Former chess world champion Garry Kasparov likes what he sees of computer that could be used to find cures for diseasesGarry Kasparov is not only humanity’s greatest ever chess player but its highest-profile victim of artificial intelligence. His loss to IBM’s super computer Deep Blue in 1997 made global headlines and left him feeling bitter and, well, blue. Yet there is a warm glint in his eye when he talks about AlphaZero, the game-changing chess programme that took just four hours to teach itself to become the strongest in history.Related: Magnus Carlsen beats Caruana in tie-breakers to retain World Chess crown Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#44RZQ)
Nasa detects ice retreat probably linked to ocean changes in region once thought stableA group of glaciers spanning an eighth of the East Antarctica coastline are being melted by the warming seas, scientists have discovered.This Antarctic region stores a vast amount of ice, which, if lost, would in the long-term raise global sea level by tens of metres and drown coastal settlements around the world. Continue reading...
Silver-eyed Minerva found by a farmer 10 years ago dates back to first or second centuryA 2,000-year-old Roman statuette of a silver-eyed goddess Minerva that for more than a decade was kept in a plastic margarine tub is among a record number of treasure discoveries made by the nation’s army of metal detectorists.The British Museum on Tuesday revealed the details of 1,267 finds across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, more than there has ever been since the Treasure Act was passed in 1996. Continue reading...
The human race needs all the love and hope it can get. So I will not face the dying of my light with rage, but with graceMy crumbly crew are having coffee at the community centre after its annual carol concert and Charlie hits his usual glass-half-empty note. Trouble is, he’s right. Goodwill seems pretty thin on the ground nowadays, wherever you look. Wars and rumours of wars, famine, drought, fires, floods, plagues among the people, pestilence among the beasts, it’s all beginning to sound a tad apocalyptic. An end time has begun, or so it seems.Related: At 80, I’m on the last lap of life’s circuit and I don’t want to get off | Stewart Dakers Continue reading...
Research reveals females deemed intellectually inferior, with prejudice present in children as well as adultsWomen and girls are less likely to be seen as suited to brainy tasks, researchers have found, in the latest study to shed light on gender biases.Female students do better at school and are more likely to go to university than their male peers. However, the latest study reveals that females are deemed intellectually inferior, and that such prejudices are present not only in adults of both sexes but in children too. Continue reading...
Spacecraft becomes second human-made object to reach space between starsNasa’s Voyager 2 has become only the second human-made object to reach the space between stars.Nasa said that the spacecraft left the region of the sun’s influence last month and is now beyond the outer boundary of the heliosphere, about 11 billion miles from Earth. It is trailing Voyager 1, which reached interstellar space – the vast, mostly empty area between star systems – in 2012. Continue reading...
Researchers discover urban male túngara frogs call more, and with more complex vocalisations, than rural peersLiving in a forest might sound romantic, but city life makes males more attractive to the opposite sex – at least if you are a túngara frog.Researchers have discovered that urban males of the species have more attractive calls than their rural peers. Continue reading...
‘Ecological memory’ shows cumulative impact of climate change, say scientistsGreat Barrier Reef corals that survived bleaching in 2016 were more resistant to a second marine heatwave the following year, “astonished†scientists have observed.A study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, outlines how a process called “ecological memory†emerged in the northernmost reefs during back-to-back heatwaves in 2016 and 2017. Continue reading...
The Geminid meteor shower reaches its peak this week, with up to 75 streaks an hour – which can be multicolouredThe Geminids are one of the most reliable meteor showers of the year, with some 75 bright streaks an hour predicted to be visible from a dark site. They will radiate in all directions from the constellation Gemini, from which the shower takes its name. They are distinguished from other meteor showers in that the bright trails can be multicoloured. Although mostly white, yellow is quite common and green, red and blue have been known. It is thought that the colours come from traces of metals in the dust grains that burn up to produce the meteors. Unlike most meteor showers, which come from comets, the Geminids originate from the asteroid 3200 Phaethon. They are also a comparatively young shower, having first been seen in 1862, and there is some evidence that the shower is getting stronger each year. Meteors from the shower are visible between 4–16 December, but the peak occurs this week on the night of 13-14 December. To see them, wrap up warm and head outside. In the northern hemisphere, any time after dark will be good but in the southern hemisphere, Gemini rises later so aim to start looking around midnight. Continue reading...
Harmonies in the boom of a gong are transporting busy brains into a meditative stateLeo Cosendai used to be an acutely anxious young man. “I couldn’t cope with taking the train,†he says. “I never felt safe.†So when he moved to London from Switzerland in 2008 to study music, he tried yoga to calm him down. But it was when he discovered gong meditation sessions, otherwise known as sound baths, that he started transforming into the smiley, serene person he is today. He was so deeply affected by the practice that he ditched his singing and composing career, invested in some gongs of his own and embarked on a mission to pass on his newfound contentment to others. “I’m not saying I’m happy all the time,†he qualifies, “but I’m comfortable with life even when it’s really uncomfortable.â€To find out exactly why banging a loud gong can have such a transformational effect on mind and body, I try out one of his sessions along with 20 other sound-bath novices. We gather on the top floor of a building near London Bridge with panoramic views of a sunset so dazzling it’s impossible not to sneak a phone snap, even though this feels unmindful and decidedly not in-the-moment. However, Cosendai remains characteristically nonjudgmental as he checks his three beautiful gongs are in order. Yoga mats are laid out with eye pillows placed at one end. Once we’re all reclined and quiet, the bright lights, noisy air conditioning and squeaky floor all feel amplified. Cosendai begins by listing these as things to simply notice and acknowledge, along with how our bodies feel on our mats, as he directs our awareness to the present moment. Continue reading...
The American scientist, whose new book explains why vaccines didn’t cause his daughter’s autism, on why conspiracy theorists need to be challengedPeter Hotez is dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He has worked on developing vaccines for hookworm and schistosomiasis, and is a vocal opponent of the anti-vaccine movement. His daughter Rachel is autistic and he has written a book, Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel’s Autism, in which he describes her condition and tackles the newly resurgent anti-vaccine movement.Why did you decide to write this book through the prism of your own child?
Scientists celebrate recording low-frequency rumblings – ‘an unplanned treat’The sound of the wind on Mars has been captured for the first time by Nasa’s InSight lander, which touched down on the red planet 10 days ago.The agency’s jet propulsion laboratory (JPL) released audio clips of the alien wind on Friday evening. InSight collected the low-frequency rumblings during its first week of operations. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#44HE1)
Winners of chemistry prize say excessive concerns could limit scientific progressWinners of this year’s Nobel prize for chemistry say overblown fears about genetically modified foods risk preventing society benefiting from the technology.Prof Frances Arnold, from the US, and Sir Gregory Winter, from Britain, made the comments on Friday ahead of Monday’s presentation of the prize. Continue reading...
Witton-le-Wear, County Durham: This tangle of gnarled trees has a hint of the Florida Everglades about it, with mossy, fallen trunks sinking back into the oozeOn an overcast, drizzly afternoon at Durham Wildlife Trust’s Low Barns nature reserve, alder (Alnus glutinosa) provided the brightest splash of colour in the landscape.A tree had been felled and sawn into logs. Chainsaw wounds on this species can look like a massacre, because soon after the timber is cut, it turns a lurid shade of red, almost like blood, in stark contrast to the battleship-grey bark. Eventually those wounds, which briefly resemble raw meat, fade to orange and finally to chestnut brown. Continue reading...
This week’s Upside digest looks at the ways to tackle climate change and rediscover our natural spacesAs the world’s leaders converged on Katowice, Poland, for this year’s UN climate change conference, the mood was sombre. How could it be anything other, when in the opening keynote one of the world’s foremost naturalists said we were all pretty much doomed?While the numbers do not make for happy reading, there are plenty of people trying to do something about them. Our reporter Leyland Cecco writes this week from the Canadian west, where the province of British Columbia has come up with an innovative response to the global carbon splurge. Continue reading...
When I gave evidence showing that an environmental toxin had caused deaths, the authorities hired a rogue scientistMost of my job as an academic researcher is spent at my desk or in meetings, so it was with some surprise that I ended up working on a legal case. I felt like a scientist in a TV thriller. I had been contacted by someone who asked me to analyse some simple data, and the results were clear: they revealed deaths and emergency admissions to hospital caused by a known environmental toxin.Related: Performance-driven culture is ruining science | Anonymous Academic Continue reading...
Chang’e 4 mission aims to drop a rover into a vast and unexplored impact craterThe first spacecraft to attempt a landing on the far side of the moon is due to blast off from a launch facility in China, a historic step in lunar exploration.The Chinese space agency’s Chang’e 4 mission aims to drop a robotic lander and rover into the moon’s vast and unexplored South Pole-Aitken basin. Continue reading...
by Presented by Hannah Devlin and produced by Graihag on (#44G5B)
Last week Dr He Jiankui announced he had created the world’s first gene-edited babies. Hundreds of Chinese scientists have signed a letter condemning the research. Hannah Devlin delves into why He’s research has caused such uproarLast week the Chinese scientist Dr He Jiankui announced he had created the first gene-edited babies. Many scientists have expressed concern about He’s work: hundreds of Chinese scientists signed a letter condemning the research, and others have called it ‘unethical’ and ‘monstrous’. Hannah Devlin delves into why He’s research has caused such uproar, along with Güneş Taylor from the Francis Crick Institute, Dr Helen O’Neill from UCL and Dr Gaetan Burgio from the Australian National University.Thank you to the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing for allowing Science Weekly to feature their audio of Dr He Jiankui’s talk. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#44FNJ)
Better drugs, vaccination and genomics will help to make some operations obsoleteThousands of people every year could be spared surgery for cancer and worn-out joints thanks to better drugs, vaccination and advances in genomics, a report by medical experts predicts.Developments in surgery could also make many operations less invasive and more effective, while more patients would have preventive procedures to stop an illness worsening. Continue reading...
Up to 96% of all marine species and more than two-thirds of terrestrial species perished 252m years agoRapid global warming caused the largest extinction event in the Earth’s history, which wiped out the vast majority of marine and terrestrial animals on the planet, scientists have found.Related: Save millions of lives by tackling climate change, says WHO Continue reading...
Pandemic could explain crash in European population 5,500 years ago and influx of people from Eurasian steppeAn ancient strain of the plague found in a woman buried in Sweden may be the fatal signature of a devastating pandemic that swept through stone age farmers and set the stage for a massive migration into Europe from the east.Evidence for the grim scenario came to light when scientists ran genetic tests on a 20-year-old woman from a rural farming community who was among 78 people buried in a passage grave in Gökhem in western Sweden. Continue reading...
Total of 41 cases overturned and further 50 investigations dropped after Randox lab data ‘manipulation’The criminal convictions of 41 people have been quashed following an investigation into alleged data tampering at a forensics lab, the National Police Chiefs’ Council has said.The NPCC’s forensics lead, chief constable James Vaughan, said the 41 convictions or guilty pleas, all relating to drug driving offences, had been reopened and overturned. Continue reading...
The live birth of a baby girl in São Paulo is a medical advance that may change the definition of motherhoodA year ago, a baby girl was born by caesarean section in a hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, after being conceived by IVF. What made the birth unique was that the child had been gestated in a womb transplanted from a 45-year-old woman who had died.Births resulting from uterus transplants have been happening since 2014, but for all previous children conceived this way, the donor was alive. That, understandably, places severe limits on the availability of the organs. This demonstration, reported in the Lancet – that a uterus can be successfully preserved and transplanted from a deceased person – could relax the supply bottleneck for women otherwise unable to conceive because of uterine problems. Continue reading...
Staff and students want UCL to remove name of ‘father of eugenics’ Francis Galton from university buildingsUniversity College London has launched an inquiry into its historical links with eugenics, following pressure from students and staff.It emerged in January that conferences on eugenics and intelligence had been run secretly at the university for at least three years by James Thompson, an honorary senior lecturer at UCL. Speakers included white supremacists and a researcher who has previously advocated child rape. Continue reading...
Academics say university’s inquiry must address wider issue of racial equality on campusUniversity College London has launched an inquiry into its historical links with eugenics, following pressure from students and staff.It emerged in January that conferences on eugenics and intelligence had been run secretly at the university for at least three years by James Thompson, an honorary senior lecturer at UCL. Speakers included white supremacists and a researcher who has previously advocated child rape. Continue reading...
Global warming is harming people’s lives and humanity will not be able to cope, say scientistsThe sweltering heat that hit the UK this summer was made 30 times more likely by human-caused climate change, a Met Office analysis has found.Scientists said the research showed global warming was already harming people’s lives and was not only a future threat. Continue reading...
Preparatory drilling has allegedly damaged 6,000-year-old structure a mile from the stonesArchaeologists have accused Highways England of accidentally drilling a large hole through a 6,000-year-old structure near Stonehenge during preparatory work for a tunnel.The drilling, which is alleged to have taken place at Blick Mead, around a mile and a half from the world-famous neolithic ring of stones, has enraged archaeologists, who say engineers have dug a three-metre-deep hole (10ft) through a man-made platform of flint and animal bone. Continue reading...
Australian researchers have a new way to increase desire in the northern corroboree frogAustralian researchers are applying a sex hormone to the skin of the critically endangered northern corroboree frog in a world-first treatment to encourage females to accept less desirable mates in captivity.A trial conducted by the University of Wollongong and Taronga zoo found that, by administering the hormone to both a male and female frog before pairing them off, researchers could increase the chance that they would accept their allocated partner from about 22% to 100%. Continue reading...
Clinical trials of pig organs in humans could begin in as little as three years, say researchersThe transplantation of pig organs into humans is a step closer to becoming a reality after researchers showed the organs can function long-term in baboons.The transplanting of organs from one species to another, known as xenotransplantation, has been the subject of research for many years. Proponents say it could help get around a shortage of human organs. Continue reading...
The Royal Society’s annual photography competition celebrates ‘the power of photography to capture science in its many forms’ Continue reading...
The humanities subjects do not benefit from the research excellence framework. They need a better systemThe government’s research excellence framework (Ref) is perhaps the ultimate in bureaucratic exercises. It aims every seven years to assess, department by department, every “research active†academic in the UK. The aim is laudable: to ensure that a stream of research funding (known as QR) is distributed to universities fairly and transparently. But for the humanities, the Ref does nothing but harm.Few would quarrel with the principle of a system of assessment for the humanities based on reading and judging work submitted, rather than one using citation indexes and other bibliometric data. But the scale of the task makes meaningful or honest assessment impossible. There are too few assessors to provide competent, specialised judgement on the range of work submitted. The workload imposed on them requires superhuman capacities: along with their normal teaching and research, panel members must read the equivalent of a full-length book every day for nine months. Continue reading...
Missive that calls the Bible ‘a collection of primitive legends’ was expected to fetch only half that muchA handwritten missive by Albert Einstein known as the “God letter†fetched almost $3m at auction on Tuesday.Christie’s auction house in New York stated on Tuesday afternoon that the letter, including the buyer’s premium, fetched $2.89m under the hammer. That was almost twice the expected amount. Continue reading...
Patient in Brazil who had been born without uterus gives birth to baby girlA woman in Brazil has successfully given birth after receiving a womb from a dead donor, the first time such a procedure has been successful.While researchers in countries including Sweden and the US have previously succeeded in transplanting wombs from living donors into women who have gone on to give birth, experts said the latest development was a significant advance. Continue reading...
A Chinese scientist has produced twins using the powerful gene-editing technology. This is pointless, dangerous and unethicalThe Crispr/Cas9 technique of editing DNA is, by the standards of earlier methods, astonishingly quick and easy. It is not entirely reliable or accurate, but it places enormous potential power in the hands of ordinary scientists. It is also internationally widespread, and beyond the control of any single nation now. So reckless and unethical experiments were only to be expected; nonetheless, last week’s announcement by a Chinese scientist that he had altered the germlines of twin girls to modify a gene involved in the transmission of HIV was a profoundly worrying one, for several reasons.The most important is that there is no medical reason for what he did. There is a vitally important difference between editing the genes which are present in a body and those which are present in sperm or eggs. With the first kind of modifications, the effects die with the bearer. With the second, they are passed, like mutations, down into future generations. Of course such mutations might in theory be entirely beneficial. But scientists don’t at the moment have nearly enough knowledge to judge whether this is true or even probable in practice. They’d need to know at least how any particular modified gene will perform over a lifetime, and, ideally, what effects it might have in subsequent generations. Continue reading...
The controversial gene-editing breakthrough claimed by Dr He Jiankui may be a pivotal moment in human development, says Doug ClarkThere have been many 2001: A Space Odyssey Monoliths in mankind’s history: the wheel, the development of agriculture, the internal combustion engine. Not all of these, however, have been physical. There have been several such step-changes in our thinking, our ethics and morals. The Christian church has fought against many of these. Galileo was only one of the most famous victims of such.I suspect that Dr He Jiankui’s work on gene editing in the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen will turn out to be one of these Monolith moments (Scientist broke law creating gene-edited girls, China says, 30 November). Pioneers, particularly in the life sciences, will always run the risk of surpassing man’s moral and ethical evolution.
Inexpensive procedure shows whether patient has cancerous cells in the body, but does not reveal where or how serious it isScientists have developed a universal cancer test that can detect traces of the disease in a patient’s bloodstream.The cheap and simple test uses a colour-changing fluid to reveal the presence of malignant cells anywhere in the body and provides results in less than 10 minutes. Continue reading...
Researchers say similar protein to royalactin in humans builds up ‘self-renewal’ stem cellsIt is the mysterious substance that turns worker honeybees into queens and fills the shelves of health food shops which tout its unverified powers to fend off ageing, improve fertility and reinvigorate the immune system.Whether royal jelly has genuine health benefits for humans is a matter for more research, but in a study scientists have cracked one of the most enduring puzzles surrounding the milky gloop: the secret behind its queen-maker magic. Continue reading...
The discoveries were made at a 19th-century burial site at New Covent Garden marketNews reports and social media anxiety may make us feel that life is tough in Britain today but the extraordinary findings of a new archaeological excavation have provided a salutary reminder that, a couple of centuries ago, it was so much worse.Archaeologists who worked on an early 19th-century burial site at the New Covent Garden market in south-west London where about 100 bodies were found have said that they contain evidence of arduous working conditions, a noxious environment, endemic diseases, physical deformities, malnutrition and deadly violence. Continue reading...
Violent aversion to self-praise is wired into British cultural DNA, yet the evidence points to the beneficial effects of patting our own backs once in a whileLook at you! Reading a newspaper site rather than staring, bovine, at pap snaps of Rihanna on a beach, or endless updates on the possible contents of a royal womb. You’re smart, and discerning. Did you make your own lunch today? That is both thrifty and healthy behaviour. Got to work on time? You are a rockstar of time-management. But you don’t need me to tell you that.Experts are increasingly coming to believe that paying ourselves compliments can be as rewarding as hearing them from someone else. Giving ourselves a pat on the back in the privacy of our own heads lowers our stress level, leads to positive habit formation and increases our self-esteem. Now, I know what you’re thinking (I’m good at anticipating negative responses): “What California nonsense is this?†It sounds like the barefooted spaff of a self-satisfied yoga teacher, or the behaviour of a puffed-up blowtard who crushes it in finance, has bleeding palms from high-fiving mirrors all day, and whom no one likes. Violent aversion to self-praise is wired into British cultural DNA. It’s hard enough receiving compliments from someone else. A friend will pay offhand praise to something we are wearing, and we immediately start digging around for the receipt to prove it was on sale and we haven’t turned into Louis XIV, and would still be wearing our old jacket but the council said it had to be knocked down. We are deeply suspicious of feeling good about ourselves, and this is holding us back. Continue reading...
Leading scientist hopes drug trials in DRC could lessen the impact of deadly virusEbola could be transformed from a terrifying disease into something that can be managed at home if drug trials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are successful, a leading scientist believes.Four experimental drugs are starting to be used as part of a groundbreaking trial under extremely difficult conditions in an outbreak in conflict-ridden eastern DRC. Continue reading...
Some cancers have had no new drugs licensed since 2000, according to Institute of Cancer Research reportCancer patients are missing out on innovative new drugs, with red tape covering clinical trials and licensing among the factors to blame, according to a report by the UK’s Institute of Cancer Research.Children’s cancers have received little in the way of new treatments, a finding the authors put down to drug companies failing to invest in these rare conditions and using regulatory loopholes to avoid conducting the necessary clinical trials. Continue reading...
Archaeologists say man who died 500 years ago may have been a mudlark or fishermanHe was found lying on his front, head twisted to the side. One arm was bent above his head, suggesting he had fallen – or perhaps had been pushed – to his death in the river more than five centuries ago.But aside from his puzzling position, the skeleton discovered this year near the shore of the Thames in London was notable for another, very particular reason. Though his clothes had long since decayed, on the man’s feet were a pair of remarkably well preserved – and extremely rare – knee-high leather boots. Might they hold clues, archaeologists wondered, to who the man was and, just possibly, how he died? Continue reading...
The solution to today’s puzzleEarlier today I set you the following puzzle: Aboriginal groups are divided into subgroups, called “skins.†Your skin is determined at birth, based on your parents’ skins, and it does not change in your lifetime. Your skin will determine certain social rules, such as who you are allowed to marry.The Warlpiri, who live northwest of Alice Springs, divide themselves into eight skins, according to the rules in the diagram below. Yes, it’s complicated! The skins are numbered 1 to 8. The horizontal rows indicate marriage correspondences, while the arrows point from mother to child. (All the marriages here are between men and women, and we can assume no divorces or half-siblings or step children.). Continue reading...
The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific conceptsWhy is “having baggage†always seen as a bad thing? Isn’t it possible to have good baggage?Jane Brennan, Manchester Continue reading...
There was an exodus of climate experts from the White House after the 2016 election – but they still turn up to UN talksIn a hallway beneath the UN climate change headquarters in Bonn, Germany, Sue Biniaz leans on a table, scribbling some thoughts on a piece of paper.It’s May 2018, three years after representatives from nearly 200 countries convened in France in an extraordinary display of international unity and agreed to keep global warming below 2C and to pursue a tougher target of 1.5C. Continue reading...
Provided you have a clear western horizon, this week is a good time to see the crescent moon and the ochre spot of SaturnBetween 8 and 10 December, the young moon will be close to the planet Saturn in the evening sky just after sunset. It will be a tough challenge to see this pair together but a beautiful sight if you manage it. Saturn is currently moving closer to the sun and will disappear into its glare by the end of the month. To prepare for your observation, find an unobstructed western horizon and wait for the sun to set. On these days, the sun will set at 15:52 GMT from London, 15:50 GMT from Manchester and 15:33 GMT from Inverness. Begin your search 45 minutes after this time, as Saturn and the moon will set about one and a half hours after the sun. The chart shows the view at 16:30 GMT on 9 December. It will be easier to see the moon on the following days as it will be both a larger crescent and higher in the sky. Once you have found the moon, look downwards to the right and the ochre spot of Saturn should be visible against the darkening sky between the planet and the horizon. Continue reading...
AI program’s understanding of proteins could usher in new era of medical progressHaving laid waste to the Atari classics and reached superhuman performance in chess and the Chinese board game, Go, Google’s DeepMind outfit has turned its artificial intelligence on one of the toughest problems in science.The result, perhaps, was predictable. At an international conference in Cancun on Sunday, organisers announced that DeepMind’s latest AI program, AlphaFold, had beaten all-comers at a particularly fiendish task: predicting the 3D shapes of proteins, the fundamental molecules of life. Continue reading...