Study finds calcium deposits are triggered by molecule produced by damaged cellsThe mysterious mechanism behind the hardening of arteries may have been solved, researchers have revealed, in a study that also suggests the first potential preventive drug for the condition linked to heart attack, dementia and stroke.Arteries harden as calcium becomes deposited in the elastic walls of the vessels, a process that happens as we age and is exacerbated for patients with diabetes or kidney disease. Stiffening can also occur as calcium becomes deposited in fatty plaques in the arteries – a condition called atherosclerosis. Continue reading...

Elites who divorce climate policy from social justice are almost as out of touch as those who deny climate science altogetherIf you set aside Republicans’ obsession with cow farts, perhaps the most prevalent criticism of the Green New Deal is its emphasis on social justice. Critics contend that the far-reaching climate agenda is far too concerned with extraneous issues such as jobs, infrastructure, housing, healthcare and civil and indigenous rights. Stick to greenhouse gases, they say; reforming the energy system is utopian enough.This criticism crosses the aisle among elites. In February, the New York Times editorial board wondered whether addressing the climate crisis was “merely a cover for a wish-list of progressive policies and a not-so-subtle effort to move the Democratic Party to the left?” A day later, the Washington Post editorial board opined that serious policymakers should not “muddle” decarbonization with social programs that “divert money and attention from the primary mission”. And in a widely circulated 11,000-word Open Letter to Green New Dealers, Jerry Taylor, the president of the Niskanen Center, a pro-market environmental group, was incredulous. “The Green New Deal resolution quite literally gives a nod to every single last policy demand forwarded by the Democratic Socialists of America,” he wrote. “The climate is too important to be held hostage to political commitments.” The general gist of all this: take your social justice agenda elsewhere, activists. It has no place in serious climate policy. Continue reading...

Cutting fees for arts and humanities degrees would damage Stem subjects tooAfter days of intensive discussion, the strengths and weaknesses of the Augar report on post-18 education policy and funding are apparent. It is a solid review, refreshingly non-ideological in tone, but undermined by a flawed vision and wishful thinking.Some of its proposals – and its less attractive one-liners about low-value courses and too many graduates – are likely to seep into policy. But it lacks the momentum of a great reform. It gives but it takes away, handicapped by having to be fiscally neutral. Continue reading...

Study suggests people’s current and former partners tend to be similar in characterWhen a friend or relative introduces their new partner, it can seem like a case of deja vu. Now research has backed up what many have long suspected: people really do have a type when it comes to coupling up.Psychologists say they have found that people tend to go for partners with personalities similar to their own, and that even when this is taken into account, people’s former and new partners tend to be alike in character. In other words, it might not be a complete surprise that your friend’s new boy- or girlfriend seems just as obnoxious as the last. Continue reading...

Study shows 571 species wiped out, and scientists say figure is likely to be big underestimateHuman destruction of the living world is causing a “frightening” number of plant extinctions, according to scientists who have completed the first global analysis of the issue.They found 571 species had definitely been wiped out since 1750 but with knowledge of many plant species still very limited the true number is likely to be much higher. The researchers said the plant extinction rate was 500 times greater now than before the industrial revolution, and this was also likely to be an underestimate. Continue reading...

DNA testing shows 900-year-old savagnin blanc vines identical to modern plants

Gynaecologist and IVF pioneer whose methods often proved controversialThe early days of assisted reproduction were fraught with controversy, as media commentators and religious figures denigrated its practitioners for playing God or interfering with nature.Louise Brown, the world’s first baby to be conceived through in vitro fertilisation (IVF), arrived in 1978. By 2018, eight million babies worldwide had been born using IVF or related techniques. The rapid acceptance of the concept was largely due to the pioneering work of gynaecologists such as Ian Craft, who, along with Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe (who treated Brown’s mother), gave infertile couples hope that they need not accept their childless state. Continue reading...

New trials have shown the drug psilocybin to be highly effective in treating depression, with Oakland the latest US city to in effect decriminalise it last week. Some researchers say it could become ‘indefensible’ to ignore the evidence – but how would it work as a reliable treatment?

The uncertainty of climate change is an argument for – not against – decarbonizing the economy as quickly as possibleFor 23 years, I worked at a libertarian thinktank, arguing against climate action. But my views have changed. I now embrace decarbonization. Why? For one thing, I’ve come to better understand risk management.The raucous political debate with denialists aside, the real debate in climate science is about how much warming we’ll have to face, how abrupt it might be, how quickly we can adjust, how much severe weather we’ll experience, and how likely it is that various low-probability, high-impact climate events will come to pass. Continue reading...

With its Frankenstein fauna and cosmopolitan chickens, Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen’s eco-park puts the perverse into biodiversityA huge steel cage pokes up through the trees on the edge of Genk in eastern Belgium. It emerges from a long, dark brick building that has the fortified look of a high-security laboratory. Through narrow windows, you can make out the inanimate bodies of pigs, chickens and strange winged creatures, lit by eerie neon lights, while a symphony of exotic squawks emanates from an aviary beyond. Hidden out here on the edge of a forest, it looks like some secret facility for developing future species.The reality is not far off. This is Labiomista, the otherworldly vision of artist Koen Vanmechelen, who has spent the last two decades conducting experiments with animals – from breeding the most “cosmopolitan” kind of chicken to exploring the immunological potential of camels. In a joint venture with the city, he has now built a €22m ecological park and studio complex, designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta, as a wild playground for his curious creations. Continue reading...

Space object about a mile wide believed to have crashed into Earth around 1.2bn years ago

Despite a senior colleague’s protests, Jean Purdy’s name was not included on memorialThe name of a female nurse and embryologist who played a crucial role in developing the world’s first test-tube baby was excluded from a plaque honouring the pioneers of IVF despite objections from her colleagues, newly released letters reveal.Jean Purdy was one of three scientists whose groundbreaking work led to the birth of the first IVF baby, Louise Brown, in 1978. Yet her central role was largely forgotten in the rush to praise her colleagues, Prof Sir Robert Edwards and the surgeon Patrick Steptoe. Continue reading...

Simple scans ‘could revolutionise the way that we diagnose disease’, says professorHundreds of men will be given MRI scans in a groundbreaking clinical trial that scientists say could transform screening for prostate cancer.The £5m trial, which begins in August, is pioneering a simple, 10-minute scan that scientists hope could provide the first reliable method for identifying dangerous tumours in the general population. Continue reading...

After reaching its closest approach to Earth tonight, Jupiter comes into conjunction with the full moon next SundayToday Jupiter reaches its closest approach to Earth for the year. The configuration is known as opposition, as the sun is directly opposite the planet in the sky. This means the planet reaches its highest altitude (culminates) at or around midnight. However, for this particular opposition, that altitude is not large for many northern observers. From London, Jupiter will culminate at just 15 degrees in altitude so you will need a clear southern horizon to spot the brightly shining planet. Continue reading...

Work to stop slabs crashing into burial spaces beneath has uncovered a wealth of surprisesA painstaking operation to stop the floor of one of the UK’s great churches caving into the burial spaces beneath the great stone slabs has reached an important stage.The east wing of Bath Abbey, which has been hidden behind hoardings for more than a year, was reopened for members of the congregation on Sunday and from Monday visitors will be able to tread the much more stable floor. Continue reading...

Mice, rats and zebrafish will no longer be bred for medical research at one of the world’s leading genetics institutesA row has broken out among scientists over the decision by one of the world’s leading genetics laboratories – the Sanger Institute in Cambridgeshire – to close its animal breeding facility.The Wellcome Trust, which runs the institute, has decided that the £30m animal laboratory, where mice, rats and zebrafish are bred for medical experiments, should be shut within the next three years. It was set up 12 years ago and employs 70 staff. The institute – which played a leading role in the first sequencing of the human genome – says its scientists are now using fewer and fewer animals in their research. Continue reading...

As the last patents on the erectile dysfunction drug run out, interest in finding new treatments has been renewedAre we witnessing the end of an era for Viagra and Pfizer? Since the famous “little blue pill” exploded on to the market in 1998, becoming the fastest selling drug in history, the American pharmaceutical giant has made vast sums marketing it to erectile dysfunction sufferers all over the world. Within three months of its launch, Viagra had already earned Pfizer $400m, and over the past two decades, it has consistently generated annual sales to the tune of $1.8bn.However, this will soon come to an end, as in 2020, Pfizer’s remaining patents on Viagra expire for good. A whole host of generic versions have emerged in the past six years, often in quirky forms such as mint strips or breath sprays, as Pfizer’s grip on the rights to the drug has slowly loosened. Soon, these are expected to flood the market, as manufacturers jostle for a slice of the pie. Continue reading...

A mid-life career leap into the prison service opened this GP’s eyes and heartFor Dr Amanda Brown, a village GP in Buckinghamshire, the idea of working in a prison was so off the radar that when the offer came, her first reaction was surprise that such jobs existed. “It had never occurred to me that doctors even worked in prisons,” she says. “How stupid was I? But I thought it sounded fun. Interesting. Different.” The offer arrived at one of the lowest points in her life: she was crying in her consulting room when she took the call that would turn out to be the solution, or in her words, “a blessing”.It was March 2004, Brown was 49 and had angrily and impulsively resigned over government plans for new GP contracts, which would reward surgeries for meeting certain targets, such as checking cholesterol or completing mental health questionnaires during consultations. Although Brown had started the practice from scratch 20 years previously – and her husband, a property developer, had actually built the surgery – her partners had informed her they would “resent” her if their income fell because she refused to tick boxes and meet targets. Continue reading...

Children with food allergies are found to have higher levels of substance in processed foodsA ballooning diet of junk food might be one of the factors fuelling a rise in food allergies, researchers have suggested.Experts say they have seen a rise in food allergies in western countries, including the UK. While true prevalence can be tricky to determine, data published by NHS Digital shows episodes of anaphylactic shock in England due to adverse food reactions rose steadily from 1,362 in 2011-12 to 1,922 in 2016-17. Continue reading...

President tweeted Nasa should focus on ‘Mars (of which the Moon is a part)’ over going to the moon, a reversal of previous remarksFollowers of astronomy were in for a surprise on Friday, when Donald Trump announced that the moon is part of Mars.In a tweet, apparently commenting on his own administration’s space policy, the president said: “For all of the money we are spending, NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon - We did that 50 years ago.” Continue reading...

Move will allow private astronauts to spend up to 30 days in low-Earth orbit and businesses to shoot film and adverts in spaceNasa will allow unprecedented commercial access to the International Space Station (ISS) for marketing, business and space tourism, the agency announced on Friday.The change paves the way for the wealthy to rocket from Earth and spend time aboard the astronaut home and laboratory in space, through trips planned by private enterprise, and for businesses to develop products or shoot film – including adverts – in space. Continue reading...

Neurologist says ‘metricising our lives’ is counterproductive when it comes to sleepSmartphone sleep-tracking apps are making people so anxious and obsessed about their sleep that they are developing insomnia, a leading neurologist has said.Speaking at the Cheltenham science festival, Dr Guy Leschziner, a sleep disorder specialist and consultant at Guy’s hospital in London, said a growing preoccupation with getting enough sleep was backfiring. Continue reading...

What can we learn from chimps when it comes to politics and power? Ian Sample meets the leading primatologist Prof Frans de Waal of Emory University to discuss good leadership and what we can learn from our closest living relatives. Continue reading...

The current outbreak, linked to smallholders, is likely to affect prices around the world. But supersized animal farms are not the answerIn the coming weeks, bacon sandwich eaters in Newcastle and dairy farmers in California may find their pockets hit by developments thousands of miles away. The culprit is an outbreak of African swine fever which is sweeping through Asia, leading to the culling of millions of pigs in China and Vietnam, in what one expert calls the world’s biggest animal disease outbreak to date. The US and the UK are watching keenly. Denmark has built a 43-mile border fence to keep out wild boar. The devastating impact in Asia and the consequences already being felt further afield shed light on the globalisation of modern food production.The highly infectious disease is harmless to humans but fatal to pigs; there is, as yet, no vaccine. It was first detected outside Africa in 1957, in Portugal. It re-emerged in Europe more recently. But never before has it spread so rapidly and damagingly. In China, which until this outbreak reared around half the world’s pigs, every province has been affected. The disease has already shown up in Mongolia, Cambodia and North Korea. The UN Food And Agriculture Organization says it believes the cases reported by governments are underestimates. Many farmers may quietly sell infected meat rather than relying on promises of compensation and enmeshing themselves in disease-control obligations. Officials may also be reluctant to own up to problems. Continue reading...

The chancellor says we can’t afford to save ourselves. Let’s leave such absurd thinking behind – and invest in green policies

The US company Vertex has put a ludicrous price on a new cystic fibrosis drug. But we’ve found a way to bypass its greed

Scientists find higher cortisol levels in owners matched by raised levels in canine companionsIf the dead-end job, the pokey flat and the endless failings of the neighbours are getting on your wick, then spare a thought for the dog.In research that confirms what many owners will have worked out for themselves, scientists have found that the household pets are not oblivious to their owners’ anxieties, but mirror the amount of stress they feel. Continue reading...

A UN climate conference bid could be a perfect catalyst for change – and unify the UK for the push for a green revolutionAlmost halfway through 2019, it has felt, sometimes, like a breakthrough year for climate action. Given the rapid emergence of social movements across the world calling for climate justice, this often previously sidelined issue has become a international conversation. But the harsh reality of the challenge at hand re-emerged as the “leader of the free world” attempted to position the United States – one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters – as clean on climate, in an extended exchange with Prince Charles during his state visit to the UK. To contextualise, this comes in the wake of an Orwellian rebranding of hydrocarbons as “freedom molecules” and “freedom gas” by the US energy department ahead of a major export drive.Battlelines have been drawn around climate action in the US, with the Democratic primary campaign defined by candidates declaring their support for Green New Deal-style policies. Such is the strength of feeling that the issue has become a litmus test of contenders’ viability for the presidential nomination for 2020. With polling on such legislation indicating majority support among both Democrat and Republican voters, it’s clear that climate action can become a unifying issue as ordinary people seek solutions to the crisis, even as politicians of the right complain. Continue reading...

Every year nearly 5,800 people are expected to die in New York, 2,500 in Los Angeles and more than 2,300 in MiamiThousands of heat-related deaths in major US cities could be avoided if rising global temperatures are curbed, new research has found.On current global heating trends, thousands of people are set to perish due to the heat every year across 15 major US cities, in an analysis by a team of British and American researchers. Continue reading...

DNA analysis reveals hardy group genetically distinct from Eurasians and East AsiansIt was cold, remote and involved picking fights with woolly mammoths – but it seems ancient Siberia 30,000 years ago was home to a hardy and previously unknown group of humans. Scientists say the discovery could help solve longstanding mysteries about the ancestors of native North Americans.While it is commonly believed the ancestors of native North Americans arrived from Eurasia via a now submerged land bridge called Beringia, exactly which groups crossed and gave rise to native North American populations has been difficult to unpick. Continue reading...

Deep-sea creature’s teeth are made of similar material to ours, but heavily adapted for stealthThe dragonfish, a dweller of the dark ocean depths, would slot nicely into any horror movie, with virtually transparent fangs and bioluminescent barbel that help it thrive in its extreme environment.The nature of its teeth had been a mystery until Wednesday, when scientists revealed they are made of the same basic material as human teeth but with a different microscopic structure. Continue reading...

Blast-off makes China the third country after US and Russia to master sea launch technologyChina has launched a rocket from a mobile platform at sea for the first time, sending five commercial satellites and two others containing experimental technology into space.The Long March 11 rocket blasted off from a launch pad onboard a commercial ship in the Yellow Sea off the coast of Shandong province – the 306th Long March rocket launch, but the first one at sea. Continue reading...

Postdoc researchers like me aren’t considered university employees, even though we’re essential to research. This must changeBehind most of the technological advances we take for granted are brilliant researchers working long hours to complete experiments and advance our understanding. The backbone of this labour is made up of junior university researchers, or postdocs, who suffer poor progression opportunities, low job security and a dependence on their line managers for continued employment. This leads to bad science, bullying and discrimination, while driving a brain drain of our best and brightest away from academic research.Related: It's hard to build a life when you need to move cities for an academic career | Anonymous academic Continue reading...

Investors’ network warns of serious risk to aquaculture from global heating as well as over-reliance on medicinesThe climate crisis, drug use and feeding farmed fish with wild stocks risks “sinking” the $230bn (£180bn) aquaculture industry, according to an ethical investment network.Fish farms now surpass wild fisheries as the main provider of seafood on our plates, but combined risks from global heating, excessive use of antibiotics, a dependence on wild stocks for feed, and poor governance threatens the lucrative and fast-growing sector, warned Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return (Fairr), a $12trn-backed network. Continue reading...

Examining isotopes in Cambrian rocks reveals ‘boom and bust’ cycles in levels of gasLife on Earth got started more than 4bn years ago, but it was another 3.5bn years before evolution really started to take off. The turning point happened about 540m years ago and is known as the Cambrian explosion.A plethora of complex creatures burst on to the scene, many of which were the precursors of the animal groups we see today. Now a new study reveals that oxygen was a crucial ingredient for this sudden flowering of life. Continue reading...

Researchers say best years tend to be preceded by rise in number of acting creditsMacaulay Culkin peaked young, Jane Lynch hit the big time in her late 40s and Matthew McConaughey’s mid-career resurgence is the stuff of legend.Now researchers say they have developed an algorithm that predicts with 85% accuracy whether an actor is yet to have their most productive year, or whether they have already peaked. Continue reading...

Airbnb and the genetic testing company 23andMe have teamed up to suggest travel itineraries based on ancestry. It’s another boost for outdated and unscientific ideas23andMe, the at-home genetic testing company, has teamed up with Airbnb to offer travel itineraries based on your DNA. Give 23andMe some spit and some money, and it will give you an ancestry report in return, along with suggestions of places you can go to explore your heritage. Based on my DNA results, for example, 23andMe suggested I try falconry in the United Arab Emirates or a traditional Irish music pub crawl. Weirdly, despite the fact I’m half-Palestinian, it didn’t suggest I try a relaxing stay in one of the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank listed on Airbnb, or a traditional military checkpoint crawl.This sort of “DNAdvertising” is a growing trend: last year, for example, Spotify partnered with the world’s largest for-profit genealogy company, Ancestry, to build music playlists based on your DNA. But while genetically modified playlists or heritage holidays may seem like nothing more than fun marketing stunts, there’s a more insidious element to them. This sort of DNAdvertising is perhaps inadvertently helping to bring outdated and unscientific ideas about “race” and genetics to the mainstream. Continue reading...

Mutant form linked to rise of cooking helps about half of humans keep blood sugar lowerAn ancient mutation that spread through humans after the advent of cooking may protect people against high blood sugar and diabetes today, scientists have said.Researchers at University College London (UCL) discovered the mutation while studying a gene called CLTCL1, which is heavily involved in removing sugar from the bloodstream. Continue reading...

Human trials will begin within two years after treatment shows promise in animalsScientists have developed heart patches that could benefit hundreds of thousands of people who have a heart attack.The British Heart Foundation (BHF) said the patches, which are grown in a lab and help repair damaged hearts, could one day provide an off-the-shelf treatment. They have shown promise in animals, and clinical trials in humans will begin in the next two years. Continue reading...

Pembrolizumab with platinum chemotherapy less ‘aggressive’ and extended survival ratesImmunotherapy could help patients with head and neck cancer live longer, new research suggests.The drug pembrolizumab, used in combination with platinum chemotherapy, was found to extend survival among those whose disease had returned or spread, according to a study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago. Continue reading...

Reproductive biologist and author of popular science and science fiction books best known for the series The Science of DiscworldThe biologist Jack Cohen, who has died aged 85, worked on animal reproduction and the development of feathers and hair; his Living Embryos (1963) became a standard university text. He also co-authored popular science books and science fiction, and designed alien creatures and ecosystems for science fiction writers. But he will be best remembered for the bestselling four-book series The Science of Discworld, which he wrote with Terry Pratchett and me.I first met Jack in 1990, when he phoned me at Warwick University. “Hello, I’m Jack Cohen. I have a question about your book on chaos theory. Can we meet?” We had lunch at a pub in Kenilworth, and four hours later we were still there, having discovered that a mathematician and a biologist could have far more in common than they expected. Continue reading...

New research casts doubt on idea that a quantum jump is instant and unpredictableSchrödinger’s cat might not only be dead or alive, but also brought back from the brink, according to scientists who said they have discovered a warning sign for quantum transitions once thought to be instantaneous and unpredictable.The upshot is that the fate of Schrödinger’s cat can not only be predicted shortly in advance but even reversed once under way, the scientists said. Continue reading...

The solution to today’s puzzleEarlier today I set you the following puzzle:Four dogs are in four corners of a square of side length 1. Each dog starts running towards the dog immediately anti-clockwise to it. The dogs start at the same time, they all run at the same speed, and at every moment each dog is running directly towards the neighbouring dog. Continue reading...

No more parents’ evenings, PTA meetings and tedious texts about rules – I can’t wait for my youngest to leave next week

China accuses gene-edit scientist of chasing fame as US research links mutation to shorter life expectancyA genetic mutation that a Chinese scientist tried to create in twin girls born last year, in the hope of protecting them against HIV, has been found to raise the risk of an early death.He Jiankui at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen sparked an international outcry in November when he announced the birth of twin girls, Lulu and Nana, after he edited the DNA in their embryos. Continue reading...

A quick mental run-aroundUPDATE: The solution can now be read by clicking here.Today’s problem is a classic puzzle and an excuse to post this picture of Melbourne’s annual sausage dog race, the Running of the Wieners.Four dogs are in four corners of a square of side length 1. Each dog starts running towards the dog immediately anti-clockwise to it. The dogs start at the same time, they all run at the same speed, and at every moment each dog is running directly towards the neighbouring dog. Continue reading...

Nobel prize winner warns UK science will suffer unless it can gain access to Horizon EuropeOne of Britain’s leading researchers has warned of a “major blow” to national science if ministers cannot secure access to a massive research programme that is being drawn up by the EU.The Horizon Europe programme will fund €100bn in research projects, making it one of the largest science funds in the world. British researchers will be locked out unless the government negotiates an access deal in the coming months. Continue reading...

High consumption of coffee no worse for arteries than drinking less than a cup a dayCoffee lovers who drink up to 25 cups a day can rest assured the drink is not bad for their heart, scientists say.Some previous studies have suggested that coffee stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, with drinkers warned to cut down their consumption. Continue reading...

One of the leading particle physicists of the 20th centuryMurray Gell-Mann, who has died aged 89, was the leading figure in the study of elementary particle physics in the middle years of the 20th century. His work transformed the way that physicists conceive matter at the smallest length scales.In 1950 the world of atomic and nuclear physics was relatively straightforward: atoms consisted of positively charged nuclei formed of protons and neutrons, with negatively charged electrons orbiting around them like planets round the sun, held together by photons, the quanta of quantum electrodynamics (QED). By 1975 the subject had changed beyond recognition, largely due to Murray’s work. Protons and neutrons were no longer elementary particles: instead they themselves were composite structures formed of three quarks held together by gluons, the quanta of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Continue reading...