The actor will take the lead in a series he has co-created, following those tasked by the president to develop the space-based initiativeSteve Carell is set to head up a new comedy series for Netflix based on Donald Trump’s space force initiative.Related: Schitt's Creek: the funniest sitcom you're (probably) not watching Continue reading...

Using genetically modified bugs to prolong life was ‘fanciful’ until recently, says scientistA “living medicine” made from genetically modified bugs has prolonged the lives of animals with severe metabolic disease in a landmark test of the treatment.Researchers created the medicine by making a common strain of bacteria mop up excess ammonia in the body. High levels can be fatal for people with liver damage and rare genetic disorders. Continue reading...

Kew scientists’ analysis of 124 wild species shows 60% facing possible extinction, risking viability of commercial stockWild coffee species are under threat, with 60% of them facing possible extinction, including Arabica, the original of the world’s most popular form of coffee, researchers say.Most coffee species are found in the forests of Africa and Madagascar. They are threatened by climate change and the loss of natural habitat, as well as by the spread of diseases and pests. Continue reading...

Cotton plant perishes on lunar far side after sprouting on board China’s Chang’e 4 landerThe appearance of a single green leaf hinted at a future in which astronauts would grow their own food in space, potentially setting up residence at outposts on the moon or other planets. Now, barely after it had sprouted, the cotton plant onboard China’s lunar rover has died.The plant relied on sunlight at the moon’s surface, but as night arrived at the lunar far side and temperatures plunged as low as -170C, its short life came to an end. Continue reading...

Rising temperatures can be charted back to the late 1950s, and the last five years were the five hottest on recordLast year was the hottest ever measured, continuing an upward trend that is a direct result of manmade greenhouse gas emissions.The key to the measurements is the oceans. Oceans absorb more than 90% of the heat that results from greenhouse gases, so if you want to measure global warming you really have to measure ocean warming. Continue reading...

The Future Circular Collider would smash particles together in a tunnel 100km longPlans for a machine that would dwarf the Large Hadron Collider have been drawn up by researchers at Cern to take over the baton in the search for new physics in the latter half of the century.The €20bn (£17.8bn) machine, named the Future Circular Collider, would smash particles together inside a 100km (62 mile) tunnel, making it four times the size of the LHC, which at present is the largest scientific instrument on the planet. Continue reading...

Low-carb does not mean no-carb, nor does it mean low-fibre, says Sue Morgan. Vegetables are stuffed full of fibre, points out Dr Nick Evans. The ketogenic diet should not be dismissed as a dangerous fad, says Anna McGuirkLow-carb does not mean no-carb, nor does it mean low-fibre (Blow to the low-carb diet as WHO report says fibre cuts early deaths, 11 January). Your article appears to confuse low carbohydrate and low grain consumption. Proponents of a low-carb diet typically encourage the replacement of highly processed carbohydrates with fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds (all sources of carbohydrate), thereby increasing the amount of fibre consumed as well as the intake of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.The study actually concluded that the certainty of evidence for relationships and critical outcomes was graded moderate for dietary fibre and low to moderate for whole grains (The Lancet: “Carbohydrate quality and human health: a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses”). In addition, it included the caveat that high levels of whole grains could cause depletion of iron and other minerals in individuals who are low in these. Continue reading...

Scientists say it may still technically be possible to limit warming to 1.5C if drastic action is taken nowClimate change could be kept in check if a phaseout of all fossil fuel infrastructure were to begin immediately, according to research.It shows that meeting the internationally agreed aspiration of keeping global warming to less than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels is still possible. The scientists say it is therefore the choices being made by global society, not physics, which is the obstacle to meeting the goal. Continue reading...

Rapper contributes funds to complete long-gestating land art piece in Arizona, having described the work as ‘life-changing’Kanye West has donated $10m (£7.77m) to the creation of a major work of land art by James Turrell.The money will fund the ongoing construction of Roden Crater in Arizona, which is described on the project’s website as “a controlled environment for the experiencing and contemplation of light”. The completed work will comprise a series of 21 viewing spaces connected by six tunnels, creating “a vast, naked eye observatory for celestial objects and events ranging from obscure and infrequent to the more familiar summer and winter solstice”. Continue reading...

A small cotton shoot is growing onboard Chang’e 4 lunar lander, scientists confirmA small green shoot is growing on the moon after a cotton seed germinated onboard a Chinese lunar lander, scientists said.The sprout has emerged from a lattice-like structure inside a canister after the Chang’e 4 lander touched down earlier this month, according to a series of photos released by the Advanced Technology Research Institute at Chongqing University. Continue reading...

As a tropical field ecologist in Borneo, I learned why science must work with industry to protect the planetLots of academics worry that focusing too much on the real-world impact of research threatens pure, curiosity-driven science. But really the two go hand in hand, especially when it comes to solving the complex question of how we achieve sustainability despite increasing human pressures on our planet.As a tropical field ecologist studying rainforest destruction in Borneo, I saw the impact of the expanding palm oil industry on tropical biodiversity first hand, and so it was always a high priority to ensure the research I was doing made a difference. I was driven by scientific curiosity about how nature responds to the most drastic human activity, but also by the motivation to find solutions. Continue reading...

Contraceptive use and peer pressure can affect whether first sexual experience is positive, says researchMore than half of women and two in five men are losing their virginity before they are ready, potentially affecting their wellbeing and health, researchers say.The team add that focusing only on age is misguided, noting the research showed issues around willingness, peer pressure and contraceptive use can all affect whether the first experience of sex is positive, regardless of age. Continue reading...

Scientists devise method using genetic data and lifestyle to work out who should be screenedWomen may be able to go to their GP to find out their risk of getting breast cancer and choose whether or not to be screened, if a new online calculator devised by scientists is successful.Related: Women with BRCA gene mutations given clearer picture of breast and ovarian cancer risk Continue reading...

Claxton, Norfolk: Geese follow each other closely to reduce the energy they expend, but here the practical is tied up with the emotionalThey came out of a backlit umber sky produced by the cloudbank that had just given us a double rainbow. Now it brought on dusk prematurely. They were pink-footed geese in three silhouetted echelons, and when the first turned westwards the sounds of them poured down upon us as if a door had suddenly been flung open to let those voices out of all that air.Pink-footed geese, en masse, create a strong note that is high like oiled steel, with a hint of nails-on-blackboard shrillness, but it also yields an overlapping music that seems full of shared, windblown exhilaration. I have watched winter geese fly to roost for nearly 50 years and routinely ponder what it is that fills me with such feeling each time. Continue reading...

Short spells of movement help, but research finds overall time spent seated must be cut

The pattern is clinically well known and exemplifies one response to attachment insecurity seen first when children are younger than two, writes Dr John Richer. Plus Mary Montaut on the cult of Nigel FarageGary Younge’s excellent piece on the similarities of Trump and the Brexiters (Trump and the Brexiters must own the mess they lied us into, 11 January) is a reminder of the similar underlying psychological processes at work.The pattern is clinically well known and exemplifies one response to attachment insecurity seen first when children are younger than two. The possibility of showing this response is built into our species after millennia of evolution. That response is called the ambivalently insecure strategy and the child is essentially thinking (unconsciously), “if I keep my parent’s attention on me I shall be safe and won’t die”. Because young children without caretakers die, the child becomes attention-seeking by demanding (“do what I want!”) or whingeing (“poor little me”). When stressed, the child is egocentric and their perceptions of others are distorted by their emotional needs. As time goes on, this often develops into bullying of weaker people and claiming victimhood when firmly confronted (“it’s not fair, you’re being mean to me”). The distorting of reality develops into lying. Such people, when in this state, find it difficult to be objective or to cooperate, and they try to control others to their own ends. This frequently leads to their groups fracturing (Trump administration, Ukip) or to them being surrounded by cowed “yes men”. Continue reading...

The solutions to today’s puzzlesEarlier today I set you the following five geometrical puzzles by Catriona Shearer. I hope you discovered the clever way of solving them, without recourse to pages of algebra.1. Orange segments Continue reading...

Study finds nine areas in the north among top 10 highest prescribers in the countryPeople living in deprived areas of England are more likely to be prescribed opioid drugs for pain relief than those in wealthier parts of the country, according to research.A study found GPs in parts of Blackpool and St Helens prescribe the highest levels of opioids in England. Five areas in north-east England and four areas in the north-west were among the top 10 highest prescribers. Continue reading...

Recalling happy events appears to build resilience to mental illness, say scientistsRemembering the good times may help adolescents stave off depression, according to research on teenagers who were at risk of mental illness because of childhood hardships.Scientists at the University of Cambridge found recalling happy events appeared to build their resilience to mental illness, suggesting this could assist in preventing depression later in life. Continue reading...

From astrology’s houses of the zodiac to the ‘lost cosmonauts’, this beautifully written book appraises humanity’s relationship with the starsAt the start of this succinct survey of our undying love affair with the cosmos, Ken Hollings notes that we are all, even in this scientific age, “secretly familiar with our star sign”. His book’s 12 chapters echo the 12 houses of the zodiac. It is not a defence of astrology, though, rather, a wonderfully impressionistic exploration of how we have tried to make sense of the stars, from ancient cultures such as the Maya and the medieval idea that astronomy was an art, to the “lost cosmonauts” – the Soviet astronauts who preceded Yuri Gagarin but never returned, their capsules lost in space.Hollings’s beautifully written account takes the reader on some delightfully unexpected cosmic journeys. A riff on how, through polished glass, stars look like snowflakes, leads to Robert Hooke’s comparison of snowflakes and urine crystals, and ends with an Apollo astronaut describing how in space “a urine dump at sunset” was “the most beautiful sight in orbit”. Continue reading...

There are limits to being relentlessly upbeat. Embrace pessimism – accepting it will all end in ruin releases us to liveEarly on New Year’s Day, I began scrolling through the messages people had left on social media. Usually you find a note of hope among popping corks and exploding fireworks. Not this year. All I found were posts like “2018 was a terrible year. Don’t expect more from 2019” or “I dread the year to come”.I started to suspect that those I followed on social media were all just a bit depressing. But that theory evaporated when a new batch of articles trying to capture the spirit of our age appeared. “It’s all over,” one piece declared. “All that’s left to us is making the best of a bad situation,” another announced. A fascinating new book bore the title The Worst is Yet to Come. Continue reading...

Five beautiful geometrical puzzlesUPDATE: To read the solutions click hereToday’s puzzles come from Catriona Shearer, a maths teacher at a school in north Essex, whose colourful geometry puzzles have recently gained a following on social media. These brainteasers are certainly pretty, and some are pretty tricky too!Here are five of her best. Continue reading...

Recommendations focus on how much people should eat during the day to stay healthyMinisters and public health experts have long been telling us we eat too much sugar, saturated fat and salt but less attention has been paid to the size of the portions on the plate. Now a new guide to portion sizes warning that people are eating too much without realising has been launched by nutritionists, to suggest how much food people should eat during the day to stay healthy and help combat the obesity crisis.The British Nutrition Foundation’s (BNF) guide is designed, it says, to complement the government advice on the sorts of foods to eat, as laid out in the Eatwell Guide. It spells out how much of each sort of food – starchy carbohydrates, protein, dairy, fruit and vegetables and oils and spreads – constitute a healthy diet within the 2,000 calories a day that women need and 2,500 for men. Continue reading...

The first supermoon of the year will be on show later this week, with a total eclipse thrown in for good measureA total lunar eclipse greets skywatchers at the end of this week. Don’t miss it, as the next one will not be until 26 May 2021. The Moon will begin to enter Earth’s shadow at 03:34 GMT on 21 January and reach mid-eclipse at 05:12 GMT. Skywatchers in the Americas will see things at earlier local times, which shift the eclipse into the evening of 20 January. The Moon will spend a total of 62 minutes in the deepest part of the Earth’s shadow, known as the umbra. During this time, the Moon will appear to turn a red colour due to atmospheric effects at Earth bending the sunlight. In total, the full eclipse will last more than three hours and twenty minutes. The eclipse takes place during the first supermoon of 2019. A supermoon is a new or full moon that takes place when the Moon is near the closest point in its orbit with Earth. By coincidence there are three supermoons this year, occurring at full moon on 21 January, 19 February and 21 March. February’s is closest at 356,846km but only January’s boasts an eclipse. Continue reading...

New York laboratory cuts ties with 90-year-old scientist who helped discover the structure of DNA, revoking all titles and honorsA New York laboratory has cut its ties with James Watson, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who helped discover the structure of DNA, over “reprehensible” comments in which he said race and intelligence are connected.Related: Interview: James Watson Continue reading...

The creation of modern chemistry in the 19th century was a forgotten intellectual revolution that made today’s world possibleThis year marks the 150th anniversary of the discovery, or invention, of the periodic table of the elements, one of the most important, if least dramatic, of all scientific breakthroughs. Chemistry has a bad reputation among non-chemists, perhaps because it is the first place in science where a schoolchild comes up against the stubborn complexity of nature. The organising principles of physics appear simple; evolution makes biology appear a well-ordered process, at least until it’s examined in detail. But chemistry is awkward and lumpy. There are endless facts to memorise, and there are few obvious and intuitively pleasing answers to questions such as why the periodic table has eight columns and not seven or nine. There is not even a hero figure like Darwin, Newton or Einstein whose story can dramatise our understanding of the subject. If there were, it would be Dmitri Mendeleev, the Russian who first organised the known elements into an arrangement which not only fitted them together but had predictive value: it suggested new elements that might be discovered, and what their qualities would be.This was not a complete theoretical understanding, but it exposed the phenomena which a theory must explain. In some sense the elements had been known since gold was first washed out of gravel, long before writing was invented. But the existence of some simple and apparently irreducible kinds of stuff did not prove and might not even imply that every substance in the world was made from simpler elements combined. The idea that water is really the combination of two gases, themselves never found in a pure state in nature, seems entirely fanciful until it is proved by experiment. In the 18th century, following Antoine Lavoisier, chemists began to isolate more and more elements from the apparent chaos around them. But their qualities and modes of reaction formed no discernible pattern. The discovery of this pattern and the development of its implications was Mendeleev’s great contribution. Continue reading...

Dr David Marjot on the anti-boredom effect, and Dr Ian Flintoff on the damage done by a materialist societyI am a retired consultant psychiatrist who specialised in the field of addiction (Constant craving: is addiction on the rise?, G2, 9 January). My conclusion was that most, perhaps all, drugs of addiction were very effective ways of passing time with minimum distress – the anti-boredom effect. Even “unpleasant” experiences will pass time very effectively. Similar experiences are achieved by shopping, TV and sexual activity etc. I thought that heroin and tobacco were the best anti-boredom drugs. Nicotine is not intoxicating, the withdrawal symptoms are severe but not obvious to the observer, easily relieved by the next fag, and disease and death are delayed until towards the end of working life, thus saving the public the expense of a pension. The ideal drug?Dopamine is incidentally involved in addiction. The function of dopamine appears to be in a system or systems for the initiation and maintenance of our behaviours – the way we think, feel and act. These systems could be called systems for iteration. Continue reading...

‘Slow down your thinking. Feel the serenity that comes from finding out you are the bore you’ve always thought’Hi. It’s me, Owen, and I want you to know that I’m here for you. Thank you for picking up my book. It means a lot that you have chosen to put your trust in me. I’m guessing that, since you have managed to read this far, you are probably feeling something has been missing from your life. That something has been me. With my workout you can be the person you have always wanted to be.What makes my approach so different is that it doesn’t demand you waste years in therapy trying to understand why you are so useless. Instead I can get you to become perfectly comfortable with the futility of your existence in just 10 minutes. That’s why there is Ten in the title. And don’t be put off by the word Zen. I’m not trying to turn you into a Buddhist monk. The publishers just said I needed a word that rhymed with ten. Continue reading...

New dating technique used to prove Llwyn Celyn farmhouse is medieval marvelA Welsh farmhouse that was once in such poor condition that rainwater ran through its rooms is in fact an exceptionally rare 600-year-old medieval hall house, it has been confirmed, after conservation experts used a groundbreaking new dating technique originally developed by climate change scientists.Llwyn Celyn, which lies in the Black Mountains on the border of England and Wales, was completed in 1420, an analysis of its timbers found, making it one of only a tiny number of domestic buildings to survive from one of the most destructive periods in Welsh history, immediately following the failed revolt of the Welsh prince Owain Glyndŵr. Continue reading...

New varieties created through genetic editing and engineering promise to beat disease, and offer enticing new flavoursIt was reported this week that Brazilian scientists are hoping to create spicy tomatoes using Crispr gene-editing techniques. Although tomatoes contain the genes for capsaicinoids (the chemicals that give chillies their heat) they are dormant – Crispr could be used to make them active. This is desirable because, compared to tomatoes, chillies are difficult to farm – and capsaicinoids have other useful applications besides their flavour – in pepper spray for example. Continue reading...

We all cling to beliefs despite the evidence. Immersive theatre experience The Justice Syndicate aims to show why“It’s her word against his,” says a middle-aged male juror in thick-rimmed glasses. “Someone of his experience wouldn’t do something so risky.” A woman to my right says the defendant is probably guilty, but maybe not beyond reasonable doubt. “But why would she lie?” asks another female juror.Eleven strangers and I are discussing whether renowned children’s surgeon Simon Huxtable tried to rape Sally Hodges, the mother of a former patient. She says he tried to kiss her and then force himself on her. Huxtable says Hodges made up the allegation after he spurned her advances. Mobile phone records show he was at her home for 26 minutes but he told police he was there for only 10. His browsing history reveals he has an interest in rape porn. Continue reading...

Cosmologist Jo Dunkley on the most mind-bending recent discoveries, as astronomers use powerful new telescopes to explore nature’s weirdest stars, ‘dark energy’ and the origins of goldAstronomy is in the middle of a data revolution, a time of enormous discovery. Humans have been looking up at the stars for thousands of years, but modern telescopes and computers are rapidly accelerating our understanding. We know far more than we did even 20 years ago, and we are now much closer to answering questions about whether life exists elsewhere in the cosmos, how our planet came to be here, our cosmic origins and eventual fate.On a clear night the stars twinkle in the sky, and often we can see the bright planets of our own solar system in orbit, like us, around our sun. Until the early 1990s, we had no idea whether there were any other planets around the stars in the sky. Astronomers suspected so, but had no way to prove it. We have in the past decade found thousands in orbit around foreign stars, and have a better idea of how common they are. A sizable fraction of stars probably have their own planets, their own worlds carried around them in the most fantastically diverse solar systems. Continue reading...

Company cites ‘extraordinarily difficult times ahead’ behind decision to slash about 600 employeesElon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX will reduce its workforce by about 10% of the company’s more than 6,000 employees.The company said it will “part ways” with some of its manpower, citing “extraordinarily difficult challenges ahead”. Continue reading...

China's space agency has released a video of its Chang'e 4 spacecraft landing on the side of the moon permanently hidden from Earth's view. On Friday, the National Space Administration released images from the lunar surface.

Radio signals could be signs of extraterrestrial life. But, with Brexit and Trump, could they have chosen a worse time to call?Earlier this week, astronomers announced that they had observed repeated bursts of radio waves coming from deep space, with some experts suggesting this could be evidence of alien life. Is this it? Could extraterrestrials finally be trying to contact us? I hope not.Related: Mysterious fast radio bursts from deep space ‘could be aliens’ Continue reading...

Pictures taken by Chang’e 4 lander and rover beamed back to Earth and shown on state TV

International team say ‘spectacular’ data hints at historic breakthroughAstronomers attempting to capture the first images of the black hole at the heart of the Milky Way have given early hints that the ambitious project has been successful.The observations, by the Event Horizon Telescope, are expected to be unveiled in the spring in one of the most eagerly awaited scientific announcements of 2019. Now, a senior scientist on the project has said “spectacular” data was gathered during observations of two black holes, including Sagittarius A* at the centre of our own galaxy. Continue reading...

Hannah Devlin looks at why there is renewed interest in lunar exploration following the Chinese Chang’e 4 adventure on the far side of the moonThe Chang’e 4 robotic probe’s successful mission is the latest in a well-coordinated series from the Chinese space programme. And the Chinese are not alone. The US, Russia and Europe are also looking at getting back to the moon, hoping to explore any untapped resources that could, one day, be useful to lunar settlers.Despite what the Pink Floyd album implies, the far side of the moon is actually no darker than the near side, but we’re learning more that its surface is vastly different in other ways. Continue reading...

Fast radio bursts have caused more suspicion about extraterrestrial activityIn the 400 years since Galileo Galilei first held a telescope to the heavens, astronomers have laid bare some of the deepest mysteries of the cosmos. They have seen comets crash into planets, found oceans inside moons, and witnessed the shudder of spacetime as black holes collide.But space remains a realm of the unknown. Writing in the journal Nature on Thursday, scientists in Canada reported the detection of mysterious radio signals from halfway across the universe. It is only the second time that repeating fast radio bursts, or FRBs, have been spotted. Continue reading...

The craft is to collect samples of material that reflect the solar system’s earliest stagesNasa’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft has achieved orbit around asteroid Bennu. The spacecraft eased into orbit with an eight-second burn of its thruster on 31 December at 19.43 GMT.Its mission is to survey the small asteroid and then collect a sample of the surface material to send back to Earth for analysis. Continue reading...

Seawater temperature is rising faster than predicted, which is likely to worsen extreme weather events around the worldThe world’s oceans are warming at a faster rate than previously estimated, new research has found, raising fresh concerns over the rapid progress of climate change.Warming oceans take up more space, a process known as thermal expansion, which the study says is likely to raise sea levels by about 30cm by the end of the century, on top of the rise in sea levels from melting ice and glaciers. Warmer oceans are also a major factor in increasing the severity of storms, hurricanes and extreme rainfall. Continue reading...

Half the world’s population is online but lack of skills and investment are slowing growthParts of the world will be excluded from the internet for decades to come without major efforts to boost education, online literacy and broadband infrastructure, experts have warned.While half the world’s population now uses the internet, a desperate lack of skills and stagnant investment mean the UN’s goal of universal access, defined as 90% of people being online, may not be reached until 2050 or later, they said. Continue reading...

Nine ways to boost your willpower, from dodging doughnuts to making the most of morningsIt is tempting, when your shiny New Year’s resolutions start to crumble, to tell yourself that self-control simply isn’t your strong point. “Oh well,” you might say, surrendering to the desire for a large glass of red. “No willpower, that’s my problem.”But, according to a body of scientific research, willpower is not a talent that a lucky few are born with. It is a skill to be practised. “Willpower is a dynamic, fluctuating resource,” explains Frank Ryan, consultant clinical psychologist and author of Willpower for Dummies. “Our level of willpower fluctuates according to our motivation in any given situation. Everybody can learn to use their willpower more effectively.“ Continue reading...

Flat earthers, who believe the Earth is a large disk, may be shocked to find the ship’s navigation is based on a spherical planetA group of people who believe the Earth is flat have announced their “biggest, boldest, best adventure yet”: a Flat Earth cruise scheduled for 2020.The cruise, organized by the Flat Earth International Conference, promises to be a lovely time. Flat earthers – who include the rapper B.o.B. and reality television person Tila Tequila – will be able to enjoy restaurants, swimming pools and perhaps even an artificial surf wave. Continue reading...

Nasa working on fix after space telescope’s wide-field camera broke downThe Hubble space telescope is operating without its best camera after a hardware problem forced it to shut down.Nasa said the camera stopped working on Tuesday but three other science instruments were still operating and able to continue celestial observations. Continue reading...

Repeating bursts of radio waves detected for first time since initial accidental discovery in 2007Astronomers have detected mysterious, ultra-brief repeating energy bursts from deep space for only the second time in history, and some experts suggested they could be evidence of advanced alien life.The origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs), millisecond-long pulses of radio waves, is unknown, but most scientists say they are generated by powerful astrophysical phenomena emanating from billions of light years outside our galaxy, the Milky Way – such as black holes or super-dense neutron stars merging together. Continue reading...

South Korea and US teams say infertility could be linked to deficiency of a protein in wombA new study has cast light on why some women with endometriosis experience infertility, with scientists saying the finding could lead to new treatment options.Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition in which cells that usually form the lining of the uterus are present elsewhere, such as the ovaries, fallopian tubes, pelvis and rectum. Continue reading...

Are you sensitive or resilient? This study by a paediatric health expert considers why children with the greatest potential are also the ones most likely to falterSome people seem to have terrible childhoods and yet manage to thrive despite them. Others grow up in loving homes but suffer from mental and physical health difficulties, even if their siblings do not. Why?Research shows that about 15 to 20 % of children experience well over half of the recorded psychological illnesses. The remaining 75 to 80 % are comparatively healthy. This pattern continues into adulthood, and appears to be true for children around the world. Continue reading...

From sex to sugar to social media, people are in the grip of a wider range of compulsive behaviours. But what is driving them – and what can be done?Addiction was once viewed as an unsavoury fringe disease, tethered to substances with killer withdrawal symptoms, such as alcohol and opium. But now the scope of what humans can be addicted to seems to have snowballed, from sugar to shopping to social media. The UK’s first NHS internet-addiction clinic is opening this year; the World Health Organization (WHO) has included gaming disorder in its official addictions diagnosis guidelines.The first glimmer of this shift was in 1992, when tabloids reported that Michael Douglas – Hollywood royalty, fresh from starring in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct – was holed up in an Arizonan rehab facility with sex addiction. No matter that, to this day, Douglas stringently denies ever suffering from the condition – the way we perceive addiction had begun to unfurl. Continue reading...

Molluscs not only have tidal and circadian clocks but are attuned to lunar rhythms, experts sayThe gentle glow of moonlight on water has moved musicians, poets and painters – and, it turns out, molluscs. Researchers have discovered the opening and shutting of oysters’ shells appears to be tied to the lunar cycle.Biological clocks have intrigued scientists for centuries, and researchers in the field won the 2017 Nobel prize for studies into the 24-hour body clock. Continue reading...