60 years after the Clean Air Act, Londoners still suffer from air pollution. What can we can learn from two centuries of campaigns against city smog?

Throwing resources at science, technology, engineering and maths in England hasn’t worked. We need to reaffirm the importance of a more rounded educationAs a long-time maths teacher, the latest assessments by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and Programme for International Student Assessment make for tough reading. They indicate that there is little evidence of real gains having been made in maths and science in England over the past four years.Related: UK schools fail to climb international league table Continue reading...

Former astronaut and US senator John Glenn has died aged 95 in Ohio on Thursday. Glenn was the third US astronaut in space and the first of them to get into orbit. He then spent 24 years as a Democratic senator from Ohio and briefly made a run for president in 1984

The first American to orbit the Earth, US former astronaut and senator John Glenn has died aged 95

Replacement craft’s high-altitude glide test was first free flight since 2014 fatal accidentVirgin Galactic’s new VSS Unity spaceplane has flown free for the first time this week. It was released from its carrier aircraft at 10:40am EST. After a 10-minute glide, it landed back on its runway in Mojave.This is Virgin Galactic’s first free flight test since the fatal accident in October 2014 that destroyed the company’s initial spaceplane, and claimed the life of one pilot and injured another. Continue reading...

Glenn was the first US astronaut to orbit the Earth, and later became one of his country’s most effective senators

Glenn served 24 years as a US senator from Ohio and later became the oldest person to be sent into space

A 78% increase in non-melanoma skin cancer may see the cost to the NHS of treating the disease rise to £465m a year by 2025The number of Britons developing the two most common forms of skin cancer will increase as a direct result of people getting tans on foreign holidays and in salons, experts are warning.Related: Scientists closer to understanding why red hair genes increase skin cancer risk Continue reading...

Tested in mice, therapy involves a capsule of genetically engineered cells implanted under the skin that release insulin as requiredA cell-based diabetes treatment has been developed by scientists who say it could eliminate the need for those with the condition to inject insulin.The therapy involves a capsule of genetically engineered cells implanted under the skin that automatically release insulin as required. Diabetic mice that were treated with the cells were found to have normal blood sugar levels for several weeks. Continue reading...

Fragment complete with fossilised bones and traces of muscles, ligaments and mummified-looking skin dates from around 99 million years agoA length of fluffy plumage discovered within a piece of amber has been identified as part of a dinosaur tail, offering new insights into the evolution of feathers.Around 3.7cm long, with chestnut-coloured feathers on the top and pale feathers underneath, the tail was found complete with fossilised bones as well as traces of muscles, ligaments and mummified-looking skin.

From dinosaur hunters to new dimension discoverers, the Local Heroes scheme will fund projects to celebrate and explore science across the UKThe Royal Society today announced the 15 successful projects that its Local Heroes scheme will fund. These grants go to small museums across the UK, from Orkney to Plymouth, to explore the lives and legacies of scientists with close connections to their communities.I was fortunate to be on the judging panel and to see the richness, variety and imagination offered by all the applicants. The funding is only up to £3000, which is not much for museums that are often already suffering cuts from local authority budgets, but the imaginative projects have great potential to intrigue, inform and inspire. Continue reading...

Ancient water channels in Morocco, declining Arctic sea ice and the US-Mexico border were among the images captured by European Space Agency and Nasa satellites last monthA bank of clouds covers East Java to the west, with a bright sun overhead casting shadows from the clouds along the ocean surface. Sunglint, an optical effect caused by the reflection of sunlight off the water surface directly back at the satellite sensor, exposes the waves created by the movement of currents in the ocean water. Internal waves are generated when the interface between layers is disturbed, such as when tidal flow passes over rough ocean floors, ridges, or other obstacles. The Lombok Strait, a relatively narrow passageway between Bali (west) and Lombok (east), allows flow of water from the Pacific Ocean into the Indian Ocean. The bottom of the strait is complex and rough, consisting of two main channels, one shallow and one deep. Because of the variation in water movement due to the complexity of the channels and ocean interface, the tides in the strait have a complex rhythm but tend to combine about every 14 days to create an exceptionally strong tidal flow. It is the combination of rough topography, strong tidal currents, and stratified water from the ocean exchange that makes the Lombok Strait famous for the generation of intensive internal waves. Continue reading...

The obsession with pedigree as an explanation for success and failure is just a present day form of narcissismAre the novelist Anthony Powell and the actor Danny Dyer related? The biology has yet to be checked, but the evidence is compelling. Spiritually, at least, these two are blood brothers, intimately linked. Both are entertainers, both are fans of the pithy putdown (Powell: “His mastery of the hard-luck story was of a kind never achieved by persons not wholly concentrated on themselves”; Dyer: “Mate, you look like an earthworm who’s whacked a hoodie on”). And both are raging snobs. For Powell, lineage was of paramount importance, Burke’s Peerage his favourite book. Between writing, he devoted his studies to his own ancestry. The pedigree of others determined his attitude to them, from aristo pals to the postman. For all, he endeavoured to trace their descent back as far – and as posh – as possible.Related: Who Do You Think You Are? review – arise, King Danny Dyer Continue reading...

Exposure to flashing lights stimulates brain’s immune cells to clean up toxic proteins causing the disease, study finds

What first attracted one of the world’s foremost astrophysicists to the night sky? Are we alone in the universe? And how can scientific thinking benefit us all?Subscribe & Review on iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud & AcastVisiting the Hayden Planetarium as a young boy, Dr Neil DeGrasse Tyson immediately fell in love with the world of astronomy. Fast forward a couple of decades, and Neil continues to inspire people from all generations. Through his role as the director at the very planetarium that first sparked his interest, and as an author, presenter, and communicator, Neil’s enthusiasm for the subject he loves is truly unrivalled. Continue reading...

The park engineers in HBO’s Westworld should probably be fired for some of the bad choices they madeHBO’s new Westworld series has spawned countless gigabytes of online discussion and speculation as its intricate plot has unfolded. The design of the robots, and of the intelligence that guides them, has attracted less comment. That’s a shame; when you dive into the construction of the park there are some very odd choices that are worth pulling apart.(Warning: spoilers ahead.) Continue reading...

New gallery tells stories of how maths underpins the worldIn 1818, the Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh sent a letter to all British consuls across the world, asking them to obtain examples of their local standard weights. At that time the UK had no universal conversion table between the many different systems of weights and measures used by foreign cities.It took two years for all 71 sets of weights to arrive in London, where they were put in two cabinets installed in the Royal Mint. When the measurements were compared with each other, the Mint discovered that almost every previous conversion table was wrong – and that for the previous century these errors had been costing UK traders dosh. Continue reading...

The gradual slowing of the planet’s rotation is causing our day to lengthen, a comparison of nearly 3,000 years of celestial records has revealedThere may never be enough hours in the day to get everything done, but at least the forces of nature are conspiring to help out.Astronomers who compiled nearly 3,000 years of celestial records have found that with every passing century, the day on Earth lengthens by two milliseconds as the planet’s rotation gradually winds down.

Videos shared by Russians on social media show a meteor turning dark night into day in parts of Siberia on Tuesday. The large fireball was seen across several areas of Khakassia in the south of the country. Local authorities say no damage was caused

A collection of zoological wonders from November 2016, featuring mobbing hyenas, speeding bats and crab power Continue reading...

As the far-reaching Higher Education and Research Bill reaches the House of Lords, further amendments are needed to ensure it succeeds in its aimsPower – where is it located? How is it won and lost? On the face of it, Prime Minister Theresa May is the most powerful person in the UK. But she is struggling to “take back control” on behalf of the country because of the lack of unity on Brexit amongst her ministers. And now the shock result of the Richmond by-election is inducing panic among senior Conservatives, worried that they will not be able to convert a double-digit lead in the polls into a thumping parliamentary majority at the next general election.Former Chancellor George Osborne recently provided some candid insights into the power-plays that rumble through Whitehall as the government machine wrestles with the process of policy-making. When things go wrong, he said, “it’s almost always, I tell you now, cock-up not conspiracy.” Continue reading...

Conspiracy websites and hyperpartisan media outlets are building huge online audiences who want to hear climate change is a hoaxBack in December 2015, Donald Trump gave a 30-minute live interview to the website Infowars.com and its combustible leader, Alex Jones.“Your reputation is amazing and I will not let you down,” said Trump, who, at the time, was leading in most polls for the Republican presidential nomination. Continue reading...

The results of today’s primary maths challengeEarlier today I set you ten questions from this year’s International Singapore Maths Competition. Here are the questions and the answers. On the whole you did very well - smarter than a 10-year-old Singaporean! (With the caveat that they didn’t have multiple choice answers to choose from, and they are only ten). The only questions where your most popular answer the wrong one were 6 and 8. (C in Q6, and B in Q8). Thanks for taking part - now look through your workings...For Year 5 pupils: Continue reading...

Soyuz TMA-M used by British astronaut on journey to and from International Space Station will be shown at London museumThe spacecraft used by Tim Peake on his journey to and from the International Space Station is to go on display at London’s Science Museum.The Soyuz TMA-M that launched the British astronaut into orbit in December 2015 and returned him to Earth in June will be put on show for the public from early next year. Continue reading...

Google’s new Timelapse project allows you to see how anywhere in the world has changed in the last 32 years; from evaporating lakes to exploding cities, it’s a document of recklessnessThe image of the Earth from space is so seared into human consciousness that it is hard to conceive what it was like to live without the picture of our planet as a blue sphere that we all now carry in our minds.The first photographs of the Earth’s surface seen from 100 miles were taken in 1947. By 1968, the famous Earthrise image photographed by the crew of Apollo 8 framed our planet as a beautiful oasis in black space. Today, stunning and intensely informative pictures of the Earth’s surface are being taken from space constantly: so comprehensively, for so long, that Google has now created timelapses that show three decades of change. Continue reading...

Much like the president-elect, Ramesses II knew that bombast can sometimes outweigh truth. His tale of triumph at the Battle of Kadesh is a perfect exampleIn 1274BCE, near the Levantine town of Kadesh, a miracle occurred: Ramesses II of Egypt, isolated from his forces due to faulty intelligence, single-handedly destroyed a Hittite army. Out of the 2,500 chariots attacking him, not one survived. The pharaoh subsequently threw countless enemies into the river Orontes, only sparing the Hittite king after he begged for mercy. It was a mighty victory – and a mighty mix of fact and fiction.This version of events is found in two texts commissioned by Ramesses: the so-called Official Record and the Poem of Pentaur (named after the scribe of Papyrus Sallier III). After the Kadesh campaign, the pharaoh used these texts to portray himself as the archetypal glorious commander: feared by the enemy and protected by the gods. These works appeared primarily on royal architecture, such as the monumental temples at Abu Simbel, Karnak, Luxor and Abydos. Carved in stone, the inscriptions were designed for eternity, and the detailed reliefs accompanying them meant that even the illiterate majority could understand. Meanwhile, the Poem was also circulated on papyrus, allowing the story to travel rather than being confined to immobile monuments. Thus, Ramesses did everything to spread the word to everyone – from humble peasants gazing at temple walls to nobles enjoying court poetry. Continue reading...

Carbon dating of remains unearthed in Beckery chapel near Glastonbury indicate monastic life dating back to fifth or early sixth centuriesSkeletons excavated at a site near Glastonbury are the oldest examples of monks ever found in the UK, carbon dating has proved.The remains, unearthed at the medieval Beckery chapel in Somerset, said to have been visited by legendary figures such as King Arthur and St Bridget, indicate a monastic cemetery dating back to the fifth or early sixth centuries AD, before Somerset was conquered by the Saxon kings of Wessex in the seventh century.

Having a fear of buttons may sound hilarious, but in reality it can be debilitating. Patients need to be taken more seriously, by both the media and doctors, say experts

Scientists say increasing limit from 14 days will give greater insight into congenital conditionsScientists will make a controversial call this week to extend the current 14-day limit for carrying out experiments on human embryos to 28 days. The move follows recent breakthroughs that have allowed researchers to double the time embryos can be kept alive in the laboratory.By extending the current research period, major insights into congenital conditions, heart disease and some cancers could be gained, they will argue at a conference in London on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Chemistry professor Saiful Islam on his plans to show ‘electricity in the raw’ during his Royal Institution Christmas Lectures – with the help of 1,000 lemonsSaiful Islam, 53, is professor of materials chemistry at the University of Bath. Later this month he is giving the 80th Christmas Lectures at the Royal Institution, entitled Supercharged: Fuelling the Future.Your Christmas Lectures at the Royal Institution are going to be all about energy. What’s the next energy revolution going to look like?

Physics has its patterns, and you don’t even have to leave your kitchen to find them

Find out what your choice of pen colour says about youChoose one of these five pens to discover what your selection says about your class. All of the pens write in black ink. Go ahead, pick one...If you identify as working class, then there is a 72% chance that you picked the green (majority) pen, and 28% chance you picked the orange. If you identify as middle class, then your pen choice is much harder to predict, but it’s slightly more likely that you picked the orange pen (58%) than the green (42%). These were the findings when this study was run under test conditions at Stanford University. Why? Well there’s nothing special about orange versus green. There is the same pattern of majority versus minority even if the colours are reversed. Continue reading...