The country’s anti-satellite missile test should be condemned, writes Sa’id Mosteshar On Wednesday the space Mission Shakti was carried out by India, in which it successfully targeted a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite (Report, 28 March). Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared: “In the journey of every nation there are moments that bring pride and have a historic impact on generations to come. One such moment is today … India has successfully tested the anti-satellite missile (Asat).”He added that the target satellite was at an altitude of 300km, and that India had not breached any international laws or treaties. Continue reading...

East Antarctica drilling project will give snapshot of Earth’s atmosphere and climateScientists are planning to extract ice samples from more than 1.5m years ago in a bid to discover more about our ancient climate – and hopefully learn more about our future climate.The Beyond Epica project plans to extract samples from the bottom of a 2.75km-thick ice sheet in East Antarctica. The ice cores will be the oldest ever drilled for. Continue reading...

Police struggling with shifting meanings of youth dialect have enlisted slang translatorsDo you know your “tum-tum” from your “ching” and your “corn” from your “gwop” (gun, knife, ammunition and money)? Neither do police and prosecutors, who have begun consulting a linguistics professor to help decipher urban slang and drill lyrics used as evidence in criminal investigations.The complexity of inner-city dialects and the growing use of texts and social media posts in court evidence has forced detectives and lawyers in London, the West Midlands and Essex to seek translations, according to Tony Thorne, an academic at King’s College London, who has been studying youth slang since 1990. Continue reading...

Epiacum Roman fort, Northumberland: Under the yarrow and sheep’s sorrel of the short turf were the gates, towers and bath house of the stone-built fortHill cloud rolls over the fell top where snow still fills the cups and hollows of high ground. I’m walking a section of the Pennine Way near Alston, uplifted by the layers of overlapping sound: curlews bubbling, peewits wing-thrumming, skylarks trilling. The path drops steeply down to the Gilderdale Burn, the county boundary between Cumbria and Northumberland. Climbing up again, the ground is spongy with recent rain, wet seeping into my boots.A series of grassy mounds and banks stand lime-green vivid against a lowering sky. Tiered like contemporary landform art, they were made nearly 2,000 years ago. This is Epiacum Roman fort on Castle Nook farm, and it has some of the best preserved earthworks of Roman Britain. Built about the same time as Hadrian’s Wall to the north, it is on the line of the Maiden Way that marched up to Carvoran. Archaeologists believe its purpose was to control lead and silver mining. The standard Roman rectangular fort is here skewed into a lozenge shape to fit the slope of the hill. Continue reading...

Explorer Thor Heyerdahl collected many items in his effort to prove South American migration theoryNorway has agreed to hand back thousands of artefacts removed from Easter Island by the explorer Thor Heyerdahl during his trans-Pacific raft expeditions in the 1950s.An agreement was signed by representatives of Oslo’s Kon-Tiki Museum and officials of Chile’s culture ministry at a ceremony in Santiago as part of a state visit by Norway’s King Harald V and Queen Sonja. Continue reading...

Keir Harding says those who have lived through trauma deserve better, and Ash Charlton says it is a myth that one of the biggest predictors for an adult becoming an abuser is if they have been abused themselvesAlexandra Shimo is right to highlight the travesty of people who have lived through traumatic experiences being labelled as having disordered personalities (Opinion, 27 March). Aaron Beck, the father of cognitive behavioural therapy, describes two therapists talking: “I’m having trouble with my patient with personality disorder.” “How do you know they have personality disorder?” “Because I’m having trouble with them.”This gut-feeling approach to diagnosis happens all too often in the UK. But things are changing. Next week is the 20th British and Irish Group for the Study of “Personality Disorder” annual conference in Durham. The inverted commas are indicative of the scepticism that members hold of the value of the personality disorder label. The conference is being launched by poet Clare Shaw, a staunch critic of the borderline personality disorder diagnosis, while other keynote sessions look at the impact of deprivation and trauma. We are moving away from “what is wrong with you?” and looking closer at “what happened to you?”. Continue reading...

Study reveals extent of chytrid fungus and how devastating it has been for frog, toad and salamander species worldwideA deadly disease that wiped out global populations of amphibians led to the decline of 500 species in the past 50 years, including 90 extinctions, scientists say.A global research effort, led by the Australian National University, has for the first time quantified the worldwide impact of chytridiomycosis, or chytrid fungus, a fungal disease that eats away at the skin of amphibians. Continue reading...

Older people without children at greater risk of isolation, poor health and inability to access formal care – reportMore than 1 million people aged over 65 without children are “dangerously unsupported”, and at acute risk of isolation, loneliness, poor health, poverty and being unable to access formal care, according to a report.The number of childless older people in the UK is expected to double by 2030, putting huge pressure on a health and social care system that is already struggling to support the vulnerable, warned Kirsty Woodard, founder of the organisation, Ageing Well Without Children (AWwoC). Continue reading...

Scent linked to epileptic seizures could mean dogs can be trained to warn ownersDogs can detect a telltale scent linked to epileptic seizures, scientists have discovered, raising the possibility that they could be trained to reliably warn owners when a seizure is imminent.The findings may also help explain anecdotal reports that dogs are able to sense when their owner is about to have a seizure. Knowing when a seizure is going to occur could allow people with epilepsy to have greater control and independence, meaning they could take measures to avoid injury, seek help or take medication. Continue reading...

To democratise scholarly publishing, individual academics need to take actionAcademic and scientific research needs to be accessible to all. The world’s most pressing problems like clean water or food security deserve to have as many people as possible solving their complexities. Yet our current academic research system has no interest in harnessing our collective intelligence. Scientific progress is currently thwarted by one thing: paywalls.Related: It's time for academics to take back control of research journals Continue reading...

Survey says cave stretches for six miles, beating Iran’s Namakdan cave in lengthDripping with stalactites and glistening crystals made of salt, the Malham cave at the southern tip of Israel’s Dead Sea is the world’s longest salt cave system, researchers have claimed, following a survey of its twisting and dramatic tunnels.The cavern, which extends over six miles (10km) underground, is believed to be even more extensive than Iran’s Namakdan cave, which was previously thought to be the longest salt cave. Continue reading...

Prof Jennifer Doudna, one the pioneers of Crispr-Cas9 gene editing, explains how this revolutionary discovery enables precise changes to our DNA, which can be used to correct mutations that cause genetic diseases and eradicate them from a germ line. Doudna raises the key issues of debate around gene editing and suggests what will have the most immediate impact. Continue reading...

Over 10 years, the French artist went inside space centres around the world to photograph ‘the past and future of space exploration’, from the 1968 Apollo mission to the future Nasa rocket aimed at Mars

High levels of noxious substances found in soil and on balconies in west London

As May announced her intention to quit after phase one of Brexit, MPs attempted to take control of the debate with a series of indicative votes. The former UK ambassador to the EU Sir Ivan Rogers reflects on how the negotiation process favoured the bloc once the timetable was agreed. Plus: Caroline Criado Perez on what a lack of spacesuits for women tells us about entrenched sexismWhen Sir Ivan Rogers resigned unexpectedly from his post as the UK’s ambassador to the EU in 2017, it created shockwaves. It also meant the loss of one of the country’s most experienced negotiators at a time when Britain was about to trigger article 50.He joins Anushka Asthana to discuss how the Brexit negotiations have panned out since and argues that when Theresa May and her initial Brexit secretary, David Davis, agreed to a timetable that required a withdrawal agreement to be signed before beginning trade talks, the EU gained the upper hand.

Discovery in 71-year-old Jo Cameron may aid development of new pain relief treatmentsDoctors have identified a new mutation in a woman who is barely able to feel pain or stress after a surgeon who was baffled by her recovery from an operation referred her for genetic testing.Jo Cameron, 71, has a mutation in a previously unknown gene which scientists believe must play a major role in pain signalling, mood and memory. The discovery has boosted hopes of new treatments for chronic pain which affects millions of people globally. Continue reading...

8,000 packs of Orkambi go out of date during standoff between maker and NHS

UK’s superbug tsar Lord Jim O’Neill compares idea to way banks were taken over after 2008 financial crashNationalised or state-run “utility” drug companies may be the only answer to the lack of investment in new antibiotics, former banker and superbug tsar Lord Jim O’Neill has suggested.The drastic measure would be intended to ensure that the development and production of new antibiotics were not at the mercy of capitalist market forces – which may seem at odds with O’Neill’s background as a chief economist at global banking giants Goldman Sachs. Continue reading...

Move ‘would save 10% of all endangered birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles’Nearly 10% of the world’s bird, mammal, amphibian and reptile species currently on the brink of extinction could be saved by killing invasive mammals such as cats and rats on 169 islands, according to a new study.Islands comprise just 5.3% of the Earth’s landmass yet have experienced 75% of known bird, mammal, amphibian and reptile extinctions since 1500. More than a third of species currently classified as “critically endangered” on the IUCN Red List are found on islands, with many particularly vulnerable to just eight species – including feral pigs, dogs, goats and mongooses – introduced by humans. Continue reading...

Men in least deprived areas of England are also living almost 10 years longer than those in most deprivedThe life expectancy of women in the poorest parts of England has fallen by three months, while that of women in the wealthiest areas rose by almost as much, new figures show.There was a drop of 98 days in life expectancy at birth among women in the most deprived areas between 2012-14 and 2015-17, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Life expectancy for women in the least deprived areas rose by almost 84 days, representing a divergence of around half a year in the length of the lives of the poorest and wealthiest women. Continue reading...

Of unemployed people with autism, 54% surveyed said they had never held a job despite wanting toAustralians living with autism are being locked out of the workforce, while some of those who found paid employment say they have previously lost a job because they are on the spectrum, new research claims.A study commissioned by autism peak body Amaze, and described as an Australian-first by its authors, surveyed the employment experiences of those living with autism and their carers, as well as attitudes towards autistic people in the workforce. Continue reading...

India’s PM criticised for making televised address about missile test during election campaignIndia’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has announced the successful test of the country’s first space weapon, an anti-satellite missile, in a surprise televised address in the middle of the election campaign.The dramatic nature of the announcement – during a caretaker period when governments are restricted in what they promote – drew criticism alongside praise for India’s space scientists. Continue reading...

The lack of recognition for complex PTSD by the psychiatric establishment means it is difficult for sexual abuse victims who might suffer from it to receive the right diagnosisSuppose, for the sake of a thought experiment, that a new psychological disorder was discovered. It is supported by dozens of studies and recognized by some of the world’s leading psychiatrists and psychologists, but not by the North American psychiatric establishment. And let’s say the refusal to accept this new disorder had devastating consequences for #MeToo survivors.That claim is asserted by a growing number of sexual abuse victims, psychiatrists and psychologists worldwide. Continue reading...

Scientists analysed millions of US Twitter posts to find 45% rise in references in 13 monthsDonald Trump was, the researchers concede, an easy target. Having cringed themselves when he was on the campaign trail, they felt compelled to test their hypothesis: that the election of the 45th president of the US had prompted an upturn in national embarrassment.The scientists, with no official records of the nation’s mood to pore over, turned to Twitter for an answer. After analysing tens of millions of tweets sent from US accounts between June 2015 and December 2017, they found references to embarrassment and variants on the word had risen 45% since the election, from an average of 909 per million to 1,319 per million. Continue reading...

Amateur astronomer Ken Lawson says it took him eight years but he finally lined up the ‘perfect’ shotAn amateur Australian astronomer who took a “perfect” photo of the International Space Station passing in front of the moon says it took him eight years to set up.Ken Lawson, from Geraldton in Western Australia, has been an avid astronomer and photographer since childhood. On 14 March he captured the shot of the space station passing between Earth and the moon, in perfect light, with a simple camera and telescope. Continue reading...

Space agency blames shortage of outerwear after first-of-its-kind mission falls throughNasa’s plans for the first all-female spacewalk have fallen through – at least in part because the agency doesn’t have enough spacesuits that fit the astronauts.What should have been a giant leap for womankind has turned into a stumble after Nasa said on Monday night that they will only have access to one correctly sized spacesuit top by Friday when the walk was scheduled. One of the two women on the mission, Anne McClain, will now have to give up her place to a male colleague. Continue reading...

There needs to be serious, urgent research into better saddles for female cyclists, says Hannah Dines, who has endured years of pain and swelling caused by friction as she ridesThe plastic surgeon, in that particularly endearing way of surgeons, was trying to reassure me that although he had never operated on an endurance cyclist before, he had seen “presentations” like mine. “I’ve seen chronic inflammation and long-term trauma to the vulva like this. You know …” he paused, “in patients who compulsively rub up against bedposts.” Silence.I decided against explaining that the relationship with my bike saddle did not, perhaps, deserve to be in among the psychiatric cases in his cognitive filing system. However, he had a point. While there is no love lost between me and the necessary evil that is my saddle, I have continued to train, despite huge amounts of destruction to my body, pain and trauma. Continue reading...

Scientist David Nutt memorably said alcohol is more dangerous than crack. Now, he is trying to invent a healthy synthetic alternative, and the race is on to get it to market‘This is what my brain looks like,” says David Nutt, showing me an intense abstract painting by a friend of his that is sitting on the windowsill in his office. Nutt’s base at Hammersmith hospital has a cosy, lived-in feel – a stark contrast to the gleaming white laboratory he oversees as director of the neuropsychopharmacology unit at Imperial College London. Lab coats hang on a hook by the door, an ancient kettle sits in the corner and next to the painting is an unruly collection of objects that offer clues to his research interests: brain-shaped awards, an atomic model of Nutt’s invention for detecting inflammation in the brain of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s patients, a poster for the 1967 film LSD Flesh of Devil and two carved wooden mushrooms – the final items hinting at his role at Imperial’s psychedelic research group.All that is missing is something to do with the demon drink, to reflect Nutt’s ambitious plan to bring a safe synthetic alcohol substitute called Alcarelle to the masses. Nutt has long been developing a holy grail of molecules – also referred to as “alcosynth” – that will provide the relaxing and socially lubricating qualities of alcohol, but without the hangovers, health issues and the risk of getting paralytic. It sounds too good to be true, and when I discuss the notion with two alcohol industry experts, they independently draw parallels with plans to colonise Mars. Continue reading...

Scientists say research will help predict how glaciers’ melting will affect oceansAustralian researchers have discovered huge underwater lakes beneath the largest glacier in east Antarctica.The lakes were detected by scientists setting off small explosives 2m below the surface of the Totten glacier and listening to the reflected sound. Continue reading...

The solutions to today’s puzzlesEarlier today I set you the following two puzzles:1) Why is every even digit palindrome divisible by 11? (An even digit palindrome is a palindromic number that contains an even number of digits, like 1221, or 678876.) Continue reading...

Study may help diagnose and identify people at risk of developing Alzheimer’s much earlierHumans can make fresh brain cells until they are well into their 90s, but the production of new neurons falls in those with Alzheimer’s, even when the disease has recently taken hold, scientists have found.The findings may help doctors to diagnose Alzheimer’s at an earlier stage, and identify those most at risk who may benefit from exercise and other interventions that could boost the production of new brain cells. Continue reading...

Trial of once-daily capsule appeared to reduce sperm count with few side-effectsHopes for a male contraceptive pill have increased after a trial showed a once-daily capsule appeared to work with no significant side-effects.The drug aims to suppress levels of hormones that drive the production of sperm and testosterone in the testes. Continue reading...

Project Mission Jurassic will excavate land in Wyoming where brachiosaurus and diplodocus have been unearthed

Decades of studying primates has convinced me that animal politics are not so different from our own – and even in the wild, leadership is about much more than being a bully• Read the text version here Continue reading...

A celebration of the number that’s one more than tenUPDATE: Solution is now posted hereLegs eleven, Ocean’s Eleven, elevenses!Yes, let’s hear it for the number 11, star protagonist of today’s puzzles. Continue reading...

Charmouth, Dorset: The eroding cliffs spill ammonites back into the sea, while fossil hunters filter along the beachThe crashing waves throw up a misty-grey haze as they break against the bottom of crumbling ashen cliffs that slouch on to the top of the beach. The backdrop is the imposing hulk of Golden Cap, its sandstone-topped, ragged, seaward face cascading at 45 degrees for 200 metres to meet the churning waters.Related: To collect or not to collect: are fossil-hunting laws hurting science? Continue reading...

After the half-moon on Thursday, when the moon will be between Saturn and Jupiter, the waning crescent will gradually disappear from viewFollowing last week’s full moon, this week our nearest celestial neighbour crosses from waning gibbous moon to waning crescent moon. It does that in the company of two giant planets, making it an attractive sight for those awake in the pre-dawn hours. The chart shows the view looking south-south-east at 0400 GMT on 28 March. The visible surface of the moon will be precisely half lit, a configuration called last quarter. This marks the boundary between waning gibbous and waning crescent phases. On 28 March, the last quarter moon will appear in the constellation Sagittarius. The moon will be equidistant from Saturn, to the lower left, and Jupiter, to the upper right. Saturn will be the dimmer of the two planets. It will appear as a yellow colour. Jupiter will be higher in the sky, brighter and a white colour. In this final week of the lunar cycle, the Moon rises later and later, eventually disappearing from view into the dawn glow. From here it will reappear as a young moon a few days later, and the next lunar month will begin. And don’t forget that British Summer Time begins this week at 0100 on Sunday, 31 March. Continue reading...

Statisticians are calling on their profession to abandon one of its most treasured markers of significance. But what could replace it?Statistical arguments are a crucial part of decision-making in a modern society. The kind of decisions that governments and large companies must make all the time are governed by probabilities. In those circumstances of uncertain knowledge we need to reduce a cloud of unknowing to facts as hard and cold as hailstones that can be acted on, or even just used in arguments. But some of the most popular techniques for doing this are now under attack from within the profession.The p value is supposed to measure whether the conclusions drawn from any given experiment or investigation of data are reliable. It actually measures how unlikely the observed result is compared with what would be expected as a result of random chance. Obviously this requires a sophisticated understanding of the results that chance might be expected to produce. This isn’t always available. To take one popular example, any calculation of how likely we are to be the only intelligent species in the universe depends absolutely on assumptions about the likelihood of intelligent species arising, which can’t be tested across a range of universes. Continue reading...

Bonnie Wortmeyer is one of thousands finding freedom from Clostridium difficile bacteria through faecal microbiota transplantationBonnie Wortmeyer has spent the past few years plagued by ill health. Among the major issues she has had to deal with are a double lung transplant and what she calls her “poo transplant”, which she says changed her life.While recovering from her double lung transplant, Wortmeyer was exposed to numerous courses of antibiotics, which made her susceptible to contracting the Clostridium difficile bacteria. C diff, as it’s known, is a nasty, life-threatening bacteria which makes life almost unbearable for its sufferers. Continue reading...

Regulation has been unscientific and too restrictive. But the spectre of psychosis means some will always have to be waryOccasionally during my love affair with marijuana I would experience perceptual disruptions profound enough to freak me out. One time I was driving along a crowded road when my car seemed a little wobbly and then listed towards the centre, an alarming thud-thud emanating from the back end. In the middle of a densely populated spot without a hard shoulder, I crept slowly across a few lanes of traffic and pulled to a stop. Concentrating very hard, I got out of the car to assess and hopefully change the flat tyre. I rarely got paranoid from smoking weed; neither did it typically make me sleepy. Instead, I was among the lucky ones, as the drug made everyday activities such as gardening, waiting on tables and talking to my family bearable if not interesting. So I was shocked and embarrassed to find, after a few minutes of close inspection amid the honking horns, that there was nothing wrong with the car.At the time I took hallucinations as evidence of a good score. Now, as an ex-smoker and neuroscientist whose focus is addictive drugs, I know that my resilient response to this stressful experience was contingent on having a neurotypical brain. Neural pathways are forged by finely orchestrated signals for synapse growth and pruning; disruptions can result in atypical neural connections that increase the risk of psychosis. The liability may be unmasked by environmental conditions that can essentially be reduced to an ambiguous but well-recognised bogeyman: stress. Continue reading...

One of my colleagues is roused to volcanic harrumphing by the tangible outcomes of insidiously intangible infelicitiesFor some people, it’s the little things that truly offend; sins against the English language that cause them to believe that the whole glorious edifice is crumbling. One of my colleagues is roused to volcanic harrumphing by the use of the word “multiple”. He might like to avert his gaze now.“Exercise program provides multiple benefits to nursing home residents”; “multiple churches burglarized in Back of the Yards: police”; “Sussex TK Maxx thefts – man charged with offences at multiple stores”; “Multiple animals killed in South Jersey barn fire”. Continue reading...

A version of the club drug licensed in the US could usher in a wave of fast-acting treatments, but experts are worriedClaudia Kieffer remembers the first time she encountered the drug she describes as having “saved my life”. Eight years ago, Kieffer, who had suffered from treatment-resistant depression for decades, was given ketamine as a routine anaesthetic, as part of a post-mastectomy breast reconstruction procedure.But as well as alleviating the pain, Kieffer noticed an instantaneous change in her state of mind. Continue reading...

His new show, After Life, divides opinion, except in my householdI kept walking in on my partner last week quietly crying over the laptop. Not, as might be reasonable to expect, because she is stuck in an infinite current affairs loop, never knowing when she might be freed from the horrors, but because she has been watching Ricky Gervais’s new sitcom, After Life, on Netflix. “You’re not allowed to watch it with me,” she said, pointedly closing the lid. “I’m enjoying it and you’ll ruin it. Go somewhere else.”Rude, I thought, and then said something about how the reviews hadn’t been very good anyway, which only proved her point. The reviews I read have not been particularly kind, it’s true, but already After Life seems to have reached Bohemian Rhapsody levels of division between what critics have made of it and what real-life viewers think. On a recent episode of Gogglebox, the families who do not usually agree on what they’re watching all collapsed into paroxysms of laughter at a gag about Gervais’s character, Tony, being called a “paedo”. Continue reading...

A week in Wales with a lifeboat of fellow passengers reaps surprising resultsI am stretched out on a mattress in front of a log fire, tears running down my face, crying for my sister, as my mother strokes my hair and whispers into my ear. I have cried many times for my sister – she died when we were children, and I am now 56 – but I’ve never been soothed like this before. It feels amazing.The woman touching my face and shoulders with such love is not my actual mother, who is hundreds of miles away. I am in the oak-panelled great hall of a Victorian country mansion beside the River Usk in the Brecon Beacons in Wales, and my carer is Turiya Hanover, co-founder of the Path of Love retreats. Continue reading...

One cycle means paying up to £8,000 and the birth rate is just 18%. Despite this, women are increasingly choosing this routeGrowing numbers of women are choosing to freeze their eggs because they haven’t found the right partner yet – but with the odds of conception so low, is it a waste of money?Egg freezing is a method of preserving a woman’s fertility so she can try to have children at a later date. It involves collecting her eggs, freezing them and thawing them later so they can be used in treatment. . Continue reading...

The health secretary’s call for tests to be rolled out on NHS was met with controversyThe health secretary, Matt Hancock, this week shared his shock at discovering that he is at greater than average risk for prostate cancer, despite having no family history of the disease.The revelation came after he took a predictive genetic test that assesses risk for 16 common diseases, including coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma and breast and prostate cancers. Continue reading...

Study involving reimplanting testicular tissue later in life hailed as breakthroughTesticular tissue taken from young monkeys, which is then frozen and grafted back into their bodies later in their life, can give rise to sperm and allow them to father live young, scientists have revealed.While the approach has previously been successful in other animals, including mice, it is the first time a primate has produced offspring from the procedure. The team report the baby rhesus macaque that was born is a healthy female that has been named Grady, after “graft-derived” and “baby”. Continue reading...

Hang on, I thought. Am I about to become a prime suspect in a murder investigation?About a year ago, my parents gave me some money towards a pretty expensive metal detector. At 50, I was looking for a hobby to take me into retirement, and I’d recently got into TV shows such as The Curse Of Oak Island and Mud Men on the History channel. Both are about treasure hunting and absolutely fascinated me. I learned that mudlarking – searching shores for items during low tide – has a rich history. In the Victorian era, some of London’s poorest citizens survived on what they could find on the shores of the Thames.My workplace is close enough to the river to nip down at lunchtime, so I applied for a licence and went to try it out. Down by the water, I totally forgot that I was in the city; I could let my mind wander for an hour. There was only one problem: I was concentrating so much on hearing a bleep from my metal detector that I was forgetting to look. That is the essential part of mudlarking: concentrating on what you can see below your feet and off in the distance. I ditched the detector and went with a bucket and scraper instead. Continue reading...

Science agency says scourge of wandering trad could be slowed by fungus, which they have called its ‘natural pathogen’Australia’s national science agency will release a Brazilian leaf smut fungus to target and kill an invasive weed that covers large parts of the continent’s east coast.Researchers from the CSIRO say the scourge of wandering trad could be slowed by the introduction of the Kordyana brasiliensis fungus, which they have called its “natural pathogen”. Continue reading...

With almost half of British adults taking a daily vitamin, Graihagh Jackson and guests examine our love of supplements - including recent announcments about fortifying flour with folic acidAlmost half of adults in Britain take vitamins every day and we spend more on supplements than painkillers. This spring, the government will discuss whether to fortify flour with folic acid. The aim of the proposal is to prevent birth defects such as spina bifida by increasing folate intake in pregnant women.Graihagh Jackson looks at the history of vitamins with Dr Salim Al-Gailani from the University of Cambridge, discusses the forthcoming government debate with Linia Patel, a nutritionist and spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association, and questions whether we really need to be popping these pills at all. Continue reading...