At least 90% of the ancestry of Britons was replaced by a wave of migrants, who arrived about 4,500 years ago, say researchersThe largest ever study on ancient DNA has shown that Britain was changed forever by the arrival of the Beaker folk, a wave of migrants about 4,500 years ago who brought with them new customs, new burial practices, and beautiful, distinctive bell-shaped pottery.Related: First modern Britons had 'dark to black' skin, Cheddar Man DNA analysis reveals Continue reading...
Doctors hope study will put to rest doubts about the medicine, and help to address global under-treatment of depressionIt’s official: antidepressants are not snake oil or a conspiracyAntidepressants work – some more effectively than others – in treating depression, according to authors of a groundbreaking study which doctors hope will finally put to rest doubts about the controversial medicine.Millions more people around the world should be prescribed pills or offered talking therapies, which work equally well for moderate to severe depression, say the doctors, noting that just one in six people receive proper treatment in the rich world – and one in 27 in the developing world. Continue reading...
A groundbreaking new study shows antidepressants are effective – we should get on with taking and prescribing themIt’s official: antidepressants work.They are not a multibillion-dollar conspiracy dreamed up by Big Pharma Bond villains. They are not a snake oil distilled in secret laboratories, designed to stupefy us all. They are not a futile cop-out from overextended family doctors. Continue reading...
Researchers hail ‘surprising’ findings about sugar after analysing more than 3,000 casesPeople who regularly consume at least one sugary soft drink a day, no matter the size of their waist, could be at increased risk of cancer, according to a new study.Researchers from Cancer Council Victoria and University of Melbourne studied more than 35,000 Australians who developed 3,283 cases of obesity-related cancers. Continue reading...
The Australian white ibis is one of a dozen bird species whose locomotion is revealing a lot about their dinosaur cousinsThe Australian white ibis, aka “bin chickenâ€, might not have won the title of Australia’s favourite bird, but its next race might help scientists solve the mystery of how Tyrannosaurus rex walked and ran.
‘The mountain in the distance is her goal but we don’t think she’ll get to the top. It’s going to take her another five years just to get to the bright rock formation below’
An intermittent rumbling similar to a case investigated on The X-Files has been driving some residents berserk for years – with similar noises heard around the world. The truth is out there ...Name: The Windsor Hum.Age: About seven years old. Continue reading...
A recent Canadian documentary promoted a fringe idea in American archaeology that’s both scientifically wrong and racistLast month’s release of The Ice Bridge, an episode in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation series The Nature of Things has once again revived public discussion of a controversial idea about how the Americas were peopled known as the “Solutrean hypothesisâ€. This idea suggests a European origin for the peoples who made the Clovis tools, the first recognized stone tool tradition in the Americas. As I was one of the experts appearing on the documentary, I want to share my thoughts about it and why I see the ideas portrayed within as unsettling, unwise, and scientifically implausible.
A new specimen has redefined who’s in and who’s out of the Archaeopteryx genus – and poses questions about other theropod dinosaursHave you heard? There is a new Archaeopteryx in town. Number 12, to be exact. Technically, this specimen has been around since 2010, but was only formally described three weeks ago, thereby making up for the tragic loss of the Haarlem specimen (now renamed as Ostromia crassipes) last year.Archaeopteryx has since long formed a central piece in evolutionary debates. At the time of its discovery, it was the first Really Old Bird ever found. Moreover, its discovery in 1861 came just a few years after Darwin’s magnum opus On the Origin of Species, in which Darwin argued that one species could evolve into another. Archaeopteryx with its dapper mix of both reptilian and avian features was seen as a true transitional fossil, proving Darwin’s theory. Upon hearing of its discovery, in a letter from the Scottish palaeontologist Hugh Falconer dated 3 January 1863, Darwin replied to express his interest and excitement: Continue reading...
Participants who ate the most vegetables and consumed the fewest processed foods, sugary drinks and unhealthy fats shed the most kilogramsThe amount and quality of food and not a person’s genetics will lead to weight loss, a US study has found.It has been suggested that variations in genetic makeup make it easier for some people to lose weight than others on certain diets. Continue reading...
CT scans of thylacine specimens are being used to investigate why they resembled dogs despite last sharing an ancestor 160m years agoJoeys of thylacines, or Tasmanian tigers, look much like the young of every other marsupial: bald, pink, and with pronounced forelimbs and jaws for crawling into their mother’s pouch and latching on to a teat.So it’s perhaps not surprising that, in the 200-year history of collecting and cataloguing various thylacine specimens for museum exhibits, there has been a bit of a mix-up. Continue reading...
Questions also raised for moderate drinkers of alcohol about their social habitHeavy drinkers are putting themselves at risk of dementia, according to the largest study of its kind ever conducted.Research published in the Lancet Public Health journal provides powerful evidence that people who drink enough to end up in hospital are putting themselves at serious risk of vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It will also raise questions for moderate drinkers about the possible long-term consequences of their social habit. Continue reading...
Cambridge University is recruiting thousands of people to play a fake-news simulator, in the hope they will learn to identify the real thingName: Pre-bunking.Age: A modern malaise/cure, still in its early infancy. Continue reading...
British Antarctic Survey is trying to reach a newly revealed ecosystem that had been hidden for 120,000 years below the Larsen C ice shelfA team of international scientists is due to set off for the world’s biggest iceberg on Wednesday, fighting huge waves and the encroaching Antarctic winter, in a mission aiming to answer fundamental questions about the impact of climate change in the polar regions.
And why it mattersWhenever I describe the fundamental forces to an audience that does not entirely consist of other particle physicists (happens more often that you might think), it is the weak force that causes trouble.Electromagnetism holds atoms together (amongst other fun stuff), the strong force holds atomic nuclei together, and gravity holds the planet together. But what does the weak force do? I am usually reduced to hand-waving about neutrinos and the Sun, in a faintly unconvincing fashion. Continue reading...
Researchers are analysing material on which early Disney cartoons were inked to find best way to save and store the animationsHands clasped, silver slippers together and with an air of gentle condescension, Snow White looks like the epitome of a Disney princess. Except there’s a hitch: across her face and dress run unmistakable cracks.While Disney’s cartoon characters have an indelible place in popular culture, the material that propelled many of the vintage heroes to fame is proving less durable. Continue reading...
A new theory suggests that Homo erectus was able to create seagoing vessels – and must have used language to sail successfullyThey had bodies similar to modern humans, could make tools, and were possibly the first to cook. Now one expert is arguing that Homo erectus might have been a mariner – complete with sailing lingo.Homo erectus first appeared in Africa more than 1.8m years ago and is thought to be the first archaic human to leave the continent. Continue reading...
Leather bands dating from AD120 are thought to be only known surviving examplesRoman boxing gloves have been discovered near Hadrian’s Wall, thought to be the only known surviving examples, even though the sport was well- documented on Roman wall paintings, mosaics and sculptures.With a protective guard designed to fit snugly over the knuckles, the gloves were packed with natural material which acted as shock absorbers. They date from around AD120 and were certainly made to last: they still fit comfortably on a modern hand. One of them even retains the impression of the knuckles of its ancient wearer. Continue reading...
Brian Sissons, who has died aged 91, mapped and interpreted the effects of the Ice Age on the Scottish landscape. From the late 1950s until his retirement in 1982, Brian transformed the understanding of the evolution of Scotland’s scenery.As a fieldworker, Brian surveyed the ways in which the landscape had evolved under glacial and post-glacial conditions. His two books, The Evolution of Scotland’s Scenery (1967) and The Geomorphology of the British Isles: Scotland (1976), provided a synthesis of the current knowledge. He also inspired scores of researchers, including 30 of his own PhD students, of whom I was one. Continue reading...
Six years ago, researchers asked a radical question: could eggcases taken from trawler-caught sharks still hatch live, healthy young?Back in December 2012, I met up with Greg Nowell, co-founder of Sharklab-Malta, a non-profit NGO founded in 2008. Sharklab collaborates with shark researchers on a global and local scale, with an overall mission to highlight the current plight of sharks in our oceans whilst increasing awareness and education of the public.Greg was interested in my experience working with neonate small spotted catsharks (Scyliorhinus canicula) and the greater spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus stellaris); in the UK these are usually known as the lesser spotted dogfish and bull huss, respectively. At Macduff Marine Aquarium I’d worked with both species, as well as on the maintenance of viable eggcases, which resulted in successful hatching and rearing of shark pups. Continue reading...
While we debate whether the durian is the best or worst food on the planet, it turns out this wonderful oddity requires healthy populations of flying fox for survival
2017 saw more than 21,000 cases and 35 deaths, with large outbreaks in one in four countries, says World Health OrganisationMeasles cases have soared across Europe over the last year, with large outbreaks affecting one in four countries, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) which is concerned by low rates of immunisation against the disease.
My father warned me about scoundrels in business. Now bad behaviour can be called out online, but international shame still doesn’t stop roguesAs my father had been seriously ripped off three times during his life in business by people he trusted, he often warned me about the surprising number of rogues and scoundrels swanning around, ready to use any vile trick to relieve me of my money.Just my father’s bad luck, I thought, until about a decade ago, when I came across one of these villains. He was a rather grand agent, who asked me to give an after-dinner talk at a serious conference on education. Flattering, but scary, because I had never done such a thing before – a long, serious speech. I asked how much I would be paid. Continue reading...
The chemical BPA is widely added to food and drink packaging, and more than 80% of teenagers have it in their bodies. But how dangerous is it?Can exposure to plastics harm your health? It’s a question currently being explored by researchers after a recent study suggested that traces of a synthetic chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA) can be found in more than 80% of teenagers. BPA is added to plastic to create a special form called polycarbonate plastic, used in making robust, impact-resistant materials for everything from food and drink packaging to DVD cases and medical devices. First created in 1891, it has been used commercially since the 1950s and is now one of the most commonly produced chemicals in the world, with 3.6bn tonnes of BPA generated every year.The problem is that BPA can be ingested or absorbed through skin contact, meaning that humans are regularly exposed through the chemical leaching out of packaging into food and drink – and over the past 20 years various studies have linked BPA to a variety of adverse health effects. The biggest concerns have been the impact on foetuses and young children, who have underdeveloped systems for detoxifying chemicals – the consequences being that the younger you are, the higher the levels of BPA in your body. Continue reading...
Evidence of effectiveness remains ‘limited’, says Medical Journal of Australia editorialDoctors have been warned against rushing to prescribe medical cannabis despite Australians’ acceptance of its use.To date, the evidence on the effectiveness of medical cannabis remains “limitedâ€, say Jennifer Martin and Associate Professor Yvonne Bonomo in an editorial for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP). Continue reading...
Blood and urine test, believed to be first of its kind, could lead to earlier diagnosis of autism spectrum disordersScientists in Britain say they have developed a blood and urine test that can detect autism in children.Researchers at the University of Warwick said the test, believed to be the first of its kind, could lead to earlier diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children who could then be given appropriate treatment much earlier in their lives. Continue reading...
Researchers find elderly people with high cognitive function have more of a certain type of brain cell“Superagers†have long puzzled scientists, but now researchers say they are unpicking why some people live beyond 80 – and still appear to be in fine fettle, with cognitive capacities on a par with adults decades younger.Researchers have spent years studying superagers in an attempt to understand what sets the senior citizens apart.
A lunar phenomenon that is sometimes called the old moon in the new moon’s arms may be visible on MondayThis evening’s crescent moon brings with it a good chance of seeing earthshine. This is the faint glow that appears on the unlit portion of the moon’s disc. It is sometimes referred to as the old moon in the new moon’s arms because of the way the sunlit crescent appears to cradle the dimmer circle. Continue reading...
Chinese investment is paying off with serious advances in biotech, computing and space. Are they edging ahead of the west?I first met Xiaogang Peng in the summer of 1992 at Jilin University in Changchun, in the remote north-east of China, where he was a postgraduate student in the department of chemistry. He told me that his dream was to get a place at a top American lab. Now, Xiaogang was evidently smart and hard-working – but so, as far as I could see, were most Chinese science students. I wished him well, but couldn’t help thinking he’d set himself a massive challenge.Fast forward four years to when, as an editor at Nature, I publish a paper on nanotechnology from world-leading chemists at the University of California at Berkeley. Among them was Xiaogang. That 1996 paper now appears in a 10-volume compendium of the all-time best of Nature papers being published in translation in China. Continue reading...
The pioneering geneticist on why he wants us to earn money by sharing our genomic data, his plans to resurrect the woolly mammoth and how narcolepsy helps him generate ideas
Do you tend to work to put another person at their ease, or are you happy to let things get awkward? Take these simple questions to find outChoose which statement, a) or b), best applies to you.Asked to give an impromptu speech, you: Continue reading...
We are supposed to be inquisitive and yet …John Brockman has run out of questions. Brockman, a literary agent, runs the science and philosophy site Edge.org. Every year for 20 years, he has asked leading thinkers to answer a particular question, such as: “What questions have disappeared?†or: “What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it?†This year, though, Brockman announced that he has no more questions left. So he asked his final question: “What is the last question?â€â€œJudge a man by his questions rather than by his answers,†Voltaire insisted. Questions help us define what we don’t know and force us or others to justify what we think we do know. Continue reading...
A revolution is coming in our relationship with ‘lower’ creatures, provoked by a greater knowledge of their cognition. Labour’s new plans for animal welfare are just a startScientific insight is a powerful thing, but will it ever override the human lust for health, prosperity and, saddest of all, convenience? This question entered my head as I read of the Labour party’s newly announced policies for animal welfare “informed and underpinned by the latest evidence on animal sentienceâ€. Such an approach would lead to laudable bans on foie gras imports and nonsensical badger culling. But let’s be careful what we wish for: further down the line, it would also lead to some uncomfortable dilemmas. In fact, how we redraw our relationship with animals promises to be one of the dominant themes of the coming decades.Those alert to animal sentience already find themselves in difficult situations. Richard Dawkins, for example, has declared: “We have no general reason to think that non-human animals feel pain less acutely than we do.†This, Dawkins says, should change our cultural habits. Practices such as branding cattle, castration without anaesthetic and bullfighting, for instance, “should be treated as morally equivalent to doing the same thing to human beingsâ€. Continue reading...
Advance brings us closer to growing transplant organs inside animals or being able to genetically tailor compatible organs, say researchersGrowing human organs inside other animals has taken another step away from science-fiction, with researchers announcing they have grown sheep embryos containing human cells.Scientists say growing human organs inside animals could not only increase supply, but also offer the possibility of genetically tailoring the organs to be compatible with the immune system of the patient receiving them, by using the patient’s own cells in the procedure, removing the possibility of rejection. Continue reading...
Non-invasive imaging reveals landscape painting beneath Pablo Picasso’s The Crouching Beggar but who created it remains a mysteryWrapped in a mustard coloured blanket with a white scarf and her head on one side, Pablo Picasso’s La Misereuse Accroupie (The Crouching Beggar) is a study of forlorn resignation. But researchers say that there is more to desolate character than meets the eye.Beneath the mournful image lies another painting, a landscape, researchers have revealed after using non-invasive imaging techniques to examine the work. Continue reading...
Whether or not the world really is getting worse, the nature of news will make us think that it isEvery day the news is filled with stories about war, terrorism, crime, pollution, inequality, drug abuse and oppression. And it’s not just the headlines we’re talking about; it’s the op-eds and long-form stories as well. Magazine covers warn us of coming anarchies, plagues, epidemics, collapses, and so many “crises†(farm, health, retirement, welfare, energy, deficit) that copywriters have had to escalate to the redundant “serious crisis.â€Whether or not the world really is getting worse, the nature of news will interact with the nature of cognition to make us think that it is. Continue reading...
A third of America’s astronauts are women, says Dr Ellen Ochoa, a director at an agency that has come a long way on equalityThere is at least a one in three chance that the first human to set foot on the moon this century will be a woman, Dr Ellen Ochoa, the head of Nasa’s Johnson space center has said.In the early 1960s Nasa sent out rejection letters saying it had no plans to send women into space. Among those who apparently received the brush-off was a teenage Hillary Clinton. But the agency has since changed its tune, and in 1983 Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. In 2013 Nasa announced that half of its new class of eight astronauts were women – a first for the agency. Continue reading...
Should aliens be discovered, public reaction is likely to be positive, say researchers – despite alarming fictional portrayals of contact“The fear I felt was no rational fear, but a panic terror,†wrote HG Wells, describing his narrator’s response to a Martian invasion in War of the Worlds.But despite such alarming portrayals, researchers say the discovery of alien life is more likely to be welcomed with open arms than panic. Continue reading...
University of Minnesota academics say boys and girls pick up speech cues from adults around them, resulting in differencesThe gender of children can be picked up from their speech from as young as five years old, researchers have revealed.While male and female children have no physiological reason for sounding different before puberty, when changes to the larynx kick in, researchers say boys and girls pick up telltale speech cues from adults around them, resulting in perceptible differences in their speech. Continue reading...
by Presented by Ian Sample and produced by Sandra Fer on (#3G2KE)
Ian Sample asks: how safe is vaping? Can it help people stop smoking? And should it be available via a doctor’s prescription?Subscribe and review on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud and Acast, and join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterIf you’re not a smoker, it may be hard to imagine the appeal of cigarettes. The idea of inhaling thousands of chemicals into your body just doesn’t seem that tempting. It’s hard to wrap your head around the addiction if you haven’t experienced it and even more difficult to appreciate how hard it is to quit. But according to a new report released by Public Health England (PHE) electronic cigarettes are significantly safer than smoking and can offer a potential aid for smoking cessation. But how much do we really know about vaping and its risks? Is there consensus between scientists and the public? And should the NHS be encouraging the use of e-cigarettes to aid quitters? Continue reading...
Worries over whether women are doing their ‘fair share’ has a clear impact on their health, according to a new analysisGuilt about not doing enough housework may be harming working women’s health, according to new analysis of data from the International Social Survey Programme.
Research shows male mice exposed to a mildly stressful event produced sperm richer in certain types of molecules called microRNAsStressed fathers may end up with changes to their sperm that could affect behaviour in their offspring, research in mice has shown.Previous work by the team found that male mice who were exposed to a mildly stressful event, such as being restrained, produced sperm that was richer in certain types of molecules called microRNAs. Continue reading...
A storm of retractions, corrections, data irregularities and controversy over duplicate publication are destroying the credibility of Cornell’s Food and Brand Lab. It’s time for the university to be open about what’s going on
I was told impact metrics could make or break careers. Instead, they broke my faith in scientific researchThe first time I heard about the impact factor I was a few weeks into my PhD. A candidate due to finish in a couple of months warned me emphatically: “It makes or breaks careers.†In my innocence, I didn’t think much about it and returned to concentrating on my research. A decade later, metrics such as these came to dominate my work and ultimately drove me to give up my permanent academic post and move into industry.
Faecal transplants have been used in medical settings to tackle superbugs, but following YouTube videos at home is too risky, say researchersConcerns have been raised about the growing trend for DIY faecal transplants, with experts fearing such attempts could put individuals at an increased risk of HIV and hepatitis as well as conditions ranging from Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis to obesity and sleep disorders.The transfer of faeces from one human to another has gained attention as a growing number of studies have suggested links between microbes in the gut and a host of health problems, from autoimmune diseases to anxiety. Continue reading...
Scientists call for caution in prescribing anticoagulants after some patients with other conditions found to suffer more strokesBlood-thinning drugs may increase rather than cut the risk of stroke in some people over 65 who have an irregular heartbeat and also chronic kidney disease, according to a new study.The researchers are calling on doctors to be more cautious in prescribing the drugs, called anticoagulants, until there has been more research. Continue reading...
