and so be higher in the sky. By this time, 12% of its surface will be illuminated, and both factors will make it easier to spot. Continue reading...

From the first image of a black hole to a detailed survey of sea ice in the Arctic, scientists pick the breakthrough moments that defined the yearWas 2019 the year people finally started to listen to climate scientists on global heating? The previous year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had laid out the monumental challenge of limiting warming to 1.5C. Global CO2 emissions would need to halve within 12 years, and reach zero around 2050. But emissions are still rising, while UN summits make tiny steps towards agreeing how to reduce them. The “emissions gap” between target and reality grows ever wider – and becomes ever harder to close. Continue reading...

Aborted flight threatens to derail the company’s efforts to launch astronauts on behalf of Nasa next yearBoeing safely landed its crew capsule in the New Mexico desert Sunday after an aborted flight to the international space station that threatened to derail the company’s effort to launch astronauts on behalf of Nasa next year.The Starliner un-manned spacecraft descended into the US army’s White Sands Missile Range in the predawn darkness, ending a two-day demonstration that should have lasted more than a week. Continue reading...

Jeremy Farrar, a world expert on diseases, tells of the fight against the deadly virus that spread fear this decade – and how to prepare for the health battles to comeJeremy Farrar, head of the Wellcome Trust, has a straightforward view about the way doctors and scientists tackled the current Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “In four or five years, we have taken a disease that was absolutely terrifying and which had an enormously high death rate – more than 80% – and we have turned it, potentially, into something that is preventable and treatable.”The fact this has been done in a nation in the middle of a civil war is “simply miraculous”, added Farrar, a world expert on emerging diseases. “It is a truly phenomenal achievement. If you do not celebrate that, you cannot celebrate anything else.” Continue reading...

Starliner capsule due to land in New Mexico on Sunday after failing in its mission to dock with the international space stationThe Nasa and Boeing team behind the un-crewed Starliner space capsule that failed on Friday in its mission to dock with the international space station has expressed confidence that they can land the faulty spacecraft in the US desert on Sunday.Related: Boeing's 737 Max troubles threaten booming Seattle-area economy Continue reading...

New technology reveals a star-shaped burn mark hidden under peat that gives clues to the meaning of the standing stones on LewisFor thousands of years the Callanish standing stones erected on the remote Hebridean island of Lewis have remained a mystery. Why were they placed there? And for what purpose?Now archaeologists have uncovered dramatic new evidence that suggests our Neolithic ancestors were inspired to construct the megaliths as devotional monuments by the natural phenomenon of lightning strikes. A geophysical survey around one of the stones has astonished archaeologists by revealing a star-shaped pattern formed by one, or possibly multiple, earth-shaking lightning strikes. New technology has exposed a clear pattern covering an area of up to 20 metres in diameter, buried until now beneath peat bogs. Continue reading...

The kids have left home, and we’re not really coping, so this seems like the perfect chance to lure them backMy husband and I don’t think we have the condition until, one day last month, hundreds of miles from home, we find ourselves outside our younger son’s university accommodation at 11.30 on a Sunday morning. I am clutching supplies in a little brown paper bag. Our son knows we’re in town, but isn’t expecting this rude awakening. It’s a surprise.“Do you think we should have called first?” I say as we approach the entrance, the inappropriateness of what we’re doing dawning on me only now. Continue reading...

US president approves funding for America’s first new military service in 70 yearsDonald Trump has launched space force, the first new US military service in more than 70 years.In signing the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that includes the force, Trump claimed a victory for one of his top national security priorities two days after being impeached by the House of Representatives. Continue reading...

COP25 should have been about new science and ambitious targets. Instead, nations bickered and dodged responsibilityLast week, a whistle rang out in a buzzing conference fairground on the edge of Madrid. Instantly, a swell of protesters rose up, determined to “bring in the streets and tear down the walls”, enraged that the annual UN climate talks had wound to a grinding deadlock. Two days from a close, the talks had not yet produced a single line of text. Instead, while Sydney burned, Australia used an “accounting loophole” to cover for its poor climate record. Do politicians even live on the same planet?Related: UN climate talks end with limited progress on emissions targets Continue reading...

Race on to find proven ways to help people live longer, healthier livesWho wants to live forever? Until recently, the quest to slow ageing or even reverse it was the stuff of legends – or scams. But, today, an evidence-based race to delay or prevent ageing is energising scientists worldwide.Backed by governments, business, academics and investors in an industry worth $110bn (£82.5bn) – and estimated to be worth $610bn by 2025 – scientists are harnessing the power of genomics and artificial intelligence to extend both life spans and health spans. Continue reading...

Officials say spacecraft is in stable orbit but problem may delay mission to carry Nasa astronautsBoeing’s new Starliner capsule ran into trouble and went off course in orbit minutes after blasting off on Friday on its first test flight, a crucial dress rehearsal for next year’s inaugural launch with astronauts.Initially everything went flawlessly as the Atlas V rocket launched with the Starliner shortly before sunrise. But half an hour into the flight, Boeing reported that the capsule had not got into the position needed to get to the International Space Station. Continue reading...

Research shows underground storage can create new compound of element which could affect groundwaterA new form of uranium has been discovered which is likely to have implications for current nuclear waste disposal plans, say scientists.Many governments are planning to dispose of radioactive waste by burying it deep underground. However, new research has found that in such storage conditions a new chemical form of uranium can temporarily occur, while small amounts of uranium are released into solution. If uranium is in solution, it could make its way into groundwater. Continue reading...

Anchors were excavated from sediment in the Gulf of Mexico near the settlement the conquistador founded upon landingUnderwater archaeologists have found two iron anchors just offshore from the spot Hernán Cortés first set foot in Mexico, raising hopes that the fleet which the conquistador scuttled in 1519 may soon be rediscovered.The anchors were excavated from under a metre of sediment in the Gulf of Mexico near Villa Rica, the settlement Cortes founded upon landing 500 years ago in what is now the Mexican state of Veracruz. Continue reading...

For the final science weekly of 2019 the Guardian’s Science team – Hannah Devlin, Ian Sample and Nicola Davis – talk through their top stories of the year including black holes, rebooted brains and seagulls Continue reading...

Analysis finds there may be no universal concepts for some emotionsThe true meaning of words may be lost in translation, according to research suggesting the way people understand terms such as “anger” or “love” differs between languages.For example, while the concept of “love” is closely linked to “like” and “want” in Indo-European languages, it is strongly linked to “pity” in Austronesian languages – a family that includes Hawaiian and Javanese. Continue reading...

Psychiatrists divided on ‘game-changing’ esketamine due to potential for addictionA radical ketamine-like drug has been licensed for use in the UK for severe depression, a decision that offers hope to the millions of patients for whom conventional treatments have failed.Esketamine, taken as a nasal spray, is one of the first rapid-acting drugs for depression and the first in decades that is thought to work in a fundamentally different way in the brain. However, psychiatrists are divided on the benefits, with some hailing esketamine as a game-changer and others raising fears about the potential for addiction and abuse. Continue reading...

Pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCB) storms are feared due to the violent and unpredictable conditions they create on the groundScientists fear climate change will drive a surge in the number of supersized and dangerous bushfires that become coupled with the atmosphere and create their own violent thunderstorms.Guardian Australia can reveal 2019 is likely to be a “standout year” for the number of bushfires that generate giant thunderstorm clouds known as pyrocumulonimbus, or pyroCBs. Continue reading...

My wife, Val Richards, who has died aged 84, was a scholar, teacher and analytical psychotherapist.Val was born in Whetstone, north London, to Charles Feldman, an accountant, and his wife, Ivy (nee Blaker), a teacher, and attended Woodhouse school in North Finchley. Her youth, which she spent in London, was marred by the second world war; from her early years Val was a campaigner for peace, and she later became a prominent member of CND. Continue reading...

Trees would have been home to primitive insects about 150m years before dinosaurs evolvedThe world’s oldest known fossil forest has been discovered in a sandstone quarry in New York state, offering new insights into how trees transformed the planet.The forest, found in the town of Cairo, would have spanned from New York to Pennsylvania and beyond, and has been dated to about 386m years old. It is one of only three known fossil forests dating to this period and about 2-3m years older than the previously oldest known fossil forest at Gilboa, also in New York state. Continue reading...

Researchers show disturbance to lawns increases likelihood of pest and weed invasionRewilding gardens may be growing in popularity but even a modest reduction in lawn mowing can boost wildlife, increase pollinators and save money, according to a study.Researchers from the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières found that reducing the intensity of trimming lawns in urban areas can also reduce pests and weeds that cause allergies. Continue reading...

Dating of bones from Indonesia confirm Homo erectus roamed planet for 1.8m yearsThe last known resting place of Homo erectus, one of the most successful human ancestors and the first to walk fully upright, has been traced to a floodplain near the longest river on the Indonesian island of Java.A dozen partial skulls and two shinbones, discovered in a bonebed near the Solo river in the 1930s, but never reliably dated, have now been placed at between 108,000 and 117,000 years old after a comprehensive survey of the site. Continue reading...

Vaping nicotine is still more popular but vaping marijuana grew more quickly, according to surveyAbout one out of five high school students in the US say they vaped marijuana in the past year, and its popularity has been booming faster than nicotine vaping, according to a report released Wednesday.Related: Pelosi says Democrats have 'no choice' but to impeach Trump as formal debate begins – live Continue reading...

Successful launch from French Guiana of European project comes day late after glitchEurope’s Cheops planet-hunting satellite has left Earth a day after its lift-off was delayed by a technical rocket glitch during the final countdown.A 30cm telescope aboard has been designed to measure the density, composition and size of numerous exoplanets, which orbit stars beyond our solar system. Continue reading...

Women’s symptoms are ignored and their health problems are under-researched. What’s going wrong?When Lynn Enright had a hysteroscopy to examine the inside of the womb, her searing pain was dismissed by medical professionals. She only understood why when she started working on her book on female anatomy, Vagina: A Re-education. She was looking for research on pain and women’s health, only to be shocked by how little data she found.It wasn’t just the topic of pain that was poorly researched. The lack of evidence was a problem she encountered time and time again, which is no surprise when you look at the research gap: less than 2.5% of publicly funded research is dedicated solely to reproductive health, despite the fact that one in three women in the UK will suffer from a reproductive or gynaecological health problem. There is five times more research into erectile dysfunction, which affects 19% of men, than into premenstrual syndrome, which affects 90% of women. Continue reading...

James Lovelock, who turned 100 this year, discusses his life’s work, including his latest theory that AI might be the key to saving the planet. And: former US ambassador Samantha Power on finding ways to make a difference in the face of daunting challengesThis year James Lovelock turned 100. He discusses his extraordinary career with Anushka Asthana, including the invention of a device that detected CFCs, which helped spot the growing hole in the ozone layer, and the Gaia hypothesis, a revolutionary theory that the Earth is a self-regulating super-organism. Initially ridiculed by many scientists as new age nonsense, today that theory forms the basis of almost all climate science.And: the former US ambassador Samantha Power on finding ways to make a difference in the face of daunting challenges. Continue reading...

Climate groups say 10-year ICS plan not urgent enough to cut carbon from ‘dirty’ sectorShipping companies would have to pay a small levy on every tonne of fuel they use under proposals aimed at developing zero-carbon vessels within 10 years, transforming the high-carbon global shipping business.Ships running on hydrogen or ammonia as fuel are thought to be technically possible, but more research and development is needed to bring forward the development of prototypes. Continue reading...

Few can identify our common plants amid a lack of education and more focus on animals and birds on natural history shows

Analysis of birch tar describes a female hunter-gatherer with dark skin and blue eyesAt the dawn of the Neolithic era, a young woman discarded a lump of ancient chewing gum made from birch tar into a shallow, brackish lagoon that drew fishers to the coast of southern Denmark.Nearly 6,000 years later, researchers excavating the site spotted the gum amid pieces of wood and wild animal bone and from it have reassembled her complete DNA and so painted the broadest strokes of her portrait. Continue reading...

Scientists believe galloping may have first emerged in crocs’ ancient cat-sized ancestorsCrocodiles have never had a friendly reputation, but they may just have become even scarier. Veterinary scientists have discovered that a surprising number of species are capable of galloping when they reach their top speeds.Previously it was thought that only a couple of crocodile species were able to use this horse-like gait, but the latest observations show that the ability extends to eight different species. Alligators and caimans, by contrast, can manage only a trot. Continue reading...

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has chosen its top 10 species discovered in 2019, celebrating the diversity of plants and fungi. From a bamboo-dwelling medicinal fungi to a snowdrop spotted on Facebook, this year’s picks represent the breadth of discoveries made by Kew and its collaborators around the world every year Continue reading...

A Harvard academic says the app he designed can prevent rare, hereditary diseases – and sinister interpretations are ‘ridiculous’A Harvard academic who designed a dating app based on gene-matching has said it was “ridiculous” to compare it to eugenics.George Church’s dating app proposes to match users based on their DNA in an attempt to eliminate genetic diseases. In a 60 Minutes episode from 9 December, Church confirmed that the app would screen out potential partners who are considered to have the “wrong” DNA. Continue reading...

The solutions to today’s puzzlesEarlier today I set the following two puzzles about number sandwiches.1) A number sandwich is a line of digits such that there is one digit sandwiched between the 1s, two digits sandwiched between the 2’s, three digits sandwiched between the 3’s, and so on. For example, 312132 is a number sandwich with the digits 1,2 and 3 Continue reading...

Mother’s fundraising campaign in Lyme Regis has been backed by likes of David AttenboroughEvie Swire was nine years old when she first heard the story of a woman who had lived near her home in Dorset and, in her own way, changed the world.Mary Anning was born into a humble family in Lyme Regis in 1799 and grew up hunting for fossils in the area’s cliffs to supplement their meagre income. When she was 12, she and her brother discovered one of the first ichthyosaurus skeletons, and she would go on to make many other pioneering finds and become immensely knowledgeable in the emerging field of palaeontology. Continue reading...

These tiny pests adapt so successfully to changing conditions that they have become humankind’s deadliest predator. We might soon be able to eradicate them – but should we? By Timothy Winegard• Read the text version here Continue reading...

A multi-layered brain snackUPDATE: The solutions are now posted here.Here are two puzzles I ordered on room service.1) A number sandwich is a line of digits such that there is one digit sandwiched between the 1s, two digits sandwiched between the 2’s, three digits sandwiched between the 3’s, and so on. For example, 312132 is a number sandwich with the digits 1,2 and 3 Continue reading...

Unsavoury flavour may explain why certain species do not flee from predators, scientist saysIt might seem like they are being lazy but some moths do not bother to flee from predators because they make themselves taste disgusting.That is the case for a certain species of tiger moth, which researchers have found displays a nonchalant approach when faced with potential predators, on account of its disgusting flavour. Continue reading...

Discovery of remains in all-male monastic community in northern Greece poses questionsLaura Wynn-Antikas specialises in bringing bones to life. Decades spent studying skeletal remains across Greece, in subterranean vaults, tombs, chapels and archaeological sites, have yielded a host of unexpected discoveries. “You never know what you are going to find,” the American-born anthropologist said. “Bones don’t lie. They will tell you how a person lived and perhaps even how they died. You go in prepared to see everything.”But when Wynn-Antikas was called to examine bones unearthed beneath the stone floor of a Byzantine chapel in the all-male monastic republic of Mount Athos even she was surprised. Some were so small they bore little resemblance to men’s at all. Continue reading...

Look east this week to find the constellation Leo, as the moon, entering its last phase, passes the bright white star RegulusThe moon slides through the constellation of Leo, the Lion, this week, passing the bright star Regulus along the way. The chart shows the view looking east from London at midnight tonight, as 16 December becomes 17 December 2019. The moon is approaching its last quarter phase, when only the western hemisphere remains illuminated. This occurs when the moon moves in to the last week of the lunar month. In Greek mythology, Leo was a murderous creature with golden fur that was impervious to weapons. It was finally defeated by the hero Heracles who used his bare hands to kill it. The star Regulus, whose name means “prince”, is a bright, white star. It lies just 79 light years from earth and contains almost 4 times the mass of the sun. Although it appears to be a single star, it is made up of four stars together but it is the light from Regulus A that dominates the group. The star was listed in Babylonian star charts as “star of the Lion’s breast”. Continue reading...

Deutsche Bahn says activist’s tweet implied she had not been offered a seat on journey homeSwedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has been criticised by a German rail firm for what it said was her implication that she had spent a journey without a seat on an overcrowded train.The teenager tweeted a photograph of herself looking pensively out of the window of her German train on Saturday, writing: “Traveling on overcrowded trains through Germany. And I’m finally on my way home.” Continue reading...

Biochemist and ophthalmologist whose research concentrated on the formation of cataractsRuth van Heyningen, who has died aged 101, was a pioneering explorer of ophthalmic biochemistry, a field to which she made major contributions after she joined the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, at Oxford University, in 1951.Her research, much of which was carried out in collaboration with the laboratory’s then director, Antoinette (Tony) Pirie, was focused on the lens, in particular the biochemical pathways involved in the formation of cataracts. Tony and Ruth wrote a key book together, Biochemistry of the Eye (1956), which Ruth later said included almost everything that was known about the subject at that time. Continue reading...

European Space Agency asks for help from Nasa with ExoMars project as trials fail and cost rises to €1bnSpace engineers are racing against time to fix major faults in the robot probe they plan to send to Mars next year. The complex parachute system that should slow ExoMars – Europe’s largest ever planetary mission – as it plunges into the Martian atmosphere failed catastrophically during recent tests.As a result, the European Space Agency has called for emergency help from Nasa space engineers to help them save their stricken mission. New parachutes are now being tested at the US Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena and will be subject to high-altitude trials in two or three months. Continue reading...

The attention after winning gold in Doha was amazing – but success really begins by staying focusedI love being the hunter. The one in pursuit. In training, I’ll latch on to the boys and chase them down. Even when I was younger, I tended to race girls who were older than me – at 17 I was racing 30-year-olds. It’s where I’m comfortable. But the hunter can go on to become the hunted. And this summer at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, I won gold in the 200m. At 23, I became the first British woman to win a world championship sprinting title.I had no idea there was so much excitement back in the UK after my win. Growing up in Orpington, southeast London, and training for years with the Blackheath & Bromley Harriers, I never once imagined the fuss that would come as a result of running fast. It’s a change I’ve had to mentally adjust to. The morning after the race, I was in the media tent and someone told me that I’d been mentioned in parliament and while that was, of course, lovely and exciting, I was so surprised. But I often have to separate myself from all the noise to keep focused on what’s most important to me. Continue reading...

How to tell a drug dealer from a pastry chef, the scientific wayScience is not my strong suit, but even I know the worth of lasers – eye surgery, sawing James Bond in half. But a recent report suggests myriad uses for these devices, from combating climate change to detecting fake whisky.According to Dr Robin Head, a scientist at M Squared Lasers, the use of lasers is why “we can suddenly differentiate between white powders. We can tell whether someone might be an international drug dealer or a pastry chef.” I don’t wish to come over all flat earther, but surely if you moisten your finger, dip it into said powder and taste, you might just as easily be able to tell the difference. Still, it could explain why I keep having such a run of failure with my Colombian yorkshire puddings. Continue reading...

The space scientist, 51, on appearing in The Clangers, being the class clown, how science can save us and extraterrestial life formsI can’t remember a time when I wasn’t fascinated by space. I was born in 1968, a year before the moon landings. It’s hard now to comprehend just how exciting that was for my generation. It really was moon madness. But it was also because of The Clangers, the children’s TV show. I was obsessed with it. They’ve rebooted the series now and it recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. They included a little Maggie model in it. I was about the happiest I’ve ever been!I don’t think I’m especially clever. I was very disillusioned at school. I was put in the remedial class, stuck at the back of the room playing with the safety scissors and the glue. I don’t think my teachers had any expectations for me and I ended up being the class clown, always mucking about and trying to make people laugh. Continue reading...

Brazil, India and China singled out in UN talks as acting to block agreement on article 6 of Paris agreementPoor countries have accused a handful of richer nations of holding up progress on tackling the climate crisis at UN talks in Madrid, as demonstrators and activists vented their frustration in the final hours of two weeks of negotiations.The talks, which had been due to end on Friday, dragged on with negotiators still battling on Saturday to salvage a result, as governments wrangled over the details of a seemingly arcane issue: carbon markets, governed by a provision of the 2015 Paris agreement known as article 6. Continue reading...

Many cases blamed on a single individual who appears to have caught virus for second timeHealth officials are investigating an alarming spike in Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with many blamed on a single individual who appears to have contracted the disease for a second time this year.Amid the struggle to bring the 16-month outbreak under control, the World Health Organization noted an almost 300% increase in cases in the last three weeks, with 17 of 27 linked to a single chain of transmission. Continue reading...

Ketamine might sound like an unlikely candidate for treating addiction and depression. But a growing number of scientists believe the drug could help. In the second part of this Science Weekly mini series, Hannah Devlin speaks to another expert using ketamine in their work: a physiatrist who has been conducting research on the use of ketamine for treating depression for several years Continue reading...

Space agency commissions €100m ClearSpace project after competitive bid processClearSpace-1 is planned for launch in 2025 and will be the first mission to remove an item of space debris from orbit. After a competitive bid process, the European Space Agency has awarded a service contract to a consortium led by the Swiss startup company ClearSpace, which is staffed by space debris experts from the École polytechnique fedérale de Lausanne (EPFL) research institute.The service contract model is a different way of working on missions for ESA. Usually the agency takes an active role in defining how a mission works. In this instance, however, it is paying ClearSpace to remove a piece of space junk but not specifying how that should be done. In this way, ESA is hoping to stimulate a commercial market for comparatively low-cost space debris removal. Continue reading...