New paper describes for first time how scientists can test controversial idea that speed of light is not a constantThe newborn universe may have glowed with light beams moving much faster than they do today, according to a theory that overturns Einstein’s century-old claim that the speed of light is a constant.

Gigantic item found by a metal detectorist is among recent finds in England and Wales reported to archaeological authoritiesA gigantic gold torc, so big one expert thinks it may have been worn to protect a pregnant woman, has been found by a metal detectorist in a ploughed field in Cambridgeshire. It was made from 730 grams of almost pure gold more than 3,000 years ago, and is regarded as the best found in England in more than a century.The workmanship closely resembles one from nearby Grunty Fen, found in 1844 by a man cutting peat, now in the collection of the archaeology museum of Cambridge University. However, like many torcs that were apparently buried for ritual reasons, that one had been coiled up. Continue reading...

The term ‘snowflake’ has been thrown around with abandon in the wake of Brexit and the US election, usually to express generic disdain for young people. How can we neutralise its power – and is it a bad metaphor anyway?Between the immediate aftermath of Brexit and the US presidential election, one insult began to seem inescapable, mostly lobbed from the right to the left: “snowflake.” Independent MEP Janice Atkinson, who was expelled from Ukip over allegations of expenses fraud, wrote a piece for the Huffington Post decrying the “wet, teary and quite frankly ludicrous outpouring of grief emails” she had received post-referendum as “snowflake nonsense”. The far-right news site Breitbart, whose executive chairman Stephen Bannon is now Donald Trump’s chief strategist, threw it around with abandon, using it as a scattershot insult against journalists, celebrities and millennials who objected to Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric; its UK site used it last week to criticise a proposed “class liberation officer” at an Oxford college who would provide more support for working-class students.On an episode of his long-running podcast in August, Bret Easton Ellis discussed the criticism of a lascivious LA Weekly story about the pop star Sky Ferreira with a furious riposte to what he calls “little snowflake justice warriors”: “Oh, little snowflakes, when did you all become grandmothers and society matrons, clutching your pearls in horror at someone who has an opinion about something, a way of expressing themselves that’s not the mirror image of yours, you snivelling little weak-ass narcissists?” Continue reading...

A new medical device that give a patient’s own blood back to them could, its makers say, save lives and money, and is already being used around the world. So why isn’t the NHS buying any of them?The idea of being able to recover a patient’s own blood and put it back into their body is not new. But until now it has been expensive and largely unworkable. Autotransfusion, as it is known, has typically used large, complex, centrifugal devices that require skilled operators, take a lot of time and are very expensive. The cumbersome machines used in many hospitals return just the red blood cells, eliminating the platelets needed for clotting and the white cells required to fight infection. That can lead to complications.But a new machine, devised by Strathclyde University’s biomedical engineering department, may change all that. Hemosep, as it is known, is designed for use during major surgery. It removes blood from the surgical site, takes out the plasma and returns the vital blood cells to the patient, all through a single lightweight device. Continue reading...

Newcomb’s problem has split the world of philosophy into two opposing camps. Two philosophers explain - then take the test yourselfTwo boxes or not two boxes? That is the question.For almost half a century Newcomb’s problem has been one of the most contentious conundrums in philosophy, with ramifications in economics, politics and computer science. Continue reading...

The western lowland gorilla was smuggled from Africa to Italy in the 1980s. As taxidermy, he is part of a new exhibition at the National Museum of ScotlandName: Bobby

The highlights to watch out for in December, including the annual Geminids meteor shower, somewhat swamped this year by the proximity of another ‘supermoon’The unrivalled constellation of Orion is the stand-out feature of our long December nights which are bracketed by the two brightest planets – Venus as a brilliant evening star, and Jupiter in the pre-dawn. It is a shame that yet another supermoon coincides with the peak of the Geminids meteor shower to swamp what might have been the richest meteor display of the year. Continue reading...

New vaccine trial in South Africa builds on previous RV144 study to bring in more effective prevention of infectionThe first new trial of a potential vaccine against HIV in seven years has begun in South Africa, raising hopes that it will help bring about the end of the epidemic.Although fewer people are now dying from Aids because 18.2 million are on drug treatment for life to suppress the virus, efforts to prevent people from becoming infected have not been very successful. The infection rate has continued to rise and experts do not believe the epidemic will be ended without a vaccine. Continue reading...

The world is changing so fast and we’re always in a rush. We need to learn to pause

In fight against Zika, British company Oxitec must seek approval from FDA for insects’ release into the wild following Monroe County referendumGenetically modified mosquitoes could be released in the Florida Keys as early as this spring, an official said, after voters in Monroe County, Florida, approved the experiment in a referendum on election day.The British company Oxitec will still need to apply to the US Food and Drug Administration for approval, as the original location for the trial – Key Haven – voted against the trial. The experiment could be the first time a genetically modified animal is released into the wild in the United States. Continue reading...

Fiction breaks down social isolation and creates a sense of belonging, argues the author and former psychoanalystOne of my maxims as a university teacher of literature was: “A great novel not only enhances our understanding – more crucially it understands us.” When I later trained as a psychoanalyst I annoyed my tutors with my refrain that one could learn more about the subtleties of human psychology from literature than from the works of Freud, Adler or Jung. This was not to decry the pioneering wisdoms of those great psychologists, but years of teaching literature convinced me that fiction trumps theory in its illumination of the hidden recesses of our consciousness.Related: Therapy wars: the revenge of Freud | Oliver Burkeman Continue reading...

Researchers have created a vacuum cleaner-like exercise device to prevent problems associated with weightlessness on long-distance space missionsIn the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick’s spacecraft spins through the solar system like a giant, futuristic ferris wheel. The rotating craft has a suitably epic quality and, through the centrifugal force, conveniently explains why there appears to be gravity inside the spaceship.In real life future astronauts may have to settle for a slightly less cinematic form of artificial gravity, however. Space scientists working on the problem have developed a large vacuum cleaner-like device that seals around the astronaut’s waist, creating the impression of weight on the lower body through a powerful suction force. Continue reading...

A newborn Sitatunga calf and an orange-bellied parrot are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

Arctic scientists have reported that the speed at which the northern ice cap is melting risks triggering 19 climate tipping points, with disastrous consequences. It could also affect ecosystems elsewhere on Earth, perhaps irreversibly. The Arctic Resilience Report says it is crucial to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

I know, it’s still November, but psychologists have managed to get in early with some seasonal gloom (well, the news on melting Arctic ice isn’t great, but since it’s been decided that’s “politicised science”, it’s not important, right?). Apparently, belief in Santa Claus spells potential trouble for parent-child relationships. Me, I’m more concerned that the Man in Red’s well-documented long-term obesity has had an impact on his microbiome, which according to researchers could contribute to a cycle of yo-yo weight loss. Still, it’s possible that as an unageing supernatural being Santa is ahead of the scientific curve - this week researchers have announced that they are going to launch a human trial of a process that “resets” abnormal levels of proteins seen in older blood. It’s hoped that this will slow down the ageing process and prevent age-related diseases. This would be welcome progress, given the disappointment this week as potential Alzheimer’s drug solanezumab failed to deliver in the final stage of clinical trials. I’m not going to leave you on a sad note - let’s go bittersweet first: ESA scientists have trawled through the Schiaparelli data and think they know what went wrong with the Mars lander. And to make you actually smile and go “wow!”, here’s an amazing new resource that shows the first eight weeks of human embryonic development, plus a cool canine memory study. And if you’re scared of dogs, here’s some good news on the phobia front too. All better now? Continue reading...

Dr Nicole Prause is challenging bias against sexual research to unravel apparent discrepancies between physical signs and what women said they experiencedIn the nascent field of orgasm research, much of the data relies on subjects self-reporting, and in men, there’s some pretty clear physiological feedback in the form of ejaculation.But how do women know for sure if they are climaxing? What if the sensation they have associated with climax is actually one of the the early foothills of arousal? And how does a woman know if she has had an orgasm?

25 November 1896: The American inventor discusses future developments such as electric-powered motor vehicles and renewable sources of energyThe “Telegraph” publishes an account of an interview which its New York correspondent had on Monday with Mr. Edison regarding the probable future developments of electricity for locomotive, domestic, and commercial purposes. The following is an extract: –

Scientists warn increasingly rapid melting could trigger polar ‘tipping points’ with catastrophic consequences felt as far away as the Indian OceanArctic scientists have warned that the increasingly rapid melting of the ice cap risks triggering 19 “tipping points” in the region that could have catastrophic consequences around the globe.The Arctic Resilience Report found that the effects of Arctic warming could be felt as far away as the Indian Ocean, in a stark warning that changes in the region could cause uncontrollable climate change at a global level. Continue reading...

Scientists who started several blazes on a cargo ship were trying to find out what happens when different materials burn in the confines of a spacecraftA fire broke out onboard a cargo ship leaving the International Space Station (ISS) this week, but it was no emergency. It was part of the Spacecraft Fire Experiment 2 (Saffire-II) experiment to investigate combustion in microgravity to improve safety on future spaceflights.Nine samples were burnt in controlled conditions inside the spacecraft during the early hours of Tuesday UK time. They included silicon of various thicknesses, which is one of the most widely used flammable materials in spacecraft; a cotton-fibreglass fire retardant called Nomex; and the same acrylic glass that is used for spacecraft windows. Continue reading...

Digital model will aid vital research, offering chance chance to explore intricate changes occurring in the first weeks of lifeThe beautiful and otherworldly development of the human embryo has been revealed in unprecedented detail in an interactive three-dimensional atlas.The digital models, built by a team of scientists in the Netherlands, took around 45,000 hours to produce and offer researchers an unparalleled glimpse into the first eight weeks of human development. Continue reading...

At least four dead and others hospitalised due to weather event scientists broadly agree forces harmful allergens into airMelbourne has suffered what appears to be the most lethal episode of thunderstorm asthma on record. With at least four deaths and more patients left in intensive care, the storm has served as a grim reminder that the seasonal weather occurrence can have tragic knock-on effects for human health. “This is an extraordinary event,” said Prof Anthony Seaton, who has worked on thunderstorm asthma at the University of Aberdeen. “I don’t know of any event as severe as this.”Related: Three still in critical condition after Melbourne 'thunderstorm asthma' Continue reading...

Regaining weight after a diet could be linked to changes in microbiome caused by obesity, not simply a return to bad eating habitsPeople who struggle to maintain a healthy weight after dieting may do so because their gut bacteria retains a “memory” of their past weight, according to scientists.The study, in mice, suggests that yo-yo dieting is not simply a reflection of people returning to unhealthy eating habits, but could be driven by long-term changes in gut bacteria brought about by obesity. Continue reading...

Cameraman Richard Wollocombe reveals what it took to capture the stand-out sequence of Galapagos racer snakes hunting baby marine iguanas en masseWe filmed this sequence over a period of two years, in two trips to Galapagos of about 18 filming days each, adding up to around 400 hours of field time. The edited material from Galapagos lasts less than nine minutes. It contains the first ever footage of snakes hunting dragon-like marine iguanas en masse, one of the most thrilling examples of animal behaviour I have had the privilege to film.

An unexpected autumn statement windfall for research, innovation and industrial strategy has given scientists their first bit of cheer for a while

The Schiaparelli lander that crashed on Mars last month flew into the red planet at 335mph after a computer misjudged its altitude, the European Space Agency said on Wednesday. Though the landing was unsuccessful, engineers will be able to use it as experience for future Mars missions

The ancient Assyrian city of Kalhu fascinated tourists until extremists set about erasing it because it pre-dates IslamThe shattered ruins of Nimrud say different things to different people. To Sheikh Abdullah Saleh, a custodian of the ancient site until he was chased away by Islamic State extremists two years ago, they represent nothing but destruction and loss.To Iraqi archaeologist Layla Salih the hulking piles of rock are a big jigsaw puzzle, from which one of the world’s most significant ancient sites might be slowly rebuilt. Continue reading...

For Professor Marcus du Sautoy, the ‘enigma of prime numbers’ is at the heart of the greatest unsolved problem in mathematics. Riemann’s formula calculates how many primes there are – an infinite number that is crucial to the security of online banking

Schiaparelli thought it had landed on Mars when in fact it was still 3.7km above the surface, says European Space AgencyA tiny lander that crashed on Mars last month flew into the red planet at 540km/h (335mph) instead of gently gliding to a stop, after a computer misjudged its altitude, the European Space Agency has said.Schiaparelli was on a test-run for a future rover meant to seek out evidence of life, past or present, but it fell silent seconds before its scheduled touchdown on 19 October. Continue reading...

CAUTION: this article contains sensitive information concerning the existence of Santa ClausSpoiler alert: this article contains sensitive information about the existence of Santa Claus. Children may wish to look away now.Parents, though, are being urged to re-consider the ethics of the great Santa Claus lie. In an article published in the journal Lancet Psychiatry, two psychologists have raised the spectre of children’s moral compass being permanently thrown off-kilter by what is normally considered a magical part of the Christmas tradition. Continue reading...

Industry has long harvested some of the 700 seaweed species in British waters, but are large-scale algae farms on the horizon?British seaweeds are among our most underrated resources and hugely important for the ecology of the seas, but they get nothing like the recognition that, say, a wild meadow or ancient woodland gets.Related: Seaweed biofuels: a green alternative that might just save the planet Continue reading...

The fastest growing subset of people dying from lung cancer is young women who have never smoked. We need less stigma around the disease, and more hopeThere is no such thing as a “good” cancer. If you’re being told you have cancer, by any criteria, you’re not having a good day.On 26 August, 2015 – Daffodil Day – I was diagnosed with lung cancer. I was 52, a mother of three, and have never smoked. Apart from a cough I’d had for a couple of weeks, I was feeling great. I turned up to the GP ready to be lectured on the overuse of antibiotics. Instead I was sent for an X-ray. Continue reading...

It’s not just your waistline that suffers as you put on weight. Researchers are beginning to find puzzling new links between obesity, memory loss and dementiaLucy Cheke and her colleagues at the University of Cambridge recently invited a few participants into her lab for a kind of ‘treasure hunt’.The participants navigated a virtual environment on a computer screen, dropping off various objects along their way. They then answered a series of questions to test their memory of the task, such as where they had hidden a particular object. Continue reading...

A Florida police officer and local residents captured on video an unidentified fireball streaking across the sky on 21 November. The footage shows the moment when the fireball approaches Earth and finally explodes in a flash. The American Meteor Society (AMS) has received over 150 reports about the fireball that was mainly seen from Florida, but was also witnessed in Georgia and Alabama. According to AMS, a fireball is an extremely bright meteor Continue reading...

The draft genome of Ginkgo biloba, the sole surviving species of an ancient group of seed plants, has been publishedGinkgo biloba is a beautiful tree. Its elegant fan-shaped leaves, which turn a vivid yellow in Autumn, are often borrowed by the world of art and design. In South-East Asia, ginkgo has a long association with Buddhist temples and the trees themselves are regarded with reverence. While small wild populations have been identified in mountain groves in South West China, ginkgo has a global distribution, due to its popularity as a cultivated tree. Its tolerance of pollution makes it particularly popular with city planners. Male trees are preferable for this purpose, however (ginkgo is dioecious, with separate male and female trees), because the edible fleshy seeds are notoriously smelly. Ginkgo is also used in traditional medicine, and Ginkgo biloba extract is a widely available dietary supplement.Ginkgo biloba is the archetypal “living fossil” of the plant world, even if this label sometimes causes more confusion than it solves. Fossils tell us that the gross morphology of its leaves has remained stable for more than 200 million years, although a variety of associated reproductive structures have been recognised. The fossil record also tells us that ginkgoes were widespread, and found in fossil assemblages not too different ecologically from the forests they still live in today. What ancient fossils cannot tell us is very much about how ginkgoes are related to the other major plant groups. Continue reading...

Researchers find that dogs, like humans, appear to have memories linked to specific times and placesDogs can remember what their owners have been up to, say researchers probing the nature of canine memory.A team from Hungary have discovered that dogs are able to recall their owner’s actions, even when they were not specifically instructed to do so, suggesting that dogs, like humans, have what is known as “episodic memory” – memories linked to specific times and places. Continue reading...

Archaeologists discover huts, tools and 15 huge graves dating from first dynasty period in Sohag provinceEgypt has unearthed a city more than 7,000 years old and a cemetery dating back to its first dynasty in the southern province of Sohag, the antiquities ministry has said.The find could be a boon for Egypt’s ailing tourism industry, which has suffered a series of setbacks since the uprising that toppled the autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011, but remains a vital source of foreign currency. Continue reading...

Final-stage results dash hopes that solanezumab, an injectable antibody, would provide treatment breakthroughA drug that was seen as a strong contender to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease has failed to deliver in the final stage of clinical trials.

These exhibitions are worth a visit if you have an interest in science, technology and medicine – and their links to history and artThis autumn, and running into the new year, there are three free exhibitions worth catching. Each explores the history of science, technology or medicine in different ways, linking them to art, literature and popular, high or alternate cultures.Because I live in London, all three are in the south east. Please feel free to add your recommendations in the comments. Among permanent displays that I’ve seen this year, I recommend: the newly refurbished science and technology galleries at the National Museum of Scotland, the quirky fascination of Whitby Museum (where else do you get to see a replica leech-powered Tempest Prognosticator alongside displays of corals and exquisitely worked jet?) and the nearby gem of the Captain Cook Museum. Continue reading...

Every day millions of internet users ask Google life’s most difficult questions, big and small. Our writers answer some of the commonest queries“Toxic” is a potent word. It sounds like something dangerous dripping in a lab. By definition, to be toxic is to have the ability to cause harm, and it’s a term we often ascribe to human behaviour. We all have the ability to cause harm to each other; tangible and abstract, visible and invisible. But what makes a person toxic? A flesh-and-bones poison?We could say that it’s acts of abuse, bigotry, bitching, spitefulness, selfishness, lying, gaslighting or an absence of empathy: all types of behaviour that cause pain. More generally, a person’s apparent poisoning of “everything they touch” – their romantic relationships, friendships, work relationships – in a way they don’t seem to understand. Continue reading...

There’s beauty in simplicity. For space scientist and Sky At Night host Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, there’s nothing more beautiful than the way that Einstein’s theory of special relativity unlocks our understanding of how energy, mass and the speed of light work in the universe

Nasa’s Earth science division is set to be stripped of funding as the president-elect seeks to shift focus away from home in favor of deep space explorationDonald Trump is poised to eliminate all climate change research conducted by Nasa as part of a crackdown on “politicized science”, his senior adviser on issues relating to the space agency has said.Nasa’s Earth science division is set to be stripped of funding in favor of exploration of deep space, with the president-elect having set a goal during the campaign to explore the entire solar system by the end of the century. Continue reading...

From watching lightning storms to giving the Vulcan salute over Boston, Nasa astronaut Terry Virts on his 200 days floating through the cosmosThe space suit is only a few layers of plastic and rubberised metallic material. There’s a very thin plastic shield covering your face, a few millimetres thick: that’s your visor. Between your body and the other side of that plastic visor is instant death.It’s an amazing experience, outside in the cosmos. Continue reading...

Preteen behavioural problems less likely in children with confident fathers who embrace parenthood, suggest researchersChildren of confident fathers who embrace parenthood are less likely to show behavioural problems before their teenage years, researchers have found.A new study suggests that a man’s attitudes towards fatherhood soon after his child’s birth, as well as his feelings of security as a father and partner, are more important than his involvement in childcare and household chores when it came to influencing a child’s later behaviour. Continue reading...

Honestly, these cryonics stories are driving me mad (Report, 18 November). As someone with terminal cancer (and ignoring the fact that I find the description in your articles of people like myself as “cancer victims” to be teeth-grindingly irritating) I feel everyone is ignoring the fact that a young woman looked into her future and saw the denial of everything she was promised. She was denied boyfriends, university, a job, marriage, children, life… and she was not ready to give up on those promises. She didn’t want to die. None of us does. I’m grateful that the judge had the good sense to realise this was not about whether cryonics worked, but her own hopes for the future. Reading some pieces lately it seems that while we’ll arrange bungee-jumping days out for the terminally ill, how one disposes of one’s own corpse is a step too far in giving the dying what they’re asking for.

News of the British teenager who wanted to be cryogenically frozen shed light on a practice that exists largely under the radar. Murray Ballard’s photographs give a rare insight into the processMore than a decade ago, I interviewed a visionary architect named Stephen Valentine about an ambitious project he had designed called Timeship. A vast circular edifice, laden with geometrical and symbolic meaning, it was to be a world centre for research into cryonics – the practice of preserving people at low temperature after their death – as well as a repository for up to 10,000 bodies, stem cells, organs and other genetic material. Valentine called it the “Fort Knox of biological material” and “a Noah’s Ark to the future”. But 12 years on, they have only just found a site for Timeship, in Texas, which suggests it could be a while before it ever materialises. Then again, its clients are in no particular hurry, nor any position to care whether or not it gets built at all. Continue reading...

Trial will attempt to change levels of proteins in older blood, believed to hamper growth and maintenance of healthy tissuesIn what could be a fresh chapter in the never-ending story of the search for eternal youth, scientists are to tinker with people’s blood in the hope of slowing down the ageing process and preventing age-related diseases.Researchers in California plan to launch a clinical trial of the radical – and highly experimental – approach in the next six months, after a small study in mice found the treatment had promise.

The 95% complete composite skeleton of extinct bird constructed by an enthusiast who bought bones from private collectionsThe first near-complete skeleton of a dodo bird to come up for sale in nearly 100 years has fetched £346,300 at auction.The 95% complete skeleton was painstakingly constructed by a man who started buying bones from private collections and auctions in the 1970s. Continue reading...

Vesuvius among the stars in upcoming show at library in Oxford that traces the sometimes fatal allure of volcanoesScorched papyrus scrolls, which survived Vesuvius’s 79 AD explosion that destroyed the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, will be among the star objects in an volcanic exhibition at the Bodleian Library in Oxford next year.

Stunting, death and malnutrition: why contaminated water has far more serious effects than the odd bout of diarrhoeaAt the start of this year, the UN recognised sanitation as a universal human right. The Sustainable Development Goals aim to achieve global sanitation by 2030. But despite these grand ambitions, and a hard-working WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) development sector, 2.4 billion people around the world still don’t have access to a proper toilet.When we think of poor sanitation, thoughts usually turn to diarrhoea. If you start off healthy, and have the means to prevent dehydration, it’s not usually life threatening. But more than half a million under fives died from diarrhoea in 2013, with around 314,000 deaths directly attributable to poor WASH. And for people continuously exposed to a faecally-contaminated environment, the lack of a toilet can have far-reaching effects.

Danish and US researchers say warmer air and sea surface could lead to record lows of sea ice at north pole next yearThe Arctic is experiencing extraordinarily hot sea surface and air temperatures, which are stopping ice forming and could lead to record lows of sea ice at the north pole next year, according to scientists.Danish and US researchers monitoring satellites and Arctic weather stations are surprised and alarmed by air temperatures peaking at what they say is an unheard-of 20C higher than normal for the time of year. In addition, sea temperatures averaging nearly 4C higher than usual in October and November. Continue reading...