If you’re lucky enough to spot any shooting stars, we would love to see your photos

Sci-fi becomes reality as University of Washington lab uses strands of DNA to hack into a computer, but experts say there’s no cause for concernResearchers from the University of Washington say they have successfully hacked into a computer using custom strands of DNA for the first time.

A nanochip that sits on the skin and uses an electric field to reprogramme cells could be a breakthrough in the way we treat injured or ageing tissue, say researchers. Will it keep us healthy for longer? Or is that something that increasing our salt intake could help with? Scientist James DiNicolantonio thinks so, but his new book The Salt Fix has public health bodies falling over themselves to condemn his advice. We need to nail this healthy eating thing (not necessarily clean eating, though) if we’re going to live long and prosper on other planets. And given that a new discovery about the Moon’s magnetic field has raised fresh possibilities in the hunt for new worlds, we should really get on it quicksticks. Finally, two excellent yarns for all you bone lovers out there. Firstly, some good news from Bradford University, who are to digitise the slightly bonkers archive of the boundlessly eccentric palaeopathologist Calvin Wells, sadly without the shrunken head, but still: interesting objects abound. Secondly, analysis of bones found in a Somerset cave (which have already been linked to human cannibalism 15,000 years ago) has revealed evidence of ritualistic engravings. A charming combination of the horrifying and fascinating to start your weekend! Continue reading...

Climate change is serious: the BBC needs to stop this obsession with ‘balance’ and reject the scientifically-discredited argument that Nigel Lawson existsThe BBC has recently come under fire for a Radio 4 programme which featured Nigel Lawson criticising the concept of climate change. This has drawn the ire of many scientists, and rightly so. The science on this matter is settled, there is no meaningful debate to be had, and the evidence is there for all to see should they choose to go and look for it. Basically, Nigel Lawson isn’t real.It’s all very well putting forward opposing views in the name of “balance”, although it’s worth noting that the importance of “balance” at the BBC seems to differ wildly depending on the subject matter. You seldom get Flat Earth proponents giving contrasting weather forecasts to combat the globular bias in meteorology, and it seems the BBC is perfectly happy broadcasting debates about whether the Welsh language deserves to exist which feature, you know, NOBODY WHO ACTUALLY SPEAKS IT. Balance isn’t a priority in these instances, clearly. But the increasingly-unhinged and militant types who insist that Nigel Lawson exists, they must be given airtime apparently. It boggles the mind. Continue reading...

The bone reports, body parts and even jokey postcards collected by founding figure of palaeopathology Calvin Wells will be available online for the first timeAn archaeological treasury – the voluminous collection of papers, slides, research notes, recordings, jokey postcards, and miscellaneous bits of long-dead human beings collected by the late Calvin Wells – is to be digitised to make it available in its eccentric entirety to scholars for the first time.The archive, for which the University of Bradford has won a grant of almost £140,000 from the Wellcome Trust, includes thousands of the “bone reports” for which Wells became famous. The reports were based on boxes of human remains sent by archaeologists to Wells’s home and studied on the kitchen table. Continue reading...

None of the inhabitants of Bledington in the Cotswolds are 100% Anglo-Saxon, with ancestors coming from all over the worldThe residents of the Cotswold village of Bledington were entitled to see themselves as the quintessential English villagers, blessed with a village green, stream, medieval church, Kings Head pub, mention in the Domesday Book, even a Victorian maypole. However, a DNA survey, one of the most comprehensive attempts to capture an entire village, has revealed their surprisingly diverse origins.The village was classified as white British in ethnic origin from census data, but the saliva samples contributed by almost 120 of the residents – including the pub landlord, a farmer, an artist, a marketing director and the village historian – told another story: not a single individual of those tested was 100% English. Continue reading...

Havant Thicket, Hampshire The beetle’s astonishingly efficient process means 98% of the energy linked to the chemical reaction is emitted as lightIt was just before 10pm when I spotted the first vivid green spark in the understorey – a female common glow-worm. She had climbed a tall blade of grass and was advertising her availability to males on the wing, curling her abdomen to show off the bioluminescent rear segments to their best effect.The ethereal illumination – which can also act as a warning – is generated within the glow-worm’s light-producing organ, known as the lantern. A chemical reaction occurs between oxygen, the light-emitting compound luciferin, an energy-transporting molecule called adenosine triphosphate, and the enzyme luciferase. Continue reading...

Space rock 2012 TC4 expected to zoom by harmlessly, coming within 27,300 miles – an eighth of the distance from the Earth to the MoonA house-sized asteroid will shave past our planet on 12 October, far inside the Moon’s orbit but without posing any threat, astronomers have said.

Astronomers ponder the make-up of an oddly shaped Kuiper belt object before Nasa’s spacecraft completes a flyby in 2019Nasa’s New Horizons spacecraft is making good progress towards its next target, an elongated mini planet which may actually be two smaller worlds in orbit around one another.Since New Horizons made the first ever flyby of Pluto, in July 2015, the spacecraft has been heading into the depths of the solar system. This region is known as the Kuiper belt, and, rather like an icy asteroid belt, is the home to a large collection of celestial objects. Continue reading...

Study shows gene editing can remove porcine endogenous retroviruses from DNA, potentially making it safe to grow human transplant organs in pigsGrowing human transplant organs in pigs has become a more realistic prospect after scientists used advanced gene editing to remove threatening viruses from the animals’ DNA.Porcine endogenous retroviruses (Pervs) are permanently embedded in the pig genome but research has shown they can infect human cells, posing a potential hazard. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Unprecedented scientific expedition funded by private tourism company is designed to unlock secrets of surviving coralA scientific research expedition funded by the tourism industry will undertake the first significant underwater study of remote northern sections of the Great Barrier Reef, which were severely damaged by recent coral bleaching.Nonprofit organisation Great Barrier Reef Legacy will launch a 21-day research trip on a 32-metre charter boat, offering at least 10 free spaces to scientists, including Charlie Veron, known as “the godfather of coral”. Continue reading...

Hannah Devlin explores the science and ethics behind a landmark study that successfully edited the genomes of developing embryos. How did they do it? What did they hope to achieve? And, further down the line, what kind of doors might research like this open?Subscribe & Review on iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud & Acast, and join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterOn 2 August, Nature published a paper that detailed how a team of scientists had successfully used gene editing to mend heart disease mutations in human embryos. A world first, this proof-of-principle could ultimately lead to entirely new treatments for genetic diseases. That said, the study also poses profound ethical questions about what it means to be human. Continue reading...

Drug testing is increasingly becoming part of UK festivals and clubs. Could it be an effective way to change behaviour and reduce the harmful effects of drugs?For the first time, people going to BoomTown this weekend will be able to find out what’s in the drugs they plan to take, by getting them tested by non-profit organisation The Loop. Front of house drugs safety testing, or Multi Agency Safety Testing (MAST), was first offered by The Loop at Secret Garden Party and Kendal Calling in 2016. This was such a success that they have been invited to provide their service at a number of festivals this year, BoomTown being the next on the calendar.A growing number of festivals are now openly discussing a new approach to drugs, based on information and harm reduction rather than criminal justice. This shift in attitudes is coming at a very welcome time. Recent developments in the European drug market have seen an unprecedented rise in the strength of ecstasy tablets, with a number of recent reports of adverse health effects, including emergency medical treatment and fatalities, attributed to MDMA toxicity. Indeed, Office for National Statistics figures show an eightfold increase in deaths related to ecstasy in five years, rising to 63 in 2016 from an all-time low of 8 in 2010. Continue reading...

Conservationists see only one hope for the saola: a risky captive breeding programmeIn 1996, William Robichaud spent three weeks with Martha before she died. Robichaud studied Martha – a beautiful, enigmatic, shy saola – with a scientist’s eye but also fell under the gracile animal’s spell as she ate out of his hand and allowed herself to be stroked. Captured by local hunters, Martha spent those final days in a Laotian village, doted on by Robichaud.Since losing Martha, Robichaud has become the coordinator of the Saola Working Group (SWG) at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). He has dedicated his life to saving this critically endangered species – and believes the best chance to achieve that now is through a captive breeding programme.

Extracted from foxgloves, digitalis was once used as a treatment for epilepsy. Could a side effect have triggered the artist’s “yellow period”?It was recently the 127th anniversary of the tragic death of Vincent van Gogh. His short life came to an untimely end two days after he shot himself in the chest; he had experienced mental health issues through much of his life. In the absence of a definitive diagnosis, speculation as to the true nature of his illness fills volumes.Although he came under the care of several doctors during his life time, knowledge of diseases of the mind was in its infancy in the late nineteenth century. As a result, many of the treatments used at the time would have been ineffective if not potentially dangerous. From our point of view, however, one drug that might have been given to Van Gogh is particularly interesting. Continue reading...

Even small planets could have long-lived magnetic fields, crucial for atmosphere and water, raising fresh possibilities in the hunt for new worldsThe moon’s magnetic field lasted at least a billion years longer than previously thought, researchers have revealed, shedding light on an enduring lunar mystery and expanding the possibilities in the hunt for habitable worlds beyond Earth.Nowadays, the moon has no global magnetic field, but that was not always the case; between 4.25bn and 3.56bn years ago, the lunar magnetic field was similar to that of the Earth. The field is thought to have been generated by the churning movement of fluids within the moon’s molten core – a sort of lunar dynamo. Continue reading...

Bones found in a Somerset cave have been linked to human cannibalism 15,000 years ago, but new analysis of markings suggests symbolic meaningEngraved bones unearthed in a Somerset cave have revealed new evidence of macabre cannibalistic rituals carried out by early humans in Britain.The latest analysis of the bones, which were first discovered in the 1980s in Gough’s Cave in the Cheddar Gorge, show signs of having been filleted using sophisticated butchery techniques, decorated and gnawed by fellow humans around 15,000 years ago. Continue reading...

Cephalopods such as octopuses and squid have been known for their ink since antiquity. But what do we know about the evolution of ink and inking?Cephalopods, the group of molluscs that includes octopuses, cuttlefish, squids, ammonites, nautiluses and belemnites, are a weird bunch. Not only are they strange when anatomically compared to their shelled relatives like bivalves, snails and chitons but their evolution, physiology and behaviour makes them almost as interesting as vertebrates (I’m kidding, they’re way more interesting).Despite there only being around 700 living species of cephalopods, biologically, they have evolved an array of adaptations that modern science is still only just unpicking. Neurologically, they are head (and shoulders if they had them) above all other invertebrate animals, sometimes called honourary vertebrates for their cognitive ability and potential conciousness. They are famed for their ability to change colour, shape and size. Many of them are fast growing but short lived. They have adapted to live in the cold depths of the ocean, warm shallows and some species even “fly”. In terms of diversity, cephalopods include the egg case making argonauts, shelled nautiluses, venomous blue-ringed octopuses and enigmatic giants like the giant and colossal squid. Their anatomy has widely inspired art and design and research on their nervous system has lead to breakthroughs in our understanding of how the neurology of all organisms functions. However, before most of this was experimentally and observationally discovered, they were perhaps best known for their “almost unique” ability to squirt ink when harangued, creating a smokescreen before jetting off to safety. Continue reading...

There are many reasons why a genetic legacy might not be seen in contemporary populations – Mary Beard was right to defend the BBC’s cartoonIf you have been on social media at all for the last couple of weeks, you are likely aware of what may be one of the silliest controversies ever: whether a dark-skinned man should be present in a BBC cartoon for children about life in Roman Britain. Critics have raised multiple objections on the theme: whether dark skin was “typical” (even though no scholar has claimed that it was), what percentage of the population must be nonwhite before it can be called “diverse,” and statements like this.People upset by the cartoon have shifted goalposts, ignored or distorted cogent arguments, and mocked the knowledge of experts. It’s been ugly, particularly the attacks on Professor Mary Beard, a renowned classicist. The theme uniting all these efforts is rhetoric accusing scholars and the BBC of “rewriting history” while simultaneously projecting contemporary notions of race backwards in time onto a society that didn’t share them. Continue reading...

Language is crucial to how we perceive the natural world. Help me to find better ways of describing nature and our relationships with it so we can better defend itIf Moses had promised the Israelites a land flowing with mammary secretions and insect vomit, would they have followed him into Canaan? Though this means milk and honey, I doubt it would have inspired them.Related: The word-hoard: Robert Macfarlane on rewilding our language of landscape Continue reading...

An engineer at the company has suggested male domination of Silicon Valley is down to biological differences between the sexes. But the root causes are much more complicatedIt is time to be “open about the science of human nature”. This was the assertion of software engineer James Damore to his colleagues at Google, in an internal memo that has since led to his sacking. “I’m simply stating,” Damore wrote, “that the distribution of preferences and abilities of men and women differ in part due to biological causes and that these differences may explain why we don’t see equal representation of women in tech and leadership.” He went on to imply that women’s “stronger interest in people” and “neuroticism” might make them less naturally suited to being coders at Google.The company’s leadership viewed the matter differently, firing Damore and sparing his female colleagues the need to prove their biological aptitude for working with computers. Continue reading...

Diane Munday says vasectomy and female sterilisation operations should not have funding withdrawn, Diane Chandler says IVF ought not be restricted to those who can afford to pay for it, and Clare Munks says the ‘turkey baster’ method – properly called intrauterine insemination (IUI) – may be worth consideringEven worse than the postcode lottery on IVF treatment being introduced by clinical commissioning groups (Report, 7 August) is the short-termism and lack of joined-up thinking in deciding what patient services to axe in order to save money.In my area (Herts Valleys), at a recent public consultation event, proposals were not only to cease providing “IVF and specialist fertility services” but also to stop funding vasectomy and female sterilisation operations. But funding of pregnancy/birth/postnatal care as well as abortions will continue. Continue reading...

Exclusive: In his new book, James DiNicolantonio claims salt could make us healthier. But experts have condemned the advice as potentially dangerousPublic health experts in the UK have spoken out against a new book that claims many of us should be eating more salt, not less – claiming the advice could endanger people’s health.New York scientist James DiNicolantonio says in his book The Salt Fix that the World Health Organisation and the US and UK advisory bodies on diet have got it wrong with their advice to cut down on salt. Continue reading...

AN Wilson’s ‘exposé’ is the latest in a long line of attempts to undermine evolutionary biology. Now scientists must decide how best to counter themI can save you the effort of reading AN Wilson’s “exposé” on Darwin, which did the rounds over the weekend, characterising the famous scientist as a fraud, a thief, a liar, a racist and a rouser of nazism. Instead, head over to Netflix and watch the creationist made-for-TV movie A Matter of Faith, which covers many of the same arguments – and also includes a final scene in which a fictional evolutionary biologist, standing alone in his study, holds a rubber chicken in his hands and finds himself deliberating over the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg. At least that was an original take on these tiresome accusations.Related: Turkish schools to stop teaching evolution, official says Continue reading...

August’s full moon, known as the sturgeon moon, featured a partial eclipse as it was slightly covered by the Earth’s shadow Continue reading...

The US Department of Agriculture has forbidden the use of the words ‘climate change’. This say-no-evil policy is doomed to failIn a bold new strategy unveiled on Monday in the Guardian, the US Department of Agriculture – guardians of the planet’s richest farmlands – has decided to combat the threat of global warming by forbidding the use of the words.Under guidance from the agency’s director of soil health, Bianca Moebius-Clune, a list of phrases to be avoided includes “climate change” and “climate change adaptation”, to be replaced by “weather extremes” and “resilience to weather extremes”. Continue reading...

There is a saying in computer science: garbage in, garbage out. When we feed machines data that reflects our prejudices, they mimic them – from antisemitic chatbots to racially biased software. Does a horrifying future await people forced to live at the mercy of algorithms?In May last year, a stunning report claimed that a computer program used by a US court for risk assessment was biased against black prisoners. The program, Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions (Compas), was much more prone to mistakenly label black defendants as likely to reoffend – wrongly flagging them at almost twice the rate as white people (45% to 24%), according to the investigative journalism organisation ProPublica.Compas and programs similar to it were in use in hundreds of courts across the US, potentially informing the decisions of judges and other officials. The message seemed clear: the US justice system, reviled for its racial bias, had turned to technology for help, only to find that the algorithms had a racial bias too. Continue reading...

Finding highlights the need for increased investment in the north, warn experts, as research into mortality rate reveals the widening north-south divideMore young adults are dying before their time in the north of England than the south – and the gap is widening, a study has revealed.Researchers say that since 1965, about 1.2 million more people have died before the age of 75 in the north of England than in the south, taking into account differences in population. Continue reading...

Amsterdam says in its bid to house the EMA that two of Britain’s top research agencies would lose much of their businessTwo of the UK’s foremost research organisations will lose much of their business to Amsterdam if the city is successful in securing the relocation of the EU’s medicines regulator, the Netherlands’ formal bid for the prized agency claims.Amsterdam, which has been tipped as an early favourite to secure the European Medicines Agency (EMA), says in its application submitted to the European commission that losing the agency will prove a double blow to London when Brexit forces its move. Continue reading...

Support for the anonymous Google ‘manifesto’ on gender difference is reminiscent of the thinking behind the eugenics era

With the sexually transmitted disease fast becoming drug resistant, successful lab tests of closthioamide show potential as an effective new treatmentA new class of antibiotic has been found to work in the lab against the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhoea, which can cause infertility and damage to babies and is fast becoming resistant to all existing drugs.Although it is early days, because the antibiotic has yet to be tried in animals or humans, researchers say they are excited by its potential. The World Health Organisation has listed gonorrhoea as a high priority infection that poses a great threat to human health, estimating that there about about 78m gonorrhoea infections worldwide each year. In the UK, gonorrhoea is the second most common bacterial STI after chlamydia, with 35,000 cases in England in 2014 alone. New drugs are urgently needed. Continue reading...

A tiny device that sits on the skin and uses an electric field to reprogramme cells could be a breakthrough in the way we treat injured or ageing tissueA novel device that reprogrammes skin cells could represent a breakthrough in repairing injured or ageing tissue, researchers say.The new technique, called tissue nanotransfection, is based on a tiny device that sits on the surface of the skin of a living body. An intense, focused electric field is then applied across the device, allowing it to deliver genes to the skin cells beneath it – turning them into different types of cells. Continue reading...

Experts use 3D printing to restore mound of fossilised remains in Devon quarry plundered by thieves in 2015Future archaeologists may be seriously puzzled by Joint Mitnor, a cave in a Devon quarry. They will find a mound of fossil bones of animals, which about 120,000 years ago were unfortunate enough to fall through a sinkhole into the limestone cavern.Among bison and hippo bones they will find the teeth of wolves, bears and elephants, and the droppings of hyenas that probably came into the cave to feast on their rotting corpses, which appear to date from the 21st century. Continue reading...

On the anniversary of Hiroshima’s nuclear destruction, a walk through the city’s memorial park reveals a complex mix of devastation and rehabilitationHiroshima is flourishing. It has a population surpassing 1.19 million, a burgeoning gourmet scene, towering luxury shopping centres, and a trendy night life. It is a city of vibrant green boulevards and open spaces, entangled by the braided tributaries of the Ōta River. However it is also a city of memorialisation. Over 75 monuments, large and small, sprout like delicate mushrooms in parks and on sidewalks, scattered across the city as if by the wind. Whilst the city grows and evolves, the memory remains of Hiroshima as first place on Earth where nuclear weapons were used in warfare, on 6 August 1945.The number of fatalities is not known, due wartime population transience and the destruction of records in the blast. Estimates are in the region of 135,000 people, roughly equivalent to the population of Oxford. It is therefore unsurprising that many locals have Hibakusha veterans in their families. The Hibakusha community maintain a living collective memory of the bomb, sharing their atomic folktales similarly to the Kataribe storytellers, as a cautionary modern mythology against nuclear war. Continue reading...

Your internal chatter has a huge impact on the way you feel about yourself. Listen in, says Gary John BishopYou stumble through the door into your morning coffee ritual. As you make your way through a maze of chairs, tables and outstretched legs you finally arrive at your space at the end of the queue, and the deliberation begins…“Maybe I’ll have something different this time, hmm, let me see… Iced cranberry lemon tea? Nah, I need the jolt, I’ll get my usual. Good, now what else… What about one of those muffins? Nah, I’m piling it on, there’s about 6,000 calories in one of those… Bagel? Ugh no, I’ll stick to the coffee.” Continue reading...

Entire US will fall into shadow as eclipse passes, with darkest path, or ‘totality’, contained in 70-mile (113km) ribbon from Oregon to South CarolinaThe sun, moon and Earth will line up perfectly in the cosmos on 21 August, turning day into night for a few wondrous minutes, its path crossing the US from sea to shining sea for the first time in nearly a century.Never will a total solar eclipse be so heavily viewed and studied or celebrated.

A facility for research into decay process in British conditions would help detectives find missing bodiesForensic scientists are holding detailed talks with the government about setting up Britain’s first body farm, where researchers would study decomposing human corpses.The aim would be to understand the precise manner in which cadavers decay in water or in soil or in open air. The US has several such centres, which have waiting lists of people who have left their bodies to forensic science. Their corpses are buried, hung from trees or immersed in water and analysed in detail to understand how they break down in different conditions. However, geographical conditions in America are very different from Britain’s, so researchers want to establish a centre here. Continue reading...

Vast extent of the fortifications surprises archaeologists who used new technology and the knowledge of local historiansThe full extent of the networks of trenches and defensive fortifications built in England during the first world war has been revealed in the first major survey of its kind.Detailing how resources were concentrated along England’s eastern and southern coasts – where the main thrust by an invading German army was expected to come – the study draws on existing periodicals and local history as well as LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data gleaned from the use of lasers by the Environment Agency to plot the bumps and dips of British topography. Continue reading...

Supermarket chain makes move ‘purely as a precaution’ but acknowledges it could lead to ‘market shortages’ for eggsDiscount supermarket Aldi said on Friday it was pulling all Dutch eggs from its shelves in Germany over an insecticide scandal that has spread to food stores across Europe.

If no action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or protect citizens, weather disasters could kill 152,000 a year between 2071 and 2100, says studyDeaths from weather disasters could increase 50-fold in Europe by the start of the next century if no action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or protect citizens, researchers have warned.A new study estimates a toll of 152,000 deaths a year between 2071 and 2100 as a direct result of hazards relating to extreme weather, with those living in southern Europe likely to be the hardest hit. Continue reading...

Even if legal barriers were lifted, the conditions genome editing would help are rare, and our understanding of genes is still too poor for it to be widely usedIt is hard to overstate the importance of the moment. For billions of years, life on Earth has been shaped, slowly and incrementally, by dumb evolution. But in research this week, scientists showed how that might change. With advanced genetic engineering tools, a US-Korean team mended dangerous heart disease mutations in human embryos for the first time. The feat paves the way for radical new treatments – and for humans to take control of their genetic destiny.The ability to edit human genomes may one day transform people’s lives, but in breaking new ground, it would cross a line that has long been controversial. Today, many countries prohibit the creation of genetically altered people, even if the procedure would spare them a devastating and life-shortening disease. The caution comes from the fact that changes to an embryo’s DNA affect not only the child in question, but their sperm or eggs. When the time came, they would pass on the modifications – and any harmful side-effects the procedure may cause – to their children and future generations. Continue reading...

Readers share their thoughts on electricity generation, cars, cycling, trains and garden citiesGeorge Monbiot makes some useful points in his article bemoaning the influence of the lobbying power of the motor industry (We must break the car’s chokehold on Britain, 2 August). He proposes a modal transport shift to more coach travel and investment in nuclear power plants to power our electric cars. He ignores completely, as usual, the solar option with smaller electric cars and electric bikes and charged by photovoltaics on homes, at work and in public places. In 1993, I bought Hannibal, the 750kg fibreglass Kewet El Jet electric car that we used for a decade to take the children to school, go shopping and to train and bus stations. This first British solar car was largely powered by the 4kWp PV roof on my Oxford ecohouse. Monbiot also ignores the huge trend towards using electric bikes that can be easily solar charged at home or work. We love our cars and bikes, but the trick is to make them much smaller, lighter and solar powered, used locally and to connect with public transport systems for longer distances, so decrying any need for building inevitably toxic new nuclear power stations at all. Car size does matter now if we, as a society, are serious about surviving safely into the 22nd century, so let’s have less of Jeremy Clarkson on TV and more solar-powered Good Lives. It’s the mindset that has to change first, then the hardware.

Dozens of UK drug deaths have been linked to the opioid fentanyl, but, when used legally, it can be a useful weapon in the fight against acute pain, say Margaret Gibbs and Conrad HodgkinsonPlease be mindful of your potential to frighten people unnecessarily (Report, 1 August). Fentanyl is indeed between 100 and 150 times as potent as morphine but when used in the microgram doses available in commercial products it is as safe as any other strong opioid for the management of severe pain whether post-operative, chronic or towards the end of life. Clearly lacing street drugs with this molecule is highly dangerous but a broad-brush approach is unhelpful. Healthcare professionals work hard to develop a trusting relationship with the people they are caring for. Many are fearful of strong opioid medicines but we know how to use them to good effect and it would be tragic if front-page articles worried some enough to stop taking it and revert to being in pain.

The career of my father, Peter Venables, who has died aged 94, spanned the entire development of modern psychology. He made landmark contributions to the fields of schizophrenia and psychophysiology.His most striking and innovative contribution in this area came in 2012, when he documented for the first time that early malnutrition at the age of three predisposed to schizotypal personality 20 years later in adulthood. His findings helped inform thinking about early-years support for disadvantaged families. Continue reading...

Genome editing has taken another giant leap forward: a groundbreaking project has managed to correct faulty DNA in human embryos that is linked to a fatal heart condition. It raises hopes for parents who risk passing on genetic diseases, although there’s obviously still a long way to go technically and ethically before this becomes clinically available. There might also be some extraordinarily good news for those living with Parkinson’s disease. It looks like a drug currently used to treat diabetes improves movement-related issues and might also slow the progression of the disease. Now, that’s exciting, but this is my favourite story of the week for oh-so-many reasons: new analysis done on a thin film of organic material found on a 110-m-year-old nodosaur (itself an extraordinarily exciting story from earlier this year) shows that it sported ginger-coloured camouflage as well as its intimidating spikes and armour. Not only is this intriguing, but also might change the way we think about predators including T rex. Don’t even bother to calm down after that, because there’s more ancient news to dig (ahaha, see what I ... never mind). Archaeologists have uncovered a site they’ve dubbed a ‘little Pompeii’ south of Lyon in France. The homes and public building are incredibly well-preserved and has been described as an exceptional find by France’s culture ministry. And finally, if you were wondering what happened next to the trillion-tonne Larsen C iceberg, here’s your answer ... Continue reading...

Hijacked by the free market, human gene editing will lead to greater social inequality by heading where the money is: designer babies

Study suggests that exenatide, currently used to treat type 2 diabetes, improves movement-related issues and might also slow the progression of the diseaseA drug commonly used to treat diabetes could help those living with Parkinson’s disease, research has revealed.By 2020 it is predicted that 162,000 individuals in the UK will be living with the condition. While existing drugs help to control its symptoms, there are currently none available which slow or halt its progression. Continue reading...

In a new exhibition, Heather Dewey-Hagborg used hair clippings and cheek swabs from Manning, collected during a two-year correspondenceIn the center of the room at New York’s Fridman Gallery are multiple faces – white, black and brown, each bearing an almost imperceptible resemblance to one another – suspended on wires from the ceiling.The 30 portraits were created by the artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg from cheek swabs and hair clippings sent to her by Chelsea Manning. Manning sent the clippings from the Fort Leavenworth prison, where the former intelligence analyst was serving a 35-year sentence after famously leaking classified diplomatic cables through the website WikiLeaks. Continue reading...

A hope that embryos could be purged of a genetic disease has been fulfilled in part. However, we are some way off reimplanting modified embryos into their mothers – for all the right reasonsThe news that a team of scientists from America and Korea have corrected a genetic defect in single-cell embryos is tremendous. In the short term it affirms the revolutionary principles of the gene editing technique known as Crispr – or, formally, Crispr-Cas9 . In the medium term it holds out the prospect – if the law changes – of eliminating some single-gene defects from entire families, since embryos treated in this way will no longer transmit the defective form of the gene. In the long term, the prospects for widespread genetic manipulation of humans are chilling as well as exhilarating.Crispr makes it possible to manipulate a genome in the way that we can alter the words in a word processor. Very small identifying stretches of DNA around a defective gene can be targeted and then deliberately broken. The hope is that when the cell repairs the break, it does so without the original error. When the DNA is copied at the next cell division, only a functioning version of the gene is reproduced. When this is done early enough, at the embryo stage, the change does not last only for the patient’s lifetime, but is transmitted to all their descendants, too. Continue reading...

Recalls in Germany, Netherlands and Belgium and criminal inquiry launched as tests show high levels of insecticide fipronilMillions of eggs are being recalled from shops and warehouses in Germany and the Netherlands and being blocked from sale in Belgium after some were found to contain high levels of a toxic insecticide banned from use in the production of food for human consumption.About 180 Dutch farms have been temporarily shut down and a criminal investigation has been launched as authorities seek to establish the scale of the problem. Continue reading...