Climate modelling does not take account of how ice crystals form in the region’s atmosphere, with ramifications for meteorologistsWhat is the recipe for a cloud? This is like asking for the recipe for curry. There are many different types of curry, and the result depends upon which spices are used and how they are combined.For a long time, clouds over the Southern Ocean have puzzled meteorologists; there are more of them and they hang around for longer than climate models predict. Benjamin Murray and his colleagues from the University of Leeds have shown this is because of the delicate ingredients that goes into Southern Ocean clouds. Continue reading...

Until recently the attractions and drawbacks of nuclear fusion reactors were largely theoretical. Within a decade this will not be the caseOne of the cliches of nuclear power research is that a commercial fusion reactor is only ever a few decades away – and always will be. So claims that the technology is on the “brink of being realised” by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a private company should be viewed sceptically. The MIT-led team say they have the “science, speed and scale” for a viable fusion reactor and believe it could be up and running within 15 years, just in time to combat climate change. The MIT scientists are all serious people and perhaps they are within spitting distance of one of science’s holy grails. But no one should hold their breath.Fusion technology promises an inexhaustible supply of clean, safe power. If it all sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is. For decades scientists struggled to recreate a working sun in their laboratories – little surprise perhaps as they were attempting to fuse atomic nuclei in a superheated soup. Commercial fusion remains a dream. Yet in recent years the impossible became merely improbable and then, it felt almost overnight, technically feasible. For the last decade there has been a flurry of interest –and not a little incredulity –about claims, often made by companies backed by billionaires and run by bold physicists, that market-ready fusion reactors were just around the corner. Continue reading...

Sites of scientific discoveries | Alf Tupper | Pyrgic puzzles | Geological mnemonics | ParalympicsI enjoyed Brian Cox’s lively tour of sites of scientific discoveries (Travel, 10 March), but there was a glaring omission. The Eagle pub in Cambridge also has a plaque to Rosalind Franklin, a woman who played a significant part in the discovery of the structure of DNA. Young women scientists need to be inspired too.

Gather round for the solutions to today’s puzzlesIn my puzzle blog earlier today I set you three pi-flavoured puzzles.1. Move one matchstick below to make the equation approximately correct Continue reading...

Crisis? What crisis? New analysis shows polling accuracy has been stable over the decades – and might even have improvedIt seemed to be a hat trick of polling catastrophes: Brexit, the 2016 US presidential election and the 2017 British general election. But researchers now say that despite popular perceptions, polls are as accurate as they have ever been.They say a new analysis of political polls shows that errors have not increased over the decades since the 1940s – and might even have diminished.

What clues can our evolutionary past give us about human behaviour in the here and now? And, bearing in mind the likes of the recent #MeToo movement, does social conformity have a dark side?Subscribe and review on iTunes or Acast, and join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterA Neuroscientist Explains is back for its second season. In each episode, Dr Daniel Glaser and producer Max revisit a column from Dan’s hugely successful weekly column in the Observer Magazine and explore the neuroscience within it. One subject, one interview and many, many interesting questions. Continue reading...

Join the circle of friends of the friends of the circleUPDATE: Click here for the solutionsHi guzzlers,Wednesday is Pi Day, an annual date of celebration in the mathematical community because March 14, or 3/14, using the US convention for dates, looks like 3.14, which is pi to two decimal places. Continue reading...

Marc Quinn to create likeness of Rick Genest, who is covered with tattoos of the inside of his bodyMarc Quinn, the artist best known for freezing 10 pints of his own blood in a bust of his head, is to create a giant sculpture of a tattooed man known as Zombie Boy to permanently greet visitors to new galleries at the Science Museum in London.Zombie Boy is Rick Genest, a Canadian artist and model who, after a period of illness, decided to cover himself head to foot with tattoos of the inside of his body. Continue reading...

Peterson has found an enthusiastic audience in Australia, so it’s worth understanding how he has tapped into thatThe 1960s were a simpler time, where artists were valued for having something to say, rather than how much money they made.I heard that sentiment in a Bob Dylan documentary once. “Have you heard them play? Did they have anything to say?” Continue reading...

Mercury can be difficult to spot in the twilight sky, but this week Venus, the unmissable bright evening star, will be close byThis week there is a treat for the early evening sky watcher. From 17 March onwards, the two inner planets of Mercury and Venus can be seen close together in the twilight sky. The sky will not be fully dark and viewers will need a clear western horizon to see the pair. Being the innermost planet, Mercury never strays far from the Sun. Hence it is only ever visible in twilight, making it a tricky object to spot. This week, however, Venus helps. Dubbed “the evening star”, it is unmistakably bright and will be visible just above the western horizon. Locate Venus, then hop to fainter Mercury, which is slightly higher in the sky to the right. The chart shows the view for 18:30 GMT on 17 March. On the two subsequent evenings, the planets will be joined by a beautiful new moon, which will be a faint hair-line crescent to the left of the planets. Continue reading...

Genetic determinism is not a concept used by practising geneticists, write Brian Charlesworth and Deborah Charlesworth, and Anthony Gordon clears up some factsMartin Yuille and Jonathan Bard (Letters, 9 March) assert that recent scientific developments have undermined genetic determinism, the idea (in Yuille’s words) that human traits “specify the characteristics – in their entirety – of the individual”. This overlooks the fact that geneticists have known for 100 years that variation in most traits of biological importance reflects the combined effects of many genes with individually small effects, together with non-genetic factors that include direct effects of the external and maternal environments on the individual.This year geneticists will celebrate the centennial of Sir Ronald Fisher’s classic paper laying the foundations for the statistical analysis of such joint effects. These concepts and their evidential base have been explained in many subsequent scientific papers, and in genetics textbooks. For example, p27 of Human Heredity by J V Neel and W J Schull (published in 1954, and the standard textbook of human genetics for many years) explains, in a chapter entitled Nature and Nurture, “When we speak of the effect of any particular gene, this is really an abbreviated way of referring to the result of the introduction of a particular gene into a particular genetic background and particular environment. Genes do not operate in a vacuum, but, rather, each has its role to play in the complex machinery of development.” Genetic determinism is not a concept used by practising geneticists.

Pioneering biologist best known for his work on the human genome who was a fierce advocate of free access to scientific dataIn 2002 the biologist John Sulston, who has died of stomach cancer aged 75, shared a Nobel prize for physiology. He won it for elucidating the entire sequence in which the daughters of a single cell divide and sometimes disappear as an embryo grows into an adult in the tiny roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans. However, he is much better known for leading the British team that sequenced a third of the human genome, and for the fierce integrity with which he successfully argued that all genomic data should be openly accessible to the scientific community without commercial involvement.Previously content to pursue his work out of the public eye, in 1998 Sulston found himself catapulted on to the front pages as the publicly funded Human Genome Project (HGP) faced competition from a rival, private genome-sequencing project launched by the American geneticist Craig Venter’s Celera Genomics. Sulston took every opportunity to challenge, on both ethical and scientific grounds, a model in which access to the data would be controlled by commercial licence agreements. Continue reading...

David Adam explores the history of intelligence and ways to improve his own, raising timely questionsWhich of us would not want to enhance our intelligence? Indeed, some ethicists, such as John Harris at Manchester University, argue that it is our duty to improve ourselves if we can, and in turn society and the quality of life for future generations. If we were more intelligent, perhaps we would invent better ways to generate energy efficiently at less cost and damage to the environment. Or generate ideas for solving political disputes without engaging in aggression and conflicts.It is interesting that when we think of improving ourselves as individuals, we immediately consider boosting “cold” cognition – logic, critical thinking, memory capacity, etc – rather than “hot” cognition – the type required for you to understand what another person is thinking, termed “theory of mind”, and so important for soft diplomacy, resolving conflicts and psychological therapy. Cold cognition is nonemotional and reflects what is measured by the intelligence test, whereas hot refers to social and emotional cognition. David Adam, author of The Genius Within, regards cold intelligence as a key target for enhancement and I agree that superior cold intelligence is a great advantage. However, many of the jobs currently available are in the service industry and while these require a certain degree of skill, such as knowledge of computer use, the ability to have theory of mind, to understand what others are thinking and feeling and to be personable and likable are essential. Continue reading...

The evolutionary scientist on her in-depth study on women’s hormones and their effectsYour book is all about reproductive hormones, and their impact on our behaviour. It only focuses on female hormones. Why not look at men’s too?

A new survey reveals Britons are keen to understand the possibilities offered by the groundbreaking science but also concerned it is properly regulatedThe Royal Society has recently published the results of an extensive survey of the attitudes of the general public to genetic modification. This sent my mind back to 1990, when the human fertilisation and embryology bill was going through parliament.The emphasis, at least in the House of Lords, where the bill started, very soon switched from remedies for infertility to the new concept of eliminating some heritable diseases. IVF could be used to select embryos in the laboratory that did not carry the disease and implant one or two of those in the mother’s uterus. At the time, it was also speculated that one day it might be possible to eliminate a faulty gene from a live embryo after a pregnancy had been established, rather than at the pre-implantation stage. Continue reading...

Nicola Davis asks: can we increase the window of brain plasticity in the later stages of life? And what do we know about the implications of doing so?Subscribe and review on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud and Acast, and join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterIn early development, the brain is hard at work making new connections between neurons, based on the new experiences we’re having. But the science around brain plasticity – ie the mind’s ability to learn, change and reorganise itself – is advancing. Research looking at people with severe neurological or physical damage tells us a lot about the possibility of enhancing the ability for our brain to rewire.

Sulston won the Nobel prize for medicine in 2002 for his work on genome sequencingThe pioneering geneticist Sir John Sulston has died, it has been confirmed.The scientist led the UK side of the landmark Human Genome Project and founded and directed the Wellcome Sanger Institute near Cambridge, one of the country’s leading biomedical institutions. Continue reading...

Evidence is growing that the ‘sunshine vitamin’ helps protect against a wide range of conditions including cancersVitamin D is having quite a moment. In the past few months, evidence has been growing that the “sunshine vitamin” not only has an important role in bone and muscle health, but might also help prevent a range of cancers, reduce the chance of developing rheumatoid arthritis, protect against multiple sclerosis and cut the risk of colds and flu.But is vitamin D truly a cure-all? And if the benefits are real, should we all be taking vitamin D supplements or even fortifying our foods? Continue reading...

The ingredients for the lethal substances apparently involved in the poisoning of Sergei Skripal are easy to obtain and are usually absorbed quickly through the skin or inhalationAfter days of analysis, police investigators announced on Wednesday that they believe a nerve agent was used to poison former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter on Sunday, raising questions of how it was created and how the attack was carried out.Related: Suspected Skripal poisoning: who might have ordered it and why? Continue reading...

After the mass die-off of starfish, it’s easy to despair. But conservation success stories show what ordinary people can doI recently helped to organise an environmental meeting and found myself checking our video link by calling home. Beamed on to the screen was my four-year-old son, hair sticking out and school jumper on back to front. As we checked the sound, I asked him what message he would like to send. Without hesitation he said: “Why do people have to throw rubbish in the sea and hurt marine creatures?” His worried little face, now filling the 2m-wide screen, stayed with me throughout the meeting (along with the hope that he’d turned his jumper round before going to school).His message was with me again as I watched distressing footage of thousands of dead starfish and other creatures washed up on the beaches of Kent and the east coast. Conservationists believe last week’s freezing weather was behind the mass die-off. Continue reading...

We should listen to experts such as Cancer Research, but I’m the expert on my heart – and its connection with my healthWhat starts with an “o”, has an “s” in the middle, and ends with death? If you like crosswords and puzzles, you’ll love the posters that have been springing up around the country in the last few days. They’re like the billboards in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. But the culprit in this murder mystery is you.Related: Millennials set to be the fattest generation of Britons, research shows Continue reading...

Defunct module expected to scatter debris over thousands of kilometres in fiery descentIt launched as a potent symbol of Chinese ambitions in space, but in the coming weeks the nation’s first orbital outpost will come crashing down to Earth in a fireball that could scatter debris over thousands of kilometres.The Chinese space agency lost control of its Tiangong-1, or Heavenly Palace, spacecraft in 2016, five years after it blasted into orbit to make China only the third nation to operate a space station after the US and Russia. Continue reading...

Project hopes to get more than 250,000 drone images tagged to record type and extent of plastic pollutionFood wrappers, fishing nets, bottles, straws and carrier bags are among the top 10 plastic items littering British beaches, according to new research.Related: Is there life after plastic? The new inventions promising a cleaner world Continue reading...

Carbon-free fusion power could be ‘on the grid in 15 years’The dream of nuclear fusion is on the brink of being realised, according to a major new US initiative that says it will put fusion power on the grid within 15 years.The project, a collaboration between scientists at MIT and a private company, will take a radically different approach to other efforts to transform fusion from an expensive science experiment into a viable commercial energy source. The team intend to use a new class of high-temperature superconductors they predict will allow them to create the world’s first fusion reactor that produces more energy than needs to be put in to get the fusion reaction going. Continue reading...

Animal studies suggest the anti-allergy drugs may affect the production of male sexual hormonesCommon allergy drugs have been linked to fertility problems in men.Antihistamines are often used to relieve symptoms of allergies such as hay fever, hives, conjunctivitis and reactions to insect bites or stings and are available either over-the-counter or on prescription. Continue reading...

Electric thruster sucks in the scarce air molecules at the top of the Earth’s atmosphere, using them as propellant to fight dragThe European Space Agency (ESA) has test-fired an engine that opens the path for a novel class of low-flying Earth-orbiting space missions. Called an air-breathing electric thruster, it is designed to work at the top of the Earth’s atmosphere. It sucks in the scarce air molecules and uses them as propellant. Low-flying satellites, those in orbits of about 200-300km altitude, are gradually pulled out of orbit by the drag of the residual atmosphere.For example, ESA’s GOCE mission operated in this region of space. It flew for five years thanks to an electric thruster that used xenon fuel to counteract the atmospheric drag. When the 40kg of xenon ran out, however, the spacecraft fell to Earth and burned up in the atmosphere. Continue reading...

‘When we assessed particular chains, it was really clear that there was no systematic change,’ researcher saysFast food sold in Australia is just as unhealthy as it ever was, despite the introduction of mandatory menu labelling, according to new analysis.A study by Cancer Council New South Wales and the George Institute for Global Health found the kilojoule content of foods sold at the top five food chains – Hungry Jack’s, KFC, McDonald’s, Oporto and Red Rooster – has not changed since 2009. Continue reading...

Martin Yuille, Steven Rose, Jonathan Bard, John Wilson and Iain Climie on the controversy over race and intelligenceGavin Evans’s criticisms of attempts to demonstrate a robust association between surrogate measures of ill-defined concepts (“race” and “intelligence”) are to the point (The unwelcome return of ‘race science’, The long read, 2 March). However, the dogma underpinning these attempts – genetic determinism – is left unchallenged. This determinism asserts that sequences of nucleotides comprising our chromosomes specify the characteristics – in their entirety – of the individual. It is a sad fact that the confusing phrase the “selfish gene” originated from a former professor for public understanding of science at the University of Oxford.Today, this reductionist approach to biology – and therefore to human biology – has been displaced by a more profound interpretation of the facts. “Systems biology” (see Denis Noble’s proposals on “biological relativity” in his new book Dance to the Tune of Life) sees an organism as comprising levels of relatively autonomous organisation each interacting with their total environment. Critical features of each of these levels cannot be predicted from the sequences of nucleotides. Genetic determinism is just plain wrong. Continue reading...

Impurities found in nerve agent may be key to identifying where it was made – if experts can locate a pure sampleForensic experts will be looking for traces of nerve agent on the clothes of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, and in the area where the two were attacked, in an effort to track down where the deadly substance was made, researchers say.Related: Russian spy attack: police officer left ill named as DS Nick Bailey Continue reading...

Scientist who shared the 1990 Nobel prize in physics for establishing that protons and neutrons are made up of quarksRichard Taylor, who has died aged 88, won a share of the Nobel prize in physics for establishing that protons and neutrons are made up of quarks. His discovery, in the late 1960s with Jerome Friedman, Henry Kendall and a team of researchers, was a fundamental breakthrough in the understanding of the nature of matter, and encouraged a 50-year quest for the final link in the puzzle, the Higgs boson, which was found in 2012.Taylor and his colleagues discovered quarks by building on the work of Ernest Rutherford, who, around 1910, had found that atoms have a nucleus – later shown to consist of protons and neutrons – but did not have the tools to probe any deeper. By contrast, Taylor was able to use a powerful accelerator of electrons at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in California to reveal the deep structure of first the proton and later the neutron. Continue reading...

The sport also preserves muscle and helps maintains stable levels of body fat and cholesterolCycling can hold back the effects of ageing and rejuvenate the immune system, a study has found.Scientists carried out tests on 125 amateur cyclists aged 55 to 79 and compared them with healthy adults from a wide age group who did not exercise regularly. Continue reading...

The idea of a poison that can’t be detected is terrifying, but there is no such thingThe news of the apparent poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia produced a lot of speculation over what might have made two people very ill so suddenly. All sorts of wild theories can emerge in situations like this where so little information is known for certain.

To attract more girls to study Stem subjects at university, we need to tackle the stereotypes they are exposed to early onYou will no doubt be aware that women are underrepresented in Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) occupations. They make up 14.4% of all people working in Stem in the UK, despite being about half of the workforce. This is well short of the country’s goal of a critical mass of 30%. Increasing women in Stem is forecast to increase the UK’s labour value by at least £2bn.There is a whole tangle of reasons why the gender gap in Stem exists. One is a pipeline issue – fewer girls than boys choose to study Stem subjects at secondary school and university. Interventions internationally mean the numbers of girls in Stem subjects are creeping up very slowly, but the gap remains surprisingly resistant nonetheless. Continue reading...

Study raises concerns about National Comprehensive Cancer Network, which publishes guidelines for American oncologistsGuidelines for American oncologists often recommend expensive and harmful cancer drugs for patients based on “weak evidence”, according to a new study in the British Medical Journal.Related: Cancer patients shed new light on rheumatoid arthritis Continue reading...

Experts remain split over whether it is worth taking supplementsVitamin D may offer protection against cancers, new research suggests, although experts are split over whether individuals should start taking supplements.The vitamin plays an important role in the body, including in bone health and muscle strength and in preventing conditions such as rickets. Continue reading...

How big can a star get? Why would a star only pretend to explode? Can you hide one star inside another?The Perimeter Institute public lectures are back, with, this evening (7 March), Emily Levesque talking about some of the strangest stellar phenomena in the universe.From the biggest, brightest, and most volatile stars to the explosive fireworks of core-collapse supernovae and the fascinating physics of gravitational waves, ‘weird’ stars serve as a common thread for exploring our universe’s history, evolution, and extremes. Levesque will discuss the history of stellar astronomy, present-day observing techniques and exciting new discoveries, and explore some of the most puzzling and bizarre objects being studied by astronomers today. Continue reading...

Juno mission paints dramatic picture of the turbulence within the solar system’s largest planetJupiter’s interior has been revealed in unprecedented detail in observations by Nasa’s Juno spacecraft that show it to be as strange and turbulent as the planet’s surface.Despite extensive studies of Jupiter’s surface, including its distinctive dark and light bands and “great red spot”, little had previously been known about what lies at the interior of the solar system’s largest planet. Continue reading...

But designer babies, micro-pigs and fluorescent carrots get the thumbs-down, Royal Society survey findsBritons are broadly in favour of rewriting the genetic code of human embryos to prevent children from inheriting devastating diseases – but draw the line at designer babies and creating “cosmetic” organisms such as micro-pigs, fluorescent fish and perfect carrots.The views were revealed in one of the first major surveys of public opinion on a new generation of genetic technologies that have given scientists the power to alter the DNA of living organisms with unprecedented ease and precision.

New research sheds light on the origins of domestic horses, and asks: just how many toes does a horse have?We’re so used to seeing horses, we often forget just what a bunch of weirdos they are. Let’s start with their feet: can you name another animal with only one hoof? If you said cow, sheep or goat, then you need to take a closer look next time you’re on the farm, because they all have two hooves per foot. Deer – likewise. The next curious question: how did such a powerful animal come to have an upstart ape lead it around by the mouth, and sit on it?The evolutionary history of horses is relatively well understood, but there are still some gaps in our knowledge, and new discoveries continue to be made. So where do these strange animals come from, and how did we end up with the domesticated breeds so familiar to us today? Continue reading...

Rosy worldviews that rely on avoiding inconvenient truths should always set alarm bells ringingOne of the curiosities of our age is the way in which celebrity culture comes to dominate every aspect of public life. Even the review pages of the newspapers sometimes look like a highfalutin version of gossip magazines. Were we to judge them by the maxim “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people”, they would not emerge well. Biography dominates. Ideas often seem to come last. Brilliant writers such as Sylvia Plath are better known for their lives than their work. Turning her into the Princess Diana of literature does neither her nor her readers any favours.Related: Steven Pinker: ‘The way to deal with pollution is not to rail against consumption’ Continue reading...

More than 800 die prematurely each year due to disparities in treatment across England, research suggestsHundreds of lung cancer patients may be dying prematurely every year as a result of disparities in rates of treatment across England, new research suggests.The team behind the study say more than 800 patients a year could have their lives extended if the rates of treatment in the top 20% of areas were applied across the country.

Lessons are not being learned from the deaths of hundreds of mental health patients, despite the warnings of coronersMore than 270 mental health patients have died over the last six years after failings in NHS care. These cases are more devastating to those who loved these people because in many cases the deaths could have been prevented; better care might have saved them. Too often, services did not respond to the concerns of GPs, families, and patients themselves. The Guardian’s figures, drawn from coroners’ warnings – known as reports to prevent future deaths – are if anything conservative. A forthcoming report on the issue from the NHS ombudsman is expected to raise similar issues.There is no doubt that services are overstretched. In one in six of the cases, coroners linked the deaths to the lack of staff, beds and specialist services, or to long delays for treatment. Mental health services have been desperately underfunded for too long, and the promised increase in spending is insufficient given the historic shortfall and the surge in demand. The current government, and the coalition before it, promised to prioritise mental health; these figures show how little progress has been made. A leaked green paper recently revealed that the promise of a maximum four-week wait for children (currently left as long as 18 months without care) will not be fully implemented until 2021 due to lack of staff and funding. A dearth of early intervention also leads to heavier demand for more expensive crisis services. It is impossible to provide adequate care without adequate resources. But funding is not a guarantee of quality. Cash alone cannot ensure that agencies and staff communicate as they should (the issue cited most frequently in these coroners’ warnings); nor can it foster a culture of learning from errors. Some NHS bodies are clearly failing to apply the necessary lessons – even when warned about them in the bluntest possible terms. Continue reading...

Pioneering dementia scientist Prof John Hardy to donate prize money to anti-Brexit groupA predicted exodus of European doctors, nurses and care workers following Brexit will be disastrous for Alzheimer’s patients and their families, according to a pioneering dementia scientist who was on Tuesday named as a joint recipient of the world’s most prestigious prize in neuroscience.Speaking at a press conference in London ahead of the announcement of the winners of the 2018 Brain prize, Prof John Hardy, of University College London, described the UK leaving the EU as an “unmitigated disaster for science and an unmitigated disaster for the health service”, adding that he planned to donate some of his prize money to the anti-Brexit campaign group Best for Britain. Continue reading...

How a subversive form of mapmaking charts the stories and customs of those who would traditionally be ignoredSara is a 32-year-old mother of four from Honduras. After leaving her children in the care of relatives, she travelled across three state borders on her way to the US, where she hoped to find work and send money home to her family. She was kidnapped in Mexico and held captive for three months, and was finally released when her family paid a ransom of $190.Her story is not uncommon. The UN estimates that there are 258 million migrants in the world. In Mexico alone, 1,600 migrants are thought to be kidnapped every month. What is unusual is that Sara’s story has been documented in a recent academic paper that includes a map of her journey that she herself drew. Her map appears alongside four others – also drawn by migrants. These maps include legends and scales not found on orthodox maps – unnamed river crossings, locations of kidnapping and places of refuge such as a “casa de emigrante” where officials cannot enter. Since 2011, such shelters have been identified by Mexican law as “spaces of exception”. Continue reading...

Experts say it is impossible to plot where module will re-enter the atmosphere, but the chance is higher in parts of Europe, US, Australia and New ZealandChina’s first space station is expected to come crashing down to Earth within weeks, but scientists have not been able to predict where the 8.5-tonne module will hit.The US-funded Aerospace Corporation estimates Tiangong-1 will re-enter the atmosphere during the first week of April, give or take a week. The European Space Agency says the module will come down between 24 March and 19 April. Continue reading...

This week’s events will mark the first time that the science used to justify certain pesticides will be analyzed under oath for all to seeOn Monday, a federal court hearing in San Francisco will turn a public spotlight on to the science surrounding the safety of one of the world’s most widely used pesticides, a weedkilling chemical called glyphosate that has been linked to cancer and is commonly found in our food and water, even in our own bodily fluids. Given the broad health and environmental implications tied to the use of this pesticide, we would be well served to pay attention.As the active ingredient in Monsanto’s branded Roundup and hundreds of other herbicides, glyphosate represents billions of dollars in annual revenues for Monsanto and other companies, and is prominently used by farmers as an aid in food production. It’s also favored by cities for keeping public parks and playgrounds weed free, and by homeowners who want a tidy lawn. But the chemical was deemed a probable human carcinogen by the World Health Organization’s cancer experts in 2015 in a finding that has since triggered waves of liability lawsuits against Monsanto. Continue reading...

A new laser-based system could allow vehicles to ‘see’ obstacles before they come into view, scientists sayWhether it’s a child running after a ball, a herd of cows or a broken-down car, unexpected obstacles can prove deadly to drivers. But scientists say the cars of the future might be able to anticipate such perils.A team of researchers have come up with a new laser-based system that efficiently produces images of objects that are hidden around a corner – a development they say could allow autonomous vehicles to see obstacles before they come into the line of sight.

Anaesthesia remains a mysterious and inexact science – and thousands of patients still wake up on the operating table every year.• Read the text version hereSubscribe via Audioboom, iTunes, Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Acast & Sticher and join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter Continue reading...

Dr Daniel Glaser is back. To kick off season two he asks whether there is a connection between reward and addiction. And can we really get addicted to Twitter?Subscribe and review on iTunes, and join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterA Neuroscientist Explains is finally back for its second season – meaning that in each episode, Dr Daniel Glaser and producer Max will revisit a column from Daniel’s hugely successful weekly column in the Observer Magazine and explore the neuroscience within it. One subject, one interview and many, many interesting questions. Continue reading...