Scientists say memory lapses keep your brain healthy. But if it’s so clever, surely it should erase mundane or unpleasant minutiae

An epic scientific story, from the Earth’s first days to your most recent inhalation, is told with a helluva high level of informalityWe are creatures of light and air. Life’s a gas, in every sense. We are oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, packed together with the carbon that photosynthesising life has plucked, one molecule at a time, from the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. At cremation, our bodies bake down to a handful of minerals. When Hamlet beseeched his too, too solid flesh to melt, thaw and resolve itself into a dew, he got it about right: the Prince of Denmark would have been about 70% water, which is itself an atmospheric vapour. And he certainly could have been blown away.Harry Truman – “not that Harry Truman”, as Sam Kean says in this bright and breezy book – was blown away by Mount St Helens. Truman was the defiant man who dismissed the warnings of volcanologists and refused to leave the high slopes of America’s most violent modern volcano before it erupted in May 1980. Kean reconstructs his death because, as a chemist, he knows the temperatures at which water, viscera and bones could vaporise as a black cloud of intense heat, 100 storeys high and 10 miles wide, came roaring down the mountain at 350mph: “Truman’s clothes would have flared and disappeared, and then Truman himself would have sublimed in the scientific sense – transformed from solid to spirit almost instantly. And with a final hiss, he would have risen up into the air.” Continue reading...

Whale Weekender at Grant Zoology Museum calls on public to clean then reassemble bones of 8-metre mammalThe public is invited to help reassemble a giant jigsaw in a London museum, 157 years after two Somerset fishermen went out to catch a “great fish” and brought back a northern bottlenosed whale more than eight metres (26ft) long.Their catch was a local sensation: the carcass went on a west country tour then the skeleton was displayed for years hanging from the ceiling of the museum in Weston-super-Mare. Continue reading...

New paper suggests that the hotly contested physics thesis, which involves the existence of six ‘extra dimensions’, may be settled by cutting-edge laser detectorsString theory makes the grand promise of weaving together all of physics into a single sublime framework. The only downside is that scientists have yet to find any experimental proof that it is right – and critics question whether its predictions are even testable.Now, a new paper has claimed that gravitational wave measurements could hold the key to whether string theory is destined to fulfil its lofty goals or be consigned to the dustbin of discarded ideas. The study suggests that the first observable evidence for the existence of extra dimensions, one of string theory’s predictions, could be hidden within the ripples of gravitational waves. Continue reading...

David Karoly says without an expert to replace him, the CCA will struggle to fulfil its legal mandateImagine, if you will, a government board to champion Australian arts without any artists on it, or an agency to advise on medical research without any medical researchers.Or perhaps even, imagine a government authority set up to provide expertise on climate policy without any actual climate scientists. Continue reading...

Report reveals slight drop on figures from 2016 – but Royal College of Nursing says number is not falling fast enoughMore than 9,000 attendances to NHS services in England last year involved the identification or treatment of female genital mutilation, a report has revealed.The data, released by NHS Digital and covering the period from April 2016 to March 2017, includes figures from both NHS trusts and GP practices. Continue reading...

Near-complete fossilised skeleton of 132m-year-old creature, believed to be an Iguanodon, has been taken to special laboratory for further investigationThe near-complete fossilised skeleton of a dinosaur, thought to have lived about 132m years ago, has been unearthed at a brick factory in Surrey.Paleontologists say they discovered the bones during a routine visit to the site of the Wienerberger quarry in February. The first clues came when the team looked at rock that had been turned up by a bulldozer at the site and discovered a couple of tail vertebrae. Continue reading...

Sally Davies calls for making genomic testing as common as blood tests to usher in the era of precision medicine to treat cancers and rare diseasesGenomic testing should become a normal part of NHS care, beginning with cancer patients and those with rare diseases, says the chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies.In her annual report, Davies stresses her enthusiasm for the genomic revolution which could transform the treatment that NHS patients receive. Drugs can be matched to the disease and to the patient to maximise the benefit and reduce side-effects. Continue reading...

Research suggests people on proton pump inhibitors are more likely to die than those taking different antacid or none at allMillions of people taking common heartburn and indigestion medications could be at an increased risk of death, research suggests.The drugs, known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), neutralise the acid in the stomach and are widely prescribed, with low doses also available without prescription from pharmacies. In the UK, doctors issue more than 50m prescriptions for PPIs every year. Continue reading...

Former EU commissioner Pascal Lamy calls for post-Brexit framework in which the UK can remain in the European Research Area

Scientists have cracked the secret to Roman water-based structures’ strength – and findings could help today’s buildersTheir structures are still standing more than 1,500 years after the last centurion snuffed it: now the Romans’ secret of durable marine concrete has finally been cracked.The Roman recipe – a mix of volcanic ash, lime (calcium oxide), seawater and lumps of volcanic rock – held together piers, breakwaters and harbours. Moreover, in contrast to modern materials, the ancient water-based structures became stronger over time. Continue reading...

Australian National University team says the breakthrough could protect satellites from radiation and create energy-efficient homesAustralian scientists have developed a technique to create temperature-controlled nanomaterial that could be used to turn a window into a mirror at the push of a button.The method, developed by a team of 12 at the Australian National University, could be used to protect multibillion-dollar satellites from harmful radiation, create energy-efficient temperature-controlled homes, or just for the trivial delight of switching a mirror on and off, said the lead researcher, Dr Mohsen Rahmani. Continue reading...

An important new study could lead to the reinstatement of rules imposing a maximum level of male sex hormones in athletes competing as female

Study shows performance-boosting effects of testosterone in female athletes, reopening controversial debate about intersex and hyperandrogenous competitors

Peter Frates posted a video of himself in a hospital bed while Pearl Jam’s Alive played in the background after multiple newspapers announced he had diedThe man who helped raise over $100m to combat the neurodegenerative disease ALS by encouraging millions of people to pour icy buckets of water over their heads is still alive, despite reports to the contrary, and has posted a video to Twitter to prove it.Peter Frates, 32, posted a 45-second video of himself in a hospital bed while Pearl Jam’s Alive played in the background on social media on Monday, writing: “In the words of my friend ed,” presumably a reference to Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder. Continue reading...

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin reacted with a range of expressions while Donald Trump made a speech on Friday about the importance of exploring space. Aldrin had joined Trump at the White House for the signing of an executive order to re-establish the National Space Council

The answer to today’s moggie mysteryIn my puzzle blog earlier today I set you the following question:A straight corridor has 7 doors along one side. Behind one of the doors sits a cat. Your mission is to find the cat by opening the correct door. Each day you can open only one door. If the cat is there, you win. You are officially smarter than a cat. If the cat is not there, the door closes, and you must wait until the next day before you can open a door again. Continue reading...

The former education minister recently asserted that people who don’t go to university shouldn’t have to pay for those who do. As someone who went to university twice, Dean Burnett has seen the error of his ways and would like to make amendsDear Michael Gove,I’m writing this to say I heard your recent remarks about how people who don’t go to university shouldn’t pay for those who do. Or, to use your exact words: Continue reading...

Impact of cancer and treatment on female fertility has much improved in recent years, finds survey of 23,000 medical recordsWomen who survived cancer in the past 30 years were a third less likely to become pregnant than women in the general population, according to study into the impact of the disease and its treatment on patients.The research provides the first broad assessment of how cancer, the fertility-harming therapies that patients receive, and the decisions women make on leaving hospital, can affect their plans for a family.

The favorite satellite data of contrarians like Ted Cruz corrected for some errors and ended up hotter

Feline clever? This moggy mystery will mess with your mindUPDATE: The solution is now up, read it here.Hi guzzlers,Today’s puzzle requires you to demonstrate superior intelligence to a contrary cat. Continue reading...

Women aged under 30 with a male partner aged 40 to 42 saw chance of live birth after IVF fall to 46% from 73% for men aged 30 to 35For men who are reluctant to start a family, it is an age-old defence: there is no need to rush into fatherhood, as Des O’Connor, Luciano Pavarotti and countless rock stars have proved when they had children well after they qualified for their bus passes.But men, just like women, can wait too long, doctors warn. A new study reveals that a couple’s chances of having a baby fall with the man’s age, to the point that it can have a substantial impact on their ability to start a family. Continue reading...

Crispr inventor Jennifer Doudna talks about discovering the gene-editing tool, the split with her collaborator and the complex ethics of genetic manipulationJennifer Doudna, 53, is an American biochemist based at the University of California, Berkeley. Together with the French microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier, she led the discovery of the revolutionary gene-editing tool, Crispr. The technology has the potential to eradicate previously incurable diseases, but also poses ethical questions about the possible unintended consequences of overwriting the human genome.Were you nerdy as a child? What got you hooked on science?

You’ve done something amazing and you want to tell all your friends about it. How you choose to spread the word online says a lot about youHow you choose to share personal achievements on social media says more about you than you think. Caution: you may not always create the impression you were hoping for…Suppose you have achieved the most prestigious award available in your line of work. How would you share the news on social media? Continue reading...

Document with 400 signatories says that exchange of ideas must surviveLeading European figures in culture, science and education, including physics professor and TV presenter Brian Cox and artist Mark Wallinger, will warn Britain’s EU negotiators this week of the damage that a hard Brexit would do to the UK and the rest of Europe.They will make a striking plea to David Davis’s team: involve young people in your policymaking. They will say that the youth of both the UK and the EU – “effective agents for positive change” – must play a meaningful part in shaping what will be their futures. Continue reading...

Retirement home residents take a trip to a producerForget bingo, tea dances and seaside trips. Residents from a chain of Seattle retirement homes are going on Pot for Beginners tours to learn about – and buy – cannabis in the city, where it’s now legal.Connie Schick said her son roared with laughter when he heard she was joining a field trip to a cannabis-growing operation, an extraction plant and shop. The 79-year-old, who smoked the odd joint in the 70s, wanted to know how legalisation has changed the way the drug is used and produced. Continue reading...

How Iceland became a magnet for star-gazers, film-makers – and astronauts

The International Geophysical Year started on 1 July 1957 and was a massive international effort to study the entire planet; as scientists worked in the harsh conditions of Antarctica, a team of physiologists and doctors took this unique opportunity to study the body under stress.The International Geophysical Year was a global survey, but it had a particular impact on Antarctica, as it led to the creation and signing of the Antarctic Treaty, reserving the continent for “peaceful purposes only” and ensuring “Freedom of scientific investigation”. While most of the work done was – as the name suggests – in the physical and geographical sciences, one almost unknown part of the research involved an international team of physiologists and doctors who headed out to Antarctica to study the human body in an extreme environment.INPHEXAN, the INternational PHysiological EXpedition to ANtarctica involved six researchers from three countries: Nello Pace, William Siri and Charles Meyers from the USA; Gerhard Hildebrand, a recent German immigrant to the USA (and ex-First Alpine Battalion member); and James Adams and Lewis Griffith Evans Cresswell ‘Griff’ Pugh from the UK. Initiated by Pace and Siri, who shared leisure interests in high altitude climbing as well as research interests in stress and physiology, the initial plan was a study of hormonal responses to the stress of the Antarctic environment – the cold, dark, and isolation. Charles Meyer, a dentist and bacteriologist at the Naval Biological Laboratory in Berkeley went along to conduct studies of infectious diseases. The UK team had intended to study changes in metabolism, and the possibility that people are able to acclimatise to intense cold, and agreed to join with the Americans to make an international research team. Continue reading...

The International Geophysical Year in 1957 paved the way for the Antarctic treaty, an accord born amid the cold war that continues to reserve an entire continent for peace and scienceIt all started over dinner: on 1 July 1957, the International Geophysical Year began, paving the way for an international agreement like no other – the Antarctic treaty – which reserves an entire continent for peace and science.Today’s Antarctica is a tightly regulated continent surrounded by equally carefully managed and cared-for oceans. The Antarctic treaty ensures that Antarctica is used only for peaceful purposes, and that there is freedom of scientific investigation. Continue reading...

Improving our ability to be more intimate in relationships is just another skill, like learning a language, says the neuroscientist Giovanni FrazzettoGiovanni Frazzetto speaks with a thin voice, barely louder than our footsteps; we are walking around St Stephen’s Green in Dublin. To hear, I have to lean in. At first I think he’s shy, but he’s an intimacy expert so maybe talking quietly is a device to bring us closer. After all, there is a loneliness epidemic and Frazzetto is on a mission to make human beings do intimacy better.To this end, his new book, Together, Closer: Stories of Intimacy in Friendship, Love and Family, examines the way humans relate to each other across a spectrum of relationships from parent-child to platonic friendships and, of course, romantic love. Frazzetto, a research fellow at Trinity College Dublin, is a cross-disciplinary neuroscientist. He wants to explain the neuroscience behind the way people relate to each other, to explain why we behave as we do. Continue reading...

Participants adopted ‘cautious stepping strategy’ while using device for different tasks, say university researchersTexting on the hoof leads people to change the way they walk, new research has revealed.While researchers have previously looked at the impact of phone use while on a level surface, they have now explored how pedestrians cope while using their phone and negotiating that common trip-hazard: a step.

Imperial College London scientists expect to give first dose in the next two months alongside psychotherapyDoctors in Bristol are set to begin the world’s first clinical study into the use of MDMA to treat alcohol addiction.Researchers are testing whether a few doses of the drug, in conjunction with psychotherapy, could help patients overcome addiction more effectively than conventional treatments. The small trial was granted ethical approval a few weeks ago and the team expects to give the first dose of MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy pills, within the next two months. Continue reading...

Critics of planned bridge say increased footfall could erode island’s structures – that is, if anyone is willing to cross itPlans for a footbridge soaring high above the waves between the Cornish mainland and the island fortress of Tintagel have caused a storm of protest.The site’s custodians, English Heritage, say the bridge will help more visitors reach the island and understand its history better. Continue reading...

Heatwaves that saw deadly forest fires in Portugal and soaring temperatures in England were made up to 10 times more likely by global warming, say scientistsHuman-caused climate change dramatically increased the likelihood of the extreme heatwave that saw deadly forest fires blazing in Portugal and Spain, new research has shown.Much of western Europe sweltered earlier in June, and the severe heat in England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland was also made significantly more likely by global warming. Such temperatures will become the norm by 2050, the scientists warned, unless action is taken to rapidly cut carbon emissions. Continue reading...

It is an industry like no other, with profit margins to rival Google – and it was created by one of Britain’s most notorious tycoons: Robert Maxwell. Is the staggeringly profitable business of scientific publishing actually bad for science? While thinking about scalping: fragments of three ancient skulls found in Turkey have all the hallmarks of being carved with flint after being defleshed first. Archaeologists believe this is more evidence that a neolithic “skull cult” embraced rituals around the heads of the dead. To think, if the cult were to exist in the future rather than 11,000 years ago, there might not be any skulls lying around for them to worship because we could all be alive! This is because scientists have argued there is no compelling evidence that we are approaching an upper limit on our mortality, in response to work published in Nature that concluded “maximum longevity has hit a ceiling of 114.9 years”. Here’s wishing a long and happy career for the robotic yellow submarine Boaty McBoatface, whose successful maiden voyage saw it gather “unprecedented data” from one of the deepest and coldest ocean regions on Earth, Orkney Passage in Antarctica. Continue reading...

If you say you’re depressed, people are quick to dispense wisdom on how to deal with it. Martha Mills decided to take them literally, and try them out for herselfSo, it turns out I’m getting better at depression. That isn’t to say I’ve stopped suffering it, or that it is any less debilitating when it sneaks up after a two-year hiatus and pile-drives me into a blistering agony of mental carpet burns topped with a patronising tousle of the bed-hair, like a nostalgic school bully. No, what’s “better” about me is spotting it and moving quicker through the self-blame method of diagnosis.We all have down days, and that’s what you hope these are. Only they stopped being a day or two of feeling blue that can be whiled away with the distraction of a conspiratorial sofa and questionable DVD collection, and have merged into weeks since you were last able to feel anything but disappointment on waking up, and the choice between showering or just smelling like a tramp’s undercarriage has gone beyond struggle into pure resignation.

Even if bodies could be made to live forever, minds would still fail. As one of the crumbling generation, I want a better life, not a longer one“A hundred and ruddy 20 … within 30 years, that’s what they’re saying … just imagine, being 50 again … after all, we are simply material cells … ah, but what about the mind?”A post-bingo conversation with some of my crumbly friends in the community centre. We are discussing the new prospect of amortality. It has created a major row among academics, with the publication of a paper by Jan Vijg, an eminent geneticist, suggesting there is an upper limit of around 115 years before we shuffle off this mortal coil being vigorously challenged by Professor Jim Vaupel, a specialist in ageing, and colleagues, who maintain there is no ceiling on longevity. Continue reading...

Today is the 3rd annual Asteroid Day, and the first to be presented under the auspices of the United Nations, with live global broadcasts raising awareness about asteroids

Data prompts debate about whether rise shows drugs are handed out too freely or whether more people are getting helpThe NHS prescribed a record number of antidepressants last year, fuelling an upward trend that has seen the number of pills given to patients more than double over the last decade.The figures raised questions over whether the rise shows doctors are handing out the drugs out too freely or whether it means more people are getting help to tackle their anxiety, depression and panic attacks. Continue reading...

The world’s largest ever field trial demonstrates widely used insecticides harm both honeybees and wild bees, increasing calls for a banWidely used insecticides damage the survival of honeybee colonies, the world’s largest ever field trial has shown for the first time, as well as harming wild bees.

Alert issued by regulatory agency calls for for MRI scans and blood tests on expanded pool from 56,000 patients using devices believed to be at risk of bone or muscle damage

Radar technology detects inner stone structure thought to commemorate Neolithic building dating to 3500BC and a focal point for Neolithic community

Meet Keran Bunker, who has always struggled to keep jobs or a place to live and did not find out he had autism with ADHD until he was 33. Relying on prompts and visual cues to get through the day, his condition frequently sabotages his efforts to lead a normal life. However, after trying to get back into work for two years, a new start with Deliveroo is beginning to show promising signs

Advances in medication now mean that the virus can no longer be detected in my blood, so it’s impossible for me to transmit it to anybodyI will always remember how I felt the moment I was told of my diagnosis as HIV-positive. It was 4 July 2016, and I thought that was it for me. I thought I was a risk to others, and on a countdown to death. I’m not alone in those views – a new survey shows nearly 40% of the public would be uncomfortable going on a date with someone on effective HIV treatment. And one in three would be uncomfortable giving first aid to someone living with HIV, even if they are on effective treatment.Related: I’ve grown old with HIV. I don’t fear the virus any more, I fear the stigma | Michael Penn Continue reading...

Summit calls for national body and the recognition antibiotic-resistant superbugs are a patient safety issueAustralia needs a national body to coordinate work to slow the spread of superbugs, experts say.An infectious diseases specialist, Prof Lindsay Grayson, says Australia is at a crossroads in dealing with the rise of antimicrobial resistance, which the World Health Organisation has called a global crisis. Continue reading...

Fragments of three skulls found at Göbekli Tepe have hallmarks of being carved with flint after being scalped and defleshed firstFragments of carved bone unearthed at an ancient site on a Turkish hillside are evidence that the people who spent time there belonged to a neolithic “skull cult” – a group that embraces rituals around the heads of the dead.The remains were uncovered during field work at Göbekli Tepe, an 11,000-year-old site in the south-east of the country, where thousands of pieces of human bone were found, including sections of skulls bearing grooves, holes and the occasional dab of ochre. Continue reading...

Researchers have captured footage of cockatoos in North Queensland, Australia, playing drum solos with little sticks and pods in an attempt to attract the opposite sex

Five research teams say there is no compelling evidence there is an upper limit on mortality, disputing claim in NatureThe maximum human lifespan could far exceed previous predictions, according to work that challenges the idea that humans are approaching a hard limit on longevity.The latest research comes in response to a recent high-profile paper that concluded “maximum longevity has hit a ceiling of 114.9 years” – a claim that prompted extraordinary levels of criticism from the scientific community. Now five separate research teams have launched critiques of the work in a series of papers in the journal Nature. Continue reading...

US scientists have investigated the makeup of the perfect smile, saying the findings could be useful for clinicians working to restore facial movementIf you want your smile to appear pleasant, you might want to avoid a dazzling beam, research suggests. A study by scientists in the US has found that wide smiles with a high angle and showing a lot of teeth are not the best at creating a positive impression.“A lot of people don’t understand how important their smiles are and how important this aspect of communication we do with each other every day is,” said Stephen Guy, a co-author of the research from the University of Minnesota. The authors say the findings could prove valuable for clinicians working to restore facial movement and expression to those who have experienced facial paralysis. Continue reading...