EU grants back many researchers in the UK, in fields from personalising breast cancer treatment to using stem cells to repair heart attack damageSurgeons have a favoured tool for removing breast tumours. The electrosurgical knife does not cut so much as burn. It uses an electrical current to vaporise tissue, so blood loss is minimised. The challenge for the surgeon is to remove all the cancer and leave only healthy tissue behind.Zoltan Takats, a Hungarian researcher, came up with a striking improvement. He hooked an electrosurgical knife to an instrument called a mass spectrometer. Now, when the surgeon uses the knife, it sniffs the fumes from the seared flesh and tells the surgeon in real time whether the tissue is cancerous or healthy. It makes for better precision.

After six months circling the Earth in the International Space Station, Tim Peake returns to terra firma on Saturday. He’s taken many shots of the planet – and you can explore them with this interactive map created by Esri UK Continue reading...

Letter asking the president to prevent future hunting for oil in the waters follows a series of new heat and melting records in the Arctic, which stunned researchersNearly 400 international scientists called on Barack Obama to rule out further expansion of oil and gas exploration in Arctic waters under US control.The letter, signed by prominent Arctic, marine and climate specialists – including a former member of Obama’s administration, urges the president to rule out any future hunting for oil in the waters of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.

Piece of meteorite may have resulted form a mid-space collision between vast asteroids more than 470m years agoA morsel of never-before-seen alien rock has been dug up in a limestone quarry in Sweden, where it had lain deeply buried for about 470m years, scientists said on Tuesday.

National space programme would help UK take more leading roles in ESA missions and spur technological breakthroughs, says Commons committeeThe UK must set up a national space programme to help spur the scientific and technological breakthroughs that will be needed on future missions into the cosmos, MPs say.Many European states, such as France, Germany and Italy, have well-established, home-grown space programmes that are used to build up national facilities and expertise in key areas of space exploration.

She tells jokes, talks in rhyme and is pals with DiCaprio – but there’s one thing missing from Koko’s life: a baby. A riveting new documentary explores the controversial bond between one woman and her apeIt wasn’t the first time I had looked into the eyes of a gorilla, but it was the first time a gorilla had asked me to sit down so she could check out my nail varnish.

The frogs are secretive, breed only at night, and always at the peak of monsoon season, but researchers have finally identified their remarkable mating habitsThey mostly come at night. Moments after sunset, and calling as they move, the Bombay night frogs climb high into the trees that overhang rivers swollen by the warm monsoon rains in the forests of Western Ghats in India.And then the action begins. On rain-soaked leaves, branches and tree trunks, the amphibians pair up. The female sends a willing signal by backing towards her male and touching his head with her toes. What follows is a mating position never seen before in the wild world of frog sex. Continue reading...

As autonomous vehicles rack up more and more miles on our roads, the odds of a fatal accident are shortening by the day. How will we react?One hundred million. That’s the number of miles, on average, that it takes a human driver to kill someone in the United States. It’s also the number of miles Tesla’s semi-autonomous ‘Autopilot’ feature had racked up by May this year. Assuming Autopilot is rolled out to Tesla’s mass-market Model 3 in 2017, that number will rapidly climb into the billions. Mercedes are deploying similar systems in their new E-class, while Google’s fully driverless cars have racked up another 1.6 million miles and counting .As the miles grow, the odds shrink. At some point, a car driving autonomously or semi-autonomously will cause a fatal accident. If their performance is remotely comparable to a human’s, that moment could come within the next 18-24 months. If so, by the law of averages it will probably involve a Tesla Model 3. Self-driving cars may be about to have their Driscoll moment. Continue reading...

Despite concerns that children are being overly drugged for behaviour, there are data to suggest that some kids aren’t getting the care they actually needLuis barrels into my office wearing his Scooby Doo backpack and goes right for the train set. He’s six years old, from Guatemala. His jeans often are freshly ironed, and his mother follows with her eyes down, shyly entering the room. Twenty-four years-old, she is soft-spoken and speaks Spanish in a strong rural accent. She is not here legally, but came to the US to flee an abusive husband and start a new life for her son. I’ve been treating him for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at a community primary care clinic near Washington, DC.As a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, I see a wide range of patients –unaccompanied minors from Central America, unemployed middle-aged ladies with chronic pain, 65 year-old males with long histories of alcohol abuse seeking sobriety. In the paediatric clinic, though, I see plenty of ADHD, characterised by distractibility, impulsivity, trouble completing tasks, and hyperactivity. Continue reading...

Iping Common, West Sussex Perhaps the round platforms were used for rituals performed by the early farmers who were the first to clear the treesThe ridge of the South Downs to the south is gleaming in the early morning sunshine. The heath and surrounding woods are quieter than they were a few weeks ago. There’s much less birdsong now – just a lonely tree pipit still whistling its territorial song from the top of a tall birch. Continue reading...

Researchers find songbirds and parrots can have as many, sometimes more, neurons packed into their brains than mammals - even monkeys and apesSome can count, many make tools, and others recognise themselves in the mirror. But how birds pull off such complex feats with so little brain matter has long had scientists scratching their heads.Now an answer may finally be at hand. Researchers who studied 28 bird species found that songbirds and parrots can have as many, and sometimes more, neurons packed into their brains than mammals - even monkeys and apes.

Spotted using data from the Kepler space telescope, the gas giant, dubbed Kepler-1647b, has one of the longest orbits recorded for a transiting planetA gas giant 3,700 light years away is the largest planet yet to be found orbiting two stars, scientists have revealed.Dubbed Kepler-1647b, the Jupiter-like planet lies in the constellation Cygnus, and was spotted by astronomers examining data from the Kepler space telescope - an instrument launched in 2009 to look for potentially habitable planets beyond our solar system. Continue reading...

Scientists warn that global warming target will be overshot within two decades, as annual concentrations of CO2 set to pass 400 parts per million in 2016Atmospheric concentrations of CO2 will shatter the symbolic barrier of 400 parts per million (ppm) this year and will not fall below it our in our lifetimes, according to a new Met Office study.Carbon dioxide measurements at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii are forecast to soar by a record 3.1ppm this year – up from an annual average of 2.1ppm – due in large part to the cyclical El Niño weather event in the Pacific, the paper says. Continue reading...

Researchers look for tomb of William the Conqueror’s fourth son, whose remains are believed to have been buried in local abbeyThe first encouraging bleeps have been heard in Fr John O’Shea’s back garden in Reading, as a radar team begins the search for underground structures that could reveal the grave of another lost king: Henry I, fourth son of William the Conqueror.

The monarch is thought to have been buried beneath a Reading car park – fuelling hopes that the town might be set for a similar footballing miracle to Leicester

A new study has claimed that there’s no link between LDL cholesterol and mortality in the elderly, but the majority of evidence disagrees“Throw away your statins, they’re not doing you any good,” reads a tweet I saw earlier. The reason, a study published in BMJ Open that has found no association between low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels and mortality*, in individuals aged 60 or over.The study in question is a systematic review of cohort studies that have looked at this and, in 19 studies on a total of 68,094 people, found no evidence that LDL cholesterol levels predicted mortality. But a closer look at their methodology reveals the study is weak in terms of being able to provide evidence of (a lack of) a causal link, and there’s currently much stronger evidence that does support of a link between LDL cholesterol and mortality. Continue reading...

Leading UK investor spends £11.6m for extra slice of Imperial College London offshoot that funds and licenses scientific researchNeil Woodford, one of Britain’s top investors, has spent £11.6m to take his stake to more than 20% in Imperial Innovations, an offshoot of Imperial College London that funds and licenses scientific research.Imperial Innovations sold shares to investors in February to raise £100m to support existing investments. Woodford’s fund has received approval from the Financial Conduct Authority to own 20% or more of the shares as agreed at the time of the placing, Imperial Innovations said. Woodford Investment Management’s stake will rise to 21% from 19.9%. Continue reading...

Over-the-counter tests have made it easy to screen yourself for serious illnesses such as cancer and diabetes. But there are no cures for most hereditary conditionsIt’s like being told you’re going to be involved in a car crash, but you don’t know when it will hit. You know it is going to happen but you can’t do anything about it,” says Amy Burton. The 24-year-old from Kent was diagnosed with pre-type 1 diabetes in 2014 after she tested positive for auto-immune antibodies associated with the condition in a medical trial.Burton had initially signed up as her younger sister has lived with type 1 diabetes for the past six years and she thought the experience would make an interesting blog post. She wasn’t expecting to find out that, within the next five to 15 years she, too, would have the condition: “I did sob when I heard,” she says. Continue reading...

High above Mars and Saturn in the increasingly twilit night sky is a fiery star that could blow at any timeThe Sun is nearing its most northerly point at the solstice on the 20th, meaning that Britain’s nights are brief and becoming increasingly twilit if we, too, venture northwards. We do have three bright planets, though – Jupiter, which sinks towards our W horizon during the first half of the night, and Mars and Saturn which are the two brightest objects low in the S as it does so.High above Mars and Saturn is the semicircle of stars that make up Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. It is here that a remarkable star may be preparing to brighten dramatically to justify its reputation as the Blaze Star. Continue reading...

I enjoyed Simon Jenkins’ characteristically spirited call to stop elevating scientists to godly heights; and who could disagree that disputes should be “open so that fads, conventions and vested interests can be challenged” (Scientists aren’t gods, 9 June)?Related: Scientists aren’t gods. They deserve the same scrutiny as anyone else | Simon Jenkins Continue reading...

Forget the Turner prize. This is art that reflects the true grandeur of the universe – it is the Sistine Chapel of the scientific ageIt’s all about scale. A black dot is moving across the face of a blazing giant. The shadow of the planet looks tiny, compared with the vast flaming orb of the sun embracing it, whose flares and vortices of unimaginable heat shudder the imagination. What a brilliant way to convey the size and power of the star we orbit. But these images of the transit of Mercury on 9 May are not artist’s impressions. They’re real.Many people watched the transit from Earth, but no earthbound telescope could match the view available to Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), an unmanned spacecraft launched in 2010, the five-year mission of which is to observe the sun in unprecedented detail. Its spectacular images of the transit held the front pages of newspapers, but they were merely the latest in a series of revelatory views of our star that the spacecraft has beamed back to Earth. Images from the SDO have once again been making headlines – they show in eerie ultraviolet a vast, black void that has opened in the sun’s glowing surface. Continue reading...

The award-winning children’s author on partying with dryads and goblins, Victorian crime and watching the transit of MercuryBorn in Brighton in 1973, children’s author Frances Hardinge grew up in an isolated house in the village of Penshurst, Kent, where her parents worked in book-selling. She studied English at Oxford University, where she founded a writers’ workshop, and afterwards won a short story competition. She wrote her first novel, Fly By Night, while working as a technical author for a software company; it was published in 2005 and won the Branford Boase award. Her seventh novel, The Lie Tree, about a 14-year-old girl who attempts to uncover the truth behind her father’s mysterious death, won the 2015 Costa Book award, the first children’s book to do so since Philip Pullman’s The Amber Spyglass in 2001. Continue reading...

Researchers have had promising results treating tumours with everyday medicines. So why aren’t the big pharma companies investing in trials?Helen Hewitt lost her mother, her younger brother and her baby son to cancer. Having successfully overcome breast cancer herself, she is currently battling several tumours in her lungs, and – thanks to an inherited mutation in her DNA – is at high risk of developing other cancers as well. Yet Helen, 41, is pioneering an unfamiliar approach against this all too familiar foe. Alongside conventional chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy, she is taking a cocktail of experimental yet well-known medicines. Some of them might even be in your bathroom cabinet.One is the diabetes drug metformin, which besides making healthy cells more sensitive to the effects of the hormone insulin may also help to starve sugar-hungry cancer cells. The cholesterol-lowering statin and the antibiotic she’s been prescribed have the added benefit of dampening inflammation – a process cancer cells use to help them grow. Then there’s mebendazole, a common treatment for threadworm, which may also inhibit the growth of the blood vessels to her tumours. Continue reading...

It turns out that relationship satisfaction doesn’t have much to do with how funny or romantic you are…There is one personality trait that consistently predicts relationship satisfaction, and it can be measured with a few simple questions. On a scale of 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much), to what extent do you…

12 June is Hug a Climate Scientist Day. We’ll be celebrating by hugging lots of scientists (or a nearby friends or pets) and sharing the photos hereAre you prepared and ready for Hug a Climate Scientist Day (Week)?12 June is International Hug a Climate Scientist Day (this year incorporating Climate Scientist Awareness Week)!!Share your photos of hugging a scientist (or a nearby friend or pet). If you are hosting a morning tea, share photos and tell us how it went. We’ll feature a selection of them on the site. Continue reading...

The profound, transformative implications of new gene editing techniques require open, public debateThe 90s sci-fi film Gattaca envisaged a world where children conceived through genetic manipulation took all the professional jobs, while those conceived naturally did the menial ones. The 2005 movie, The Island, imagined one in which those who could afford it sponsored a clone that could be harvested for spare body parts if and when the need arose.People have been prophesying nightmarish scenarios about genetic technologies ever since the publication of Aldous Huxley’s dystopic Brave New World. It’s now 20 years since Dolly the Sheep was cloned and 13 years since the first human genome was sequenced. The fact that none of these scenarios has yet come to pass could prompt the conclusion that they were overhyped. Continue reading...

Genetic diseases may soon be a thing of the past thanks to nanotechnology, which employs tiny particles to manipulate cells and change our DNAHere’s how cancer treatment often runs today: a patient develops an aggressive tumor. A surgeon operates to remove the tumor, but a few cancer cells remain, hiding in the body. Chemotherapy is administered, weakening both patient and cancer cells. But the cancer does not die; it comes back and eventually kills the patient.Related: Gene-trification? Inside the Brooklyn lab where you can splice your own DNA Continue reading...

Archaeologists in Cambodia have discovered numerous medieval cities in the Angkor region of Cambodia. Using the latest LiDAR technology, which allows archaeologist to map the topography of an area, underneath forest floors, teams found cities ranging from 900 to 1,400 years old. Some of the settlements found rival the size of Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh. The findings are expected to challenge theories on the development o the Khmer Empire in the 15th century Continue reading...

Exclusive: Laser technology reveals cities concealed under the earth which would have made up the world’s largest empire in 12th century

British astronaut is companion of order of St Michael and St George and dedicates it to team who make his mission possibleNo one has previously been in space when they were given an award by the Queen. In order to be certain Tim Peake would accept his honour, Sir Simon McDonald, permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, had to ask the European Space Agency to set up a special phone line to the International Space Station, where Peake has been stationed since December.The astronaut is made a CMG, or companion of the order of St Michael and St George. The award, a diplomatic honour instituted in the wake of the Napoleonic wars, is given on the recommendation of the Foreign Office to those who have given distinguished service overseas – or, on this occasion, in space. Continue reading...

Scientists describe ‘cultural loss of unprecedented magnitude’ as global atlas reveals extent of light pollution in the world’s skiesIt has inspired astronomers, artists, musicians and poets but the Milky Way could become a distant memory for much of humanity, a new global atlas of light pollution suggests.The study reveals that 60% of Europeans and almost 80% of North Americans cannot see the glowing band of our galaxy because of the effects of artificial lighting, while it is imperceptible to the entire populations of Singapore, Kuwait and Malta. Continue reading...

A team of scientists at the National Centers for Environmental Information in Boulder, Colorado have produced a digital atlas of the Earth that shows the levels of light pollution. The atlas makes use of low-light imaging now available from the NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite, calibrated by thousands of ground observations. Light pollution is so severe in some parts of the world that a third of human beings cannot see the Milky Way Continue reading...

Jenkins’ broadsides against scientists have become repetitive. It’s time for him to get serious about science, and we scientists can help. I’ll even buy him a pintGoodness, is it that time of the year again already? Simon Jenkins is having another go at scientists. This time we are being denounced for claiming to be gods. A few years ago he had us down as the “new clerisy” so I guess we should be grateful for the promotion.As a scientist, I’ve struggled to formulate an effective response to his pieces. I’ve tried answering back. I’ve tried ridicule. Last time, I had a go at reasoned argument and even acknowledged that he might have a point on one or two issues. Continue reading...

Welcome to the first weekly roundup of the best of the Guardian’s science coverage. And what a week it’s been. Without question, the biggest story of the week has been the news that scientists in California trying to grow human organs inside pigs have successfully created part-human, part-pig embryos. Chimeras aside, we’ve also had the shocking news that air pollution is now a major contributor to stroke worldwide, and excitement as researchers discover the fossil remains of what appear to be the ancestors of the Flores ‘hobbits’. Noel Edmonds also distracted the internet with claims that an electronic box could “tackle cancer”. Science says no. Continue reading...

The most famous of Roman rulers was not erratic to begin with, but only became so once he was seduced by spectacle. Trump is not too different from himDonald Trump has been diagnosed in the media over and over again, called everything from a malignant narcissist to a pervert. While many would concur that he is simply personality disordered of some variety or another, maybe, some wonder, he could even be psychotic, paranoid – a real madman deep down.Diagnosing public figures that one has not conducted a “proper examination of” is forbidden by the American Psychiatric Association in what they call “The Goldwater Rule” – as is releasing the results of that examination without proper authorization. But that rule is often ignored when it comes to Donald Trump. Continue reading...

The world is covered in more than 40m miles of road networks. What if this network could act like solar panels, and what if we could power our vehicles with the energy generated by this? In 2009, these questions formed the beginning of a vision for the future for Sten De Wit at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research in Delft, whose ideas are being put into practice with SolaRoad Continue reading...

If you or a family member have been given drugs as part of your advanced cancer treatment, or you’re a clinician who prescribes them, we’d like to hear from you

Psychopathic traits are not reserved for prisons or psychiatric hospitals - we’re all somewhere on the spectrumThere is a questionnaire, the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale, which assesses psychopathic traits in the general population. There are twenty-nine statements, and the respondent indicates the extent to which each statement applies to them, from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”. Early in my PhD, a friend asked if he could see the questionnaire. He read out one of the items: ‘I sometimes tell people what they want to hear.’ He looked concerned. ‘But I would agree with that – I do that sometimes,’ he said. ‘Does that make me a psychopath?’ I reassured him no, it did not - only someone who scored very highly on most of the statements might meet criteria for what we think of as a “psychopath”. But he had hit on something important: very few people score zero on the questionnaire.Related: Can an online quiz spot a psychopath? Continue reading...

12 June is Hug a Climate Scientist Day. We’ll be celebrating all week with a special morning tea on Tuesday 14 June. Please abide by the following rules

How does our genetic makeup help or hinder our chances in life? And as our ability to unravel DNA becomes more powerful, what are the implications?Scientists are finding ways to alter the genetic makeup of children with harmful mutations such as cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy. Will we soon see more complex disorders such as cancers and heart disease being tackled in this way, by altering or replacing entire groups of genes?To tackle these questions and more, Ian Sample is joined in the studio by Siddharta Mukherjee, whose new book spans the history of genetics, from Gregor Mendl’s 19th century experiments to modern gene-editing techniques.

10 June 1921: A Guardian writer reflects on the significance of the honour for both Albert Einstein and Manchester UniversityIn accepting the degree of Doctor of Science conferred on him by the University of Manchester yesterday, Professor ALBERT EINSTEIN conferred a signal honour on Manchester and its University. The compliment was no vain one on either side, for the University of Manchester claims high distinction in the scientific field, and Professor EINSTEIN’S visit is in itself a very distinct recognition of the University as a home of science.EINSTEIN himself has become, with amazing rapidity, the hero not only of the scientist and the scholar, but also of the populace. The reason is not hard to seek. The man in the street, a traveller between life and death, is compact of all elements, and is neither wholly devoid of science nor of poetry. He may have few ideas in either, but he probably cherishes what he has, and whatever touches them nearly is of moment to him. Continue reading...

Government agencies work on solution to cover regulatory gap governing space activities by private companiesUS government agencies are working on temporary rules to allow a private company to land a spacecraft on the moon next year, while Congress weighs a more permanent legal framework to govern future commercial missions to the moon, Mars and other destinations beyond Earth’s orbit, officials said.Plans by private companies to land spacecraft on the moon or launch them out of Earth’s orbit face legal obstacles because the US has not put in place regulations to govern space activities, said industry and government officials. Continue reading...

High-risk transplant treatment which ‘reboots immune system’ allows some with multiple sclerosis to recover mobilityA radical and risky stem cell therapy has been shown to halt and even reverse some of the symptoms of those worst affected by multiple sclerosis, a disease that in many people has proved untreatable.Doctors in Canada conducted an experimental stem cell transplant with 24 patients who were expected to be confined to a wheelchair within 10 years. After receiving the treatment most of the patients regained control of their lives, becoming able to walk, play sport and drive. Continue reading...

After 186 days in orbit, British astronaut Tim Peake will make the descent to Kazakhstan where he will be trained to live with gravity once moreNext week, British astronaut Tim Peake will conclude his 186-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). On Saturday 18 June he will enter the Soyuz TMA-19M capsule docked at the ISS and return to Earth.Peake will make the descent to Kazakhstan alongside fellow crew members Yuri Malenchenko and Tim Kopra. The journey will take a few hours and touchdown is scheduled at 10:12 BST. Continue reading...

Victorian celebrity’s remains should be returned to home town of Leicester, says descendant of one of his managersJoseph Merrick, who was better known as the “Elephant Man” in the late 1800s, should be given a Christian burial in his home town of Leicester, campaigners have said.His remains are stored in a glass case in a private room at Queen Mary, University of London, and can be viewed by medical students and professionals by appointment. Continue reading...

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 star says she wants to move away from acting and write for Vice to better explore her passion for ‘alternative history’Megan Fox has spoken about her wish to move away from acting to help expose the planet’s “deep mysteries”.Related: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 becomes latest sequel to underperform at US box office Continue reading...

A study showing psychotherapists are less likely to offer appointments to working-class people comes as researchers say poor communities and communities of colour grapple with inordinate levels of traumaWhen Terrell Jermaine Starr, a high-profile 35-year-old political reporter, entered therapy for the first time in 2013 after having faced months of suicidal ideation and depression, he says he quickly realised that his mental ordeal came in part from unresolved childhood trauma.Starr grew up in Detroit, at a time when the city was already topping national charts for unemployment, infant mortality and crime. His working mother was absent, and he had not yet met his father. Continue reading...

Crisps! Everyone has their favourites, from salt and vinegar to roast chicken, prawn cocktail to cheese and onion. But how much are our preferences for those allegedly delicious flavours influenced by clever packaging and suggestive naming? We tested this by asking people to sit a blindfolded taste test. Identifying one crisp flavour from another sounds easy, right? Continue reading...

Scientists hope large-scale maps will offer new insight into effects of warming and pollution as previous studies have almost always been done up close in the waterCoral reefs have almost always been studied up close, by scientists in the water looking at small portions of larger reefs to gather data and knowledge about the larger ecosystems. But Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is taking a step back and getting a wider view, from about 23,000 ft above.Nasa and top scientists from around the world are launching a three-year campaign on Thursday to gather new data on coral reefs like never before. Continue reading...

Rolling sand dunes of Arabia, thinning glaciers of Greenland and wildfires of Fort McMurray in Canada were among the images captured by European Space Agency and Nasa satellites last monthNasa astronaut Jeff Williams captured this image of the ancient Potidea canal in Greece from the International Space Station. For 2,000 years this canal has connected the Thermaikos and Toronaios Gulfs. Williams posted the photograph on Twitter, saying: ‘Coastal currents and erosion over 2,000 years appear to have displaced the two sides of this isthmus, which may explain the coastline’s misalignment.’ Continue reading...