Science | The Guardian

Cancer cell detector made of material that won its inventors Nobel prize is hailed as clinical milestone'A revolutionary device designed to transform the surgical treatment of brain tumours is set to have its first clinical trial in what scientists say could be a major medical breakthrough.The brain chip can pinpoint cancer cells through differences in their electrical emissions compared with those of healthy neural tissue. Continue reading...

Richard Scolyer was one of the world's leading melanoma researchers when he was struck with a brain tumour. Facing likely death, his team made him a guinea pig for his own medicine

A rare variation of the phenomenon in which people's senses are intermingled involves the mind's eye seeing speech in captions. Scientists believe the condition arises from excessive neural connectivity and stimulationImagine having a conversation with someone and seeing each word they use appear before your eyes like subtitles in a film, or even as speech bubbles near the speaker's mouth. Now, picture trying to read a book on a crowded train, only to have the sentences spoken around you intrude on your vision, as if they were printed right in front of your eyes. Or, even more intriguing, seeing your own thoughts written out in your mind's eye. This is the everyday experience of those living with ticker-tape synaesthesia.When you and I talk, everything you say appears as written words in my mind," says Francois Le Chevalier, 73, over Zoom. It's just like when I am reading - sometimes the words appear handwritten, other times typewritten, and occasionally even in bold." Continue reading...

Advocates urge government to allow precision breeding' to combat disease, but RSPCA warns of ethical dangersMinisters are preparing to introduce legislation that will permit the growing of gene-edited crops in England and Wales. But the new legislation will not cover the use of this technology to create farm animals that have increased resistance to disease or lower carbon footprints.The decision has dismayed some senior scientists, who had expected both uses of gene editing would be given the go-ahead. They fear the decision could hold back the creation of hardier, healthier herds and flocks. Animal welfare groups have welcomed the move, however. Continue reading...

Cambridge home of the engineer who developed fuel system used on Apollo 11 is to receive a blue plaqueIt has been nearly 70 years since Francis Thomas Bacon developed a source of clean green energy that would help power the first moon landing and change the course of history.Yet, few are aware of the Essex-born, Cambridge-based engineer whose invention of the first working hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell helped send Apollo 11 to the moon. His pioneering work is still a source of inspiration for scientists working on renewable energy solutions today. Continue reading...

Dancers and audiences are being fitted with electrode caps as part of a massive neurological study into how we respond to live performance - and the findings go far beyond what was first imaginedThe gel felt cold on my scalp and I had to forget how silly I must have looked, because we were in the midst of some serious science. This was back in 2021, anyway, still in the land of anti-bac and face masks - I'd long got over looking a bit silly in public in the name of science. The dance hub Siobhan Davies Studios in south London had been turned into a science lab, and I was being fitted with what looked like an elaborate swimming cap. It had electrodes dotted all over it to measure my brain activity, and the gel being squeezed into the holes aided the connection between electrode and scalp.I was playing a small part in a pioneering five-year research project, Neurolive. Run by cognitive neuroscientist Dr Guido Orgs and choreographer Matthias Sperling, it brings together neuroscience and dance to investigate what's happening in our brains when we watch live performance. The audience/guinea pigs, of which I was one, filed into the studio wired up to backpacks full of tech and watched a duet called Detective Work, where two performers danced out an abstract mystery dressed in suave green suits. I was very aware of being monitored. I'm a dance critic, and it felt as if I was being tested. Would my brain do the right thing? Continue reading...

Researchers report rise in material falling back to Earth and growing emissions from satellite megaconstellationsIt is easy to understand how the flame and power of rocket launches could cause air pollution. Less obvious is the air pollution caused by rocket parts, spacecraft and satellites re-entering the atmosphere.A new global inventory has catalogued air pollution from space activities from 2020 to 2022. The inventory includes time, position and pollution from 446 launchers as they ascended and the tracks of re-entries as objects are heated to extreme temperatures and break up or burn up in the upper atmosphere. Continue reading...

Australian mathematicians call into question the infinite monkey theorem' in new research on old adageMathematicians have called into question the old adage that a monkey typing randomly at a keyboard for long enough would eventually produce the complete works of Shakespeare.Two Australian mathematicians have deemed it misleading, working out that even if all the chimpanzees in the world were given the entire lifespan of the universe, they would almost certainly" never pen the works of the bard. Continue reading...

Risk of diabetes and high blood pressure significantly lower in middle age in UK adults given low-sugar diets in the womb and as infantsCutting the amount of sugar children get in the womb and as toddlers can protect them against diabetes and high blood pressure in adulthood, research suggests.The finding reveals a critical period for healthy nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life as babies initially absorb nutrients from their mother and move on to formulas and infant foods. Continue reading...

Set up to conserve traditional seeds, the Genetic Resources Research Institute is now helping smallholders diversify with crops resilient to the rapid changes in climateOn a winding road in the densely forested Kikuyu highlands of south-central Kenya lies a nondescript government building: the Genetic Resources Research Institute. Opened in 1988, during the country's green revolution", this little-known national gene bank was set up to hold and conserve seeds from the traditional crops that were in danger of disappearing as farmers and agricultural industry moved to higher-yield varieties.For decades, it has collaborated with researchers studying crop genetics and others working to develop improved varieties. But as the climate crisis worsens food insecurity, the repository of about 50,000 seed and crop collections could become a lifeline for farmers. Continue reading...

Biodiversity correspondent Phoebe Weston takes Madeleine Finlay through the news from the UN Cop16 biodiversity summit in Cali, Colombia. Countries are wrangling over funding to protect nature and who should profit from the natural resources of the world's least developed nationsFollow all the news from Cop 16 Continue reading...

To proceed would divide a profession that has only recently found a fragile unity via the Professional Standards Authority, writes Prof Andrew SamuelsAs a former chair of the UK Council for Psychotherapy, who led our fight against statutory regulation in the first decade of this century, I am disquieted to read of what feels like a new and unreflective rush towards statutory regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists, suffused with all kinds of sectional interests and hidden agendas (Letters, 25 October). To proceed will divide a profession that has only fairly recently found a fragile unity via the government-backed Professional Standards Authority, in which the vast majority of psychotherapists and counsellors sit in their specialist registers.Two things are needed: when someone is struck off for serious offences, the relevant registration body must make the decision known far andwide. They must pursue those scofflaws who just open another website. And there needs to be a national campaign to alert the public: Psychotherapy may be of help to you. Ask any prospective psychotherapist with whom they are registered. If they are not in any way connected to the Professional Standards Authority, we suggest you look elsewhere."

Tadpole that wriggled around 160m years ago surpasses previous record holder by about 20m yearsScientists have discovered the oldest-known fossil of a giant tadpole that wriggled around over 160m years ago.The new fossil, found in Argentina, surpasses the previous ancient record holder by about 20m years. Continue reading...

Researchers come up with theory for why jump scares' are often followed by laughter - with advice on how to find sweet spot' of fearWhether it's a friend jumping out from behind a bush or accidentally walking into a web of fake cobwebs, most of us will have fallen victim to a scare prank at some point.Now scientists have come up with a theory for why jump scares" are so often followed by laughter - with insights for pranksters hoping to concoct Halloween tricks that tickle rather than terrify. Continue reading...

Unlike the US, Canada and Australia, the UK is only giving free boosters to some. But the cost of restricting them could be hugeTrust me, no one, even in public health or medicine, wants to talk or think about Covid-19. The trauma of those pandemic years is burnt into our minds. But, whether we want to deal with it or not, Covid-19 is still affecting all of us, and circulating at fairly high levels in Britain this month. While community surveys are no longer conducted by the Office for National Statistics to estimate overall cases, hospital data from England indicates that the weekly hospital admission rate for Covid-19 is at 4.64 for every 100,000 people, with the north-east region at 8.91.These figures just cover people who are admitted to hospital and don't reflect those suffering at home or attending GP clinics. While we were mainly fixated on death rates during the pandemic, the longer legacy concerns people who had and cleared the infection, but are still suffering - what is usually referred to as long Covid.Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh Continue reading...

Range of species have ethanol in diet, normally arising through fermented fruits, sap and nectarHumans may have turned drinking into something of an art form but when it comes to animals putting alcohol away, Homo sapiens are not such an outlier, researchers say.A review of published evidence shows that alcohol occurs naturally in nearly every ecosystem on Earth, making it likely that most animals that feast on sugary fruits and nectar regularly imbibe the intoxicating substance. Continue reading...

Participants bonded more after watching films that sparked intense emotionsWhether it is laughing at a classic comedy or watching a horror film from behind a cushion, movies can generate myriad feelings. Now researchers say experiencing intense emotions alongside others makes people feel more connected - provided you can see them.It has long been known that experiencing emotional events together can strengthen bonds between people, with a previous study finding that watching emotional films with another person makes people feel more connected. Continue reading...

Research reveals positive cognitive health impacts of exercising once or twice a week are much the same as exercising more oftenCramming your exercise into the weekend not only brings physical benefits on a par with regular workouts, but is just as good for your brain, a study suggests.Research has previously revealed that physical exercise is associated with better brain health and lower risk of dementia in older age. Continue reading...

Mark Steyn lost a high court battle against Ofcom who he claimed killed' his career with rulings about Covid commentsA former GB News presenter who lost a high court battle with Ofcom has been ordered to pay 50,000 in legal costs before the final bill is determined.Mark Steyn claimed the regulator had killed" his career with rulings about Covid content on two of his 2022 shows, but in July Mrs Justice Farbey dismissed his legal challenge. Continue reading...

Archaeologists draw on laser mapping to find city they have named Valeriana, thought to have been founded pre-AD150After swapping machetes and binoculars for computer screens and laser mapping, a team of researchers have stumbled on a lost Maya city of temple pyramids, enclosed plazas and a reservoir, all of which had been hidden for centuries by the Mexican jungle.The discovery in the south-eastern Mexican state of Campeche came about after Luke Auld-Thomas, an anthropologist at Northern Arizona University, began wondering whether non-archaeological uses of the state-of-the-art laser mapping known as lidar could help shed light on the Maya world. Continue reading...

In avatar therapy, a clinician gives voice to their patients' inner demons. For some of the participants in a new trial, the results have been astoundingIn the summer of 2019, when Joe was 21, he went on a university rugby tour of California. One night, one of his teammates bought some cannabis edibles to share, and Joe ate some. For the next 12 hours, he believed he was in hell. He was on fire; his body was suffused with pain. His ears were filled first with incoherent screaming and then with sinister whispering. Joe's friends thought their teammate's bad trip was funny, even as they wrestled him away from the windows when he tried to jump from the seventh floor of their hotel.When he woke up the next morning, Joe was still in hell. A devilish, humanoid form lurking in the periphery of his vision was telling him he had died the previous night. A chorus of other voices joined in, wailing in agony. They were entirely real to him, even though he knew they couldn't be. He had a rugby match to play, and 10 minutes in, he couldn't see or feel his hands; he couldn't move. His teammates laughed as he came off the pitch. Poor old Joe. Continue reading...

A startup company, Heliospect Genomics, is offering to help wealthy couples screen their embryos for IQ using controversial technology that raises questions about the ethics of genetic enhancement. Science correspondent Hannah Devlin tells Madeleine Finlay about the joint investigation into the company by the Guardian and the campaign group Hope Not HateUS startup charging couples to screen embryos for IQ' Continue reading...

While decline in interactions is seen as negative for humans, it can have health benefits for animalsWhile Victor Meldrew was a cantankerous caricature, humans are known to become less social as they get older. Now researchers say we are not alone with many animals behaving in the same way - and the trait is not always a bad thing.Experts studying animals from wild deer to insects, monkeys and birds have revealed a host of insights into the relationship between age and social connections. Continue reading...

The answer to today's polling puzzleEarlier today I asked you the following puzzle, about voters who give wrong answers to opinion polls because they embarrassed to admit to their preferences. Here it is again with a solution.The shy voter puzzle Continue reading...

Therapy involves patients talking with animated digital representations of voices they hearYou tried to tell yourself I wasn't real': what happens when people with acute psychosis meet the voices in their heads?Digital characters - avatars - could help people with psychosis hear voices less often and reduce the distress caused, research suggests.The therapy involves a series of guided sessions during which patients are able to have a conversation with an animated digital representation of their distressing voice. Continue reading...

My friend and colleague Stephan Harding, who has died aged 71, was a scientist, ecologist and teacher. At the heart of his work lay his deep feeling for the Earth and his belief in the planet as a living intelligence.As teacher and resident ecologist, he was one of the five founding faculty at Schumacher College, a progressive institution for ecological studies created in 1991 as part of Dartington Hall Trust in Totnes, Devon. Continue reading...

Prof Kelly Chibale says the world is failing to take advantage of African genetic diversity, and everyone could be losing outAfrica has the greatest variety in human genes anywhere on the planet but the world is failing to capitalise on it, according one of the continent's leading scientists, Prof Kelly Chibale, a man determined to change that. He believes the birthplace of humanity could hold the scientific key to its future.About 18% of the global population lives in Africa - a proportion set to rise over the next few decades - and it accounts for 20% of the global disease burden. But only 3% of clinical trials take place on the continent, and most of those in just two countries - South Africa and Egypt. Continue reading...

The perils of opinion pollsUPDATE: Solution now upToday's puzzle is about voters who are embarrassed to tell pollsters what they really think.In elections past, right wing parties like the Conservatives have often done better than opinion polls predict. One explanation is that shy Tory' voters lie to pollsters because they are embarrassed to admit their preferences in public. With the US polls neck and neck, the existence of shy Trump voters could decide the election. (As could shy Harris voters, of course.) Continue reading...

Team at Nottingham Trent University is investigating how chemotherapy in early life could damage nerve cellsTreatments that could help alleviate the chronic pain experienced by thousands of childhood cancer survivors are being investigated by scientists and researchers in the UK.About eight out of 10 children survive their cancer for 10 years or more but more than half of them report delayed and ongoing pain in adulthood. Continue reading...

The dark months make nature harder to access, but these simple activities will help you stay connected to itAs the clocks go back today, it's worth remembering that even though we may consider ourselves to be a nation of nature lovers, in a recent study people in the UK were found to be more disconnected from the natural world than most of our European neighbours. And the result is a decline not just in nature's wellbeing but in ours, too. And, though it's harder to get out and enjoy nature with longer nights and shorter days, the good news is that a new relationship with nature can start very simply, with eight everyday activities close to home. What matters is not the amount of time you spend in nature, but what you do with that time. Continue reading...

Research shows up to 80% in some communities missed getting full vaccine jabsPeople from ethnic minority groups in the UK are twice as likely to be under-vaccinated against Covid-19 compared with individuals who have a white British background.That is the striking finding of a study carried out by scientists at Health Data Research UK, which indicates that people from these groups are more likely to need hospital treatment or risk death from Covid because they lack full protection against the disease. Continue reading...

More than half the women in the UK over the age of 50 will suffer a fracture. But can more awareness - and some heavy lifting - help us beat many of the effects of osteoporosis?Imagine a room full of women. Imagine half of them breaking a bone. What will it be? Hip? Spine? Wrist? Neck? Imagine the plaster casts, the metal screws, the pain, the immobility, the grief - a third of those who break a hip will die within a year, according to the NHS. The Royal Osteoporosis Society says one in two women over 50 in the UK will get a fracture due to osteoporosis. And that just doesn't need to happen.Thanks to many factors, including neglect and gender bias in medicine, midlife women are not told about the simple preventive measures they can take to maintain healthy bones. Your bones are silent until they break. And then they scream," says Dr Vonda Wright, a campaigning American orthopaedic surgeon and the author of Fitness After 40: How to Stay Strong at Any Age. Continue reading...

British capital may be second only to New York in the number of at-risk languages spoken, says Ross PerlinLife in London has been mapped according to its health, wealth, land ownership, politics and transport at key points in its long history. But it is now hoped it can be charted in a way that tells a different story: the story of language itself.Ross Perlin, an academic who claimed a prestigious 25,000 book prize last week, now hopes to start work on a mapping project with British researchers that would reveal the whereabouts of the speakers of the capital's most at-risk languages. The map, they believe, would be a first step to saving them. Continue reading...

Unidentified member of team who returned in SpaceX capsule from ISS had been kept for observationA Nasa astronaut who was briefly hospitalised after returning from space has been released, the space agency said Saturday.Nasa's Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps, and Russia's Alexander Grebenkin, were flown to the hospital for additional medical checks on Friday after parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast on board a SpaceX capsule. Continue reading...

Research and development is an investment, not a cost, and if the UK is to maintain its world-leading position it must commit to long-term fundingThe research sector has been a consistent, if sometimes undervalued, UK success story, with countless examples of breakthroughs that have transformed our understanding of the world and the way we live in it, and contributed significantly to our health and wealth.In Manchester last week we celebrated 20 years since the Nobel prize-winning discovery of graphene by researchers at the University of Manchester. Graphene has completely reshaped many research areas including materials science and condensed matter physics, reaching far beyond into life sciences, and now gradually but steadily expanding into industrial and consumer products. Continue reading...

Goosebumps, tears, a sense of solidarity... There's a name for that feeling, and its manifestations - from Swifties handing out friendship bracelets to strong responses to political messaging - can bring good and illI am about 20 minutes into my conversation with the psychological anthropologist Alan Fiske when he starts talking about a lost kitten. If you saw it outside, you would go pick it up and stop it getting run over by a truck, check if it's hungry, and make sure it's warm and safe," he says. Your heart goes out to it."I'm not an ardent cat lover, and I don't consider myself to be an especially soppy person, but his words send chills down my neck. I feel something open in my chest and my eyes start prickling. Continue reading...

Patients responded well in times of high environment demand' because sense of urgency led to hyperfocusA recent study has revealed that some people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) cope best during periods of high stress.Maggie Sibley, a clinical psychologist and psychiatry professor at the University of Washington and the study's lead author, initially set out to learn whether it is possible for adults to recover from ADHD. In an earlier study, published in 2022, she investigated a National Institute of Mental Health data set that tracked 600 patients with ADHD over 16 years, starting from childhood. Continue reading...

New exhibition shows how Perth museum traced Ta-Kr-Hb mummy's origin to Kingdom of Kush - modern day SudanAn ancient Egyptian sarcophagus has been a prized object in Perth Museum since it was donated to the Scottish collection in 1936. Now the face of the woman mummified and buried inside it about 2,500 years ago has been brought to life in a dramatic digital reconstruction.The curators and expert who recreated her believe she was a black woman from the kingdom of Kush, one of the largest empires in the ancient world, which took control of Upper Egypt and whose lands included modern-day Sudan. The reconstructed head and her sarcophagus will feature in the museum's forthcoming exhibition, Waters Rising, opening on 8 November. Continue reading...

As an airport limits goodbye cuddles to three minutes, here's a guide to different embraces, and their positive effectsBe it a brief squeeze or a bone-crushing bear hug, few can deny the comfort of a farewell cuddle from a person you love. Yet in an effort to keep traffic flowing at Dunedin international airport on New Zealand's South Island, bosses have decided to impose a three-minute cap on hugging in the airport's drop-off zone.Passengers wishing to engage in longer and fonder farewells have been instructed to use the car park instead. Continue reading...

Four-member mission splashed off Florida coast and one is under observation for an unspecified medical conditionA Nasa astronaut who just returned from the International Space Station has been hospitalized for an unspecified medical condition but remains stable, according to the US space agency.The four-member Crew-8 mission splashed down off the coast of Florida early on Friday after nearly eight months aboard the orbital laboratory. Continue reading...

Expert says any suggestion of Human Diversity Foundation accessing sensitive data could affect public trust in scienceConcerns have been raised about access to a scientific trove containing the genetic data and medical records of more than 500,000 people, after an investigation revealed that race scientists" appeared to claim to have obtained the data.A senior scientist has warned that the leadership responsible for the data held by UK Biobank have to be very careful with ensuring that correct processes are followed" around access to the information in order to maintain public confidence. Continue reading...

SpaceX capsule touches down carrying three Americans and a Russian who were scheduled to return in AugustFour astronauts have returned to Earth after a nearly eight-month space station stay extended by Boeing's capsule trouble and Hurricane Milton.A SpaceX capsule carrying the crew parachuted before dawn on Friday into the Gulf of Mexico, just off the Florida coast, after undocking from the International Space Station earlier this week. Continue reading...

Paintings include one depicting a scantily clad Phaedra, mythological queen of Athens, and her stepson HippolytusA tiny house featuring erotic frescoes is the latest discovery in the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Experts say the exquisitely decorated abode, called the House of Phaedra after the mythological queen of Athens, sheds light on the changing architectural styles in the first century AD but is also further proof that the residents of Pompeii had an appetite for sensual art.The vividly coloured wall paintings include one depicting a sexual encounter between a satyr and a nymph on a bed and one of a scantily clad Phaedra and her stepson Hippolytus, whom, according to Greek legend, she accused of rape after he spurned her advances. Another fresco features gods presumed to be Venus and Adonis. Continue reading...

Open letter by 82 laureates commends Harris and calls Trump a potential threat to progress on climate crisisMore than 80 Nobel prize winners have endorsed Kamala Harris for the presidency, warning that Donald Trump would jeopardize any advancements in our standards of living" given his earlier proposals for enormous cuts to science funding.In an open letter, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, 82 Nobel prize winners from the US in the fields of physics, chemistry, economics and medicine, said this is the most consequential presidential election in a long time, perhaps ever, for the future of science and the United States". Continue reading...

Many drugs in development aim to delay, slow or reverse symptoms, but which are causing the biggest stir?This week England's health spending watchdog rejected a new Alzheimer's drug - the second such drug it has turned down this year.Both donanemab and lecanemab were approved by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), yet the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said their benefits were too small to justify their costs, while there have also been concerns over potential side-effects - such as brain swelling and bleeding. Continue reading...

Four astronauts have returned to Earth after a nearly eight-month space station stay extended by Boeing's capsule trouble and Hurricane Milton. A SpaceX capsule carrying the crew parachuted before dawn on Friday into the Gulf of Mexico, just off the Florida coast, after undocking from the International Space Station this week. The three Americans and one Russian should have been back two months ago, but their homecoming was stalled by problems with Boeing's new Starliner astronaut capsule, which came back empty in September because of safety concerns. Hurricane Milton then interfered, followed by a further two weeks of high wind and rough seas

Subtle temperature difference between ocean skin' and water beneath found to drive more CO absorptionA sliver of cool surface water less than 2mm deep helps oceans absorb carbon dioxide, a British-led team of scientists has established after months of voyages across the Atlantic painstakingly measuring gas and temperature levels.The subtle difference in temperature between the ocean skin" and the layer of water beneath it creates an interface that leads to more CO being taken in, the scientists observed. Continue reading...

The kaleidoscopic world and polymathic interests of the great neurologist brought to life in his correspondenceIn 1960, Oliver Sacks, a 27-year-old University of Oxford graduate, arrived in San Francisco by Greyhound bus. Born in Cricklewood, London, Sacks spent the better part of his 20s training to be a doctor, but came to feel that English academic medicine was stifling and stratified. A tight and tedious" professional ladder, he thought, was the only one available to aspiring neurologists like him.A young queer man with a growing interest in motorcycle leather, Sacks had other reasons to leave. The revelation of his sexuality had caused a family rift: his mother felt it made him an abomination". And so he looked for escape across the Atlantic. America, for him, was the wide open west of Ansel Adams photographs; California was Steinbeck's Cannery Row. The new world promised space, freedom, interstices in which I could live and work". This is how we meet Oliver Sacks in Letters: as an immigrant undertaking an internship at Mount Zion hospital, the first step in a career on US soil that would span another five decades. Continue reading...

Harry Shukman of the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate went undercover to expose how some of the wealthiest and most powerful people see race. He tells Michael Safi what he found

Tests will soon be available by prescription, but they are only recommended for people in close contact with animalsAs the number of people infected with bird flu rises in the US, continued limits on testing may pose a problem as these cases crop up.Commercial labs are now developing tests that will be available by prescription, but the tests will still be recommended only for people in close contact with animals and animal products - even as cases in Missouri remain a mystery and wild bird migration and extreme heat may increase spillover opportunities, officials say. Continue reading...