Patagonia’s icefields, Australia’s changing tides, and volcanic activity in Alaska are among the images captured by Nasa and the ESA last monthAlaska’s remote Bogoslof Island volcano erupted in a series of explosions starting in December 2016, triggering the highest aviation alert as it shot ash plumes at least 35,000ft into the atmosphere. By monitoring the volcano via satellite and seismologic data, scientists can provide a warning of when further eruptions could pose a risk to aircraft. This image shows just a small puff of smoke rising from the volcano, while a sediment plume drifts towards the top left of the image, turning the Bering Sea a bright blue-green. Continue reading...

MS Society says there is sufficient evidence of drug’s effectiveness to relax ban for patients with no other optionsTen thousand people with multiple sclerosis in the UK should be allowed to use cannabis legally in order to relieve their “relentless and exhausting” symptoms, experts in the disease have told ministers.The MS Society claims the one in 10 sufferers of the condition whose pain and spasticity cannot be treated by medication available on the NHS should be able to take the drug without fear of prosecution. Continue reading...

Simulations reveal that up to half the material in our galaxy arrived from smaller galactic neighbours, as a result of powerful supernova explosionsNearly half of the atoms that make up our bodies may have formed beyond the Milky Way and travelled to the solar system on intergalactic winds driven by giant exploding stars, astronomers claim.The dramatic conclusion emerges from computer simulations that reveal how galaxies grow over aeons by absorbing huge amounts of material that is blasted out of neighbouring galaxies when stars explode at the end of their lives. Continue reading...

Experts suggest patients should stop taking the drugs when they feel better rather than completing their prescriptionTelling patients to stop taking antibiotics when they feel better may be preferable to instructing them to finish the course, according to a group of experts who argue that the rule long embedded in the minds of doctors and the public is wrong and should be overturned.Patients have traditionally been told that they must complete courses of antibiotics, the theory being that taking too few tablets will allow the bacteria causing their disease to mutate and become resistant to the drug. Continue reading...

Michael Gove’s pledge to ban new petrol and diesel cars in 23 years is not enough to tackle health crisis now, say campaignersThe government’s new clean air plan has been branded inadequate by the leaders of eight heavily polluted cities, as campaigners said banning petrol and diesel cars from 2040 would not help the thousands dying each year from illnesses linked to toxic fumes.

Researchers hope to launch human trials as breakthrough shows hypothalamus controls ageing, with treated mice remaining fitter and living 10-15% longerScientists have slowed down the ageing process by implanting stem cells into the brains of animals, raising hopes for new strategies to combat age-related diseases and extend the human lifespan.Implants of stem cells that make fresh neurons in the brain were found to put the brakes on ageing in older mice, keeping them more physically and mentally fit for months, and extending their lives by 10-15% compared to untreated animals. Continue reading...

Pioneering paediatric radiologist and authority on the x-ray diagnosis of child abuseWhen Helen Carty was appointed in 1975 as a specialist in paediatric radiology at the Royal Liverpool Children’s hospital in Alder Hey, Merseyside, x-rays were just about the only tool available to diagnose many disorders in children. Helen, who has died aged 72, set about changing all that. She became a driving force in developing the full range of imaging technology, ultrasound, nuclear medicine and CT and MRI scanning that is now in use with children, and an important expert witness in cases of child abuse.Paediatric radiology, as with much of paediatrics, is about adapting what is known in adult practice. Helen had the vision to see how technology could be used and was especially forceful in making the case for such technology to be made as easily available for young patients as for adults. Thanks in part to her efforts, Alder Hey raised money to provide a CT scanner for children, and in 1995 to install one of the first dedicated MRI scanners for children in the UK. Continue reading...

The platinum-iridium cylinder used to standardise the kilogram is getting an upgrade – to a complicated process that involves the measuring of lightTime is running out for Hollywood to make its big metrology action thriller. In late 2019, the chance for a leathered-up Jeremy Irons to cut through several thick vaults in Paris suburb Sèvres and ransom the world’s kilogram will end.Kept under three bell jars and secured by three keys – only two of which are in France – few objects are as precious to our civilisation as the platinum-iridium cylinder made in 1889 to serve as a new global standard for weighing things. A kilo is a kilo because of this kilo, and it is so precious that it is only taken out once every 40 years – and then only so that replica kilos, kept in other locations, can be compared with it. Continue reading...

Dorfman, London

Ian Sample sits down with Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson to discuss the future of the workplace and the role artificial intelligence will play

Every day millions of internet users ask Google life’s most difficult questions, big and small. Our writers answer some of the commonest queries

New research reveals humans have identified as either cat or dog lovers since the stone age, but in fact, our pets are more closely related than you might thinkAre you a dog person, or a cat person? The question is often treated as dichotomous: if you appreciate the solidity of a steadfast pooch, you can’t also relish the coquettish companionship of a kitty. Recent studies suggest humankind could have been divided by their pet-preferences since the stone age. In evolutionary terms, however, the question is far from black and white. Cats and dogs belong together, related to one another by a common ancestor. They share this ancestry with a whole suite of other animals, large and small. One may as well ask: are you a badger person, or a hyaena-person? Do you prefer meerkats, or weasels?Our beloved pets belong to the order Carnivora. This group includes bears, hyaenas, mongooses, civets, skunks, badgers and more, as well as marine members, the seals, walruses, and sea-lions. The name of the group is a little misleading: not all meat-chomping mammals are part of Carnivora, and not all members of Carnivora feast on flesh.

The Milky Way, the Northern Lights and hurtling asteroids feature in the shortlist for the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year award. The winners will be announced on 14 September, and an exhibition of the winning images will be displayed in a free exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Centre from 16 September

Victorian-era weather alerts saved many mariners but a row over ‘useless’ Met Office forecasts halted warnings for two yearsStorm warnings are a vital part of the work of the Met Office based in the UK, but 150 years ago the very idea of such forecasts was highly controversial.In July 1867 William Sykes MP drew attention in the Commons to the fact that storm warnings had been suppressed, and called for them to be reinstated. Continue reading...

Signed and dated copy of the jovial 1951 image to go under the hammer on 27 July; previous copies have sold for almost $44,000Wild haired with a bushy moustache and his tongue sticking out, the photograph revealing Albert Einstein as something of a prankster is one of the most recognisable images of the physicist. Now a signed and dated copy is about to be auctioned.Snapped by United Press International photographer Arthur Sasse as Einstein departed in the back of car following his 72nd birthday celebrations in 1951, the image shot into the public consciousness after publishers overcame their initial qualms and printed the jovial image. Continue reading...

Researcher finds medieval understanding of male and female infertility was more evenhanded than thought - and discovers some interesting ‘cures’Boiled catnip taken on an empty stomach for three days could help, or a delicious goblet of dried ground pig testicles mixed with wine: a new study of medieval advice on male infertility – and recipes to remedy it – suggests people were far less ready to automatically lay blame on the woman than had been assumed.Catherine Rider, senior lecturer in medieval history at the University of Exeter and expert on medieval magic, medicine, religion and marriage, has studied popular texts in English from the period, as well as Latin texts aimed at the university-educated elite. She found a general understanding that male infertility could be responsible when a couple failed to produce a longed-for child. In the late 14th century John of Mirfield, who worked at St Bartholomew’s hospital in London and probably drew on much earlier texts, warned: “It should be noticed that when sterility happens between married people, the males are accused by many people of not having suitable seed.” Continue reading...

Reasons for the ‘shocking’ drop are unclear, say researchers, and represent a huge and neglected area of public health

This Thursday, we’ll be recording a very special Q&A episode with Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw and we want your questions!Subscribe & Review on iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud & Acast, and join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterOn Thursday 27 July at 5.30pm (BST), we’ll be recording a very special episode of Science Weekly, live on the Guardian’s Facebook page. Sitting down with Nicola Davis will be Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw for a Q&A about the origins and evolution of our universe, as described in their latest book Universal. That means we need your questions! Continue reading...

My father, Sydney Cohen, a scientist with a deep love of nature, who has died aged 95, developed from his South African education and wide travels in Africa a determination to vanquish malaria, the continent’s scourge.His pursuit of a vaccine led, in 1961, to a landmark paper in Nature, co-written with Ian McGregor, that found that immunoglobulin from immune Gambian adults had an anti-parasitic effect when administered to infected children. While variation in parasites has precluded to this day an effective vaccine against all strains of malaria, Sydney was one of the first to show that successful vaccination was possible, using forms of the parasite that live in the blood. Continue reading...

The commission includes no political scientists or election experts to test claims of voter fraud or suppression. No wonder it’s already been called ‘a sham’Last Wednesday, the US Presidential Advisory Commission on Electoral Integrity (PACEI) held its first meeting, with many election experts and political observers anxious to get clarity on the group’s composition and stated objectives. But even before its first meeting, experts have called it a sham and orchestrated chaos, and have accused it of breaking the law.Our assessment of the first meeting is that, as currently structured, the commission will almost certainly create more problems than it solves. The most remarkable thing about the first meeting is not who was there and what was said, but rather who was not there and what was not said. Continue reading...

Research comparing perceptions of death with accounts of those imminently facing it suggest that maybe we shouldn’t worry so much about our own end“The idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else,” wrote Earnest Becker in his book, The Denial of Death. It’s a fear strong enough to compel us to force kale down our throats, run sweatilyon a treadmill at 7am on a Monday morning, and show our genitals to a stranger with cold hands and a white coat if we feel something’s a little off.But our impending end isn’t just a benevolent supplier of healthy behaviours. Researchers have found death can determine our prejudices, whether we give to charity or wear sun cream, our desire to be famous, what type of leader we vote for, how we name our children and even how we feel about breastfeeding.

Taken 250 miles (402 km) above Earth and at a speed of 17,500 mph (28,164 km/h), this stunning timelapse video of the aurora borealis was tweeted by Nasa astronaut Jack Fischer from the International Space Station. Fischer shared his enthusiasm online: ‘People have asked me what a “burrito of awesomeness smothered in awesome sauce” is … Well folks, it looks like this … awesome sauce is green.’ Aurora borealis is the result of collisions between the Earth’s gaseous particles and matter released by the sun’s atmosphere Continue reading...

Sarah Craske found the copy of Metamorphoses in a secondhand bookshop and used bacteria within its pages to create art with her own bloodThere was more than poetry trapped between the leather covers of a 300-year-old volume of Ovid’s Metamorphoses: blood, sweat and snot feature in an art installation that displays the bacteria within its pages.The sweat and the droplets from an ancient sneeze that spattered one page were contributed by centuries of previous owners and readers of the book – but the blood was the artist’s own, donated by Sarah Craske as part of the medium for cultivating the organisms. Continue reading...

How does a book about theoretical physics sell more than 1m copies? Rovelli explains how he set about sharing his wonder at quantum scienceThere are two kinds of popular science books. The first kind is for passionate readers. Say you are mad about butterflies. You want a book that gives you all the details about all varieties of butterflies, their lives, habits and colours. You are keen to know everything.The other kind of popular science book is written for everybody else. Say you never cared much for butterflies, but one day you happened on a book filled with incredible images of their phantasmagorical wings and read an interesting fact, such as how many of them live only for a single day … even though you don’t want many details, you suddenly find yourself wanting to learn more.

UK to pioneer energy innovation through batteries in homes as energy department announces £246m research fundingBatteries and renewable power sources are on the verge of bringing about an “epochal transformation” of the UK that could make energy clean, abundant and very cheap, according to a cabinet minister.As the government unveiled plans for a more flexible energy system and £246m of funding for battery research, Greg Clark told the Guardian that a smarter grid would “radically” bring down bills. Continue reading...

Satellite data reveals trapped water across the moon’s surface – not just at the poles – in deposits from ancient eruptions, say researchersThe inside of the moon is wetter than previously thought, research suggests, opening up fresh possibilities for manned missions to the lunar landscape.While the moon was once thought to be bone-dry, in recent years water has been found trapped in lunar volcanic glasses – material formed from magma ejected from the moon’s interior. Continue reading...

A 5% drop in measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations could cause a threefold increase of measles cases, costing the public sector millions, US study showsA small decline in the uptake of vaccines could have a dramatic impact on both public health and the economy, research suggests, as concerns about outbreaks of preventable diseases grow in the US and Europe.The new study reveals that even a 5% drop in uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine among children in the US could result in a threefold increase in measles cases, and cost the public sector millions of dollars.

Aided by a supercomputer, meteorologists find 34% chance of record monthly rainfall being set, raising fears about major floodingFears have been raised that the UK could soon see a repeat of the sort of flooding that has hit in recent years after forecasters predicted a one-in-three chance there would be a new record set for monthly rainfall during coming winters.The Met Office used a supercomputer to simulate possible extreme weather conditions to help build up a picture of what was likely to befall the UK. Forecasters found a 7% chance of a monthly rainfall record being set in the south-east. This rose to 34% once other regions of England and Wales were taken into account. Continue reading...

Berkeley’s KPFA Radio cancels appearance by evolutionary biologist after learning of his ‘hurtful speech’ against the religion – a charge the author contestsRichard Dawkins has denied using “abusive speech against Islam” after a California radio station cancelled a book event with the scientist, citing his comments on Islam, which it said had “offended and hurt … so many people”.Dawkins, whose bestselling study of evolution, The Selfish Gene, was named the most influential science book of all time by the Royal Society last week, was lined up to speak about his memoir A Brief Candle in the Dark at an event hosted by Berkeley’s KPFA Radio in August. Continue reading...

From the first settlers to the New World, English speakers have absorbed myriad influences – modern anxieties about ‘corruption’ say a lot about our times

Researchers say case of child infected at birth but no longer displaying symptoms may spare others long-term therapyA child who was infected with HIV at birth and given a short course of treatment has remained healthy for the last nine years without further drugs, according to scientists at a conference in Paris, in a case that could give hope to children born with the virus.Researchers say they hope to learn from the case of the child, born in South Africa, to save others from having to take powerful daily medication as they are growing up and for the rest of their lives. Continue reading...

A large number of counsellors have volunteered to be available for survivors and firefighters at Grenfell tower, but what’s the evidence for talking therapy immediately after a trauma?There were a few weeks a month or so ago when I started to dread turning on the radio in the morning. Manchester, London and then Grenfell … the news was horrific and deeply sad.In the aftermath of shocking violence and loss of life, it’s understandable that people want to reach out and help. What’s less clear is the best way in which to do this. Continue reading...

‘Period brain’ may be one of the mainstays of internet banter – but a new study doesn’t find any scientific evidence for itIs there such a thing as period brain? There are teams of researchers asking exactly what having a period does to your memory, ability to pay attention and your judgment. So far, the weight of studies has been firmly tilted towards fluctuating levels of hormones during the menstrual cycle having both physical and mental impacts. The authors of a review in the Archives of Gynaecology and Obstetrics state: “The effects of the menstrual cycle on emotional state and cognitive function have been long recognised,” and cite internet humour as confirmatory. Continue reading...

They promise to reveal everything from our ancestry to our chances of serious illness. But are DNA tests accurate and do they tell us anything worthwhile?There may come a time in everyone’s life when they find themselves sitting at the kitchen table on an otherwise unexceptional weekday morning, drooling saliva into a test tube in the spirit of scientific inquiry.The spit is for one of the home genetic-testing kits I’m sampling. A growing number of these kits (brands such as 23andMe, DNAFit, Thriva, MyHeritage DNA, and Orig3n) promise to unlock the mystery of your genomes, variously explaining everything from ancestry, residual Neanderthal variants, “bioinformatics” for fitness, weight loss and skincare, to more random genetic predispositions, denoting, say, the dimensions of your earlobes or the consistency of your earwax. Continue reading...

The most enduring works are made with heartfelt intent, says Ryan Holiday, not to mention a lot of hard workIn 1937, literary critic Cyril Connolly sat down to write a book around an unusual question: how does an author create something that lasts for 10 years? Connolly’s view was that the mark of literary greatness lay in standing the test of time. With the spectre of world war looming on the horizon, the idea of anything surviving in an uncertain future had a kind of poignancy and meaning to it.The book that Connolly wrote, Enemies of Promise, explored contemporary literature and the timeless challenges of making great art. While it never became a trendy cultural sensation, this unusual book ultimately endured through wars, political revolutions, fads, massive technological disruption and so much else. It lasted first for a decade – in 1948, 10 years after its release, Enemies of Promise was expanded and given its first reprinting. The book got the same treatment in 2008. Continue reading...

Retailer backs futurologist’s claim that devices conversing in canine will be available in, ruffly speaking, a decadeImagine talking to a tiger, chatting to a cheetah, as Dr Doolittle once sang – what a neat achievement that would be. Well, Amazon has revealed that the animal-loving doctor’s ambition might not be entirely fantasy.Pet translators that can turn woofs into words and make sense of miaows, might really be on the horizon, according to a report backed by the internet retailer. Continue reading...

Spanish study suggests side effects of new immunotherapy drugs may include restoring hair pigmentA group of cancer patients’ grey hair has unexpectedly darkened after they took new types of drugs, researchers have revealed.Chemotherapy is known to make patients’ hair fall out, but the 14 people involved were all being treated with new immunotherapy drugs that work differently and have different side effects from chemotherapy. A Spanish study suggests those may include restoring hair pigment, at least in patients with lung cancer. Continue reading...

New guidelines mean homeopathic remedies and 17 other items will no longer be prescribed, for reasons ranging from low clinical effectiveness to low cost-effectiveness

I can’t even fold t-shirts neatly (yes, yes, I’ve seen the online tutorials, I’m ham-fisted, ok?) but if you’re or origami expert or a whizz at folding, Nasa might have just the challenge for you. The space agency is crowdsourcing ideas for ways to efficiently pack a radiation shield to protect manned spacecraft on deep space missions. Potentially more achievable for the majority of us, however, are some of the lifestyle changes highlighted in a new report on dementia prevention. The researchers say that potentially over a third of dementia cases could be prevented, although they admit that’s a best case scenario. Still, with 2015 figures showing 45 million people worldwide living with dementia, it’s a ray of hope. Ageing of a different kind has caused excitement this week in Australia, as an archaeological dig has found evidence of Aboriginal habitation from up to 80,000 years ago. The artefacts discovered in Kakadu national park have been dated as being between 65,000 and 80,000 years old, extending the likely occupation of the area by thousands of years. And finally, what once seemed like impossible science fiction is now happening - and causing ethical dilemmas. Robots are now starting to enter public spaces and work alongside humans, bringing with them a need for additional safety measures, say academics, who are calling for robots to be given ‘ethical black boxes’ to track and explain their decisions. Continue reading...

Nationalistic fantasies about future export strengths, an ill-informed public debate and political deceit all masked the economic disaster that was ConcordeThe idea that we now live in an age of ‘post-truth’ implies that once-upon-a-time politics was guided by objective reality. Clearly, this is nonsense. We shouldn’t mistake a period in which the media and political establishment offered more coherent stories for a time when politics was truthful. In the recent past, politics could be astonishingly dishonest, especially when it came to supporting national machines. Concorde, the fastest lame duck ever built, was a flying Brexit. The political establishment privately despaired about its costs, whilst knowingly pretending that the project would improve Britain’s place in the world.Few politicians actually believed in the Concorde project. It was accepted inside Whitehall that the scheme would be an economic disaster. After Harold Wilson came to power in 1964, the Anglo-French supersonic airliner only survived because the government was concerned that unilaterally cancelling the project would lead the French to sue them for more than it would cost to continue to develop the machine. Continue reading...

In the search for ways to efficiently pack a radiation shield to protect manned spacecraft on deep space missions, Nasa is looking to the public for helpIf you know your crane from your bishop’s mitre, Nasa needs you. The space agency is launching a challenge to crowdsource origami-inspired ideas for a foldable radiation shield to protect spacecraft and astronauts on voyages to deep space, such as missions to Mars. Continue reading...

The Sentinel-5P spacecraft is designed to monitor the pollution that causes a reported tens of thousands of deaths every year in the UKLast year, the European Space Agency launched the Trace Gas Orbiter to Mars. It is designed to look for methane – a key tracer of life – to determine if Martian microbes are present on the red planet.Now, ESA is preparing to launch another spacecraft to look at methane on another planet: our own.

Philosophy of science has built an industry around confirmation theory. But unprecedented methodological challenges are forcing philosophers to go back to the drawing-boardThe Dark Energy Survey (DES) concluded its biannual Collaboration meeting at University of Chicago in mid-June. DES is one of the largest surveys in cosmology searching for evidence of dark energy, the elusive entity that according to the so-called “concordance model” in cosmology should constitute 73% of the whole mass-energy of the universe. After years of observations at the Blanco Telescope in Chile, spanning the southern sky and mapping 200 million galaxies, DES Year 1 data will soon be publicly released; and there is a lot of anticipation as to whether the data will prove consistent with the current concordance model or not.DES uses four different probes — baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO), weak gravitational lensing, Supernova of type Ia, and galaxy clusters — to measure both how fast the universe is accelerating in its expansion and how clumpy the universe was at different epochs after the Big Bang. Precise measurements of both quantities are crucial for establishing whether dark energy is indeed a non-zero vacuum energy responsible for the accelerated expansion of the universe; or, whether instead Einstein’s general relativity needs be modified to account for the observed accelerated expansion. Continue reading...

The 2016 election and a wealth of psychological data show how much our reasoning can be influenced by how information is framedIn March 2016, before Trump was selected as the Republican nominee, cognitive scientist George Lakoff was already concerned about the emerging Trump phenomenon. So he wrote an article called “Understanding Trump” that details the ways in which Trump “uses your brain against you” – and sent it to every member of the Clinton campaign.Lakoff researches how framing influences reasoning, or how the way we say something often matters much more than what we say. And he has used his research to inform how Democrats can better frame their party positions. He consolidated his advice for Democrats in his book, Don’t think of an elephant! The title conveys one of its main insights: if you negate a frame, you strengthen a frame. In other words, if you say “don’t think of an elephant,” you can’t help but think of one. Continue reading...

Researchers admit prevention estimate is a ‘best-case scenario’, but stress that action can be taken to reduce dementia risk

A dig at Madjedbebe on the traditional lands of the Mirarr people in northern Australia has unearthed thousands of artefacts, some as old as 80,000 years. The discovery upends decades-old estimates about the human colonisation of the continent (previously estimated at between 47,000 and 60,000 years) and adds western scientific evidence to Indigenous cultural knowledge about the length of time their ancestors have occupied the land• Australian dig finds evidence of Aboriginal habitation up to 80,000 years ago

Health bodies condemn panel’s conclusion that more jabs against cancer-causing infection are unlikely to be cost-effectiveA decision not to vaccinate boys against a cancer-causing sexually transmitted infection has been condemned by health bodies and campaigners.The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which has been reviewing the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination programme, concluded that it was “highly unlikely to be cost-effective” to extend the scheme to include adolescent boys as well as girls. Continue reading...

Artefacts in Kakadu national park have been dated between 65,000 and 80,000 years old, extending likely occupation of area by thousands of yearsA groundbreaking archaeological discovery in Australia’s north has extended the known length of time Aboriginal people have inhabited the continent to at least 65,000 years.The findings on about 11,000 artefacts from Kakadu national park, published on Thursday in the journal Nature, prove Indigenous people have been in Australia for far longer than the much-contested estimates of between 47,000 and 60,000 years, the researchers said. Some of the artefacts were potentially as old as 80,000 years. Continue reading...

What can advances in neuroscience and psychology reveal about this age-old phenomenon? And how might digital avatars help patients answer back?Subscribe & Review on iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud & Acast, and join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterOnce thought to originate from the realm of the supernatural, auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) have a well-documented history, with more recent times often seeing them linked to mental health issues. But with recent surveys suggesting that up to 10% of the population report hearing voices that nobody else can hear, could these hallucinations reveal the way our brains distinguish voices? And if so, how might we use this knowledge to answer back? Continue reading...

As robots start to enter public spaces and work alongside humans, the need for safety measures has become more pressing, argue academicsRobots should be fitted with an “ethical black box” to keep track of their decisions and enable them to explain their actions when accidents happen, researchers say.