Chemical TATP, which was used in Paris attacks, was unintentionally formed in routine procedure by a PhD studentA university building was evacuated after a student accidentally made the same explosive that was used in the Paris terror attacks.The University of Bristol said triacetone triperoxide (TATP) was “unintentionally formed” in its chemistry laboratory on 3 February. Continue reading...

From alien life to foreseeing the nuclear age, Churchill’s essays reveal a dazzling scope of inquiry that would be unimaginable on the part of western leaders todaySurprising stories about Winston Churchill just keep on coming. He has long been praised for his courage, wisdom, eloquence and many other qualities, but people have been amazed to learn this week that he was also a scientific visionary.The revelation comes from the US National Churchill Museum in Missouri, where the astrophysicist Mario Livio uncovered Churchill’s “lost” 1939 essay about the possible existence of alien life, titled Are We Alone in the Universe? It demonstrates a remarkably high level of scientific literacy and far-sightedness, Livio points out. Yet this is only part of a much bigger story, too long neglected. Churchill had a long career as a topical science writer and he appreciated the importance of new breakthroughs to the development of civilisation better than any other leading western political leader of the past century. Continue reading...

With cases of scurvy appearing in Sydney and Zimbabwe, Jonathan Lamb looks at the history of a disease that was once thought to belong to the pastWhen doctors and patients realised that scurvy had reappeared, in separate outbreaks in Zimbabwe and Sydney recently, they were stunned. “I couldn’t believe it,” Penelope Jackson, one of the Sydney victims, recalled, “I thought, ‘Hang on a minute, scurvy hasn’t been around for centuries’.”Shame followed, as it often does with scurvy. “Does scurvy just affect developing countries?” asked Newsweek 24 of the Bulawayo emergency in Zimbabwe. “I couldn’t believe you could be obese and malnourished,” said Jackson. “We have sent a team to attend to it,” the Bulawayo city council curtly announced, by way of a plenary reply to such questions about the disease.

Rapid warming trend sees heat records in Australia outnumber cold records by 12 to one over the past decadeThe heatwave that engulfed southeastern Australia at the end of last week has seen heat records continue to tumble.

Move would also save NHS money, argue authors of major study that shows vitamin D can reduce risk of respiratory infectionsAdding vitamin D to food would significantly cut NHS costs, say the authors of a major global study that shows it can reduce the risk of colds, flu and other dangerous infections such as pneumonia.A government advisory committee on nutrition has already warned of the low levels of the so-called “sunshine vitamin” in the UK population and recommended food fortification as a possible course of action. In the US, for example, milk is fortified with vitamin D. Continue reading...

William Happer, an eminent Princeton University professor, is tipped to become Donald Trump’s science adviser. Happer is a respected scientist in the academic community, but many are concerned about his possible appointment because of his stance on climate change. Happer argues that the role of carbon dioxide (CO) in climate change has been largely exaggerated and argues that more CO is good for plant life and the planet

The Space Poop Challenge sought designs for a system that could collect human waste for up to six days, routing it away from the body without the use of handsAstronauts wear adult diapers under their suits in case they need to pee or poop on spacewalks, but what happens if there’s an emergency and they have to stay in their suit for several days? That was the question Nasa posed to members of the public in its Space Poop Challenge, and the winners of the contest have just been announced.Related: Black hole and distant sun locked in slow-motion dance of death Continue reading...

Winston Churchill’s essay Are We Alone in the Universe? was penned the year before he became prime minister, and reveals his keen interest in scienceIt might never have seen the light of day. Lost and long forgotten, the unpublished essay by Winston Churchill was penned a year before he became Britain’s prime minister. The matter to which he applied his great mind? Not politics, not the battlefield, but the existence of alien life.The 11-page article was probably intended for the now defunct Sunday newspaper the News of the World, but for reasons unknown the essay remained with his publisher and only recently resurfaced at the US National Churchill Museum at Westminster College in Missouri.

Images revealed which infants would go on to have an autism diagnosis, raising hopes for earlier care and interventions for those affectedBabies who are most at risk of developing autism as toddlers have been identified from brain scans in the first year of life.The images helped doctors spot which of a group of children who were already at risk because of autism in the family would later be diagnosed with the condition.

Nicola Davis sits down with Dr Kathryn Harkup to discuss a shared love of crime fiction and the chemistry contained within their poisonous plotsSubscribe & Review on iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud & Acast, and join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterThe long and brutal marriage between crime fiction and poison has taken a leading role in some of the world’s best loved whodunnits. But how much truth is there to these tales of arsenic, strychnine and other cunning concoctions? And why do so many the genre’s best-loved authors turn to poison for their plots? Continue reading...

William Happer, frontrunner for job of providing mainstream scientific opinion to officials, backs crackdown on federal scientists’ freedom to speak outThe man tipped as frontrunner for the role of science adviser to Donald Trump has described climate scientists as “a glassy-eyed cult” in the throes of a form of collective madness.William Happer, an eminent physicist at Princeton University, met Trump last month to discuss the post and says that if he were offered the job he would take it. Happer is highly regarded in the academic community, but many would view his appointment as a further blow to the prospects of concerted international action on climate change. Continue reading...

Indian PM Narendra Modi hails ‘exceptional achievement’ that overtakes Russian record of 37 in single launchIndia’s space agency has announced the successful launch of a record-breaking 104 nano satellites into orbit, all onboard a single rocket.The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said the milestone launch, from the Sriharikota space centre in the country’s south, overtook the 2014 Russian record of 37 satellites in a single launch. Continue reading...

The US president’s aggressive ‘yank-shakes’ are like his political pronouncements – unpredictable and self-servingWhen Donald Trump shakes hands he frequently pats the other person on the top of their hand. One couldn’t help noticing this when he met Shinzo Abe, because during the 19 seconds that they were shaking hands, Trump managed to pat the Japanese prime minister’s hand no less than six times. Patting someone’s hand in this way pretends to be an affectionate gesture of approval, but its real purpose is to remind the other person who’s actually in charge. It’s what psychologists call a “status reminder”.Related: Mike Flynn might be done – but Trump's nightmare has just begun | Richard Wolffe Continue reading...

India breaks a new record launching 104 satellites into orbit on a single rocket. It is the most number of satellites to be launched by a country in a single mission. Russia previously held the record launching 37 in 2014. The satellites were taken into orbit aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle which took off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India’s eastern Andhra Pradesh region Continue reading...

Within five years nanotechnology will examine bodily fluids for tiny bioparticles that reveal signs of cancer – helping to stop disease before it progressesThe sooner a disease is diagnosed, the more likely it is to be well managed or cured. The challenge to finding a disease early is that most of us don’t seek treatment until we have symptoms, which means the disease has already progressed.

Every day millions of internet users ask Google life’s most difficult questions, big and small. Our writers answer some of the commonest queriesMost of us can probably recall a time when we’ve either been ignored or have been the ignorer. In the second instance, perhaps we’ve avoided replying to someone because we’re cross with them and can’t be bothered to “get into it”. Perhaps we’ve forgotten to reply for so long that it feels too weird. In a romantic situation, perhaps we’ve decided that we want to break up with someone, but haven’t worked out how to do it (otherwise known as being a coward). Perhaps we felt pressured – and felt like the other person was demanding too much from us.Related: Breaking up is hard to do. But procrastinating doesn't make it easier | Zach Stafford Continue reading...

A new study shows many dinosaurs may have taken many months to hatch from their eggs, leaving them vulnerable to sudden environmental changesCut a tree trunk in half and you can count the rings to reveal the age. Slower growth in winter (when conditions are poor) means a thin and relatively dark line appears and this marks the end of a season. You might be surprised to know that we can do something similar with the bones of many animals including dinosaurs. Cut a big bone from the thigh in half and there are similar rings to count, laid down for the same reason (growth slowing) and that can also, give or take, mark down the number of years the animal has been alive. This is all well and good, but of little help when the owner is less than a year old, and clearly impossible to apply to embryos. Incredibly however, there is an even more specific and detailed measure for single days that is laid down in the teeth.These tiny indicators are called Von Ebner lines and they actually reflect daily growth and changes in mineralisation of teeth as they develop. We can see these in modern reptiles like crocodiles but also in dinosaurs. Although very rare, we do have fossil embryos of a number of dinosaurs and a new study by Erickson et al., has cut into the tiny teeth of these specimens and looked at the Von Ebner lines to count the number of days that they were in the egg (coupled with an estimate of when teeth first start growing) with some remarkable findings.

The National Parks Dark Skies Festival (18-26 February) is an ideal opportunity to try stargazing in some of the UK’s wildest areas. But here, we’ve also selected stellar sites that are good throughout the year

Fish-eating reptile Dinocephalosaurus, which lived about 245m years ago, gave birth to live babies rather than laying eggsAn extraordinary fossil unearthed in southwestern China shows a pregnant long-necked marine reptile that lived millions of years before the dinosaurs with its developing embryo, indicating the creature gave birth to live babies rather than laying eggs.

Findings show potential link between repeated sub-concussive head impacts and degenerative disease, although no clear link to football establishedYears of heading balls and colliding with other players could be damaging footballers’ brains and putting players at risk of developing dementia, scientists have suggested.The claim comes from the researchers behind a small study which examined the brains of six footballers who developed dementia after long careers in the sport. Continue reading...

Study finds strong link between weight gain from age 20 and increased risk of oesophageal and stomach cancer – both of which have very poor survival ratesPeople who are overweight in their 20s and then become obese later in life may be three times more likely to develop oesophageal or stomach cancer, according to new research.The research from the United States, published in the British Journal of Cancer, suggests that putting on weight over the years can be a particularly strong risk factor for two cancers that have very poor survival rates. Only a quarter (26%) of those diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus or cancer of the upper stomach survive for five years. Continue reading...

Devised as a method of psychiatric assessment over a century ago, the reason people see so many shapes and figures in the blots may finally be explainedThey were made to delve into the depths of the mind and reveal its darkest secrets through the dancers, butterflies and occasional blood-soaked carcass that people saw when they looked at the patterns.Related: Testing times for Wikipedia after doctor posts secrets of the Rorschach inkblots Continue reading...

US institutions cautiously endorse future use of gene editing procedures to prevent people passing serious medical conditions to their childrenPowerful gene editing procedures could one day be allowed to prevent people from passing on serious medical conditions to their children, according to a major report from senior US researchers.The cautious endorsement from two of the most prestigious US science institutions means that human embryos, sperm and eggs could all be genetically manipulated to mend faulty genes which are known to cause serious disease or disability, once research has shown it is safe to do so.

Responding to some of our listener’s emails, Dr Daniel Glaser ponders whether dogs have a Theory of Mind, the neuroscience behind bilingualism, and the value of introspectionSubscribe & Review on iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud & Acast, and join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterIn this mini podcast, Observer Magazine columnist and neuroscientist Dr Daniel Glaser answers listener’s emails in response to our A Neuroscientist Explains podcast on the need for ‘empathetic citizens’. Including an in-studio query from the Guardian’s own Head of Audio Jason Phipps. Continue reading...

A fifth of readers report characters from novels cropping up in their daily lives, hearing their voices even after putting books asideIt’s a cliche to claim that a novel can change your life, but a recent study suggests almost a fifth of readers report that fiction seeps into their daily existence.Researchers at Durham University conducted a survey of more than 1,500 readers, with about 400 providing detailed descriptions of their experiences with book. Nineteen per cent of those respondents said the voices of fictional characters stayed with them even when they weren’t reading, influencing the style and tone of their thoughts – or even speaking to them directly. For some participants it was as if a character “had started to narrate my world”, while others heard characters talking, or imagined them reacting to things going on in everyday life. Continue reading...

John Gray: ‘I grew up with five brothers and then became a monk – so women were from another planet’I was a monk in the 1970s, working as an assistant to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. My world was meditation and yoga, but my brother was bipolar, and meditation didn’t work for him. So I studied psychology to try to help him, eventually becoming a therapist.

Butterflies in your stomach or neurotransmitters on overdrive – science suggests there’s more to romance than our Valentine’s cards would have us believe. So, what’s dopamine got to do with it? Continue reading...

As June 30th is annouced as Asteroid Day 2017, astronaut Hadfield explains why we should take the possibility of collisions with celestial rocks seriously

The answer to today’s Shakespearean logic puzzleEarlier today I set you the following Puzzle, from Raymond Smullyan’s What is the name of this book?Beautiful Portia has three caskets: one gold, one silver and one lead. Inside one of them is her portrait. Her father’s will has determined that any suitor must choose the casket with the portrait in order to win her hand in marriage. Continue reading...

California observatory spots dying star 10,000 times brighter than the sun before explosion in a spiral galaxy 160m light years from constellation of PegasusAstronomers have captured the early death throes of a massive star that was torn apart in a violent explosion in a galaxy far from Earth.

Climate change is threatening about 700 endangered species and policymakers must act urgently to lessen impactThe impact of climate change on threatened and endangered wildlife has been dramatically underreported, with scientists calling on policymakers to act urgently to slow its effects before entire species are lost for good.New analysis has found that nearly half (47%) of the mammals and nearly a quarter (24.4%) of the birds on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened species are negatively impacted by climate change – a total of about 700 species. Previous assessments had said only 7% of listed mammals and 4% of birds were impacted. Continue reading...

A new exhibition shows how scientists have tried to understand the mayhem of volcanoes, and how artists have embraced their sheer terrorArt and science merge in a colossal mushroom cloud of ash in an illustration from William Hamilton’s 1779 supplement to his book Campi Phlegraei. We see a vast plume of white and grey dust hanging high above Mount Vesuvius in broad daylight. Blue sky and sea enclose the eruption in a frozen calm. The cloud suggests the solidity and weight of thousands of tons of incinerated stone, suspended impossibly in the air. Continue reading...

Studies reveal greater likelihood of attention disorders, shyness and anxiety in childhood and then adulthood for survivors with very low birth weight of 1kg

A new study says that up to six hours a day is perfectly normal, and unlikely to do any harm – as long as your child is doing fine at school and getting enough exerciseWhat parent hasn’t tried to wrestle their teenager’s phone away from them? For years, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended a maximum of two hours’ screen time a day. Any more, it warned, and your child could get obese, sleep deprived and depressed. Research has also linked screen time to increases in risky behaviour, poor GCSE results and aggression. No wonder that screens, particularly iPads and smartphones that can be held under the bedcovers, have become a family battleground. Continue reading...

Has Hollywood’s need for the feel-good factor done Margot Shetterley’s book – and the history of Nasa’s black women mathematicians – a disservice?In the opening scenes of Hidden Figures, released in the UK on Friday, we are introduced to Dorothy Vaughan – played with verve and wit by Octavia Spencer – as a pair of legs sticking out from under the bonnet of a broken-down car. One detail immediately stands out: Vaughan’s legs are light beige and shiny. She is wearing stockings that don’t match her skin tone, presumably because that was all that was available to her.Related: Hidden figures: the history of Nasa’s black female scientists Continue reading...

A Shakespearean riddle in memory of peerless puzzler Raymond Smullyan, who died last week age 97UPDATE: The answers and explanation are now posted here“Why should I be worried about dying? It’s not going to happen in my lifetime!”So said Raymond Smullyan, the American mathematician, philosopher and prolific writer of logic puzzles, who died a week ago aged 97. Continue reading...

A look at the stars that make up the constellation of Gemini, including Castor, a tight binary, and Pollux, an orange giantThe evening star, Venus, reaches its peak brilliance at magnitude -4.6 this week. Obvious in Britain’s SW sky at nightfall, it sets in the W at 21:30. Mars, to its left and higher and now pulling away, is a good deal fainter at mag 1.2. Continue reading...

Truth has long been a key concern for the American philosopher. He’s in the UK to discuss his latest book on consciousness, but there’s just no escaping Trump…I meet Daniel Dennett, the great American rationalist, on the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration, as good a day as any to contemplate the fragility of civilisation in face of overwhelming technological change, a topic he examines in his latest book.Dennett is a singular figure in American culture: a white-haired, white-bearded 74-year-old philosopher whose work has mined the questions that erupt at the places where science, technology and consciousness meet. His subject is the brain and how it creates meaning and what our brains will make of a future that includes AI and robots. He’s in London with his wife, Susan, to mark the publication of his latest book – From Bacteria to Bach and Back – and I find him in a rented flat in Notting Hill, scowling at his laptop. “I was about to send a tweet,” he says. “Something like, ‘Republican senators are in an enviable position. How often does anybody get a real opportunity to become a national hero? Who’s going to step up and enter the pages of history?’” Continue reading...

The mainstream media can fight back against the poisoning of our public sphere by giving people narratives they can understandLet us pause for a moment to mourn the passing of Hans Rosling , one of the most gifted and humane educators of our age. He was professor of global health at Sweden’s prestigious Karolinska Institute and became famous when he gave a spectacular TED talk in 2006 using global data to show how the world had changed during the 20th century. Rosling specialised in devising striking ways of visualising statistical data and in using computers to provide animations showing, for example, how child mortality, family income and so on changed over time. But what probably clinched his fame was the way he talked his audience through the evolving worldview with a manic energy reminiscent of Newsnight’s Peter Snow and his general election night “swingometer”.Rosling’s untimely death (from cancer) seems particularly poignant at this moment in our history, because he was such a fervent believer in the idea that we could find illumination, if not salvation, in facts. In that respect, he reminded me of the late David MacKay, another gentle polymath, who was for a time the chief scientific adviser to the Department of Energy and Climate Change. At a lecture following the publication of his book, Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air, he was assailed by an angry environmentalist who asked him why he was “so hostile” to wind power. MacKay smiled sweetly and replied: “I’m not hostile to anything. I’m just in favour of arithmetic.” Continue reading...

A new radio drama by Val McDermid highlights the worrying prospect of antibiotic resistance becoming a global epidemicImagine a world in which even the slightest scratch could be lethal. Cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, and organ transplants are no longer possible. Even simple surgery is too risky to contemplate, while epidemics triggered by deadly bacteria have left our health services helpless.It is science fiction, of course – but only just. According to many doctors and scientists, the rise of antibiotic resistance across the planet could soon make this grim scenario a reality. And if it does, humans will have to face up to challenges that would once have seemed unthinkable. The question is: when – and how – might this horrific medical ordeal unfold for the human race? Continue reading...

Dr Daniel Glaser explores what the wiring of the brain can tell us about how we perceive the worldSubscribe & Review on iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud & Acast, and join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterThis week, Observer Magazine columnist and neuroscientist Dr Daniel Glaser speaks to University College London’s Professor Nilli Lavie about perception. How do we perceive our visual world? Can this be affected by higher cognitive processes? And what can this all tell us about the phenomena of ‘fake news’? Continue reading...

Charmouth Beach, Dorset This section of the Jurassic Coast is one of the most active landslip sites in EuropeIt is fossiling weather – wet and stormy with a strong tide and choppy sea. The cliffs above Charmouth Beach are running with water and the top of Black Venn is masked by fog. Trickles of soil and small stones dribble down the dark cliff face.This section of the Jurassic Coast is one of the most active landslip sites in Europe. One section has slipped in the past few days, sliding a great chunk of clayey rock and mud on to the shingle below. The sea is already dragging the fall away, the waves sucking into its soft base and pulling it out into Lyme Bay where the water divides: pinkish-grey inshore and leaden slate far out in the English Channel.

Costing the US alone $88bn a year, low back and neck pain is widespread and expensive – despite the fact that most treatments don’t workLow back and neck pain is an increasingly widespread and expensive condition worldwide, costing the US alone $88bn a year – the third highest bill for any health condition – despite evidence most treatments do not work.Millions of people worldwide suffer from low back and neck pain, most of it unexplained, although some professionals think it may be worsened by sitting at desks all day, carrying bags and general bad posture. Episodes of acute pain are very common, but experts say that medical investigations only make things worse and the best cure is often to take painkillers, exercise gently and wait for the pain to pass. Continue reading...

Patients with multiple sclerosis, severe epilepsy, or undergoing chemotherapy could be given drug despite safety fearsIreland is set to legalise the use of cannabis for treating specific medical conditions, after a report commissioned by the government said the drug could be given to some patients with certain illnesses.The Irish health minister, Simon Harris, said he would support the use of medical cannabis “where patients have not responded to other treatments and there is some evidence that cannabis may be effective”. Continue reading...

It’s nearly the weekend, so this is timely indeed. Ladies. If your dance moves have failed to progress from “big fish, little fish, cardboard box” or you stick to gently stepping from side to side I have good news. Psychologists have figured out the best moves for women who would like to be admired on the dance floor. There are highly instructive videos included in our piece, so get watching – you could be a dancing queen by Saturday night. Another reason to dance for joy is the news that a successful trial in primates has brought us closer to a new form of male contraceptive. It’s a gel designed to be a reversible and less invasive form of vasectomy. And speaking of high hopes, the Japanese space agency attempted some space fishing, intending to clear junk from Earth’s orbit. Sadly, the 700-metre ‘tether’ they were trying to use failed. A slightly more down-to-Earth story to finish then, with the news that a lumpy, hairy, toe-like fossil could reveal the evolution of molluscs. It’s weird-looking, but oddly compelling ... Continue reading...

Following last year’s computer glitch, Juno has successfully gathered data on the composition of the planet’s atmosphereNasa’s Juno spacecraft has skimmed past Jupiter’s north and south pole, returning data on the giant planet and its atmosphere.The flyby took place on 2 February at 12:57 GMT. Travelling at 129,000mph relative to the planet, the solar powered spacecraft made its close approach over Jupiter’s north pole before skirting the planet and exiting over the south pole. At closest approach, Juno was 2,670 miles above the cloud tops. Continue reading...

Top UK and US scientists say high cost for medicines is indefensible as they propose cheaper way to develop themThe high price of new cancer drugs is indefensible and unsustainable, say two of the world’s leading cancer research institutions, who propose a different way to develop them that could sideline big pharma.“There is a clear and urgent necessity to lower cancer drug prices to keep lifesaving drugs available and affordable to patients,” say leading scientists from the Institute of Cancer Research in the UK and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where many important new cancer drugs have been invented, in a paper in the journal Cell. Continue reading...

Does strange quantum behaviour emerge from run-of-the-mill classical physics? If so, what does this tell us about the fundamental nature of reality?Subscribe & Review on iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud & Acast, and join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterThe 20th century was a golden one for science. Big bang cosmology, the unravelling of the genetic code of life, and of course Einstein’s general theory of relativity. But it also saw the birth of quantum mechanics – a description of the world on a subatomic level – and unlike many of the other great achievements of the century, the weird world of quantum physics remains as mysterious today as it was a century ago. But what if strange quantum behaviour emerged from familiar, classical physics? How would this alter our view of the quantum world? And, more importantly, what would it tell us about the fundamental nature of reality? Continue reading...

Now we know the identity of the chief executive of UK Research and Innovation, the science community will be anxiously watching his first steps

Hip-swings, leg moves, arm waggles and staying on the beat are the best moves for women who want to be admired on the dance floor, say psychologistsDisco divas looking to tear up the dance floor should ditch the soft sway and plump for the hip-swing, leg moves and an arm waggle or two – according to psychologists.The researchers used motion-capture technology to record the moves of women dancing to a drum beat, before turning them into featureless avatars and showing them to both men and women to rate. Continue reading...