New research debunks the belief that humans’ sense of smell compares poorly with that of our canine friendsDon’t you wish you could smell as well as a dog? Actually, you probably can. In a paper published in the new issue of Science, neuroscientist John McGann of Rutgers University in New Jersey describes the idea that humans have a poor sense of smell as a “19th-century myth”. On the contrary, he writes, “humans have excellent olfactory abilities”. So why have we been doing our noses down?We’ve never had a high opinion of smell. Ever since Plato pronounced it inferior to the “noble” senses of sight and hearing, there’s been a lingering suspicion that there’s something primitive and animal about it. For Charles Darwin, our atrophied sense of smell was a mark of evolutionary advancement beyond our ape ancestors. Continue reading...

The relentless ‘me’ focus of our lives misses a crucial stepThe most important, and yet least examined, determinant of success or failure – at work and in life – is self-awareness. The ability to understand who we are, how others see us, and how we fit into the world.Plato instructed us to “know thyself”, while psychologists have argued that this skill is at the core of human survival and advancement. For millions of years, the ancestors of Homo sapiens evolved painfully slowly. But as the neuroscientist VS Ramachandran explains in his book The Tell-Tale Brain, about 150,000 years ago there was an explosive development in the human brain where, among other things, we gained the ability to examine our own thoughts, feelings and behaviours, as well as to see things from another’s point of view. Not only did this transformation create the foundation for art, spiritual practices and language, it came with a survival advantage for our ancestors, who had to work together in order to survive. Continue reading...

Mummies elaborately preserved and therefore likely belong to officials and priestsAn Egyptian archaeological mission has found a necropolis holding at least 17 mummies near the Nile Valley city of Minya, in the first such find in the area, the antiquities ministry said on Saturday.Related: Ancient Egyptian mummy discovered 'in very good condition' Continue reading...

1,100-tonne Zeynel Bey monument relocated despite legal challenge to Tigris river construction projectAn enormous 15th-century tomb in south-eastern Turkey has been moved to make way for a hydroelectric dam on the Tigris river.

Metal detectorist who unearthed 10th-century artefacts including silver bracelets and a bird-shaped pin set to receive ex gratia paymentA metal detectorist who discovered the “richest collection” of rare Viking artefacts ever found in the UK is set to receive a reward of almost £2m.Derek McLennan uncovered the 10th-century hoard, which includes silver bracelets and brooches, a gold ring, an enamelled Christian cross and a bird-shaped gold pin, in a Dumfries and Galloway field in 2014. Continue reading...

It’s been quite an eclectic week in science, but all the richer for it, say I. For starters, the Developing Human Connectome Project released its first set of really rather stunning images. They’re trying to map the connections in the human brain from womb to birth (that’s right: this includes pics of the brains of unborn babies. Amazing.) in the hope that it will help them understand how conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy and attention deficit disorders arise. Meanwhile, at the other end of the age spectrum, it seems possible that a daily dose of cannabis extract could reverse brain’s decline in old age. The results were quite dramatic in mice, so here’s hoping that the human trial planned for later this year will be similarly impressive. Some interesting news from Lee Berger and his team: a new haul of Homo naledi bones has shed some surprising light on human evolution, with dating suggesting that the early human relative lived at same time as Homo sapiens and could even have made stone tools. Also interesting evolutionarily speaking, is a 36m-year-old fossil found in Peru. Mystacodon selenensis is the oldest known cousin of modern baleen whales and researchers say it could be the missing link in whale evolution. And finally we look up from the sea to the stars - specifically to the two enormous lava waves spotted on Io, one of Jupiter’s moons. It seems that a hugely powerful active volcano has produced and 8,300 square mile dent in the surface, unleashing the waves. Continue reading...

‘Nobody, even Trump, should be blamed for being mentally ill. But nor should we pretend mental illness affects only the nice’Should we talk more openly about mental illness, or should we shut up? It depends which side of the Atlantic you’re on. In Britain, the future head of state has thrown his weight behind an admirable campaign for more conversation, but in America, where the current head of state seems profoundly psychologically disordered, the official position is to zip it. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is standing firm on the “Goldwater Rule”, which prohibits members from offering opinions, let alone formal diagnoses, on those they haven’t evaluated in person. (It was devised after a poll of psychiatrists deemed Barry Goldwater, the 1964 Republican presidential candidate, unfit for office.) Needless to say, the rule hasn’t stifled media speculation about celebrity mental health; instead, it precludes precisely those who might bring some credibility and sobriety to the discussion.The best argument for the royal family’s Heads Together initiative is that it could reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness, yet the APA’s best argument for not talking about Trump’s problems is also to avoid stigmatising other mentally ill people through association with the Orange Horror. There’s something amiss here: we claim we want to acknowledge that mental illness affects pretty much everyone, but at the same time, we don’t want to acknowledge that it affects some highly unsavoury people. And we certainly don’t want to acknowledge that their illness and bad actions might be intertwined. Continue reading...

Reliable evidence matters - and the Charity Commission’s consultation is a chance to make that clear to complementary and alternative therapy charitiesRight now, the Charity Commission is in the middle of a public consultation, asking whether or not organisations that offer complementary and alternative therapies should continue to have charitable status. This review presents an unprecedented opportunity for the public to turn the tide, and to make it clear to the Charity Commission that it is not enough to make a medical claim, but that such claims have to be backed up by reliable evidence.There are currently more than 167,000 charities registered with the Charity Commission, each of which must meet one of 13 pre-defined charitable purposes, as well as operating for the public benefit. One such purpose is “the advancement of health or the saving of lives”. It is this purpose that most complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) charities currently registered with the Charity Commission claim to have as an objective, arguing that the promotion of CAM treatments is a benefit to the public. Continue reading...

Drone footage in Canada captures the behaviour of rarely-seen narwhals which appear to use their long tusks to tap and stun fish, making them easier to catch. Narwhals, a type of whale, live in remote locations, meaning very little is known about them. WWF and Fisheries and Oceans Canada have been working together to monitor the creature to better protect it from industrial development Continue reading...

Doctors have highlighted the need for awareness of anisakiasis, caused by the larvae of a worm found in contaminated undercooked or raw fish or seafoodFrom nigiri to temaki, sushi has boomed in popularity in the west, but now doctors are warning of a less appetising trend: a rise in parasitic infections.A team of doctors from Portugal raised concerns after a 32-year old man was admitted to hospital complaining of pain in his abdomen just below his ribs, vomiting and had a slight fever, all of which had lasted for a week. Continue reading...

Fall in cases brings end to the emergency 18 months after the virus hit headlines around the worldBrazil has declared an end to its public health emergency over the Zika virus, 18 months after a surge in cases drew headlines around the world.The mosquito-borne virus was not considered a major health threat until the 2015 outbreak revealed that Zika can lead to severe birth defects. One of those defects, microcephaly, causes babies to be born with skulls much smaller than expected. Continue reading...

At the height of his fame, Cary Grant turned to LSD therapy for help. He later claimed the drug saved him, but did it also spell the end of his career?In the late 1950s, at the height of his fame, Cary Grant set off on a trip in search of his true self, unpicking the myth he had spent three decades perfecting. He tried hypnosis and yoga and felt that they both came up short. So he began dropping acid and claimed to have found inner peace. “During my LSD sessions, I would learn a great deal,” he would later remark. “And the result was a rebirth. I finally got where I wanted to go.”Grant’s adventures in psychedelia – an estimated 100 sessions, spanning the years 1958-1961 – provide the basis for Becoming Cary Grant, a fascinating documentary that plays at next week’s Cannes film festival. It’s a film that takes its lead from Grant himself, undressing and probing the star of North by Northwest to the point where the very title risks feeling like a red herring. “Like all documentary makers, we started out looking at the construction of Cary Grant,” says producer Nick Ware. “But we ended up deconstructing him through the LSD sessions.” Continue reading...

A new study has found that female mannequins, but not male ones, represent extremely underweight women

We had to fight to get my grandfather good care. Those of us who don’t have children need a new approachFew of us are immune from the anxiety that can quickly set in when we contemplate our own ageing. Who will be there for us when us can no longer physically take care of ourselves? Who will be around to remind us of who we were in our moments of lucidity when our minds have started slipping away?For those of us who don’t have children, these questions take on a particular significance. I had mixed feelings after watching Still Alice, an Oscar-winning depiction of early-onset dementia. It made for grim viewing. But it was easy to imagine the ways it could have been even grimmer: what if the protagonist, Alice, had no children, a partner long departed or divorced, or friends who had drifted away? Continue reading...

Craft touches down on the Kennedy Space Centre runway where the now retired space shuttle landed 78 times from 1984 to 2011The US Air Force’s X-37B robotic space plane landed on 7 May after 718 days in orbit. This was the unmanned spacecraft’s fourth trip into space and, as before, the precise details of the sojourn are classified.The only payloads that the military revealed upon the vehicle’s launch on 20 May 2015, were a new form of “ion engine”, which is an extremely efficient thruster that could extend the life of communications or spy satellites; and a pallet of around 100 samples that were to be exposed to space to see how they degenerate. Continue reading...

Human olfactory abilities have been underestimated and are just as good as those of other mammals, says neuroscientist“Man smells poorly,” Aristotle wrote, while Charles Darwin concluded that a sense of smell was of “extremely slight service” to the civilised human. When it comes to detecting odours, we have long dismissed human abilities as second-rate.Now this view has been challenged in a scientific analysis that argues the human sense of smell has not only been underestimated, but that it may rival that of dogs and rodents. Continue reading...

Mystacodon selenensis, found in Peru, is the oldest known cousin of modern baleen whales and offers unprecedented evolutionary insightsFossil hunters say they have unearthed a missing link in the evolution of baleen whales after digging up the remains of a creature thought to have lived more than 36 million years ago.The whales, known as mysticeti, sport a bristling collection of sieve-like plates known as baleen that they use to filter water for food. Species include the enormous blue whale, the gray whale and the humpback whale. Continue reading...

A trace fossil from Jurassic Bavaria captures the last movements of a dead mollusc across the ancient sea floorIn your mind’s eye, imagine yourself floating in a shallow, semi-tropical lagoon. It’s like the Bahamas: warm water enveloping your skin, the sun shimmering through the gently slopping surface and sending the shadows of ripples onto the pale sand beneath you. It’s very quiet here, because there are no other humans on Earth. You are swimming in the Late Jurassic.This is not the Bahamas - it’s Bavaria. A mere 150 million years ago Germany was closer to the equator, submerged under water, and teeming with lobsters, fish and ammonites. Continue reading...

Instead of forging ahead with research on the benefits of cannabis, the UK criminalises millionsReports in Tuesday’s Guardian were little short of sensational. Cannabis use dramatically improves memory capacity in older brains. German research suggests that small doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) produced “profound, long-lasting improvement in cognitive performance”.The results indicated that this could possibly stave off dementia for five to 10 years, the reverse of the impact cannabis is known to have on younger brains. Or at least this was the case with mice. As yet, no one knows about humans, but that is good enough for me. I am happy to sign on as a mouse. Continue reading...

Food adapted for those with coeliac disease often has more fat and less protein, and no benefits to non-sufferers, finds researchSubstituting everyday staples with gluten-free foods could increase the risk of obesity, experts have warned, after finding that such products often contain higher levels of fats than the food they aim to replace.A gluten-free diet is essential to those with coeliac disease – an auto-immune condition that is thought to affect 1% of Europeans – while the regime is also proving increasingly popular among those without the disease. But while a host of gluten-free products are on the market, researchers have said they have a very different nutritional make-up to conventional staples. Continue reading...

Dr Hugh van’t Hoff and Martin Hoban on the use and overuse of painkillersOnly a week ago I told a patient there would be a scandal soon about our over-prescribing of opioid medication for chronic pain. What comes across in your article (Doctors call for action after prescriptions for addictive painkillers double in decade, 6 May) is the absence of any sense of the profession’s complicity in this process. I suggested to a colleague a few years back that we prescribed too much Valium (diazepam) and opioids. “About the same as everyone else,” was the reply. We are effectively legalised pushers and should acknowledge this because, in doing so openly with patients, we shoulder some of the blame for their habit. I also remember helping a woman in her 50s wean herself off diazepam, alcohol, co-codamol, antidepressants and cigarettes after 30 years of using these to block the pain of her second son being born with cerebral palsy and being taken into care. It was a struggle for her but it brought her back into her relationship with her husband: a few months later he tearfully related how he had re-met the woman he married 30 years before. This was only possible – I believe – because, at the outset, I said that it was we doctors who were responsible for her addiction.

Geological forces unleash waves on fourth largest Jovian moon, where hugely powerful active volcano has produced 8,300 square mile dent in the surfaceAstronomers have tracked two huge lava waves rolling around a volcanic crater the size of Wales on one of Jupiter’s many moons.Geological forces unleashed the waves on Io, the fourth largest Jovian moon, where the most powerful active volcano in the solar system has produced a 8,301 square mile dent in the surface.

Aldrin urges US cooperation for Mars mission and says plan for ‘cycler’ spacecraft could be tested on asteroid visit during Trump’s first term and future Venus fly-byNasa should aim to reach an important milestone on the way to Mars during Donald Trump’s presidency, astronaut Buzz Aldrin told a conference on Tuesday.Trump spoke of being “ready to unlock the mysteries of space” in his inaugural address and last month signed a Nasa funding bill containing the most comprehensive language yet in support of Mars exploration, setting a target of 2033 for a manned mission. Continue reading...

People claiming they have serious conditions when they don’t just exacerbates negative stereotypesIt’s mental health awareness week. So that’s good. Well, mostly. There are downsides to increased awareness of mental health, it turns out.You ever met someone who is needlessly cold or even outright rude to those who deign to engage with them? I used to work with someone like that, and eventually one of his superiors had to call him out on it. I was within earshot, and happened to hear his defence, which was something like “It’s just the way I am. I think I’m on the spectrum.” Continue reading...

Studies have shown that people perform better when they have written down what they need to do. What makes the to-do list such an effective productivity tool?Almost everyone struggles with getting stuff done. But some of us struggle with the stage before that: just figuring out what it is we need to do. The to-do list is, in theory, the answer. It’s a time-honoured system that’s beautiful in its simplicity: work out what needs to be done and in what order, write down the tasks, do them, and then, one-by-one, cross them out.Psychologist and author Dr David Cohen believes his struggle to stay organised is helped, but not entirely solved, by his to-do lists, which must be on paper – preferably in a diary – and need to be constantly monitored. “My family think I’m chaotic,” he says, “but I would be much more so without my lists – they’ve kept me in line for years.”

Scientists hope to understand how conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy and attention deficit disorders arise using thousands images of brain’s wiringA landmark project to map the wiring of the human brain from womb to birth has released thousands of images that will help scientists unravel how conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy and attention deficit disorders arise in the brain.The first tranche of images come from 40 newborn babies who were scanned in their sleep to produce stunning high-resolution pictures of early brain anatomy and the intricate neural wiring that ferries some of the earliest signals around the organ.

Bearing a striking resemblance to a creature from Ghostbusters, Zuul crurivastator is one of the most complete ankylosaur specimens ever foundScientists have identified a 75m-year old dinosaur that bears a striking resemblance to a monster from the film Ghostbusters.The dinosaur is one of the most complete specimens ever found belonging to the armoured ankylosaur group, featuring a complete skull, a tail club and preserved soft tissues. Continue reading...

Scientists from the Royal Ontario Museum have identified a new species of anklylosaurid. Named Zuul crurivastator in a nod to a demon dog-like creature from the film Ghostbusters and its potentially shin-bruising armoured anatomy, the skeleton is one of the most complete and best preserved of this group of dinosaurs ever found. Continue reading...

Risk of myocardial infarction is greatest in first month of taking NSAIDs such as ibuprofen if dose is high, say researchersCommonly prescribed painkillers including ibuprofen increase the likelihood of having a heart attack within the first month of taking them if consumed in high doses, a study suggests.All five nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) examined could raise the risk as early as the first week of use, an international team of researchers found. Continue reading...

Scientists have found musicians can’t distinguish between the rare violins and modern fiddles. Maybe, in this era of fake news, experts really are untrustworthyIt is a story that seems designed to appeal to something deep within me: in blind tests, Stradivarius violins don’t sound any better than good modern instruments. In fact, audiences preferred the new ones.Related: What's so special about a Stradivarius? Continue reading...

Tom Morton-Smith’s The Earthworks, set just before the LHC was switched on at Cern, is the latest collision between science and theatreTom Morton-Smith was never any good at physics at school. “I was rubbish at science,” he concedes with a laugh, “and I have the opposite of a mathematical brain.”

Uncertainty seems the only thing we can be sure of after 25 years of EU regulation. But this could also be an opportunity to make decisions for ourselvesI manage a mixed 500 hectare farm in Northamptonshire growing cereals, and supporting a beef and sheep enterprise. As the weeks went by during the Brexit referendum campaign, it became clear that the plight of British agriculture was something of a footnote, occasionally referenced by remain and leave politicians as a means of supporting their view. However, it is hard to think of any other sectors more affected by the vote to leave the EU than agriculture.What is now clear is just how much the EU, along with its rules and regulations, has become central to agriculture over the past 25 years – and for good reason. Agriculture is complicated; it oversees the food we eat and the environment we live in. It is, in many respects, an appropriate competence for the EU. But no more – our government is now left with the task of repatriating all these rules, within a department, Defra, that has seen huge cuts to its operations over the past seven years. Continue reading...

A new study of the man o’ war jellyfish found popular remedies like lemon juice and shaving foam make stings worse. Vinegar followed by heat is most effectiveWhat should you do if a jellyfish stings you? Scientists have found that applying vinegar is the best solution, and that popular remedies including urine, lemon juice, and shaving foam could make the situation worse.A recent study in Toxins, which investigated the efficacy of various remedies for stings from the Portuguese man o’ war (Physalia physalis) concludes that rinsing with vinegar before applying heat is the most effective treatment. The commonly recommended treatment of seawater and ice was found to cause more harm than good. Continue reading...

Criminal investigation of two staff at Randox lab may lead to appeals in many cases, including alleged rape and murder

New research shows that stripes are hard for our brains to process – and looking at some everyday objects could trigger a migraineName: Stripes.Age: Younger than us. Continue reading...

Early human relative lived at same time as Homo sapiens and could have made stone tools, scientists suggest

Transforming psychology into a mature science will require an uncompromising commitment to robustness and transparency. No exceptions, no special pleading, and no excusesI have two confessions to make. The first is that there are times when I regret pursuing psychology. When I started out, nearly 20 years ago, it was because I found the idea of science intriguing. Here was a profession that stood apart from all others. The aim wasn’t to make a profit, or sell people things, or win arguments in a courtroom, but to add to the sum of human knowledge and help solve problems along the way. I was drawn to a number of sciences – immunology, biology, astronomy – but psychology was the most fascinating. What could be more profound than understanding the inner workings of our own minds?As an undergraduate I would spend entire afternoons flicking through early 20-century volumes of the Journal of Experimental Psychology in the basement of the university library. The authors of these dusty articles seemed intent on discovering new truths but they were careful and cautious in their writing. They rarely strayed beyond the data and signposted it when they did. They always highlighted limitations and made sensible suggestions for future research. They were honest brokers who embraced the Mertonian virtues of science. Continue reading...

I thought Dorothy L Sayers’ 1930 novel Strong Poison wouldn’t stand up to modern science – but modern genetic research has just proved me wrongA little while ago I wrote about the poisoning possibilities and probabilities in Dorothy L Sayers’ 1930 novel Strong Poison. The premise of the murder mystery is that two people sit down to eat an arsenic-laced dinner but only one of the pair dies.I argued that, according to 1930s scientific understanding, Sayers was completely right. But modern scientific theories of arsenic poisoning would have meant that either both or neither died from their arsenic exposure in the tainted meal. Continue reading...

Trial involving almost 1,200 people aims to ‘establish definitively’ whether cholesterol drug can slow disability progressionScientists are hopeful a major drug trial will establish that statins can be used to treat multiple sclerosis.The low-cost drugs are typically prescribed to help lower levels of “bad cholesterol” associated with raised risk of a heart attack or stroke, but they have also shown “incredible promise” for the treatment of MS. Continue reading...

A new study shows how a switch in a major climate system could accelerate global temperatures to a 1.5C limit, but some scientists are challenging the assumptionsIn the Brazilian city of São Paulo, more than 80 experts, including dozens of climate scientists, gathered back in March for a giant planning meeting.As part of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the group from 39 different countries were starting their work on a major report that will tell governments and policymakers what kind of impacts they can expect when global warming reaches 1.5C. Continue reading...

Consumption of even full-fat dairy products does not increase risk, international team of experts saysConsuming cheese, milk and yoghurt – even full-fat versions – does not increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke, according to research that challenges the widely held belief that dairy products can damage health.

Different languages group colours differently, suggesting categories are cultural, but study into how babies respond to colour indicates a biological rootCategories of colour are not born of language but are rooted in biology, according to research that shows babies divide colours up into red, blue, green, yellow and purple.Humans see colour as a result of cells in the eyes known as cones, which are sensitive to either long, short or medium wavelengths of light. The way in which the brain interprets combinations of signals from these cells allows us to see a whole spectrum of colour. Continue reading...

My friend and colleague Martin Allday, who has died aged 66 of cancer, was a professor at Imperial College London with an international reputation as a molecular virologist.His field was the biology of the Epstein-Barr virus and his research revealed completely new insights into its link with cancer. The question that fascinated him and that he researched for 30 years was how this extremely common, generally harmless virus caused the disease. Continue reading...

The solutions to today’s puzzlesEarlier today I set you three ‘paddocks’ puzzles. Printable versions are here, here and here, and the rules are here. Give them a try, they’re fun!The completed grids are as follows: Continue reading...

Administrator Scott Pruitt, in choosing not to renew nine members’ terms, has ‘eviscerated’ board of scientific counselors, says chairThe Environmental Protection Agency has “eviscerated” a key scientific review board by removing half its members and seeking to replace them with industry-aligned figures, according to the board’s chair.

Regular low doses of THC dramatically boosted memory and learning in older mice, say scientists, who plan a clinical trial in humans later this yearResearchers have come up with an unusual proposal to slow, or even reverse, the cognitive decline that comes with old age: small, daily doses of cannabis extract.The idea emerged from tests on mice which found that regular, low doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis – impaired memory and learning in young animals, but boosted the performance of old ones. Continue reading...

We’ve all tried to juggle several things at once. So does it work, or is it better to concentrate on just one task at a time?You may be reading this while on a conference call, pushing your child on a swing – or both. But is multitasking really a good idea, or does it make us do everything more slowly and less well than if we were concentrating on one task at a time? Continue reading...

En garde! Let’s fence!UPDATE: Puzzle solutions are here.Hi guzzlers.Today’s puzzle was invented by Elliott Line, editor of Enigma, the international puzzle magazine for Mensa members. It’s a Sudoku-esque logic puzzle, in which you make step-by-step deductions to gradually fill the grid. This type of puzzle is always highly addictive and very satisfying to complete. I’ve included 3 here: easy, medium and hard. Giddy up! Continue reading...

Unmanned X-37B, which looks like a miniature space shuttle, was in orbit for more than 700 days before landing caused sonic boom heard across stateThe US military’s experimental X-37B space plane landed on Sunday at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, completing a classified mission that lasted nearly two years, the US air force said.Related: Mysterious space plane blasts off for secretive US air force mission Continue reading...

Unexploded munitions, landmines and improvised devices kill thousands of civilians annually. They must be removed for communities to recoverThe evacuation of 50,000 people from Hannover this weekend, following the discovery of five unexploded second world war bombs, reminds us that conflicts can have a deadly impact long after the fighting ends. But while the German city’s residents have been inconvenienced briefly, millions of people around the world have been displaced for the foreseeable future, and in many cases permanently, by unexploded ordnance and “weapons that wait”. They are the lucky ones; thousands are killed annually.International support for landmine clearance has fallen below $400m for the first time in a decade Continue reading...