Concerns expressed that opportunities to save lives may be missedCancer patients in the UK may not receive enough follow-up after a diagnosis, a new study by researchers in Chicago suggests.

The song’s 103bpm tempo was found to help people perform chest compressions at the correct rateHumming the Spanish dance song Macarena could save lives, according to research that suggests it helps people administer chest compressions at the correct rate while performing CPR.The study compared the rate and depth of compressions 164 students performed on a mannequin over the course of two minutes. One group were given no external beat, one group were given a smartphone app that featured a metronome, and one group were asked to play Macarena in their head. Continue reading...

Science works best when qualified people can evaluate evidence without political pressure to draw poorly founded conclusions, say 15 neuroscientists and physicistsAs neuroscientists and physicists we have no reason to dispute that US diplomats living in Cuba heard loud noises, or that they reported feeling ill afterwards. Some US politicians have seized on these reports to construct conspiracy theories in which they imagine a mysterious disease-causing “sound ray gun” – something that isn’t possible with today’s technology. These same politicians have used their positions of authority to present their speculations to a credulous public as though they are fact. The pronouncements, in turn, have led to international confrontation and hysteria, resulting in the removal and expulsion of diplomats, and travel advisories. Now, an apparently analogous incident has been reported in China.A “preliminary communication” from the University of Pennsylvania, with US government support, published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), has been used to buttress this putative “acoustic attack” idea with science. In fact, that work is deeply flawed, and does nothing to support the attack theory. We thus applaud the recent paper by Sergio Della Sala and Robert McIntosh, for its thoughtful criticisms of the JAMA report, and praise the effort described in the Guardian (Cuba calls on US and Canada to investigate ‘sonic attack’ claims, 29 May) to engage in an international scientific collaboration to study any connection between the illnesses and sound. Science works best this way, when qualified people can evaluate evidence without political pressure to draw poorly founded conclusions. Continue reading...

A new early detection blood test for 10 types of cancer could be used to screen for the disease before symptoms appearA type of early detection blood test for 10 different types of cancer has been hailed as a “holy grail” by researchers, with experts claiming such “liquid biopsies” could save lives. But how does it work, and when might it be rolled out?Why do we need early detection of cancers? Continue reading...

Many consumers are unaware the SPF rating on suncreams does not measure all-round sun protection, scientists sayBritons are putting themselves at risk of sunburn, long-lasting skin damage and even cancer as a result of their ignorance about how to choose and use suncare protection, England’s senior pharmacists have warned.Amid rising skin cancer rates in the UK, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society has for the first time published an online guide on how to select and correctly use the right products to keep safe in the sun. Continue reading...

Blood tests called liquid biopsies show signs of finding 10 different types of cancer at an early stageA blood test for 10 different types of cancers could one day help doctors screen for the disease before patients show symptoms, researchers at the world’s largest gathering of oncologists have said.The test, called a liquid biopsy, screens for cancer by detecting tiny bits of DNA released by cancer cells into blood. The test had particularly good results for ovarian and pancreatic cancers, though the number of cancers detected was small. Continue reading...

Each and everyone of us has a voice that is unique. As a result, we make a lot of assumptions about someone from just the way they speak. But are these judgements fair? And what if they’re wrong? Nicola Davis exploresSubscribe and review on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom and Mixcloud. Join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterYour voice is unique to you, much like your fingerprint. We all have similar anatomy but how you choose to “play” your instrument says something about you. But what exactly? From just the sound of your voice, research has shown that we can glean information about your height, your personality and even whether you’re pregnant or not. Sometimes, we can make these judgment in as little as 300 milliseconds. But are these snap judgements we make about someone correct? And what consequences could that have? Continue reading...

Initial studies show that a molecule in the tea might reduce plaque build up inside arteriesA substance found in green tea could help scientists find new ways to reduce the risk of heart attacks, research suggests, although experts say that doesn’t mean you should rush to put the kettle on.The study found that a molecule in green tea, known as EGCG, can bind to a protein that is found in plaques linked to coronary artery disease and, under certain circumstances, make it more soluble. Continue reading...

With US funding for the International Space Station in doubt, Beijing is proposing that UN member states use its new orbiting research labWorking through the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, the Chinese Manned Space Agency (CMSP) has invited applications from UN member states to conduct experiments on China’s space station. It is expected to launch next year and be ready for operations by 2022. It will consist of a core section with two attached laboratory modules. Three astronauts will be able to live onboard.Related: Space stations: our future among the stars Continue reading...

Dwarf planet’s methane dunes, located near a glacier of nitrogen, come as a surprise to scientistsScientists have detected a large field of dunes on the surface of the distant, frigid dwarf planet Pluto apparently composed of windswept, sand-sized grains of frozen methane.The dunes, spotted on images taken by Nasa’s New Horizons spacecraft during its 2015 flyby, sit at the boundary between a heart-shaped nitrogen glacier about the size of France called Sputnik Planitia and the Al Idrisi Montes mountain range made of frozen water, scientists said on Thursday. Continue reading...

Expert on Anglo-Saxon graves and glassThe archaeologist Vera Evison, who has died aged 100, expanded knowledge of the crucial period in British history that saw the transition from Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England, the fifth to seventh centuries AD. She did this by pioneering the introduction of continental methods to develop the systematic study of Anglo-Saxon cemeteries.Connections between Anglo-Saxon England and Germany and Scandinavia have long been recognised, but Vera showed that there was also considerable interaction between southern Britain and northern France and the Low Countries, the areas under Frankish control in the post-Roman period. Continue reading...

Patients given wrong dose, wrong type, or poor quality medicines because supply is waningThe antibiotic resistance crisis which is threatening to render many diseases untreatable is being fuelled not just by overuse of the drugs, but a fragile supply chain that is at risk of collapse, experts have warned.The authors of a white paper by the Dutch non-profit organisation Access to Medicine say a lack of access to specific antibiotics can lead to less appropriate drugs being prescribed for an infection, or even the use of lower doses – both of which increase the risk of antibiotic resistance – as well as delay for treatment. What’s more, they say, low stocks can lead to price hikes and mean poor quality medicines become rife. Continue reading...

The second in an occasional series on meteorological terminology: the rare and luminous clouds that form in an upper layer of Earth’s atmosphereThe majority of our weather occurs in the bottom 4% or so of Earth’s atmosphere, in the troposphere, which extends around 10 miles (16 km) up from the surface. One type of cloud, however, is far more remote and exists in the upper parts of the mesosphere, a layer of our atmosphere reaching over 50 miles (80 km) into space. These clouds get their name (noctilucent, i.e. luminous at night) from the time at which they are visible and are usually seen a couple of hours before sunrise or after sunset, when their higher altitude allows the sun to reflect off them brightly, while lower clouds and the sky turn darker.Related: Watch the skies: the season for rare and mysterious noctilucent clouds is here Continue reading...

It’s not just a pop culture trope – a University of Edinburgh study has found intelligent people are 30% more likely to have genes related to poor eyesightIf you wear glasses I’ve got some good news: you may well be smarter than the average person. A new study published in the journal Nature Communications has found that needing to wear glasses is associated with higher levels of intelligence. But you probably knew that already.In the study, the largest of its kind ever conducted, researchers from the University of Edinburgh analyzed cognitive and genetic data from over 300,000 people aged between 16 and 102 that had been gathered by the UK Biobank and the Charge and Cogent consortia. Their analysis found “significant genetic overlap between general cognitive function, reaction time, and many health variables including eyesight, hypertension, and longevity”. Specifically, people who were more intelligent were almost 30% more likely to have genes which might indicate they’d need to wear glasses. Continue reading...

Discovery pushes back the earliest known member of lizard and snake group by 75m years

Researchers identified two specific regions in the brain which respond to sweet and bitter tastes – and altered those responsesFrom whispering sweet nothings to hoping for sweet dreams, sugariness and pleasure have long been bound together. Now scientists studying the brains of mice have revealed why, unpicking the pathways in the brain which result in sweet foods being perceived as nice and bitter foods as nasty.What’s more, they have managed to tinker with these routes so that mice get a kick out of a tasteless substance such as water, and have even managed to switch off such judgments completely. Researchers say the finding may help with the search for treatments for eating disorders.

A new edition of After Man by Dougal Dixon, a landmark piece of speculative biology which influenced a generation of palaeontologists, has been releasedIn 1981, a remarkable book was published: After Man: A Zoology of the Future, by Dougal Dixon. As a child of the eighties, growing up in a science fiction bubble where daleks, vogons and the fighting machines of the War of the Worlds were at least as concrete to me as anything happening in the real world, After Man presented a biologically-themed alternative world to lose myself in.

Member of Nasa’s Apollo 12 mission who was the fourth person to walk on the moonThe astronaut Alan Bean, a member of Nasa’s Apollo 12 mission, who has died aged 86, was the fourth person to step on to the surface of the moon, and the only one to go on to depict the view from outer space in paintings. His fellow astronaut John Glenn described Bean’s work as seeing “the same monochromatic world as [we did] ... yet with an artist’s eye he also saw intrinsic beauty”.Apollo 12, commanded by Pete Conrad, was launched in November 1969, only four months after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had first stepped on to the moon’s surface from the Apollo 11 lunar module. The Apollo 12 astronauts set up a nuclear generator in the Ocean of Storms to provide a power source; Bean, of Scottish descent on his father’s side, carried a piece of MacBean tartan with him. He gathered many samples of rocks and lunar soil, including a green stone he described as “ginger ale bottle glass” – geologists later identified it as the mineral olivine. Continue reading...

New mothers’ voices are lower and more monotone for about a year after the birthThe voices of new mothers temporarily drop by more than two musical notes after pregnancy, scientists have claimed.Researchers from the University of Sussex found new mothers’ voices become lower and more monotonous after they have had their first baby. Continue reading...

When our heroes – like Richard Feynman – turn out to be less than perfect, it’s an open question as to whether we should write off their work as wellAnother week, another social media tar-and-feathering of a prominent male scientist.A few weeks ago was physicist Richard Feynman, every scientist’s beloved old uncle: he of the charm, the bongo-playing, the practical jokes, the breathtaking clarity of thought. I can still remember him standing up in front of the US Congress on television as an elderly man, razor sharp as he demonstrated, using ice water, what would have happened to the O-rings within the doomed shuttle Columbia when they came into contact with the coldness of outer space. I read most of his books as a child, and still embrace his philosophy about why understanding nature’s beauty enhances, rather than detracts from, its wonder. Continue reading...

30 May 1974: Woman’s Own hopes it will encourage more men to put their worries on paper instead of sustaining a painful and harmful cover-upWoman’s Own has started a problem page for men only. A gimmick? An imaginative new service? Keeping up with the times? Angela Willans (“Mary Grant,” the magazine’s “Can I help you?” lady) is too sincerely concerned about people to go in for gimmicks, and too modest to claim a breakthrough. She says that about 10 per cent of Woman’s Own’s 500 problems a week has always come from men and that the new page has not made any notable difference. But she hopes it will encourage more men to put their worries on paper. And so do I.Related: A brief history of agony aunts Continue reading...

Block of stone violently thrown up by volcanic cloud fell on to victim, Pompeii archaeologists sayOfficials at the Pompeii archaeological site have announced the discovery of the skeleton of a man crushed by an enormous stone while trying to flee the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.Pompeii officials on Tuesday released a photograph showing the skeleton protruding from beneath a large block of stone that may have been a door jamb which had been “violently thrown by the volcanic cloud”. Continue reading...

Trial on people with form of disease that killed Tessa Jowell ‘remarkably promising’A vaccine could add years to the lives of people with the aggressive form of brain cancer that killed the former Labour cabinet minister Tessa Jowell, trials suggest.

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore opposes timing of exams in a period of major cognitive changeTeenagers are being damaged by the British school system because of early start times and exams at 16 when their brains are going through enormous change, a leading neuroscientist has said.Sarah-Jayne Blakemore said it was only in recent years that the full scale of the changes that take place in the adolescent brain has been discovered. “That work has completely revolutionised what we think about this period of life,” she said. Continue reading...

Luis Velázquez, Cuba’s most senior scientist, says joint inquiry needed to find truth behind alleged attacks on diplomatsThe most senior scientist in Cuba has called on his opposite numbers in the US and Canada to assess the evidence behind claims that mysterious attacks in Havana left American and Canadian diplomats with inexplicable concussion-like brain injuries.Luis Velázquez, a neurologist who was recently appointed president of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, has asked the US and Canadian national science academies for a joint scientific inquiry to examine the evidence behind the alleged attacks.

Academics share machine-learning research freely. Taxpayers should not have to pay twice to read our findingsBudding authors face a minefield when it comes to publishing their work. For a large fee, as much as $3,000, they can make their work available to anyone who wants to read it. Or they can avoid the fee and have readers pay the publisher instead. Often it is libraries that foot this bill through expensive annual subscriptions. This is not the lot of wannabe fiction writers, it’s the business of academic publishing.

Artificial intelligence machine found 95% of melanomas in study compared to 86.6% for dermatologistsA computer was better than human dermatologists at detecting skin cancer in a study that pitted people against machines in the quest for better, faster diagnostics, researchers said on Tuesday.

The light emitted from our LED screens is blamed for everything from bleary eyes to much more serious health issues. So just how worried should we be?Long attached to visions of clear skies and calm seas, the colour blue historically could not be more welcome, refreshing and natural. Yet, because of the proliferation of blue-emitting LEDs in our artificially lit lives, blue light has come to represent bleary eyes, sleeplessness and the poor health associated with disruption of the circadian rhythm.Of the spectrum of lightwaves emitted by the sun that our eyes can detect, it is the shorter “blue” ones that get reflected and bounced around most by the molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere. They are the reason the sky is blue. So why is blue light apparently so bad for us? Earlier this month, a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry looked at data from 91,105 middle-aged people and found that those with disrupted sleep patterns were more likely to have depression or bipolar disorder. The worst affected were described by one of the authors of the paper, Professor Daniel Smith at the University of Glasgow, as those with “very poor sleep hygiene – people on their mobile phones at midnight checking Facebook or getting up to make a cup of tea in the middle of the night”. He reiterated the now common advice from sleep experts: switch off electronic devices an hour before bedtime. Continue reading...

My husband Peter Morton-Williams, who has died aged 95, was a former pro-vice chancellor of Ulster University and an eminent anthropologist. He worked for many years in Nigeria and Ghana, where he researched and lectured on west African social anthropology and became a leading authority on the history and culture of the Yoruba people of Nigeria.He also wrote many academic papers and some books about aspects of West African society, including An Outline of the Cosmology and Cult Organization of the Oyo Yoruba (1964). Long into his retirement he was frequently consulted by students, academics and others, including museums and a number of auction houses who sought his advice on west African artefacts. Continue reading...

Scientists say the findings have major implications for predicting our future climateAn invisible layer of scum on the sea surface can reduce carbon dioxide exchange between the atmosphere and the oceans by up to 50%, scientists have discovered.Researchers from Heriot-Watt, Newcastle and Exeter universities say the findings, published in the journal Nature Geoscience on Monday, have major implications for predicting our future climate. 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 does light travel at the speed it does? Is it related to the age, dimensions or oscillation of the universe? Do we know if this speed has been constant since the big bang?Peter Lowe, Newcastle upon Tyne Continue reading...

We cannot leave the EU and retain all the rights we had as members, as the tussle over this vital satellite system shows

The gibbous waning Moon is bright in the night sky while Venus and Jupiter shine out at eveningFrom midweek onwards, look out for the Moon and Saturn drawing ever closer in the low southern night sky. By the end of the week, they will be separated by 1.6°, or just over three lunar diameters. The Moon will be a few days past full and clearly in its waning gibbous phase. The chart shows the view for 03:00 BST on 1 June. This week is also good for seeing the four brightest objects in the sky. The Sun and Moon are the first two and are unmistakable – but remember never look at the Sun with your naked eyes or through any kind of optical instrument; it is so bright that it can cause permanent blindness. The third and fourth brightest should present little problem either so long as you have a clear horizon. Just after sunset look west to see the brilliant “evening star” of Venus, this is the third brightest object in the sky. Then turn to the south-west to look out for Jupiter, the fourth. Continue reading...

Believe it or not, some people still think the world is flat, and that we are all victims of a giant conspiracy. Alex Moshakis heads to Birmingham to meet Britain’s Flat EarthersTo the casual observer, there is nothing remarkable about the crowd gathered in a convention room at a central Birmingham hotel. Middle managers on a staff team-building exercise, perhaps. But their conversations give them away. The clique in the corner discussing the moon landings. The man at the bar chastising an acquaintance for holding on to the science he was taught at school. The woman who asks another, “If they’ve lied about this, what else are they lying about?” The various conversations peter out as the open-mic session gets under way. A 40-something woman approaches the stage. “My name’s Sarah,” she says. “And I’m a Flat Earther.” Other audience members offer similar anecdotes: epiphanies, followed by a complete rebuttal of their previous beliefs. Few are able to explain why a conspiracy might exist, why scientists might go to such great lengths to create false evidence.I’m in central Birmingham, at the UK’s first Flat Earth convention, a weekend of lectures and workshops designed to provide believers with opportunities to engage with others who subscribe to the same hypothesis: that the Earth is not a globe, as most of us think, but some kind of plane, with edges. Around 200 people have paid to attend. Continue reading...

As well as being amazing marvels of nature, the gelatinous sea creatures are harbingers of the most serious issues that face us and this should be a call to armsLooking back, I see that jellyfish came to me when the haze of sleepless nights brought on by kids’ cries and the frenzy of cramming a working day into the scant hours of pre-school began to lift. And, even though I still looked good on Facebook, when I slowed down long enough to think, I felt lost and unfulfilled. That something inside had been waiting for the opportunity to climb out and look for more than flapjacks and yogurt wasn’t so surprising. That it was jellyfish certainly was.As an ocean scientist-turned-science writer, I was working on a piece for National Geographic about ocean acidification, sometimes called global warming’s evil twin. This happens when carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels mixes with water, making it more acidic, and harder to build shells in. And lots of marine creatures build shells. This story included a quintessential National Geographic graphic called “Winners and Losers”. On the losers’ side were shelled animals: coral, crabs, starfish. That made sense. On the winners’ side were shell-less things: algae, sponges and jellyfish. Jellyfish? What was their protection against acidic surroundings? Continue reading...

In refusing to reimburse Britain for its investment in the satellite system, the EU is being absurdly punitiveThe row between the UK and the EU over the €10bn Galileo satellite navigation project is turning nasty. For once, this unnecessary spat is not Britain’s fault. It is, of course, true that the argument over who can access this spanking new system, who builds it and who pays for it would not be happening if the UK intended to remain a member of the EU. But it is equally true that senior commission officials in Brussels, including the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, continue to exhibit difficulty in accepting post-referendum political realities. That’s a polite way of saying the EU needs to get over itself.The Observer is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, founded in 1791. It is published by Guardian News & Media and is editorially independent.

Extraterrestrials will discover a species that loves to argue and sees beauty in flowers that roar like chainsawsIt was launched to the stars as a portrait of humanity: an alien’s guide to life on Earth and the wonderful, rich culture of its dominant species.But the Golden Record, blasted into space by Nasa in 1977, may deliver an entirely different message to any extraterrestrials who happen to encounter the cosmic missive, researchers point out.

Invitation glitch could date back further than previously thought, says cancer specialistMany more women could have missed out on breast cancer screening invitations dating back further than previously thought, according to a cancer expert.

Four drinks a day over eight weeks can help those at risk of heart disease, says studyObesity can be successfully tackled, at least in the short term, by giving up real food for formula meals for eight weeks, which removes temptation and any need to make difficult decisions about what to eat, a new study has found.The research, by the former government obesity advisor Professor Susan Jebb of Oxford University and colleagues, was designed to see whether a crash diet of just 810 calories a day – provided by four formula drinks – would help people whose obesity is putting them at high risk of health problems such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Obesity experts consider lawsuits over marketing they say could be harmful to childrenLeading obesity experts are considering litigation against the food industry in the light of emerging research suggesting that junk food marketing could hijack a child’s brain.Neuromarketing is of growing interest to food companies. Fast food, soft drinks and snack companies increasingly interact with children through social media and online games. Some are beginning to probe further, gathering information through brain scans about how unconscious decisions are made to eat one snack rather than another and targeting people’s susceptibilities. A report on food neuromarketing to children by the Center for Digital Democracy in 2011 predicted “an explosive rise in new tactics targeted especially at young people”. Continue reading...

Scientists have discovered fossilised dandruff on the skin of a feathered microraptorThe oldest known case of dandruff has been identified in a small feathered dinosaur that roamed the Earth about 125m years ago.Paleontologists found tiny flakes of fossilised skin on a crow-sized microraptor, a meat-eating dinosaur that had wings on all four of its limbs. Continue reading...

Tesco is to stop using date stamps on own-brand produce. Which fruit and veg improves with age and which loses most nutrients?Best-before dates have expired, at least for fruit and vegetables. This week Tesco revealed it is to stop using the date stamps on almost 70 of its own-brand products in an attempt to tackle food waste. But is older produce as good for you as fresher stuff?Many nutrients, including certain vitamins in fresh produce, are unstable and levels drop after items are harvested. “Micronutrients start to reduce from the moment [produce] is cut, which is why frozen peas are actually better than canned or fresh, as they are frozen soon after picking,” said Adam Hardgrave, a food safety expert from the Food Standards Agency’s foodborne disease control team. Continue reading...

Psychotherapist Frank Tallis on one of his most extreme cases: Megan, a married woman with an undying passion for her dentistMegan was a conservatively dressed barrister’s clerk in her mid-40s. Her hair was dark brown and styled in a neat bob. An uncharitable person might have described her as dowdy. Her GP’s referral letter summarised the key facts of her case, which contained the essential elements of a tragic love story: emotional extremity, reckless abandon, passion and desire.After a few introductory remarks about my role as a psychotherapist, I explained that I wanted to hear her version of events. Continue reading...

Europe has started to exclude British firms from elements of the satellite programmeGalileo is an £8bn satellite navigation system intended to rival the US-controlled Global Positioning System. Once fully operational in 2020 it will provide accurate position, navigation and timing information to be used by governments, citizens and industry. It will be used by everything from smartphones to security-critical military applications in target acquisition and tracking. The UK is developing receivers for military platforms that will incorporate Galileo’s encrypted Public Regulated Service (PRS). Continue reading...

Fossils from 432m years ago push back the origin of the alternating life cycle still seen in ferns todayOur world today is dominated by the flowering plants, or angiosperms, which appeared approximately 130m years ago and rapidly diversified to become the top dogs in most ecosystems. But there are plenty of other plants from more ancient lineages still around, doing deeply weird things in their life cycles, and doing them for much longer than we have realised.

The no side were outnumbered by the established political class and the media together pushing the same illiberal viewTaoiseach Leo Varadkar – the Irish prime minister – has declared that he won’t be encouraging celebrations if, as seems inevitable, the yes side wins in the abortion referendum. We won’t, then, be treated to the same wild exuberance that met the gay marriage referendum vote, at least not officially. But he can be forgiven for a modestly self-congratulatory tone to his address to the Irish parliament on Wednesday, its last sitting before the referendum, in which he was joined by the leader of the opposition, Micheál Martin. They – the party leaders and ministers – have won it, along with the broadcasters who followed them faithfully through the campaign.It appears that at least a third of the electorate will oppose repealing the eighth amendment to the constitution, but those voters are not represented by the big political hitters – the sole party against repeal is tiny Renua, which has precisely no seats in parliament. Neither do they have any heavyweights in the broadcast or print media to express their views; I can think of two regular columnists for the main papers who are against repealing the abortion ban in the constitution – that’s it. Continue reading...

Philip Hammond says UK to ‘go it alone’ after Brexit if Brussels carries out access threatThe chancellor, Philip Hammond, has warned that the UK will build its own satellite navigation system to rival the European Union’s €10bn (£9bn) Galileo project if Brussels carries out its threat to block access.The European commission has cited legal issues about sharing sensitive information with a non-member state to justify its decision to shut British firms out of the project. The EU has also said it will restrict access to encrypted signals from Galileo. Continue reading...

In 1954 the American psychologist Muzafer Sherif set out to prove that hate was learned with the help of two groups of warring 11-year-oldsAt the beginning of the 1950s, while William Golding was a teacher at a boys’ school in Salisbury, he took a group of pupils to the nearby iron age hill fort of Figsbury Ring. The novelist told some of the boys to attack the fort while others defended its grassy ramparts. Golding was shocked at how quickly the schoolboys morphed into ferocious warring tribes: “My eyes came out like organ stops as I watched what was happening.”Golding’s research into “the nature of small boys” was for his novel, Lord of the Flies. It confirmed his pessimistic view that society’s problems could be traced back “to the defects in human nature”. At the same time in the US, social psychologist Muzafer Sherif was conducting very similar experiments involving groups of warring boys. Unlike the novelist, though, the scientist was an idealist. Rather than blaming human nature, he believed that environments created the conditions in which conflict and violence flourished. In short, he believed hate was learned. Continue reading...

Documentary photographer Olivia Harris, supported by the International Women’s Media Fund, examines the contentious issue of abortion in IrelandOn Friday Ireland will vote in a referendum that could in effect end the ban on abortion. Voters will be asked if they want to repeal the eighth amendment of the constitution, which recognises the equal right to life of mother and unborn child.Every year, 3,000 Irish women travel overseas, usually to the UK, to end pregnancies, including those caused by rape or incest. Expectant mothers diagnosed with fatal foetal abnormalities – meaning the baby may die before full term or is not expected to live for long – must also travel to the UK for terminations. Continue reading...