From a heartfelt chat on a long walk to Dynamic Running Therapy, motion moves mindsMovement is critical in our lives. Often, in order to grow or to overcome strife we need a sense of undergoing a passage or transition. Movement shifts perspective and, in so doing, provides clarity, firing up hope, drive and possibility.Anyone who has found themselves opening up to a friend on a long walk or road trip will be familiar with the sense of ease that comes from talking and moving at the same time. The words seem to flow, tumbling from story to story. Secrets, seldom shared before, can fall into the conversation with surprising ease. When silence comes it seems to be a natural part of the experience, too. Continue reading...

Continuing his account of his illness, Steve Hewlett suffers a setback as he waits nervously for new drugsNow sharp-eyed readers may have spotted that this diary starts the day before the last one was published! By way of a little back story, my doctors have been trying to get me on to a clinical trial featuring new immunotherapy treatments, on the basis that my first line of chemotherapy worked well initially and then failed completely, and the second-line chemo, while it did show signs of working, was proving pretty hard for me to tolerate. But getting on to clinical trials has proved more than a trial in itself! Continue reading...

In blaming human error for a self-driving car crash, US regulators have missed an opportunity to learn from such incidents

Blashford Lakes, Hampshire Dead trees don’t get much of a press. For each one remembered, a million will be forgottenOn a dry, dull-grey day, we have come to this popular local nature reserve for a gentle recuperative ramble and some birdwatching. The info board states that we may see bittern, water rail, great egret, and widgeon aplenty. It says nothing about the host of visitors like us who have congested the Blashford Lakes car park, and with whom we exchange pleasantries as our paths cross.

Our educational attainment and when we have children is determined a little by chromosomes but much more by social and environmental conditionsHuman intelligence quite obviously has some genetic component. Genes do constrain our fate, as does luck, even if development matters more. The way that our capacities develop is profoundly influenced by the environment and by the social situation in which a child grows up. Genetic influence is not genetic determinism and the interplay between genes and development is enormously complicated. A study based on the population of Iceland at first sight makes claims to show that some genes for intelligence are being pushed out of the population. On closer inspection it shows just how tangled these questions are. Researchers have identified a large number of gene variants – the evolutionary mutations associated with traits – which, taken together, correlate with educational attainment (with the caveat that some variants might simply improve self-control and foresight). The work shows these same variants are also associated with having fewer children.Since evolution can be defined as a change in how common these variants are found in populations over time, this looks superficially as if we are evolving to be less clever. Nature however is swamped by nurture: environmental pressures are working much more strongly in the other direction. There is in IQ testing a phenomenon called the Flynn effect, in which successive generations in every population tested have shown significantly higher IQ scores than their parents. In Iceland, the Flynn effect raises IQ points by about 10 points every generation, while the genetic process identified by the latest research is 30 times as weak. If we extrapolate the Flynn effect backwards in time, so that IQ diminishes in the past at the same rate as it has been increasing in our time, it appears that the Victorians would have trouble reading and writing while Elizabethans would scarcely have been able to produce articulate speech. So much for Shakespeare. On the other hand, the genetic curve, traced back the same way, would suggest that the Elizabethans were all towering geniuses among whom Shakespeare would have been completely unremarkable. Clearly we are not measuring fixed and long-term versions of intelligence in either case. Continue reading...

Twilight star among three authors of paper explaining how ‘neural style transfer’ method was put to use in her directorial debut, the 17-minute short Come SwimTwilight and Personal Shopper Kristen Stewart has co-authored a research paper on “neural style transfer”, an arcane technique that uses artificial intelligence to reconfigure an image in the style of another.Written with Bhautik J Joshi, a research engineer at Adobe, and producer David Shapiro, Stewart’s paper is related to work done on her short film directing debut Come Swim, which received its world premiere at the Sundance film festival on Thursday. Called Bringing Impressionism to Life with Neural Style Transfer in Come Swim, the paper was submitted on Wednesday on Cornell University library’s open-access arXiv.org website, an online repository for scientific research papers. Continue reading...

Syrian antiquities chief says militants have demolished structure and part of Roman theatre after seizing city for second timeIslamic State militants have destroyed a tetrapylon and part of a Roman theatre in the ancient city of Palmyra in the group’s latest attack on Syria’s heritage.Related: How the ancient city of Palmyra looked before the fighting – in pictures Continue reading...

Eclectic - it’s a pleasing word, and for this week’s science, the only word that seems to fit. Climate science has been a major part of this week’s coverage, given that climate change deniers are poised to enter the White House. And since there’s now compelling evidence that Greenland and Antarctica’s continental ice sheets are highly sensitive to slight increases in ocean temperatures, (which raises the prospect of sea levels continuing to rise dramatically for many centuries) it’s really something we need to engage with urgently. But if rising sea levels seem too distant a threat, it’s worth considering the sombre news that in the most bleak assessment of primates to date, conservationists found that 60% of wild species are on course to die out, with three quarters already in steady decline. The report casts doubt on the future of hundreds of primate species, including gorillas, chimps, gibbons, marmosets, tarsiers, lemurs and lorises. As Celine Dion would definitely say if she were here: baby, this is serious. If you won’t listen to scientists, listen to Celine (but just that bit, then get on with some primate conservation). Continue reading...

The internet is the source of many crimes against language – and these are among the worst offendersWe all have a watershed word – the word that tells us it’s all over, that the internet has won, and our youth is gone for ever. For me, it was Yolo, or You Only Live Once. It was born, I used it, and rooms fell eerily silent as soon as it left my mouth. Yolo belonged to the others, the younger people; it carbon-dated me and I was envious.You might call it snobbery but, for me, every delicious new bit of slang reminds me I’m being left behind, along with VHS cassettes, legwarmers and Lady Gaga. Susie Dent, Countdown’s resident lexicographer, tells me I should lighten up. “Slang has always moved this way,” she says. “From Cockney rhyming slang to codes swapped among highwaymen, they’re tribal badges of identity, bonding mechanisms designed to distinguish the initiated, and to keep strangers out.” The linguist and author David Crystal agrees: “Remember the old maxim – the chief use of slang is to show you’re one of the gang.” Continue reading...

Cut-throat atmosphere in world-class labs and conferences closer to House of Cards than Big Bang Theory, says Swiss academicIt is the enduring scientist stereotype: socially awkward, unkempt appearance, and more concerned with cracking the laws of nature than anything as trivial as social status.The reality could not be more different, according to an academic who says science is falling victim to a crisis of narcissism.

When Malcolm Turnbull deposed Tony Abbott as prime minister, serious action on global warming was hoped for – but almost nothing has changedAustralia’s January news has been full of official reports of record-breaking extreme weather devastating our ecosystems on land and in the sea and government ministers suggesting we build new coal-fired power stations, provide billion-dollar subsidised loans to rail lines for new coal mega-mines, increase coal exports to reduce temperature rises and reduce our ambitions for renewable power.The disconnect is glaring but perhaps dimmed in the eyes of some readers because Australian politicians have been dissembling on climate change for decades, pretending it will be possible to do what we must without any impact on our position as the world’s largest coal exporter or our domestic reliance on brown coal-fired power, or without incurring any costs. Continue reading...

Finding could bring about change of practice in NHS with ‘potential to save many lives’, says charityEvery man with suspected prostate cancer should have an MRI scan, which is twice as likely to identify the presence of dangerous tumours as the invasive biopsy used currently, say doctors.A major trial, which could influence a change of practice in the NHS, will amount to “the biggest leap forward in prostate cancer diagnosis in decades, with the potential to save many lives”, Prostate Cancer UK said.

Evidence that continental ice sheets are sensitive to slight increases in ocean temperature suggests ocean levels will continue to rise for centuriesSea surface temperatures today are strikingly similar to those during the last interglacial period, when sea levels were six to nine metres above their present height, according to research.The findings provide compelling evidence that Greenland and Antarctica’s continental ice sheets are highly sensitive to slight increases in ocean temperatures, and raise the prospect of sea levels continuing to rise for many centuries. Continue reading...

From Trump to Brexit, we are all fixated on more immediate news stories. We need to look at the bigger pictureTomorrow the world shudders as Donald Trump becomes US president. Hopes that wise advisers would mitigate the erratic, half-crazed stream of contradictions pouring from his lips have been dashed as he picks fake news purveyors and climate change-deniers for his close consiglieri.Related: Global warning: the saviour tech that can help turn the tide on climate change Continue reading...

With climate sceptics moving to the White House, it’s crucial the US right recognises free markets are uncomfortable for incumbents but essentialConservatives cannot properly be climate deniers. At the heart of their political stance is a desire to hand on something better to the future than they have received from the past. Now that climate science is so clear, a recognition of the duty to act to protect the next generation follows naturally. Of course, Conservatives have been somewhat cautious. Constitutionally, they don’t chase after novelty and it’s in their character to question fashionable theories.So we shouldn’t be surprised at the genesis of Margaret Thatcher’s commitment to fighting climate change. As a Conservative she wasn’t a pushover, but as a scientist, she rigorously tested the science and was convinced. Once convinced she saw the imperative to act, and that made her the first leader of a major economy to commit to the Rio Earth Summit. In turn, it was her influence that brought George Bush to the table. Continue reading...

What is the psychology behind climate change denial? Can it be overcome? And what communication tips can scientists take from political campaigns?Subscribe & Review on iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud & AcastTomorrow, Donald J Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America. He’s arguably the least-qualified candidate ever to take office, and uncertainty surrounding the next four years in global politics is at an all-time high, with immigration, healthcare, international relations, and climate change all in the spotlight. But what lies behind his – and many others’ - denial of anthropogenic climate change? And how can insight into human psychology help tailor more effective messages of persuasion? Continue reading...

The ability of statistics to accurately represent the world is declining. In its wake, a new age of big data controlled by private companies is taking over – and putting democracy in perilIn theory, statistics should help settle arguments. They ought to provide stable reference points that everyone – no matter what their politics – can agree on. Yet in recent years, divergent levels of trust in statistics has become one of the key schisms that have opened up in western liberal democracies. Shortly before the November presidential election, a study in the US discovered that 68% of Trump supporters distrusted the economic data published by the federal government. In the UK, a research project by Cambridge University and YouGov looking at conspiracy theories discovered that 55% of the population believes that the government “is hiding the truth about the number of immigrants living here”.Rather than diffusing controversy and polarisation, it seems as if statistics are actually stoking them. Antipathy to statistics has become one of the hallmarks of the populist right, with statisticians and economists chief among the various “experts” that were ostensibly rejected by voters in 2016. Not only are statistics viewed by many as untrustworthy, there appears to be something almost insulting or arrogant about them. Reducing social and economic issues to numerical aggregates and averages seems to violate some people’s sense of political decency. Continue reading...

Instagram bans female nipples, but closeup images make it difficult – if not impossible – to tell whether they are male or female

Lassa, Mers and Nipah will be first diseases targeted by programme announced at Davos by coalition of governments, philanthropists and businessA coalition of governments, philanthropists and business is pledging to put money and effort into making vaccines to stop the spread of diseases that could threaten mankind – and to prevent another outbreak as devastating as the Ebola epidemic.At the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Norwegian, Japanese and German governments, the Wellcome Trust and the Gates Foundation announced they were putting in $460 million – half of what is needed for the first five years of the initiative. Three diseases will initially be targeted: Lassa, Mers and Nipah. All three are caused by viruses that have come from animals to infect humans and could trigger dangerous global epidemics. Continue reading...

The president-elect should understand that America needs to shoulder global responsibilities, and that in doing so America will benefit by owning the technologies of the futureOn climate change, like so many other things, the world is going one way and Donald Trump is going the other. On Twitter the president-elect has claimed manmade global warming was a hoax invented by China to increase its trade surplus with the US. However, for most Americans, like most other people on the globe, daily life is increasingly impacted by extreme weather. In 2016, for the third year running, the world exceeded the previous record temperature. A remarkable 16 of the 17 hottest years on record have been this century, which scientists attribute to human activities.President Obama did much to roll back the pre-enlightenment approach to climate science that had polluted political discourse in America – giving global warming top billing during his second term, and even calling it an immediate threat to national security. His parting shot was to send $500m to prop up the Paris international accord to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Mr Trump vowed to renege on the Paris agreement and said he would cancel further payments. Continue reading...

Researchers warn of approaching ‘major extinction event’ if action is not taken to protect around 300 species, including gorillas, chimps, lemurs and lorisesMore than half of the world’s apes, monkeys, lemurs and lorises are now threatened with extinction as agriculture and industrial activities destroy forest habitats and the animals’ populations are hit by hunting and trade.In the most bleak assessment of primates to date, conservationists found that 60% of the wild species are on course to die out, with three quarters already in steady decline. The report casts doubt on the future of about 300 primate species, including gorillas, chimps, gibbons, marmosets, tarsiers, lemurs and lorises.

Using computer models, ecologists think they have finally hit upon the reason for the strange polka dot patches scattered across the Namib desertThe marks on the ground in the Namib desert resemble a vast sheet of polka dots, or to the less romantic observer, perhaps a bad case of chickenpox.In local myths, the bare, red circles fringed with grass are footprints of the gods, or patches of land once poisoned by the breath of a subterranean dragon. But even among scientists, who strive for more convincing theories, the curious, repetitive patterns have proved hard to explain. Continue reading...

• Final data confirms record-breaking temperatures for third year in a row• Earth has not been this warm for 115,000 years2016 was the hottest year on record, setting a new high for the third year in a row, with scientists firmly putting the blame on human activities that drive climate change.The final data for 2016 was released on Wednesday by the three key agencies – the UK Met Office and Nasa and Noaa in the US – and showed 16 of the 17 hottest years on record have been this century. Continue reading...

Exceptionally preserved fossils have enabled researchers to place a tricky group of extinct marine animals on the tree of lifeThere are some fossils it’s difficult to get enthusiastic about. Don’t get me wrong: as someone whose PhD focussed on the fossil equivalent of tea-leaves, my threshold for getting excited is a lot lower than most people. But when you’re studying undergraduate palaeontology there’s an awful lot of extinct shelly things you must learn about. Contrary to the popular conception of what palaeontologists study (dinosaurs!), marine invertebrates with mineralised hard parts are the mainstay of working with fossils.There are some familiar groups that, although they are extinct, we do know a fair bit about. Trilobites and ammonites fall into this category: we have a good sense of their evolution and diversity through time, and have inferred a fair bit about their biology. There are other groups that are less well understood. We’ve got lots of shells, but we don’t know what the soft bits of the animal looked like, and we don’t know where they fit on the tree of life. In short, they are a bit of an embarrassment. Luckily, there are palaeontologists who rise to the challenge.

The psychologist provides more evidence that the inequality of the sexes in society is cultural not naturalCordelia Fine is an optimistic writer. In her two earlier books of popular neuroscience (A Mind of Its Own and Delusions of Gender), the psychologist established a reputation for exemplary clarity on complex topics, pleasing wit, feminist principle – and beneath it all, the animating faith that people can be improved through knowledge. Testosterone Rex starts with a quote from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s We Should All Be Feminists that establishes the Fine approach perfectly: “But in addition to being angry, I am also hopeful, because I believe deeply in the ability of humans to make and remake themselves for the better.”“Testosterone Rex”, Fine’s target, is the name she gives to “that familiar, plausible, pervasive and powerful story of sex and society”, which holds that inequality of the sexes is natural, not cultural. After all, testosterone makes men tall, hairy and deep-voiced; it makes a certain superficial sense to imagine it also produces other characteristics we think of as masculine, such as leadership, violence and horniness. For example, neuroscientist Simon Baron-Cohen (the Alien to Fine’s Ripley in the dispute over brain sex) calls the hormone “that special substance”, and credits it with inducing all manner of adaptive qualities in those creatures fortunate enough to produce large amounts of it. T is the king. Continue reading...

The 19th-century Spanish scientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the father of modern neuroscience, was one of the first people to unravel the mysteries of the structure of the brain – and he made stunning drawings to describe and explain his discoveries Continue reading...

The word “So”, used as a “Well, …” or “Um, …” at the start of a sentence (Letters, 16 January) has been current in America for quite some time.I guess it is another of many examples of US English usage that originated with German immigrants before travelling back over the Atlantic to us. It’s very common in German to begin a sentence with an “Also …” pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable and meaning “Well, …”. Sometimes the meaning of a German-influenced word or phrase undergoes a subtle or even radical alteration on its way into the English language. The oddest example that I can think of is our use of “half two” to mean “half past two”. In German “halb zwei” is 1.30 not 2.30.

Red meat cancer link | Charges against Lula | Robots as people | Ring pull safety | Peanut butter on WeetabixNaomi Elster writes: “There isn’t currently any strong evidence that eating too much red meat causes cancer”, before noting that Cancer Research UK is a “reliable source … for advice and support” (The truth about cancer diets, G2, 16 January). However, responding to the WHO’s October 2015 International Agency for Research on Cancer report which classified red meat as “probably carcinogenic to humans”, Professor Tim Key, Cancer Research UK’s epidemiologist at the University of Oxford, said: “Cancer Research UK supports IARC’s decision that there’s strong enough evidence to classify … red meat as a probable cause of cancer.”

American astronaut who was the last human being to walk on the moonAt 1.54pm on 11 December 1972, Gene Cernan piloted Challenger, Apollo 17’s lunar module, into the Taurus-Littrow valley, near the Sea of Serenity, on the surface of the moon. In later years Cernan, who has died aged 82, would describe the valley where he had landed accompanied by the geologist Jack Schmitt as “our own private little Camelot”.Three days later, having travelled to such locations as the Sculptured Hills, and the Van Serg and Sherlock craters, the astronauts prepared to leave. Cernan marked out his daughter Teresa’s initials in the dust, where they remain. Before climbing back into the lunar module, he paused and spoke to Mission Control back in Houston: “As we leave the moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came, and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.” Continue reading...

More than 600 wooden coffins at Egyptian Museum in Cairo to be documented and restored by team of conservationistsEgypt will restore hundreds of coffins dating back thousands of years to the time of the pharaohs as part of an American-Egyptian project to preserve and document one of the world’s oldest civilisations, a director of the project said.The conservation effort, funded by a US grant, will restore more than 600 wooden coffins that date to various eras of ancient Egypt and which are currently stored at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

A surprising number of people experience a form of sensory cross wiring in which light flashes and visual movements are ‘heard’, research findsOne in five people is affected by a synaesthesia-like phenomenon in which visual movements or flashes of light are “heard” as faint sounds, according to scientists.The findings suggest that far more people than initially thought experience some form of sensory cross-wiring – which could explain the appeal of flashing musical baby toys and strobed lighting at raves. Continue reading...

Halley VI station moved to safer location but staff to be brought home during southern winter as ‘prudent precaution’A British research station on an ice shelf in Antarctica is being shut down over the southern hemisphere winter because of fears it could float off on an iceberg.

As Theresa May prepares to announce a ‘clean Brexit’, researchers must provide government, parliament and the country with a clear picture of the risks facing negotiatorsThanks in no small part to its close links to our neighbours in the EU and a longstanding reputation as a welcoming destination overseas scientists, Britain has consolidated its position as one of the most productive centres for research in the world – a necessary foundation on which to build a thriving knowledge economy.But “Brexit means Brexit”, which means that those links and that reputation are now under threat. Continue reading...

Not far from the mouth of the river Tyne, fabulously-coloured nudibranchs and corals can be spotted amongst rusting sunken shipsAs I finned alongside the bulky remnants of the ship’s boilers - three massive blocks of northern iron – the light had almost gone. The gently rusting masses were riddled with fire-tubes, each seemingly host to a wary crab. In some, the red eyes of a velvet swimming crab (Necora puber) reflected my light; in others edible crabs (Cancer pagurus) retreated from my gaze. Small prawns and a few well-camouflaged fish moved to avoid me, drab browns revealed as reds and oranges under my torch light. And there, on a piece of deck plate, covered by a bright red encrusting sponge, was one of the jewel-like animals I’d set out to capture on film. Continue reading...

More than half of deaths from bites and stings between 2000 and 2013 the result of anaphylactic shock, analysis showsOf all Australia’s venomous animals, bees and wasps pose the biggest threat to public health, causing more than twice the number of admissions to hospital as snake bites and the same number of deaths.The first national analysis of 13 years’ data on bites and stings from venomous creatures has found that just over one-third (33%) of almost 42,000 admissions were caused by bees and wasps, compared with 30% by spiders and 15% by snakes. Continue reading...

Former astronaut was final person to leave footprints on lunar surface as commander of Apollo 17 in 1972The last man to walk on the moon, Eugene Cernan, has died at the age of 82. The American travelled into space three times, and became the 11th person to walk on the moon and the last to leave his footprints on its surface as commander of Apollo 17, the final manned lunar landing.His death was confirmed by Nasa in a statement on Twitter that read: “We are saddened by the loss of retired Nasa astronaut Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon.”

Researchers say that while the effect corresponds to a small drop in IQ per decade, over centuries the impact could be profoundTempting as it may be, it would be wrong to claim that with each generation humans are becoming more stupid. As scientists are often so keen to point out, it is a bit more complicated than that.A study from Iceland is the latest to raise the prospect of a downwards spiral into imbecility. The research from deCODE, a genetics firm in Reykjavik, finds that groups of genes that predispose people to spend more years in education became a little rarer in the country from 1910 to 1975.

The answer to today’s snifterEarlier today I set you the following puzzle:A full whisky bottle has a height of 27cm and a diameter of 7cm, and contains 750 cubic centimetres of whisky. It has a dome-like indentation at the bottom like many bottles do. Continue reading...

Pressure wave in planet’s atmosphere was one of the largest ever seen in the solar system, stretching over 10,000 kilometresA Japanese spacecraft that is circling Venus has beamed home pictures of one of the largest waves ever seen in the solar system.The Akatsuki probe captured images of the giant wave in the Venusian cloud tops where it became one of the most prominent features in the planet’s atmosphere for four days in December 2015.

Hamilton Morris is on a mind-altering mission to reveal the truth about psychoactive stimulants – from secret government drug experiments in South Africa to the joys of salvia divinorum. So why do people assume he’s a waster?When people tell Hamilton Morris that he “gets high for a living” – and when I say “people” I mean “devilish Guardian headline writers” – it leaves him exasperated.“It’s funny, but it’s also reductive,” he says. “It feeds into the biases and more hateful interpretation of what I do. It would be completely unacceptable for you to say that someone who writes about relationships gets fucked for a living!” Continue reading...

Despite multiple attempts to debunk it, Blue Monday still hasn’t gone away. So, what the hell, here’s a song about it instead. Maybe that’ll work.A song about Blue Monday, to the tune of New Order’s Blue Monday. Because you can never have enough Blue Monday. Apparently.Dear Blue Monday… [Clears throat]

A peaty poser for a dry January! The solution is now live: did you solve it, or will you be trying to drown your sorrows?Hello guzzlers.If you are now abstaining from alcohol, as many end-of-year over-indulgers do, today’s puzzle is for you. Here’s a full whisky bottle. It has a height of 27cm and a diameter of 7cm, and contains 750 cubic centimetres of whisky. It has a dome-like indentation at the bottom like many bottles have. Continue reading...

Scientists warn Trump may ‘severely weaken’ climate research, but say UK ready to expand its work in area, offering jobs to disaffected US researchersLeading scientists have asked the prime minister to urge president-elect Donald Trump to acknowledge the risks of climate change and declare his support for international efforts to combat global warming.One hundred researchers, including many of the most prominent climate scientists in Britain, have written to Theresa May to warn her of the potential threats posed by Donald Trump, who has made clear he does not accept the scientific consensus on warming driven by human activities. Continue reading...

Cancer Research UK and the broadcaster team up for live colonoscopy to raise awareness about the impact of research on cancer treatment and preventionSqueamish viewers tuning into Channel 4 on Wednesday afternoon might want to look away as the broadcaster airs the first TV ad showing a live surgical procedure.Channel 4 and Cancer Research UK have teamed up to air a colonoscopy being performed live on a patient in what the two organisations claim is a world first in broadcasting. Continue reading...

A detailed look at the Hunter who rules the sky for the next few weeks, plus a brief look at the planetary year ahead and August’s solar eclipseOrion is now in prime position in everyone’s evening sky. Lying across the celestial equator, with his main stars slotting neatly between 10° N and 10° S of the celestial equator, the Hunter’s figure is visible from all parts of the Earth bar the central regions of the Arctic and Antarctic. I accept, of course, that most of the latter currently enjoys 24-hour daylight and is hardly the place to go for visual star-watching in January. Continue reading...

My father, Archie Norman, who has died aged 104, was an eminent paediatrician who pioneered research into cystic fibrosis and asthma at Great Ormond Street hospital, in London, and neonatal care at Queen Charlotte’s.The son of George Norman, a radiologist, and his wife, Mary (nee MacCallum), a nurse, he was born in Oban, Argyll and Bute, and watched his father march off to the first world war. He grew up in the soot-covered mill town of Shaw in Lancashire (now part of Greater Manchester), and remembered the “waker” coming down the street and the sirens summoning workers to the morning shift. Continue reading...

Prince teams up with campaigners Tony Juniper and Emily Shuckburgh to create peer-reviewed ‘basic guide’ for adultsPrince Charles, a vocal critic of climate change sceptics, has penned a Ladybird book on the subject after lamenting with experts the lack of a basic guide to the subject.The prince has joined forces with two leading environmental campaigners to produce The Ladybird Book on Climate Change, the first in a new series aimed at adults, The Ladybird Expert, is to be published later this month.

From the chin-jut to the zipped smile, we examine the president-elect’s signature facial expressions and what they tell us about himA great deal of Donald Trump’s political success can be put down to his body language and the unusual ways he uses his face. The first thing we notice about Trump’s facial expressions is the sheer variety. The second is their dramatic, often over-stated character. This was evident before and during the presidential election. While the other candidates – Hillary Clinton included – were struggling to appear likeable and restrained, Trump was busy performing grimaces that would not have looked out of place in Japanese Noh theatre. But what are Trump’s signature facial expressions, and what do they tell us about him? Continue reading...

A study of the whales, one of only three species whose older females stop reproducing, claims competition between offspring may be the causeKiller whales and humans would seem to have little in common. We inhabit very different ecosystems, after all. Yet the two species share one unexpected biological attribute. Females of Orcinus orca and Homo sapiens both go through the menopause.It an extraordinary aspect of our development. In contrast to the vast majority of animals on our planet, women and female killer whales stop reproducing halfway through their lives. Only one other species – the short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) – behaves this way. Continue reading...