In 2024 horticulturalists made single biggest introduction of rare seeds to collection in the past decadeThe Codonopsis clematidea smells like a skunk, the Tulipa toktogulica has a peculiar, elongated bulb and the Fritillaria imperialis is exceptionally tall. But to the horticulturalists who journeyed to remote alpine meadows and forests to find these rare flowers growing in the wild this year, they are nothing less than the jewels of the earth".Now, the seeds from these and hundreds of other wild plants that were collected in Georgia and Kyrgyzstan have entered the living collections at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Continue reading...

With the aid of the birds I was able to learn to love the nightAs a child I was afraid of the dark, as so many children are. Not the dark in and of itself, but what I was certain it contained: bad spirits, bad people, monsters with ill intent. The dark hid creatures with talons and teeth, or men with weapons who would use them to sneak up on an unsuspecting child and do them harm. The dark let curses slip out of buildings or hedges and attach to a child walking past. I kept myself bounded within the dome of torchlight on winter afternoons, thinking of light as a spell of protection. I went to bed by the orange glow of a nightlight, the hall light on and the door ajar.I borrowed Jill Tomlinson's book The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark from the library and fell in love with the baby barn owl, Plop. He thinks dark is nasty" and won't go hunting with his parents. He learns through others who love the dark that it can be exciting, kind, fun, necessary, wonderful, beautiful and super. I identified with Plop, but I wasn't convinced about the wonderfulness of the dark. Continue reading...

Academic Danilo Brozovi says studies of failed civilisations all point in one direction - today's society needs radical transformation to surviveFor someone who has examined 361 studies and 73 books on societal collapses, Danilo Brozovi's conclusion on what must happen to avoid today's world imploding is both disarmingly simple and a daunting challenge: We need dramatic social and technological changes."The collapse of past civilisations, from the mighty Mayan empire to Rapa Nui (Easter Island), has long fascinated people and for obvious reasons - how stable is our own society? Does ever-growing complexity in societies or human hubris inevitably lead to oblivion? In the face of the climate crisis, rampant destruction of the natural world, rising geopolitical tensions and more, the question is more urgent than ever. Continue reading...

Readers offer their views on getting rid of earworms using the composer's 4'33"In her letter (Want to get rid of a earworm? Try John Cage, 22 December), Joan Friend says shehas listened to different versions of 4'33'' and that they all sound the same". This is impossible, because the whole point of the piece is that during it we hear the sounds all around us.Composed after Cage had experienced an anechoic chamber, a room without echoes where true silence is possible, the score for the piece is marked Tacet" (an instruction in music which tells the player not to play), so here we have what appears to be a piece where nothing happens. Continue reading...

Parker solar spacecraft got the closest any human-made object has ever come to the starSanta and his reindeer were not the only bodies making a celestial journey on 24 December: Nasa has revealed that its Parker solar probe successfully completed its closest-ever approach to the sun and remains in good health.It is the closest any human-made object has ever come to our star, with the probe experiencing temperatures of up to 982C (1,800F) and intense radiation. Continue reading...

Why did we succeed when other hominins didn't, and can lessons from our evolutionary past help rein in our destructive impulses?In an institute in Germany, scientists are growing Neanderthalised" human brain cells in a dish. Thesecells form synapses and spark asthey would have done in a living Neanderthal as she (they are female cells) foraged or breastfed or gazed out of a cave mouth at dusk. That is the spine-tingling opening gambit of a book co-authored by one of the directors of the institute, Johannes Krause, and the information that sets it apart from a host of popular science books that attempt to predict humanity's future based on our evolutionary past.A mere 90 genetic differences distinguish modern humans, Homo sapiens, from Neanderthals, Homo neanderthalensis. That's paltry, given the roughly 20,000 genes that make upthe human blueprint, and not all ofthem affect the brain. Yet those 90differences could explain why Neanderthals died out, some 40,000 years ago, while we went on to dominate the planet. They could hold the key to how we, the apparently more adaptable human type, might adapt again before we destroy the ecosystems we depend on, and ourselves along with them. Continue reading...

Plant native to Sumatra boasts huge fly-attracting flower that can be sustained for only a few daysIt looks like a giant erect penis, stinks to high heaven and warms up to about the temperature of a human body. This is the inflorescence of the titan arum, Amorphophallus titanum, a plant with a phallus-shaped spike called a spadix that stands up to three metres tall, warms up to 36C at night and gives off the stench of a rotting corpse. This wonder is actually a ruse to attract carrion flies and beetles to pollinate the small flowers that are tucked away at the base of the spadix inside a large bucket-shaped leafy wrapper, where the insects are trapped until the flowers are successfully pollinated.A recent study revealed the plant's pungent odours were made up of a stinky cocktail of sulphur chemicals, including the aptly named compound putrescine, which is given off by rotting animal carcasses. This foul concoction is released only when the spadix warms up in short pulses. Continue reading...

Making it easier to get chest X-rays, rather than having to wait for a GP referral, could improve survival rates, finds studyMore people with lung cancer symptoms in the UK should be able to self-refer for tests rather than wait for their GP to request them, experts have suggested.Making it easier for those with symptoms to get chest X-rays could help speed up diagnosis and improve survival rates from the disease, they said. Continue reading...

Researchers say drugs may be able to increase lifespan by extending health and thus shortening the rate of ageingNot for nothing are dogs called man's best friend: they are good for their owners' mental and physical health, and some studies have shown that if you're looking for a date and want to seem more attractive, it might be time to get a canine companion.So what would it be like if dogs could live for ever - and what if that secret could help their owners live longer, healthier lives too? Continue reading...

Delicate 650-year-old pages to be preserved are some of the island's most important historical textsWork has begun to conserve and digitise one of the oldest paper documents still in existence on the island of Ireland.The ecclesiastical register, which dates back to the medieval period, is about 650 years old. It belonged to the former archbishop of Armagh Milo Sweteman. Continue reading...

Review of 116 clinical trials finds less than 30 minutes a day, five days a week only results in minor reductionsPeople who want to lose meaningful amounts of weight through exercise may need to devote more than two-and-a-half hours a week to aerobic training such as running, walking or cycling, researchers say.The finding emerged from a review of 116 published clinical trials that explored the impact of physical exercise on weight loss, waist size and body fat. In total, the trials reported data for nearly 7,000 adults who were overweight or obese, meaning their body mass index (BMI) was more than 25. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Sword is among striking objects unearthed from Anglo-Saxon cemetery near CanterburyA spectacular sixth-century sword has been unearthed from an Anglo-Saxon cemetery in rural Kent, to the astonishment of archaeologists.The weapon is in an exceptional state of preservation and is being likened to the sword found at Sutton Hoo, the Anglo-Saxon burial in Suffolk. Continue reading...

Guardian review finds many online pharmacies flouting strict advertising rules that govern prescription-only drugsWeight-loss injections are being aggressively marketed to British consumers through often illegal promotions, in a practice experts have described as a wild west" industry of drug selling.The booming market for jabs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro has triggered a price battle among online pharmacies, with even high-street chains cashing in on the soaring demand.Supermarkets are using loopholes in the rules by advertising discount deals for weight-loss services" that include - and prominently feature - the injections.The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is preparing to launch an investigation into the marketing of weight-loss injections.The regulatory body responsible for drug advertising has upheld complaints against online ads for weight-loss drugs every month since April 2023. Continue reading...

Drugs such as Wegovy amd Mounjaro are an attractive prospect for online businesses and traditional pharmacies as well as the firms that make themIt is a trend rooted in profit-making. Adverts featuring prescription-only weight-loss medications are splashed across the internet - and it is causing concern among experts.But the question remains: who is driving the boom? Continue reading...

Star-gazer's long-exposure shots unexpectedly capture mysterious blue light of triboluminescenceOn 27 October, photographer Shengyu Li set up his camera on a long exposure to record stars in the night sky near a mountain in Sichuan, China. As he waited, suddenly an unstable block of ice broke free from a glacier near the peak of the mountain and set off an avalanche. Looking at his photographs afterwards revealed mysterious blue flashes given off from the avalanche, when the ice crashing down smashed into rocks and the friction gave off the flashes of blue light. It was a phenomenon called triboluminescence, which occurs when certain materials are mechanically stressed from fracturing, scratching or rubbing.This strange effect was widely seen in the 1790s, when sugar began to be produced with more refined sugar crystals. These crystals were made into large cones which could be nipped into chunks as needed. If the nipping was done in dim light, it gave off tiny bursts of light. Something similar is caused by rubbing the sides of quartz crystals together or even when pulling sticky tape from a roll. Continue reading...

In this episode from July, Ian Sample talks to Josh Davis, a science writer at the Natural History Museum in London and author of the book A Little Gay Natural History. A study published in June 2024 suggested that, although animal scientists widely observe same-sex sexual behaviour in primates and other mammals, they seldom publish about it. Josh considers why this might be and describes some of his favourite examples of sexual diversity from the animal kingdom.Penguin noises by permission of freesound.orgSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Reports that psilocybin can help some mental health conditions has led to increase in recreational use, which carries risksMagic mushrooms are rapidly growing in popularity, sparking a psychedelic renaissance" as people become more interested in their mental health benefits. But experts have warned that using them recreationally risks doing more harm than good.

Volunteers asked to go about normal routine while paying more attention to natural worldThe start of a new year: a time for optimism, ambitious plans to improve the world, and the grim suspicion that the first couple of months may well be a miserable slog through the deepest of winter's gloom.But for those who fear the cold and dark ahead, help is on the horizon. Researchers in Canada are investigating a simple trick they hope will boost flagging spirits even when the days are short and frost is in the air. Continue reading...

Band of remarkably mild' weather arrives in time for Christmas Eve, with 15C possible in some areasBritain is on track for one of its warmest Christmases on record with the Met Office predicting temperatures that could peak at more than 6C above the seasonal average in some parts of the country.The band of remarkably mild" weather arrived in time for Christmas Eve, with forecasters expecting automated weather stations to record 13 to 14C across much of Britain, with 15C possible in places such as north-east Wales. Continue reading...

Probe was scheduled to pass 3.8 million miles from sun's surface on Christmas EveNasa's Parker solar probe is attempting its closest ever flyby of the sun, passing 3.8m miles from its surface on Christmas Eve.The spacecraft was scheduled to make the record-breaking approach, known as a perihelion, at 6.53am US eastern time (11.53 GMT). Continue reading...

From the Flask glacier to King George Island, intrepid researchers expect good cheer, snow and penguinsMany of us will not get a white Christmas this year, but a group of scientists are guaranteed one while carrying out research on the Antarctic peninsula.While ice and good cheer are expected, their yuletide activities will be very different from those back home. Dr Kate Winter, of Northumbria University, and colleagues will be deploying instruments on Flask glacier to study the way that meltwater affects how quickly glaciers flow into the ocean. Continue reading...

In this episode from September, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Saul Newman, an interdisciplinary researcher at University College London and the University of Oxford, who has recently won an Ig Nobel prize - given to scientific research that first makes people laugh, and then makes them think' - for his work showing that many claims of people living extraordinarily long lives come from places with short lifespans, no birth certificates, and where clerical errors and pension fraud aboundFor more on ageing, listen to Science Weekly's miniseries Secrets of AgeingEpisode 1: What makes me age? Continue reading...

After decades of debate, one of the largest ever studies on birth order suggests it does actually make a differenceThe debate has raged for more than a century: does birth order help to shape personality, or are conscientious firstborns and creative youngest children flawed stereotypes based on flimsy evidence?After decades of contested claims, a handful of recent studies found there was little evidence for meaningful differences. But in a study published on Monday, psychologists have pushed back and claim there is an effect after all. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Two London hospital trusts to trial tool that can predict those at risk up to 13 years before condition developsThe NHS in England is launching a world-first trial of a gamechanging" artificial intelligence tool that can identify patients at risk of type 2 diabetes more than a decade before they develop the condition.More than 500 million people worldwide have type 2 diabetes, and finding new ways to spot people at risk before they develop the condition is a major global health priority. Estimates suggest 1 billion people will have type 2 diabetes by 2050. Continue reading...

Researchers in Russia have unveiled the near intact carcass of a juvenile female mammoth, whose remarkably well-preserved remains were discovered in thawing permafrost after more than 50,000 years. The creature was recovered from the Batagaika crater, a huge depression more than 80 metres (260 feet) deep which is widening as a result of climate change

Paul Collins on how to improve the criminal justice system, and Ellie Dwight on an understaffed and ineffective probation serviceIn the 1990s, judges attending Judicial Studies Board seminars would hear the late David Faulkner, a humane and immensely knowledgable Home Office star, explain how German prison sentences were so much shorter than ours, with no corresponding increase in offending. Politicians, terrified of being pilloried for being soft on crime, have never taken any notice. The problem is that wehave no principled national idea of what prison is for(Editorial,12 December).As a junior assistant recorder, I did my duty and gave long sentences to drug mules from South America, based on the ludicrous theory that the deterrent effect would resound with other potential drug mules, often semi-literate women coerced into criminal activity with no conception of the consequences. Retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation? Some shapeless idea of punishment for its own sake is the unquantifiable last refuge of the ideologically barren. But it's all we seem to have. Continue reading...

The solutions to today's puzzlesEarlier today I set you the following two puzzles loosely related to 2025. (For more information on the number 2025 please read the original post.) Here they are again with the solutions.Queens and pawns Continue reading...

The 50,000-year-old female, nicknamed Yana, is one of only seven whole remains discovered in worldRussian scientists have displayed the remarkably well-preserved remains of a baby mammoth found in the permafrost-covered region of Yakutia in Siberia.The 50,000-year-old female mammoth has been nicknamed Yana after the river in whose basin it was discovered this summer. Experts say it is the best-preserved mammoth carcass in the world and is one of only seven whole remains ever found. Continue reading...

Research finds people who have more than four coffees a day have 17% lower chance of head and neck cancersIf the only thing getting you through a mountain of present-wrapping is a mug of tea or coffee, be of good cheer. Researchers have found people who consume those drinks have a slightly lower risk of head and neck cancers.There are about 12,800 new head and neck cancer cases and about 4,100 related deaths in the UK every year, according to Cancer Research UK. Continue reading...

Five fives alive!UPDATE: Read the solutions hereAs is traditional for the final column of year, we look ahead to all that the following twelve months will bring us.Numerically speaking, of course.44 = 193645 = 202546 = 2116 Continue reading...

As this elusive inner planet orbits its furthest from the sun westwards, it will be visible in the morning skyGet your Christmas started with a celestial achievement by tracking down the inner planet Mercury early in the morning.Because of its tight orbit, Mercury never appears far from the sun. This makes it a challenging object to observe because it never appears in a fully dark sky, only close to the horizon during twilight. Continue reading...

My colleague and friend, the psychotherapist, author and campaigner Paul Gordon, has died aged 70. While eschewing the limelight, Paul was an influential figure and unique voice in the world of psychotherapy. His political commitment and determination to improve people's lives led him to train as a psychotherapist at the Institute of Psychotherapy and Social Studies in London in the late 80s, and later at the Philadelphia Association, founded in 1965 by RD Laing and colleagues in order to challenge established ways of thinking about and responding to distress.Paul became its chair, and was a strong advocate for the unique sanctuary and asylum their therapeutic homes have long offered to anyone in need. Indeed, facilitating access to low-cost or free therapy was important to Paul, who also worked with young people at North London's Open Door, at Freedom from Torture, and helped to establish the Free Psychotherapy Network. Continue reading...

Readers respond to an article by Elle Hunt on the science of unshakeable tunesI have suffered from constant tinnitus for 30 years, and when it was joined by earworms it became almost unbearable (Tortured by an earworm? How to get it out of your head, 16December). I read of the cure" of listening to something else, but all that did was to replace it with something perhaps more irritating.Then I got to wondering: what would happen if I listened to silence? It wasn't music, so it didn't work. But then I began to listen to Cage's 4'33" - and amazingly, that did work, but not on audio only. Ihave to watch the music not being played. I have watched versions on the violin, guitar, full orchestra, string quartet, piano - it doesn't matter which it is because they all sound the same. Continue reading...

Data is used for the first time to show regional differences in the uptake of a single medicine - sodium valproate - and the potential benefits are striking say researchersScientists have created a unique map of England and Wales that reveals detailed variations in the use of a single medicine. The drug is sodium valproate, a treatment for severe cases of epilepsy that is also known to cause health problems for pregnant women.The findings show drops in the use of the drug, in response to warnings about its effects, but the map reveals clear differences in dispensing patterns to women of child-bearing age, with the highest rates being found in local authorities in the north-west and across coastal regions in the east. These variations highlight potential inequalities that need further investigation, the researchers warn. Continue reading...

The notion that vast windfalls inevitably bring misery is based on a handful of sad casesDoes winning the lottery wreck your life? When it was revealed earlier this week that an anonymous Briton had won 177m in the November EuroMillions draw - making them the third biggest national lottery winner ever - the Mail Online announced it with all the impartiality of a bad fairy at a christening: Other big winners", the second half of the headline ran, have faced lottery curse' withdivorce, disease, family splits and death".Follow the progress of lottery winners through the newspapers, and you'd be forgiven for thinking they all live out the same morality tale. Headlines such as The bad luck of winning" and A treasury of terribly sad stories of Lotto winners" drive home the point. Continue reading...

After midlife burnout came a rediscovered curiosity for two friends and writersIt was the early 2000s, we were in our 20s and had both started as assistants at the same company. We bonded over excruciating induction sessions, where we had to reveal things like which cartoon character we most identified with (B: Danger Mouse; E: Marcie from Peanuts). We laughed a lot, but we also worked really hard - and pushed each other to do new things. Twenty years later, with six children between us as well as more senior jobs, we found ourselves bogged down by endless to-lists and the relentless pace of midlife. We realised we needed to rediscover and connect to the positives in the world around us. The answer lay in sparking each other's curiosity.Many studies have shown that having a curious mindset has real-life benefits, both for our bodies and our souls. Our brains have evolved to release dopamine when we discover new things, and dopamine boosts memory, creativity and forges new neural connections. Other research shows that having a driving sense of curiosity can break down barriers between people - particularly important in our increasingly polarised world - c uriosity helps us to build empathy, connectivity and respect for others. Continue reading...

AGI in South Carolina investigated by government after leaked files revealed traumatic injuries and animal deathsThe US Department of Agriculture is investigating allegations from an animal rights organisation concerning Alpha Genesis Incorporated (AGI), the animal experimentation facility and breeder, from which 43 monkeys escaped last month.AGI is accused of abuse and neglect", and of violations of the Animal Welfare Act, as leaked documents show that between 2021 and 2023, multiple primates held at AGI centres endured preventable traumatic injuries and deaths. Continue reading...

Previously unseen artefacts show invading forces included communities of men, women, children, craftworkers and merchantsDozens of sites linked to the Viking great army as it ravaged Anglo-Saxon England more than 1,000 years ago have been discovered. Leading experts from York University have traced the archaeological footprint of the Scandinavian invaders, identifying previously unknown sites and routes.The study, conducted by Dawn M Hadley, professor of medieval archaeology, and fellow archaeology professor Julian D Richards, found that the significance of many of the ingots, gaming pieces and other artefacts unearthed by metal detectorists over the years had been overlooked until now. They also discovered about 50 new sites that they believe were visited by the Viking great army. Continue reading...

My father, Arno Rabinowitz, who has died aged 90, was a pioneering educational psychologist and a widely admired mentor, counsellor and confidant. His existence was down to a confluence of luck: his mother, Tilly, was one of three siblings evacuated from eastern Europe in the early 1920s during the pogroms against Jews. These three were Ochberg Orphans", fortunate recipients of the philanthropy of another emigre, the industrialist Isaac Ochberg, who enabled Jewish orphans to emigrate to safety in South Africa.Arno was born in Johannesburg, to Tilly (nee Abrahams) and Danny Rabinowitz, a hotelier. He went to school at Highlands North in Johannesburg and later studied English and politics at the University of the Witwatersrand in the 1950s. There he was involved in clandestine anti-apartheid activities and was briefly a legal intern, in which capacity he saw Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo in court. Continue reading...

The altar stone, which we now know is from Scotland, may have been a gift or marker of political allianceFive thousand years after the first monument was created at Stonehenge, it continues to give up dramatic new secrets - such as the jaw-dropping" revelation earlier this year that its central stone had been transported more than 700km to Salisbury plain from the very north of Scotland.While it had been known for more than a century that the huge sarsens for which Stonehenge is best known come from more than 12 miles (20km) away and its bluestones" originated in Wales, the discovery that the altar stone, which sits right at its heart, was Scottish caused an archaeological sensation, capturing headlines around the world. Continue reading...

Scientists surprised to find so many animals unknown to science in Alto Mayo, a well-populated regionResearchers in the Alto Mayo region of north-west Peru have discovered 27 species that are new to science, including a rare amphibious mouse, a tree-climbing salamander and an unusual blob-headed fish". The 38-day survey recorded more than 2,000 species of wildlife and plants.The findings are particularly surprising given the region's high human population density, with significant pressures including deforestation and agriculture. Continue reading...

Prof Mark Pallen, Dr Aimee Parker, Prof Nick Loman and Prof Alan Walker take issue with an article that discussed the existence of a brain microbiome and its impact on diseasesContrary to what is implied in your article (The brain microbiome: could understanding it help prevent dementia?, 1 December), the weight of expert opinion in medical microbiology rejects the existence of a brain microbiome" in the sense of a resident microbial community in healthy human brains. While pathogenic microbes - such as Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease, or fungal pathogens like Cryptococcus neoformans - can invade the brain and cause neurological symptoms, these are examples of infections, not evidence of a nativemicrobialcommunity.Similarly, cognitive benefits of vaccines can be explained by their role in preventing infections or modulating immune responses and inflammation, rather than any impact on a brain microbiome". Furthermore, the studies cited in the article have not undergone independent validation, nor do they provide any kind of consistent picture. This mirrors controversies around other supposed microbiomes - such as that of the placenta - which have failed to withstand independent scrutiny. Over a decade of research indicates that contamination, typically from laboratory reagents, is the most plausible explanation for such findings, particularly when even supposedly ultrapure water has been shown to harbour DNA signatures and culturable microbes. Continue reading...

One algorithm identified the five strongest notes in each drink more accurately than any one of a panel of expertsNotch up another win for artificial intelligence. Researchers have used the technology to predict the notes that waft off whisky and determine whether a dram was made in the US or Scotland.The work is a step towards automated systems that can predict the complex aroma of whisky from its molecular makeup. Expert panels usually assess woody, smoky, buttery or caramel aromas, which can help to ensure they don't vary substantially between batches of the same product. Continue reading...

Scientists race to discover new species before destruction of natural world drives them to extinctionFrom a toadstool with teeth to a vine smelling of marzipan and a flower that has cheated its way out of having to photosynthesise, a weird and wonderful host of new plant and fungus species have been discovered in 2024.Other plants given scientific names for the first time include beautiful new orchids, a ghostly palm and a hairy plant that appears to have stolen a gene from an unrelated family. The species are among the 172 new plants and fungi named by scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and their partners. Continue reading...

Dr Chris van Tulleken has been at the forefront of the campaign to change our food system and better regulate the sale of ultra-processed foods (UPF). This year he will be giving the Royal Institution Christmas lectures, Britain's most prestigious public science lectures, in which he'll be investigating how food has fundamentally shaped human evolution, the importance of our microbiome - as the extra organ' we didn't know we had - and how we can all eat better in future, for the sake of our own health and the health of the planet.Nicola Davis sat down with Van Tulleken to discuss the lectures, the challenge of understanding the impact of UPFs on our health, and his top tip for Christmas dinner. Madeleine Finlay hears from them both in this Christmas special edition of Science WeeklyClips: Sky News Continue reading...

Paper published in International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents in 2020 withdrawn by Dutch publisher ElsevierA controversial study that promoted hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug, as a treatment for Covid-19 has officially been withdrawn.On Tuesday, Elsevier, a Dutch academic publishing company which owns the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, issued the retraction of the March 2020 study, saying concerns have been raised regarding this article, the substance of which relate to the articles' adherence to Elsevier's publishing ethics policies and the appropriate conduct of research involving human participants". Continue reading...

Return pushed back to late March, stretching mission that was supposed to last eight days to more than nine monthsThe two Nasa astronauts who have been stuck in space since June because of technical issues will have to remain at the International Space Station even longer - stretching a mission that was originally supposed to last only eight days to more than nine months.On Tuesday, Nasa announced that its astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, along with Russia's cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, will return to Earth following the arrival of Crew-10 next year. Originally scheduled for a February launch, the space agency has pushed back the Crew-10 mission's launch date to no earlier than late March of 2025. Continue reading...

Jaw found in Scotchtown, Orange county, is latest notable discovery from ice age-era animal in the regionA New York state resident has found a complete mastodon jaw just below the surface of their lawn, after spotting two large teeth protruding from the ground.Mastodons roamed the US north-east during the Pleistocene epoch, and there have been several notable mastodon discoveries in the region, including a complete 13,000-year-old skeleton in Hyde Park, New York, in 2000. Continue reading...

Study finds 9,000-year-old remains in Americas hold genomes of bacteria family that causes diseaseAfter the French king Charles VIII invaded Italy in 1494, an unknown and disfiguring disease erupted in the army camps and duly spread across Europe when the men returned to their homelands the following year.The epidemic is regarded as the first historical account of syphilis, but where the disease came from has been debated by scholars ever since. One camp believes it emerged in the Americas, and was brought to Europe by Columbus in 1493. Another suspects it was lurking in Europe before the explorer set sail. Continue reading...

At HMP Grendon, psychology professionals aim to re-child' a group of Britain's most serious offenders in relatively relaxed conditions. Does the treatment work?As you go through the gates of Grendon prison in Buckinghamshire, past the raised garden - whose intricacy is still discernible in November - towards the main block, there's a foundation stone laid by Rab Butler from when building commenced in 1960. As home secretary, he wanted two things: to improve understanding of crime, and its treatment," Simon Shepherd, head of the Butler Trust, a charity celebrating exemplary work by prison staff, tells me. So he got the funding for the Cambridge Institute of Criminology. And he also got the funding for Grendon, the world's first dedicated psychotherapeutic prison."The idea, radical in the 60s, and still radical when it's applied to criminals, is that you re-child people, re-educate them. Childhood is where you learn the skills to manage life. If you have a personality disorder, that is essentially because you didn't get those skills in childhood. So you put somebody into a really intensive environment where they learn how to manage themselves and deal with people," Shepherd says. The NHS reports that 60 to 70% of prisoners in the UK have a personality disorder; I've heard numerous forensic professionals put the figure as high as 80%. Continue reading...