Researchers say transcranial direct-current stimulation can reduce love trauma syndrome'Breaking up, as the Neil Sedaka hit goes, is hard to do. The emotional pain of a romantic split can be so severe it has its own clinical name - love trauma syndrome, or LTS.But help could be at hand for those seeking to mend a broken heart. Research shows wearing a 400 headset for just a few minutes a day may ease the misery, negativity and depression that can accompany a failed relationship. Continue reading...
A range of scientific studies point to clear physical and mental benefits of supporting friends and family. And the deeper the engagement, the greater the feelgood factorLike many people, I find that stress transforms me into a nasty combination of Oscar the Grouch and Scrooge McDuck. The more pressure I am under, the more irritable I feel - and the less generous I become. I partly blame our culture. I've read enough wellness advice to know that I need to prioritise my own needs over other people's. And so, when I feel under pressure, I have often made it a habit to practise small indulgences aimed at restoring my mental equilibrium, while insulating myself from all but the most essential social commitments.Having read the latest psychological research, I can't help but wonder if this attitude only exacerbates my bad mood. A wealth of new studies has shown that being kind to others is often the most effective means of suppressing the physiological and psychological stress response. Whether we are giving our time to a charity, paying it forward" in a coffee shop, or providing emotional succour to a friend in need, altruism can boost our wellbeing in ways that we simply do not experience from treating ourselves. Other-care, it seems, is often one of the best forms of self-care. Continue reading...
Could a fungus trigger a Last of Us-style apocalypse? The author of What If Fungi Win? says despite dangers, the organisms are of great use to scienceArturo Casadevall is a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has spent four decades investigating how fungi can both improve and devastate life as we know it. His new book, What If Fungi Win?, charts how we might overcome the rising threat.What first fascinated you about fungi?
Wild Cat Island had always held a special place in the imagination of our son, so after his funeral we chose to try and send him on one last journeyFamously, Windermere is the setting of the children's adventure story Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome, and it's also one of our son Torin's favourite books. It appealed to his own love of adventure, mischief and all things piratical. Along with his little sister, Lowri, we embarked upon many canoe adventures together on the River Dart in the summer months, spotting wildlife and playing pirates with other boats. Torin - which means chief - was always ship's captain, of course, because the children from the story often tussled for the position. Torin also loved practical jokes. His favourite was the whoopee cushion, normally hidden very indiscreetly on a seat where you would be ordered to sit down with great anticipation and stifled giggling.Torin was born with a rare form of life-limiting, mitochondrial disease. After many lengthy admissions to Bristol Children's hospital over several years, he developed some close relationships with its staff. One of the closest was with Katie, a brilliant play therapist who, when Torin was 11, asked me if she could apply to a charity that could send a family like ours on an all-expenses-paid trip of a lifetime together. She said: Ask him where he would go if he could go anywhere in the world." Continue reading...
Subatomic instrument will be able to accurately pinpoint locations under ground and under water, where satellite signals are often blockedDr Joseph Cotter takes some unusual pieces of luggage on his trips on the London underground. They include a stainless steel vacuum chamber, a few billion atoms of rubidium and an array of lasers that are used to cool his equipment to a temperature just above absolute zero.While not the average kit you would expect to find being dragged into carriages on the District Line, this is the gear that Cotter - who works at Imperial College London's Centre for Cold Matter - uses on his underground travels. Continue reading...
The discovery of water on Enceladus excited the scientific world - now, by 2040 a robot probe will investigate if we are alone in the universeIt is a tiny world, a mere 310 miles in diameter, and was considered until recently to be one of the least interesting moons in the solar system. But Enceladus, one of 146 moons that orbit Saturn, has become a hot astronomical attraction - scientists have discovered that it offers one of the best prospects of finding life on another world in our solar system.The European Space Agency (Esa) has announced it has begun planning a mission to take a robot probe across a billion miles of space to investigate. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#6NGN1)
Herbal extract artemisinin, used in Chinese medicine, appears to stop excess testosterone productionAn antimalarial drug used in ancient Chinese medicine could be an effective treatment for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a groundbreaking study suggests.The herbal extract artemisinin appeared to stop the ovaries producing too much testosterone, and women who took the drug for 12 weeks had more regular periods. The findings from the small trial by a Chinese team have been hailed as a potential breakthrough that could lead to an entirely new approach to treating the condition that affects around one in 10 women. Continue reading...
DNA testing on 64 skeletons shows related boys were probably chosen as offerings in ancient city of Chichen ItzaGenetic analysis of the skeletons of 64 infant boys who are thought to have been sacrificed in the ancient Maya city of Chichen Itza more than a thousand years ago may shed light on the symbolic role twins played in the myths and rituals of their civilisation.In 1967, the remains of more than 100 children were found in a repurposed chultun, or underground cistern, near the sacred sinkhole at the ceremonial centre of the pre-Columbian city, which was one of the largest and most influential Maya settlements between AD600 and 1000. Continue reading...
Spikes in seismic activity detected six kilometres away from Murrayfield stadium, generated by 73,000 energised fansSeismologists in Edinburgh have found that Taylor Swift fans at her recent Murrayfield stadium concerts triggered spikes in their earthquake-reading equipment - but not as much as Harry Styles fans managed to generate last year.Monitoring stations run by the British Geological Survey (BGS) recorded movement during the three-night run of Swift's Eras tour, with one station detecting the activity six kilometres away. Continue reading...
Hopkins' Sigmund Freud locks horns with Matthew Goode's CS Lewis in an imaginary encounter that is watchable but not terribly profoundHere is a determinedly old-fashioned drama, verbose and elaborate but also forthright and watchable in its way. It is a Stoppardian what-if meeting, imagining a bruising encounter between two celebrated historical figures who could, theoretically, have run into each other; it is adapted by director Matt Brown from a stage-play by American dramatist Mark St Germain, in turn inspired by a 2002 book by Harvard psychiatrist Armand Nicholi who had seized upon a report that Sigmund Freud met with an unnamed Oxford don just before his death. What if that don was CS Lewis, the Christian apologist who in his 1933 book The Pilgrim's Regress had mocked atheist Freudianism and every other sort of godless trendiness?Anthony Hopkins plays Freud at the very end of his life in exile in London in 1939 as war breaks out, in agony from mouth cancer. Matthew Goode is Lewis (also once famously played by Hopkins himself, of course, in the film Shadowlands), for whom fame through the wartime broadcasts and Narnia bestsellers was still in the future. Hopkins' Freud is querulous, cantankerous and bad-tempered; Goode's Lewis is diffident and supercilious. Lewis says Freud's worldview is morally evasive; Freud smirkingly suggests that Lewis's emotional relationship with the mother of his fallen first world war comrade is classic neurosis. Continue reading...
by Presented by Ian Sample, produced by Holly Fisher, on (#6NG48)
Here in the UK talking about the weather is already a national pastime, but this month the water-cooler weather chat has ramped up a notch as rain, grey skies and biting temperatures have put summer firmly on hold. Ian Sample talks to Matt Patterson, a postdoctoral research scientist in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading, to find out what's causing the chilly weather, whether it's really as unusual as it seems, and whether any sun is on the horizon for the UKFind out more about what's going on with the weather in First Edition Continue reading...
Japanese scientists find blocking production in killifish of germ cells closes lifespan gap between males and femalesThe enduring mystery of why women outlive men may come down to the smallest and the largest cells in the body: the sperm and eggs that are central to human reproduction.Scientists in Japan have shown for the first time in vertebrates that cells that develop into eggs in females and sperm in males drive sex differences in lifespan, and that removing the cells leads to animals with the same life expectancy. Continue reading...
Nasa livestream from space station inadvertently airs ongoing simulation, briefly sparking concern for crewNasa has been forced to deny that there was an emergency situation on board the International Space Station (ISS), after an official livestream accidentally aired a medical drill which simulated a crew member in extreme medical distress, prompting alarm on social media.There is no emergency situation going on aboard the International Space Station," Nasa's ISS account posted on X. Audio was inadvertently misrouted from an ongoing simulation where crew members and ground teams train for various scenarios in space." Continue reading...
by Kat Lay Global health correspondent on (#6NFS1)
The 8m award goes to system that could herald sea change' in antibiotic use by identifying correct treatment for urinary tract infections within 45 minutesAn 8m prize for a breakthrough in the fight against superbugs has been awarded, after a decade-long search for a winner, to a test that can identify how to treat a urinary tract infection in 45 minutes.The test could herald a sea change" in antibiotic use, the judges said as they announced the winner of the Longitude prize on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Continue reading...
Musk ordered firings after engineers raised concerns about alleged sexual harassment and discrimination, lawsuit saysSpaceX and its chief executive, Elon Musk, were sued on Wednesday by eight engineers who say they were illegally fired for raising concerns about alleged sexual harassment and discrimination against women, their lawyers have said.The eight engineers include four women and four men and claim that Musk, who owns the rocket-maker, the electric carmaker Tesla and the social media platform Twitter/X, ordered their firing in 2022. Continue reading...
It took a team of four a week to reassemble the skeleton, which is one of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossils on EarthWhen the crates containing the fossilised bones of Victoria the T rex arrived at Melbourne Museum, one of Australia's leading palaeontologists was giddy with excitement - and trepidation.It's the closest I've ever got to the skull of a T rex," Dr Erich Fitzgerald says. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: Is it really that cold for this time of year or have we just got used to recent warmer summers? Meteorologists say it's a bit of both Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. First of all an apology, yesterday's newsletter was sent out in error - we apologise for the mistake, and below is today's First Edition.Isn't it an unseasonably chilly one? Yesterday I found myself fishing out a winter wooly hat for the morning dog walk here in London. But is it really that cold for mid-June or do we all just think it's cold because we've got used to recent warmer summers caused by the climate crisis and global heating?General election | The Green Party launches its manifesto today with proposals to spend 49bn insulating homes and public buildings and to let councils requisition empty properties.Child exploitation | Hundreds of unaccompanied child migrants across Europe are being forced to work as soldiers for increasingly powerful drug cartels to meet the continent's soaring appetite for cocaine, a Guardian investigation has found, with police warning of industrial-scale exploitation of African children in western European cities including Paris and Brussels.Israel-Gaza | The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said endorsement of the UN security council's ceasefire resolution by Hamas officials was a hopeful sign", but the group's leadership in Gaza needed to sign off on the deal.Heath | Tobacco, alcohol, processed foods and fossil fuels kill 2.7 million people a year in Europe, according to the World Health Organization, which has called on governments to impose tougher regulation of health-harming products.France | Eric Ciotti, the leader of France's mainstream rightwing Les Republicains party, has said he would back an alliance with Marine Le Pen's far right National Rally in the snap legislative elections later this month, shocking opponents and party members and throwing French politics into further disarray. Continue reading...
More than 110,000 children in England and Scotland are still suffering. For Toby, it has meant pain, crushing fatigue and sadness - as well as months off schoolIt is a few days after Arsenal have beaten Spurs and I'm discussing the game with 12-year-old Toby. A huge Tottenham Hotspur supporter, Toby is also magnanimous in defeat. He admits that, despite a major second-half wobble, Arsenal (my team) are playing better football at the moment. Davies couldn't handle Saka, Son has gone off the boil, only Romero came out with any credit.I'm enjoying talking football with Toby. He is clearly incredibly knowledgable as well as passionate about it. It's zero surprise to learn he has three fantasy football teams on the go. Continue reading...
Biochemist found cholesterol-lowering compound in 1973 and the drugs have prolonged millions of livesThe scientist whose work led to the creation of statins, a chemical that prevents heart attacks and strokes, has died aged 90.Akira Endo found the first cholesterol-lowering compound in 1973 in a lab in Tokyo. The Japanese biochemist was said to have been inspired by Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin in 1928, which lead him to study mould or fungi in order to develop medicines. Continue reading...
Scientists say atmospheric levels of damaging gases peaked five years ahead of projections, as substances phased outInternational efforts to protect the ozone layer have been a huge global success", scientists have said, after revealing that damaging gases in the atmosphere were declining faster than expected.The Montreal protocol, signed in 1987, aimed to phase out ozone-depleting substances found primarily in refrigeration, air conditioning and aerosol sprays. Continue reading...
US study suggests gene activity is more disrupted in men, and takes longer to return to normal once back on EarthWhen faced with acid-dripping aliens, an untested machine that travels through wormholes, or a space station shattered by hurtling debris, it is the tough female astronaut who steps up to save the day.And perhaps Hollywood is on to something. A major study into the impact of spaceflight suggests women may be more resilient than men to the stresses of space, and recover more quickly when they return to Earth. Continue reading...
by Presented by Ian Sample with Linda Geddes, produce on (#6NEBJ)
Ian Sample hears from Linda Geddes about her recent trip to the Netherlands to try cultivated meat sausages, courtesy of the company Meatable. Advocates say that cultivated meat could be the future of sustainable and ethical meat production. Linda explains how they're made, how their carbon footprint compares with traditional meat and most importantly ... what they taste like!Read more from Linda Geddes on her trip to the Netherlands Continue reading...
Seven Przewalski's horses, the only truly wild species of the animal in the world, flown to central Asian country from zoos in EuropeA group of the world's last wild horses have returned to their native Kazakhstan after an absence of about 200 years. The seven horses, four mares from Berlin and a stallion and two other mares from Prague, were flown to the central Asian country on a Czech air force transport plane.The wild horses, known as Przewalski's horses, once roamed the vast steppe grasslands of central Asia, where horses are believed to have been first domesticated about 5,500 years ago. Continue reading...
Researchers used artificial intelligence algorithm to analyse calls by two herds of African savanna elephants in KenyaElephants call out to each other using individual names that they invent for their fellow pachyderms, according to a new study.While dolphins and parrots have been observed addressing each other by mimicking the sound of others from their species, elephants are the first non-human animals known to use names that do not involve imitation, the researchers suggested. Continue reading...
The designs behind practical joke toysEarlier today I set you these two problems about curious objects. Here they are again with solutions. Continue reading...
Thin dusting of water ice appears to form overnight in summit craters and evaporate after sunrise, scientists sayEarly morning frost has been spotted on some of the largest mountains in the solar system - the colossal Martian volcanoes that rise up to three times the height of Mount Everest near the planet's equator.In colder months the fine dusting of ice, thinner than a human hair, appears to form overnight in the volcanoes' summit craters, or calderas, and on sections of their rims and then to evaporate a few hours after sunrise. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#6NDQ9)
Chinese scientists say further research on potential harm to reproduction from contamination is imperative'Microplastic pollution has been found in all human semen samples tested in a study, and researchers say further research on the potential harm to reproduction is imperative".Sperm counts in men have been falling for decades and 40% of low counts remain unexplained, although chemical pollution has been implicated by many studies. Continue reading...
This weekend offers an opportunity to watch stars that make up Virgo, the second largest constellation in night skyThe moon moves into a nice conjunction with the star Spica this weekend. The chart shows the view looking south-south-west from London on 16 June at 22.00 BST.On this evening, the moon will be almost 10 days old with about 75% of its visible surface illuminated. Since the ratio is greater than 50%, this puts it in a waxing gibbous moon heading for full in the next few days. Continue reading...
Experts say fluorescent dye, which spotlights tiny cancerous tissue invisible to naked eye, could reduce risk of cancer returningScientists have developed a glowing dye that sticks to cancer cells and gives surgeons a second pair of eyes" to remove them in real time and permanently eradicate the disease. Experts say the breakthrough could reduce the risk of cancer coming back and prevent debilitating side-effects.The fluorescent dye spotlights tiny cancerous tissue that cannot be seen by the naked eye, enabling surgeons to remove every last cancer cell while preserving healthy tissue. That could mean fewer life-changing side effects after surgery. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6ND6V)
Scheme will enable siblings and children of those with fatal condition to know if they are likely to develop it themselvesRelatives of people with motor neurone disease are being offered genetic tests that will tell them if they are also likely to get the fatal neurological condition.Siblings and children of the approximately 5,000 people in Britain with MND will be able to access a test that will identify if they have any of the more than 40 genes associated with the disease. Continue reading...
We're 50 years apart and have never met, but my connection with Pauline is deeper than I could have imaginedAll best friends were strangers once. Why, then, does reaching out to someone you don't know, making platonic connections in the modern world, feel like such a bold, even brave thing to do?Let me tell you about my friend, Pauline. Like all good friends, we make a point of catching up at least once a week, talking for hours about everything and nothing at all. But Pauline and I, while always there for each other, are unlike more conventional companions because, as well as being born 50-odd years apart, and living several hundred miles from each other, we've never actually met. We're telephone friends. Continue reading...
American astronaut who took the celebrated 1968 Earthrise photograph during the Apollo 8 mission to orbit the moonIt may be that the most famous picture from the US space programme is not the shot of Neil Armstrong landing on the moon, but the image of Earth, seen rising above the moon's horizon, an image relayed from space on 24 December 1968 by the crew of Apollo 8 - Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders.It was Anders, who has died aged 90, who snapped the Earthrise" photograph, which was not part of the mission's scheduled protocol. And it was he who read first from the Book of Genesis during their live transmission from lunar orbit that Christmas Eve. Continue reading...
Nine years after his first trip to outer space, Tim Peake is ready to blast off once again. He talks about preparing for the first all-British space mission - and setting his sights on MarsThe astronaut Tim Peake is tracking his cab driver on his phone. The car that will deliver him from our meeting to his next appointment (on a day packed with radio commitments) is late and Peake is calculating the most time-efficient route for us to meander through Soho's traffic, on foot, to reach it. Peake is the seventh UK-born astronaut in space and the first Briton to spacewalk - an unfathomable feat for us, but not for him. Space, he agrees, casting a glance at a printout of the schedule he keeps in his jacket pocket, might be easier to navigate than rush hour on Earth.We have already been chatting for an hour, in a snug above his agent's office. He announced his retirement as a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut in January 2023, but we're meeting in the wake of news that he is preparing for a return to orbit on the first ever all-British space mission. That mission is due to launch next year and Peake is expected to be announced as the flight's commander within the coming weeks. The radio interviews he's conducting today coincide with a deadline for British businesses to make a case for their science to be included onboard, to be tested in microgravity as a priority for the mission: a strident bid to showcase Britain's Stem capabilities on an outer-world stage. Continue reading...
Oxford University team say thousands of lives could be saved by technology that finds hidden data in CT scansAn artificial intelligence system that can identify people who are likely to suffer heart attacks up to 10 years in the future could soon be in operation across Britain.The technology, which could save thousands of lives a year, is being assessed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) and a decision on its use in the NHSisexpected by the end of theyear. Continue reading...
Rather than stretching to infinity and beyond, the universe may have a topology that can eventually be mappedWe may be living in a doughnut. It sounds like Homer Simpson's fever dream, but that could be the shape of the entire universe - to be exact, a hyperdimensional doughnut that mathematicians call a 3-torus.This is just one of the many possibilities for the topology of the cosmos. We're trying to find the shape of space," says Yashar Akrami of the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Madrid, a member of an international partnership called Compact (Collaboration for Observations, Models and Predictions of Anomalies and Cosmic Topology). In May, the Compact team explained that the question of the shape of the universe remains wide open and surveyed the future prospects for pinning it down. Continue reading...
A male equivalent to the female birth control pill has not yet materialized, but a clinical trial shows encouraging resultsHumans have managed to put men on the moon, clone mammals and develop nuclear bombs powerful enough to end civilization in a matter of minutes. One advancement that has remained elusive, however? Male birth control. Continue reading...
Retired major general, 90, killed when his plane plunged into waters off Washington state's San Juan IslandsRetired Maj Gen William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the famous Earthrise photo showing the planet as a shadowed blue marble from space in 1968, was killed Friday when the plane he was piloting alone plummeted into the waters off the San Juan Islands in Washington state. He was 90.The family is devastated," said his son, retired air force Lt Col Greg Anders, who confirmed the death to the Associated Press. He was a great pilot and we will miss him terribly." Continue reading...
Exposure to toxic particles also led to $432bn in health expenses between 2008 and 2018More than 50,000 people have died prematurely in California over a decade due to exposure to toxic particles in wildfire smoke, according to a new study.Wildfires create smoke containing PM2.5, tiny particles roughly one-thirtieth of a human hair that can embed themselves deep in the lungs and enter the bloodstream. The particles have been linked to numerous health conditions and premature death. Previous research has found that the wildfire smoke is exposing millions of people in the US to the harmful pollutant. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#6NC73)
Buronius manfredschmidi estimated to have weighed just 10kg and was about the size of a human toddlerThe smallest known great ape has been discovered in Germany, dating to 11m years ago.The tiny creature, far smaller than any other great ape on record, is estimated to have weighed 10kg (1st 8lbs), about the size of a human toddler. The species, called Buronius manfredschmidi, is an ancient hominid, part of the ancestral family that gave rise to modern humans, gorillas and chimpanzees. Continue reading...
by Andrew Gregory Health editor in Chicago on (#6NBVK)
World's largest cancer conference in Chicago shares impressive' findings in vaccines, drug trials and AIAt the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, the world's largest cancer conference, doctors, scientists and researchers shared new findings on ways to tackle the disease.The event in Chicago, attended by about 44,000 health professionals, featured more than 200 sessions focused on this year's theme, The Art and Science of Cancer Care: From Comfort to Cure. Here is a roundup of the key studies. Continue reading...
by Kat Lay, Global health correspondent on (#6NBQG)
Heat stress and increase in insect-borne diseases particularly acute in smaller states, warns secretary general Lady ScotlandClimate change is now the biggest concern facing health ministers in Commonwealth countries, the organisation's secretary general has warned.Patricia Scotland said it was a reality today" rather than a problem of the future, with impacts such as heat stress and increases in insect-borne diseases particularly acute in smaller states. Continue reading...
by Edward Helmore and Richard Luscombe on (#6NB45)
Successful maneuver means two US-built crewed spacecraft are anchored to ISS simultaneously for first timeBoeing's pioneering Starliner capsule and its two astronauts overcame a technical hiccup to finally dock with the international space station on Thursday, as Nasa continued to monitor two separate helium leaks that have concerned mission managers.A first attempt at the rendezvous was called off when engineers at the US space agency detected a problem with reaction control thrusters essential to the high-precision docking maneuver. Continue reading...
The hour-long test flight of the world's most powerful rocket was followed by a splashdown in the Indian OceanStarship, the mighty space rocket designed by Elon Musk's SpaceX company, recorded its first fully successful test flight on Thursday, splashing down in the Indian Ocean minus any fiery explosion that ended previous attempts.The demonstration mission from the Boca Chica launch complex in Texas sent Starship to almost 130 miles (210km) of altitude, at a speed above 16,000mph (25,700km/h), showcasing the capability of the world's most powerful rocket that Nasa is banking on to one day send humans to Mars. Continue reading...
Up to 90% lost in the blink of an eye', say scientists studying Cyclone Ilsa's effect on birds on Western Australian islandIncreased tropical cyclones due to global heating could lead to dramatic declines in seabird populations, according to a new study.Scientists found that after Cyclone Ilsa - a category-5 tropical cyclone - hit Bedout Island in Western Australia in April 2023, several seabird populations experienced a collapse of 80-90% due to the storm at the internationally important breeding site. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#6NB1W)
Scan could become routine procedure in memory clinics if findings confirmed in larger cohort, scientists sayA 10-minute brain scan could detect dementia several years before people develop noticeable symptoms, a study suggests.Scientists used a scan of resting" brain activity to identify whether people would go on to develop dementia, with an estimated 80% accuracy up to nine years before people received a diagnosis. If the findings were confirmed in a larger cohort, the scan could become a routine procedure in memory clinics, scientists said. Continue reading...
by Presented by Ian Sample with Robin McKie, produced on (#6NAV6)
A court in the Philippines has banned the commercial growth of golden rice, a genetically modified rice which was created to help tackle vitamin A deficiency in developing countries. It's just the latest twist in a long and controversial journey for this rice. Ian Sample hears from the Observer science and environment editor, Robin McKie, and from Glenn Stone, a research professor of environmental science at Sweet Briar College in Virginia who is also an anthropologist who has studied golden rice, about why it has taken so long for this potentially life-saving technology to reach the fields, if it is the silver bullet so many had hoped for, and whether this ban is really the end of the story Continue reading...
Launch from Cape Canaveral carrying two Nasa astronauts comes seven years after capsule's original target dateTwo Nasa astronauts were on their way to the international space station on Wednesday after Boeing's pioneering Starliner capsule finally made its much delayed first crewed flight from Cape Canaveral.The visually stunning liftoff, against a mostly clear and blue Florida sky, came seven years beyond the spacecraft's original target date, five years after the failure of an uncrewed test flight, and following a more recent series of postponements for technical reasons that saw launch attempts aborted twice. Continue reading...
Science | The Guardian