Calls for rethink on childbirth pain relief as research shows remifentanil works better than pethidineA new drug to relieve pain during labour works better than pethidine, which has been in widespread use since the 1950s even though it has long been known it does not help all women, say researchers.Pethidine is given as an injection, but a new study funded by the National Institute for Health Research shows that remifentanil, which women control by pressing a button when they feel pain, appears to be more effective. Women using remifentanil were half as likely to end up asking for an epidural, which blocks all pain and sensation and often leads to a forceps delivery. Continue reading...
The solution to today’s puzzleUpdate: Several readers spotted a mistake in the setting of the puzzle. Apologies. (Prem, who set the puzzle, responds below the line). This is the first time in more than three years that I’ve set a puzzle with such an issue. In order to stop this happening again, if anyone would like to be a ‘puzzle-tester’ for this blog please get in touch with me on the email address below.In my puzzle blog earlier today, I set you the following “common knowledge†puzzle: Continue reading...
When the Guardian’s science blog network closes, Life & Physics will have been here for eight years. Physics has come a long way in that time, but there is (as always) more to be done...On 31 August 2010 the “Life and Physics†blog moved here, to the Guardian Science pages from a newish blog on wordpress. Exactly eight years later¹, at the end of this month, it will move back, as the Guardian closes its Science Blog Network. Following the lead of my fellow blogger Dean Burnett, here is a closing review, complete with a Douglas Adams inspired headline².Related: So long and thanks for all the clicks | Dean Burnett Continue reading...
A logic puzzle about knowledgeUpdate: Several readers spotted a mistake in the setting of the puzzle. Apologies. (Prem, who set the puzzle, responds below the line). This is the first time in more than three years that I’ve set a puzzle with such an issue. In order to stop this happening again, if anyone would like to be a ‘puzzle-tester’ for this blog please get in touch with me on the email address below.Hi guzzlers Continue reading...
Solipsistic novels, a study of narcissism, a biography of a Michelin starred chef ... here are some of the best, from Dostoevsky to Karl Ove KnausgaardA level of self-absorption is a necessity for most writers. Every novel is ultimately about its author, and I like my non-fiction self-obsessed, too. Then there are the works that combine the two.Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard specialises in semi-fictional self-obsession. A Death in the Family, translated by Don Bartlett, charts a period of his life centring around his alcoholic father’s death. Knausgaard has a spectacular gift for finding profundity in the mundane details of his existence. In other books, his fascination with himself can sometimes become too much, but the balance between intimate detail and story is pretty much perfect here. Continue reading...
Britain is right to take a more cautious approach than the US, but we should be prepared to fund a range of treatmentsImagine a neurological condition that affects one in 20 under-18s. It starts early, causes significant distress and pain to the child, damages families and limits the chances of leading a fulfilled life as an adult. One in 20 children are affected but only half of these will get a diagnosis and a fifth will receive treatment. If those stats related to a familiar and well-understood illness, such as asthma, there would be little debate about the need to improve intervention rates. But this is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and the outcry is muted. If anything, we hear warnings that too many children are being labelled this way, and too many given prescriptions.In the United States, ADHD is diagnosed at more than twice the incidence in Britain. The true prevalence is likely to be the same on both sides of the Atlantic. So what’s the story? Is the US too gung-ho, or is the UK dragging its heels? Are American doctors too quick to medicate children, or British doctors too slow? Continue reading...
The giant planet appears close to the moon on Friday in the constellation of Libra, where you might also see Libra’s alpha star ZubenelgenubiThere is a pretty pairing of celestial objects to be seen this Friday at sunset. The Moon will draw close to the bright planet Jupiter. The chart shows the view on 17 August, looking south-west at 21:00 BST. Giant Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun, and the first of the gas giants. It is around twelve times the diameter of the Earth and has a dense atmosphere, with storms as large as our entire planet. The Moon will be one day away from first quarter, and so half will appear to be illuminated. In another week’s time, the Moon will be nearing full. The conjunction happens in the faint constellation of Libra. If you keep watching that evening for another hour, you will see that Jupiter approaches the horizon and the sky gets noticeably darker. Those with a clear horizon may also be able to spot Zubenelgenubi, one of the brightest stars in Libra. Jupiter will be close to it that evening but much brighter. The star’s name means “southern claw†in Arabic, and indicates that it was once thought to be part of the neighbouring constellation Scorpius, rather than in Libra. Continue reading...
Researchers say patients are scared into invasive treatments for conditions unlikely to do harmThe word “cancer†should be dropped from some medical diagnoses because the term can scare people into invasive treatments they do not need, Australian and US researchers say.An analysis published by the British Medical Journal on Monday described “cancer†as particularly problematic when used to describe some thyroid cancers less than 1cm in size, some low and intermediate grade breast cancers, and localised prostate cancer. Continue reading...
Panama hats | Denis Healey | Lilith | Parker Solar Probe | A cat called MavisSam Wolfson’s article on summer hats for men (G2, 9 August) curiously makes no mention of the obvious solution for those going thin on top: the Panama. It is dateless, comes in a range of styles and prices, copes with occasions from garden parties to weeding the allotment, keeps your head cool and shades your eyes from the sun. (The Eyewitness photo in the same Guardian shows that Kim Jong-un agrees with me.)
By studying frogs’ eggs, researchers have measured the rate at which cells kill themselves off for an organism’s greater goodName: The speed of death.Age: Not sure that is entirely relevant. Continue reading...
Nasa has launched a probe that will get closer to the sun than any other spacecraft before it.The Parker solar probe, a robotic spacecraft the size of a small car, launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Sunday, embarking on a seven-year mission during which it will fly into the sun's corona – the outermost part of its atmosphere – within 3.8m miles (6.1m km) of its surface.Scientists are aiming to collect data about the inner workings of the highly magnetised corona, to better understand the causes of solar wind.The launch had been delayed by a last-minute technical problem on Saturday
Probe launches after technical delay, on mission to get nearer to sun than anything sent beforeA Nasa spacecraft is rocketing towards the sun on a quest to get closer to our star than anything ever sent before.The Parker solar probe will fly straight through the wispy edges of the corona, or outer solar atmosphere, which was visible during last August’s total solar eclipse. It eventually will get within 3.8m miles (6.1m km) of the sun’s surface, staying comfortably cool despite the extreme heat and radiation, allowing scientists to explore the sun in a way never before possible. Continue reading...
Before I nearly died I suffered from acute anxiety – but there’s been no sign of it sinceA few weeks ago, the TV and radio presenter Richard Bacon was in the news for having spent seven days in an induced coma in Lewisham Hospital in south London after becoming ill with a lung infection on a flight from Los Angeles. Doctors told him afterwards that he had nearly died. My first reaction to this was: how dreadful for him and his family. My second reaction, more or less on top of the first, was: seven days? That’s nothing.In 2012, I spent three weeks in an induced coma at King’s College Hospital, a few miles down the road from Lewisham, and 51 days in intensive care overall. Often, when I tell people I had pneumonia they are shocked and ask how I caught it. In fact, pneumonia is relatively common and, although still dangerous for the elderly or anyone with a compromised immune system, is usually easily treated with antibiotics. In my case, it was not so straightforward. Like Bacon, for a time I was close to death. At one point one of the consultants told my family I was “the sickest man in Londonâ€. Continue reading...
The science writer and Yale professor on intelligence, the promise and dangers of gene editing, and how we get heredity wrongCarl Zimmer is a rarity among professional science writers in being influential among the scientists on whose work he writes and comments – to the extent that he has been appointed as professor adjunct in the department of molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale University. Zimmer has just published his 13th book, She Has Her Mother’s Laugh, a survey of “the power, perversions and potential of heredityâ€.What is the book’s main message about our attitudes to heredity?
Technical hitch strikes with less than two minutes remaining on countdown at Cape CanaveralAs the first rays of dawn reached Cape Canaveral on Saturday, the rocket that Nasa hopes will reveal the sun’s secrets remained very much earthbound.A last-minute technical hitch forced controllers at the Florida space centre to cancel the night-time launch of the Parker Solar Probe, announcing that they would try again on Sunday. Continue reading...
With Inferior, Angela Saini counters long-held beliefs that biology stands in the way of parity between the sexes. Now her message is set to reach thousands of schoolsWhen young men and women come up against sexist stereotypes masquerading as science, Angela Saini wants them to be armed with the facts. “I call my book ammunition,†she says of her 288-page prize-winning work Inferior: The True Power of Women and the Science that Shows It. “There are people out there who insist that somehow the inequalities we see in society are not just because of historic discrimination, but also because of biology – the idea that there are factors within us that will cause men or women to be better at some things than others.â€She wrote Inferior to demonstrate that “actually, science doesn’t support that point of view. I think it’s important we understand these scientific facts. We need that ammunition to counter the weird mistruths that are circulating within and outside science about sex differenceâ€. Continue reading...
Dubious results, emotional fallout, privacy concerns: inside the £7.7bn industry that promises to tell you who you really areLast year, I did what 12 million people from all over the world have done and surrendered my spit to a home DNA-testing company. I hoped a MyHeritage test would bring me the peace I needed; my Irish mother had never been able to give me any information about my biological father. Raised by her and my white dad, I’d always longed for a country to attribute my blackness to, or for help answering the ubiquitous “Where are you from?†question. I’d spent years making up exotic-sounding combinations to justify my appearance (some days Jamaican-Spanish-Swedish; other days half Brazilian, or half Iranian). But, at 24, I was done with occupying a box of black ambiguity. Could I finally get a clear answer?The results arrived by email on a summer’s day last year. I clicked on the “ethnicity estimate†link, which offers an analysis of DNA by country, my heart pounding as I scanned the digital map. Continue reading...
Clinical malaria cases in Burkina Faso drop by 12% after trial of nets treated with new chemical combinationA bed net designed to kill insecticide-resistant mosquitoes could prevent millions of cases of malaria across sub-Saharan Africa, scientists have found.A two-year clinical trial in Burkina Faso showed that dousing bed nets with a combination of chemicals resulted in a 12% reduction in clinical malaria cases, compared with conventional bed nets. Continue reading...
Mike Pence announced on Thursday a new military branch dedicated to fighting wars in space – but what is Space Force?In a speech Thursday, the vice-president, Mike Pence, outlined plans to create Space Force, billed as a brand new branch of the US military dedicated to fighting wars in space. The idea has prompted plenty of enthusiasm from Star Wars fans and serious defense wonks alike, but also plenty of head-scratching from critics who question the need for the United States to shift the battlefield to the heavens.Related: Space Force: Mike Pence launches plans for sixth military service Continue reading...
Data obtained by the Guardian shows that one in six people in England were prescribed antidepressants in 2017More than four million people in England are long-term users of antidepressants, new figures obtained by the Guardian show.Data released under the Freedom of Information Act shows that more than 7.3 million people were prescribed antidepressants in 2017-18, 4.4 million of whom also received a prescription for such drugs in both of the two previous years. Continue reading...
Do customers realise that genetic genealogy companies like 23andMe profit by amassing huge biological datasets?In 1884, at the International Health Exhibition in South Kensington, four million punters came to view the latest scientific marvels: drainage systems, flushing toilets and electrically illuminated fountains. There, the scientist Francis Galton set up the Anthropometric Laboratory, where common folk would pay 3d (around 80p today) to enter, and anonymously fill out a data card. Galton’s technicians recorded 11 metrics, including height, hair colour, keenness of sight, punch strength and colour perception, and the ability to hear high-pitched noises, tested via whistlesmade by Messrs Tisley & Co, Brompton Road. Over the course of a week, 9,337 people went home with some trivial information about themselves, and Galton amassed the largest dataset of human characteristics ever compiled up to that time – and a stack of cash.Related: GlaxoSmithKline hopes the gene genie can hold the centre | Nils Pratley Continue reading...
President’s re-election campaign team organises poll on best symbol for new military unitThe Trump administration has announced a new space force to protect America from what Mike Pence has called “the growing security threats emerging in spaceâ€.But Trump supporters have been asked to put aside questions like “How much will this cost?†and “Isn’t the air force already doing this?†and instead focus their attention on another crucial issue: what should the space force logo be? Continue reading...
Always-on work culture causes an increase in stress levels for the partners of workers, says new researchIf your other half’s idea of a great night in is to sit on the sofa and check their work emails, the chances are that they are oblivious to how unpopular it makes them.People who constantly monitored office messages at home felt it did no harm to their closest relationships, but their spouses and partners told a different story, researchers found. Continue reading...
After lift-off, set for Saturday, Nasa’s solar probe starts its six-year flight to within 3.8m miles of the sun – the nearest visit yetNasa’s Parker Solar Probe is now on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Its launch window will open at 3.48am (eastern daylight time, or 7.48am Greenwich mean time) on Saturday 11 August. Protected by a sophisticated heat shield the probe is designed to go closer to the sun than any previous spacecraft.The probe’s mission is to dip into the solar atmosphere and deduce how the rarefied gasses there are heated to millions of degrees centigrade when the solar surface itself is just 6,000°C. Continue reading...
Light from digital devices triggers creation of toxic molecule in the retina that can cause macular degenerationScientists say they have found how blue light from smartphones, laptops and other digital devices damages vision and can speed up blindness.Research by the University of Toledo in the US has revealed that prolonged exposure to blue light triggers poisonous molecules to be generated in the eye’s light-sensitive cells that can cause macular degeneration – an incurable condition that affects the middle part of vision. Continue reading...
Calls for new fathers as well as mothers to be screened for depression after the birth of a childThe mental health of new fathers is being overlooked despite evidence suggesting men might experience similar rates of depression to mothers after the birth of a child, experts have warned.It is thought at least 10% of new mothers experience postnatal depression, although charities have said figures could be higher as surveys have shown many women do not seek help or are not asked about their mental health after having a baby. Continue reading...
by Amy Orben, Pete Etchells and Andy Przybylski on (#3WFVN)
The cycle of moral panic around screen time and technology use feels endless. Here are three issues we need to address before we can move the debate onThe debate about children and technology has increasingly captured public interest over the past year, and has been raging for many more. As with anything of this nature, the public conversations about screen time have gradually become more heated and divisive. And in turn, it increasingly feels as though scientific evidence has become a casualty in the process.Just this week for example, we have seen the resurgence of scaremongering stories claiming that social media is leaving children “unable to communicate with each otherâ€. Such claims are pushed into the spotlight in the complete absence of anything that vaguely resembles supporting evidence. The academic teams working on providing the science to inform this debate are most often overlooked. This is not surprising as science itself does not have keen PR teams or spare time to contact editors to correct flawed press coverage. And while it is true that science may be self-correcting, in practice this is a process that moves at a glacial pace. Continue reading...
Psychoanalyst who influenced generations of practitioners and had a deep understanding of the mind of a childThe analyst Anne-Marie Sandler, who has died aged 92, was the clinician’s clinician. Technically adept and unafraid of the difficult states of mind and feelings psychoanalysis can uncover, she influenced several generations of practitioners, returning them to the interest in minds, hearts and longings that had led them to train in the first place.Her passion was how people worked. Her curiosity, her genuine interest in the other person, the excitement of seeing an individual come to life after suffering, was infectious. It helped move many a trainee and experienced analyst away from the reductionism, constraining theory and cold analysis that had gripped some training institutes. Continue reading...
The world’s largest fish roams less than previously thought, new research has found. Using a ‘biological passport’, results show that whale sharks in the western Indian Ocean and the Arabian Gulf rarely swim more than a few hundred kilometres from their feeding grounds, making local action vital to their conservation Continue reading...
New research shows that those who can identify and regulate their emotions keep pushing when the going gets toughIn tests of endurance, some people push harder than others. These aren’t necessarily the people who collapse at the finish, who may simply have sprinted harder in the final straightaway. (Or have a flair for the dramatic.) During the long, lonely middle miles of a race, you make a thousand microdecisions about whether to press on or ease up. These decisions are mostly invisible to everyone else, but collectively they are the difference between a good race and a bad one.We often talk about this ability to push with vague generalities – toughness, grit, focus and so on – but we don’t have any reliable way of quantifying the differences between those who push more and those who quit sooner. So I was interested to see a recent paper from three psychologists in Italy, led by Enrico Rubaltelli of the University of Padova, exploring the links between emotional intelligence and half-marathon performance. In a nutshell, their research found that those who were better at recognizing and regulating their emotions ran faster races. Continue reading...
Looser fitting underpants keep testicles cool, resulting in 25% more sperm being producedMen who want to boost their sperm counts may want to swap their tight-fitting underpants for more roomy boxers which are better suited to keeping testicles cool, scientists say.A major study into the impact of underwear on sperm quality found that men who favoured airy boxer shorts made significantly more sperm than those who tucked themselves into more restrictive items of underwear. Continue reading...
FA increases number of screenings for youth players after study finds several players died of heart problems not spotted by testsYoung footballers are dying from heart problems at a higher rate than was previously thought, according to doctors who oversee the cardiac screening programme for the Football Association.Their evaluation of 20 years of screening young footballers at the age of 16 who are on the verge of a professional career also shows that most died about seven years after a heart check that showed no problem. Continue reading...
The majority of people using dating websites chase potential partners who are significantly more desirable than themselves, study showsMen and women searching for a mate on online dating sites are hoping Cupid’s arrow will strike high, according to a new study that suggests users tend to chase potential partners who are more desirable than themselves.The study, based on data from a free online dating site, also reveals that while men become more desirable as they age – peaking at 50 years old – women are deemed steadily less so. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#3WE40)
Research shows geoengineering method intended to combat climate change would have adverse effect on agricultureProposals to combat climate change by reflecting the sun’s rays back into space would cause widespread crop failure, cancelling out any benefits to farming from the reduction in warming, according to new research.By examining the effects of volcanic eruptions on agriculture – which has a similar effect to proposed artificial methods of scattering solar radiation through aerosols – scientists have concluded that such methods could have unintended consequences. Continue reading...
I turned 45 this week, but I have no intention of ‘acting my age’. In this respect, my latest birthday was just like all the othersThe middle-aged have pulled off an almighty swizz on the world: 40 is no longer old and only a really old person would remark upon your advancing age, while 50 is a fait accompli; of course you are middle-aged and if anyone wanted to mention it they should have done so years ago. It is a fabulous act of cunning, as if a 16-year-old told you that it was the most suburban thing that they weren’t allowed to vote, then turned round at 21 and said: “What did you let me vote for? You can see that I’m still basically a child.†Except a young person would never do that, because they have more honour.There is a hard ball of truth among this candyfloss of spin, which is the age of 45. You’re not 40. It’s not the new 35. You are not some symmetrical, nothing number – 42, 44 – to which no meaning can be attached. You are not mourning your youth, which is years behind you, but you are no longer in that enjoyable limbo where there is no name for what you are. You are more than a bit middle-aged: you are its dictionary definition. Continue reading...
Clinics should release information on pregnancy rates based on age, says the RCOGWomen who opt to freeze their eggs need to be made aware of how realistic their chances of pregnancy are, experts have warned, as more turn to the procedure.Egg freezing in the UK is funded by the NHS for girls and women for medical reasons, such as undergoing cancer treatments. However, women can elect to freeze their eggs privately for non-medical reasons. Currently the standard for elected freezing is that eggs can be stored for a maximum of 10 years. Continue reading...
Methylphenidate drugs safest and most effective while adults do better on amphetaminesRitalin and other drugs of the same class are the most effective and safest medications to prescribe for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a major scientific review.The review of ADHD drugs shows that they work, and work well, in spite of concerns among the public and some doctors that children in the UK are being overmedicated. Ofsted’s chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, has likened the drugs to a “chemical cosh†and claimed they were being overprescribed, disguising bad behaviour among children that could be better dealt with.
My friend Rachel Gibbons, who has died aged 90, spent much of her working life serving the now defunct Inner London Education Authority (Ilea), striving to improve maths teaching in the capital and in the UK in general.“Ray†as she was widely known, began working for Ilea as head of maths, before becoming deputy warden at Ilea’s Ladbroke Maths Teachers’ Centre and then an Ilea inspector, in which post she challenged and supported teachers to provide lessons that lifted maths off the page for children of all ages and ability. I took over Ray’s post at Ladbroke Maths Teachers’ Centre and she became my inspector, in which role she was a friend, a colleague and my conscience. Strong, stubborn and principled, she was also excessively hard working and was a truly remarkable woman. Continue reading...
Member states expected to get vote on proposals but UK will not have a say due to BrexitBrussels is on course to restrict the type of chemicals used in tattoo inks in response to an explosion in the popularity of body art and concerns that some of the substances used might cause cancer, change DNA or be harmful to human reproduction.A proposal to implement tight limits on the use of 4,000 chemicals is expected to be brought to a vote among EU member states by the middle of next year, but the UK will not have a say as it is to leave in March. Continue reading...
The future looks fiery and dangerous, according to new reports. But political will and grassroots engagement can change thisThis is the summer when, for many, climate change got real. The future looks fiery and dangerous. Hot on the heels of Trump, fake news and the parlous state of the Brexit negotiations, despair is in the air. Now a new scientific report makes the case that even fairly modest future carbon dioxide emissions could set off a cascade of catastrophe, with melting permafrost releasing methane to ratchet up global temperatures enough to drive much of the Amazon to die off, and so on in a chain reaction around the world that pushes Earth into a terrifying new hothouse state from which there is no return. Civilisation as we know it would surely not survive. How do we deal with such news?As a research scientist in this field, I can give some nuance to the headlines. One common way of thinking about climate change is the lower the future carbon dioxide emissions, the less warming and the less havoc we will face as this century progresses. This is certainly true, but as the summer heatwave and the potential hothouse news remind us, the shifts in climate we will experience will not be smooth, gradual and linear changes. They may be fast, abrupt, and dangerous surprises may happen. However, an unstoppable globally enveloping cascade of catastrophe, while possible, is certainly not a probable outcome. Continue reading...
My father, Ian Wootton, who has died aged 97, was professor of chemical pathology at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School in London and part of a golden age in the development of the discipline of clinical biochemistry, which concentrates on the analysis of bodily fluids.He began as a research assistant at Hammersmith hospital, west London, to Earl King, the founding father of clinical biochemistry in Britain, and eventually took over as chair of chemical pathology on King’s death. King had written various editions of the textbook Microanalysis in Medical Biochemistry from 1946 onwards, and Ian co-authored the third edition with him. Continue reading...
Leading scientists warn that passing such a point would make efforts to reduce emissions increasingly futileA domino-like cascade of melting ice, warming seas, shifting currents and dying forests could tilt the Earth into a “hothouse†state beyond which human efforts to reduce emissions will be increasingly futile, a group of leading climate scientists has warned.Related: Don’t despair – climate change catastrophe can still be averted | Simon Lewis Continue reading...
More than seven or eight hours a night of sleep is associated with higher risk of premature deathSleeping longer than the recommended seven or eight hours a night has been linked with a higher risk of premature death, according to new research.
US researchers say gender of ER doctor might affect female patients’ chances of survivalFemale heart attack patients treated by male doctors have a worse chance of survival than those treated by female doctors, a study suggests.Previous studies based on data from Australia and Sweden have revealed that men and women experience different care if they have a heart attack, while UK research has shown women are more likely to be misdiagnosed. Continue reading...