Cancer screening may not save lives, researchers say in the British Medical Journal, but others say UK screening programmes have cut the number of deathsThe benefits of cancer screening have been overstated and the practice may not even save lives, experts in the US and Germany have claimed.While there may be fewer deaths from the specific cancer for which screening takes place, little account is taken of the harm some patients suffer psychologically and medically because of overdiagnosis and complications from treatment, an article and editorial in the BMJ medical journal suggest. Continue reading...

Cutting sugar in soft drinks by 40% over five years could prevent 300,000 cases of diabetes and 1.5m cases of obesity in the UK, a new study suggestsReducing the amount of sugar in soft drinks and fruit juices by 40% over five years could prevent 300,000 cases of diabetes in the UK and stop 1.5 million people from being overweight or obese, according to a study.The report, immediately welcomed by Public Health England as a particular route to curbing excess weight in young people, is based on efforts to reduce salt content in many foods, which has already seen the amount used cut by a similar amount over the same time period. Continue reading...

Scientists recover ‘the oldest rock you’ll ever hold in your hand’ in the nick of time on New Year’s Eve from a hole in Lake EyreA 1.7kg meteorite created during the early formation of the solar system more than 4.5bn years ago has been retrieved by a team of Perth researchers in the South Australian outback.The meteorite was retrieved from the outback using a new 32-camera network, a light plane, quad bikes and a drone. Continue reading...

Study shows that treatment based on transfusion of plasma extracted from blood of recovered patients does not significantly improve survival ratesHopes that the blood of Ebola survivors might contain a ready-made cure for the virus have been dashed after the world’s largest study of the treatment showed it did not save extra lives.

The announcement by the prime minister that ministers will be able to campaign on both sides in the referendum on EU membership is quite remarkable (Report, 6 January). Whatever the outcome of the renegotiation, the government will not be making a unified case for remaining in the European Union. Not only does this move the UK closer to the exit door, but it witnesses the end of the concept of collective cabinet responsibility. It clearly smacks of hypocrisy for David Cameron to attack Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for having a divided shadow cabinet when it came to the debate on military intervention in Syria, while he is now happy to have those inside his own cabinet campaigning against the government line.We also have the spectre of ministers calling for withdrawal from the EU attending and speaking at council of minister meetings, a scarcely credible position and one that will significantly weaken the UK position. Exit from the EU would pose a direct threat to jobs, investment and international influence. It is more important than ever that those who support the UK’s continued EU membership stand up and make the case as strongly as possible.

Scientists observing V404 Cygni discovered that even amateur telescopes are capable of capturing violent outburst from black holes closest to EarthAstronomers have discovered that black holes can be observed through a simple optical telescope when material from surrounding space falls into them and releases violent bursts of light.The apparent contradiction emerges when a black hole’s gravity pulls in matter from nearby stars, producing light that can be viewed from a modest 20cm telescope. Continue reading...

It’s not always easy to intervene when you see bullying or abuse in public. But as research shows, you don’t have to be a have-a-go hero to make a differenceA few months ago I was in a bar with two friends when, a few tables away, we heard a glass smash and looked up to find a man and woman in the middle of an argument. He slapped her and walked out. Everyone froze. She looked horribly alone for a few seconds, hurt and humiliated. Then a customer walked over to see if she was all right, as did a member of staff. They sat with her for some time, while my friends and I wondered awkwardly what we should be doing. It seemed as if she was being offered the support she needed, but was that enough? Should we have offered to act as witnesses if she wanted to take it further? We didn’t – and ended up feeling powerless, even guilty.Related: Woman in anti-Muslim bus tirade admits racial abuse Continue reading...

With the junior doctors’ strike now back on, Jack Saunders takes a historical look at how NHS doctor ‘militancy’ has changedNovelty has been a major theme in much of the coverage of the junior doctors’ strike. Here was a group of middle-class professionals behaving, as Jeremy Hunt implied, like “trade union militants”. Yet doctors have long used collective protest to shape the NHS and their role within it, and their different motivations reflect changing relationships and attitudes towards the health service.For instance, in 1947, doctors contested plans for the new National Health Service, looking to retain their independent contractor status rather than becoming salaried employees. They threatened to boycott the new service if the government didn’t retain “capitation”, a practice where doctors were paid per registered patient. Continue reading...

Mount Etna erupting, Super Typhoon Melor, and snow-free mountains of New York were among the images captured by European Space Agency and Nasa satellites last monthIn late December strong winds carried dust from the Sahara desert westward over the west coast of Africa and the Canary Islands. This image, taken on Christmas day, shows the stark contrast between the tan dust and the deep blue of the Atlantic Ocean. In some areas the dust is so thick that the ocean is completely obscured. The Canary Islands are a volcanic archipelago with steep mountains that can affect the flow of wind. When wind strikes such an immobile object, turbulence is created as the forward-moving wind is re-routed to the side. Immediately behind the leeward side of the object, the air is often still, while wave-like patterns are created in the area of turbulence – as seen around the islands of Tenerife (west), Grand Canaria, and Fuerteventura (east) in the image. Tenerife is home to Mount Teide, an active volcano which rises to 3,718 metres (12,198 feet) above sea level. It is the highest point above sea level in the islands of the Atlantic, and the highest point in Spain. The massive mountain has strongly interacted with the wind, leaving a wide dust-free zone on its leeward side. Continue reading...

Climate Central: Scientists say cyclical changes in the Pacific Ocean have thrown Earth’s surface into what may be an unprecedented warming spurt, following a global warming slowdown that lasted about 15 yearsWhile El Niño is being blamed for an outbreak of floods, storms and unseasonable temperatures across the planet, a much slower-moving cycle of the Pacific Ocean has also been playing a role in record-breaking warmth. The recent effects of both ocean cycles are being amplified by climate change.

Agencies faced with challenging briefs are turning to behavioural research and psychologists to harness the power of consumers’ mindsMany of us assume that humans think and act rationally, so when it comes to buying behaviour, we believe that people will buy the best things that they can for the lowest price. But research is revealing aspects of human behaviour that are surprising, suggesting that many consumers are far less calculative. Brands and ad professionals need to take note, because successful messaging doesn’t always involve telling people that something is the best, the cheapest or the right thing to do. In fact, such messaging can often appear counter-intuitive.Richard Shotton is head of insight at Zenith Optimedia. He spends much of his time poring through psychology textbooks, looking for theories that can be applied to ad campaigns. He says there are a growing number of instances where psychology has been used to create counter-intuitive messages, for example the budget airlines that played a masterstroke by admitting their customer service was poor. Continue reading...

Researchers hope mapping how mutated gene produces animals’ white patches may lead to medical advancesScientists have solved what shall henceforth be known as the piebald mystery: by discovering the origins of the broad white patches that can adorn the belly and head fur of cats, dogs and farm animals.The distinctive patterns were known to be caused by a mutated gene, but how the faulty DNA produced the signature white bellies and other splashes of light on animals’ coats was far from clear.

Every day millions of internet users ask Google some of life’s most difficult questions, big and small. Our writers answer some of the commonest queriesWe all have different sleep patterns, and almost anyone can improve theirs. So let’s begin with the three keys to better sleep which might work for an “average” person.The first is a healthy life style. You’re more likely to sleep well if you eat healthily, exercise, and have time for a good social and/or family life. Good nutrition and food habits benefit all bodily functions, including sleep and health; exercise helps reduce stress; and good relationships do the same – while also improving mood, and enabling relaxation before sleep. Continue reading...

The ‘very beautiful’ gold and silver coloured grunter is one of 20 newly-identified fish species from the remote Kimberley in Western AustraliaTim Winton – best-selling Australian writer and now, also, a fish species newly identified by a team of bioscientists. The 30cm-long grunter was one of 20 new fish species recorded during fieldwork in the Kimberley, in northern Western Australian. Continue reading...

British astronaut ‘thrilled’ to be given task of replacing broken solar-power unit outside craft travelling at 17,500mphTim Peake is to mark his first month on the International Space Station by climbing into a spacesuit and taking a walk outside.Britain’s first European Space Agency astronaut has been called on to perform a six-hour “extra-vehicular activity” (EVA) to replace a broken solar-power unit and lay cables for future docking ports.

A murmuration, or flock, of migrating starlings has been making stunning formations in the skies above southern Israel this winter Continue reading...

Rhian Lewis is first person outside Germany to be fitted with implant to restore sight after retinitis pigmentosa left her virtually blind

Stuck in debt, constantly overspending or not saving? Perhaps professional help could change your attitude to money. Our writer tries it outWhether it’s anxiety about paying the bills, guilt at spending, or feelings of inadequacy over our income, polls frequently show money to be a leading source of worry, and one of the main causes of rows between couples. Even the rich aren’t immune, according to Capgemini’s annual World Wealth Report, with top concerns for millionaires in 2015 ranging from how they will maintain their lifestyle to whether their offspring will mismanage their inheritances.So how do we make peace with our bank statements and instead spend the wee hours calmly contemplating whether that car alarm will ever stop? The answer, at least according to some, lies not in spreadsheets and interest calculators, but in financial therapy. A burgeoning field in the US, where the five-year-old Financial Therapy Association counts more than 250 members, financial therapy combines traditional financial advice with a more touchy-feely psychological exploration of what is driving a client’s behaviour towards money. Continue reading...

Gigantopithecus, which roamed the Earth 100,000 years ago, failed to adapt when climate change affected its favoured diet of fruitThe largest ape to roam Earth died out 100,000 years ago because it failed to adapt to eating savannah grass after climate change affected its preferred diet of forest fruit.Gigantopithecus – the closest nature ever came to producing a real King Kong – weighed five times as much as an adult man and probably stood 3m (9ft) tall, according to rough estimates. Continue reading...

UK drug regulator’s approval of vaping device paves way for product to be prescribed on NHS for patients trying to give up smokingBritain’s drug regulators have given the go-ahead for a British American Tobacco (BAT) e-cigarette to be sold as a medicine for quitting smoking, the first such product to be given a drug licence in the UK.The decision to licence the e-Voke product means it can now be prescribed on the NHS for patients trying to give up smoking. Continue reading...

Four new atoms have been documented. They don’t exist for long enough to be much practical use, but they reaffirm the brilliance of a table of classic designConsidered as a design classic, the periodic table has all the elegance of, say, Mr Beck’s London Underground map: pleasing displays of cocktails, cupcakes and Lego bricks have been achieved by grouping them into the s-, p-, d- and f-blocks. But the table is more than a design. While the tube map has to be tweaked to catch up with the facts after each line extension, the periodic table predicts new facts. Ranking atoms by their proton tally and then classing them by electron arrangements is, first of all, a way of tidying the building blocks of matter – arranging what Prof Steve Liddle calls “an artist’s palette of all the elements from which everything is made”. Alternatively, it can be seen as an incomplete jigsaw, where missing pieces indicate gaps for entirely new sorts of stuff. The challenge used to be one of discovery: elements such as germanium were tracked down to slot in. But go past uranium (atomic number 92) and outsize atoms get too unstable to exist naturally, and have to be invented. A Japanese team has just got the credit for creating element 113, while a Russian/American team in California has scored an atomic hat-trick, filling three missing numbers: 115, 117 and 118. Synthesised americium saves lives every day in smoke alarms, yet, like most invented elements, the new atoms exist too fleetingly to be of immediate practical use. But the scientists reaffirm the sturdiness of their table, and learn a good deal along the way. Continue reading...

Scientists have confirmed the discovery of four new elements. Here’s a primer on other exciting members of science’s most exclusive club. And boronAt last, the periodic table looks tidy. To nobody’s surprise, the discovery – and indeed creation – of a few atoms of elements number 113, 115, 117 and 118 has now been verified by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), and the seventh period is complete, giving the main table a nice, smooth bottom row. As soon as the new elements are officially named, the world’s chemistry textbooks can be reprinted with what may well be the final version. (There might be an eighth period out there too, but let’s not think about that for now.)Since we first began to understand that each element consists of a specific number of protons surrounded by the same number of electrons (and flavoured with various numbers of neutrons), it has been easy to speculate about finding more. The Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev first arranged them in the now familiar way in 1869, having seen the table in a dream. Henceforth, if anyone asks you what the universe is, you can give (as a short answer): “This.” So here are some of the most intriguing elements on the all-singing, all-dancing new periodic table. Continue reading...

Alexei Sayle’s review of David Aaronovitch’s Party Animals (Review, 2 December) reflects the extent to which present-day cultural life is powered by the personal grudges of children against parents, lovers against those who dumped them, and wannabes against those who scorned them. These days, as the socialist baby goes out with the communist bathwater, it’s not Cyril Connolly’s “buggy in the hall” (DJ Taylor, same issue) that inhibits writers from saying what people “might not wish to hear” so much as the rear extension.

‘To scientists, this is of greater value than an Olympic gold medal,’ says Nobel laureate in chemistrySuch is the lot of the modern-day chemist: you wait ages for a new element to turn up and then four come along at once.

It’s not quite faster than a speeding bullet, but Rhampholeon spinosus can flick its tongue faster than a launching space shuttle, a new study has shownResearch has identified the tiny chameleon Rhampholeon spinosus as having the ultimate high-speed mouthful. When it flicks its tongue at a fly, it reaches peak acceleration 264 times the force of gravity. Continue reading...

Academic whose book Village on the Border pioneered the application of anthropological methods to British societyIn the 1950s, British anthropologists normally conducted their fieldwork overseas. Ronnie Frankenberg, who has died aged 86, broke the rules by focusing on the former slate-mining community of Glyn Ceiriog, then in Denbighshire and now in Wrexham county borough, for his first book, Village on the Border (1957).In doing so, he showed how anthropological methods could be effectively applied to British society. His choice of subject was fortuitous: he had intended to write his doctorate on the Caribbean, but his outspoken communist sympathies led to him being deported from Barbados, and the vice-chancellor of Manchester University demanded that he study within a day’s journey from the city. Needing to conduct his research in a non-English language to satisfy the conception of anthropology at the time, he hit upon the settlement in the Ceiriog Valley, not far beyond the Cheshire border. Continue reading...

The new, sweeter tablets are provided in a smaller child-friendly dosage, meaning parents do not have to chop up adult tablets and guess at dosesA tuberculosis drug specifically designed for children – combining sweet flavours and the correct dosage in a dissolvable tablet – is expected to hit markets early this year, according to the TB Alliance, a non-governmental organisation.The tablets, which were developed through a partnership between the TB Alliance, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the US government, are meant to improve drug regime adherence among children in the developing world. The drug is not new, but will be an improved combination of existing TB treatments such as rifampicin, isoniazid and pyrazinamide, specifically designed for children. Continue reading...

The Guardian recently published a piece on how to avoid procrastinating. But what if you want to procrastinate, and put off the inevitable for as long as possible? Just follow this helpful guide.Over the Christmas break, have you felt bad about leaving all the things you usually do? Work emails unanswered, books unwritten, blogs unblogged and That Thing Your Boss Wants hiding somewhere under the TV schedule? Procrastination and being organised is a big problem for many of us, with a host of articles, books and blogs giving us the reassurance we seek – that you’re not alone. The excellent Graham Allcott even has some top productivity tips in the lifestyle section of this very site (his book is very good, and as nobody else I can think of is releasing a book soon … nope, nobody at all ... I recommend it)But come on, be honest. Don’t those people who seem to have everything seem really ... annoying? Do people who seem to achieve everything they set their minds to get you down? Screw them. Smug gits. Make a resolution this year to give less of a damn, and learn to procrastinate like a pro. To guide you on your way to a 2016 of “meh”, here are my top tips:

Online videos of soothing sounds known as ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) are increasingly popular. Fans enjoy the relaxing effects of these ‘head orgasms’. Here, the makers of ASMR YouTube channels including WhisperAudios, WhispersRed and ASMRAngel explain the appeal of sounds such as gum-chewing, hair-brushing and beard-rubbing

In the making of The Age of Loneliness, I set out to find people brave enough to tell me about their feelings on camera, and found some surprising resultsHow do you make a film about loneliness that isn’t bleak and despairing? It’s hugely important subject, and it’s reaching such epidemic proportions in Britain that I knew I had to make a film. And somehow make a film people would watch – and not run away from.Related: Loneliness is dangerous: ignore it at your peril | Philippa Perry Continue reading...

A team of Japanese scientists have met the criteria for naming a new element, the synthetic highly radioactive element 113, more than a dozen years after they began working to create it. Kosuke Morita, who was leading the research at the government-affiliated RIKEN Nishina Centre for Accelerator-Based Science, was notified of the decision on Thursday by the US-based International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)

In your pyjamas and late for an exam? Looming work commitments might have something to do with itI am late for a mathematics exam. For some inexplicable reason, I have not attended class all term, and have no grasp of the material whatsoever. I run through a building that is a conglomeration of educational spaces from my past: primary school, high school, the hospital where I studied for my PhD. When I enter lifts, they go sideways instead of up and down; when I pause to find a bathroom, all of the stalls are unsuitable in some way: hideously dirty, or door-less.Midway through my race through the corridors, I realise it is not an exam at all, but the opening night of a play, and not only have I not memorised my lines, but I cannot find the script. Then I find the script, but the font is too small to make out and I can’t find my reading glasses. Continue reading...

Nasa’s Earth Observatory has tracked down images resembling all 26 letters of the English alphabet using satellite imagery and astronaut photography Continue reading...

Discovery of four super-heavy chemical elements by scientists in Russia, America and Japan has been verified by experts and formally added to tableFour new elements have been added to the periodic table, finally completing the table’s seventh row and rendering science textbooks around the world instantly out of date.The elements, discovered by scientists in Japan, Russia and America, are the first to be added to the table since 2011, when elements 114 and 116 were added. Continue reading...

If you are a geology nut, you may dream of clambering up volcanoes or searching for dinosaur footprints in China, but sometimes you need go no further than your town centre to experience a cornucopia of fascinating rocks.Out in the field, geologists may have to trek across difficult terrain to find what they are looking for. But a sharp-eyed pedestrian should be able to spot a wealth of rock types during a short stroll down the average high street. Continue reading...

Remains found buried under playground near former execution site could be those of a man hanged for piracy in the 16th or 17th century, experts believeA skeleton discovered under a primary school playground could be that of a 16th-century pirate, archaeologists have said. The remains of a man were uncovered by council workers during survey work for an extension at Victoria primary school in Edinburgh last year.Experts at AOC Archaeology carbon-dated the bones to the 16th or 17th century and, working with forensic artist Hayley Fisher, created a facial reconstruction of the man, thought to have been in his 50s. Continue reading...

Psychiatrist who transformed the ‘world bible’ of psychiatric diagnosisThe American psychiatrist Robert Spitzer, who has died aged 83, took a homegrown system for classifying psychiatric disorders to world prominence. In 1974, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) asked Spitzer to take responsibility for a new edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which had begun in 1952. This new edition, the third, known as DSM-3, was published in 1980 and quickly became the “world bible” of psychiatric diagnosis.The DSM acquired increasing importance in those years because of the new prominence of drugs in treating psychiatric patients. Before the 1950s, psychiatry had few effective drugs. Yet with the opening of the vast new cornucopia of psychopharmacology, it did make a difference what agent was prescribed: different disorders responded to different treatments. Accordingly, which diagnoses were included or excluded in the classification had great financial consequences. Billions of dollars in pharmaceutical profits were at stake, and some of the diagnoses, such as “major depression”, could be profitable indeed. Continue reading...

Psychoanalyst Adam Phillips’s study of desire and restraint asks more questions than it answersThe Notting Hill psychoanalyst Adam Phillips sets aside one day a week from practice to write; Unforbidden Pleasures is his 20th book. He takes the subtle view that self-knowledge is a form of self-denial (to know oneself is to limit one’s possibilities) and calls his profession “an experiment in what your life might be like if you speak freely”. These ideas guide his approach to writing, which he claims to let flow without sweat. The eel-like essays that result aren’t a vehicle for preordained argument so much as a way for him to discover what he thinks. You might say his readers need the patience of an analyst – except we’re the ones paying for the session.The central idea in his new book is fairly simple. Rules, and the temptation to break them, confuse our sense of pleasure with notions of self-control. What Phillips would like us to do about this is harder to grasp, and his terms are far from obvious. Forbidden pleasures, seldom defined, include running a red light. Among Phillips’s “unforbidden” pleasures – the ones he says we might want to reconsider if we’re to escape the clutches of taboo – are “morning coffee” but also “self-criticism” and “obedience”. Continue reading...

It’s not as hard as you might think to set yourself clear goalsNew Year’s resolutions can be a rollercoaster of emotions. There are the highs when you set them, imagining with excitement the new life you’re going to be leading, but often also the lows of frustration and procrastination when things don’t go exactly to plan.Procrastination is more than simply “not doing something” – it’s “not doing something and feeling bad about it”, typically through a mixture of guilt, fear and laziness. As soon as you realise you’re procrastinating, it’s important to diagnose why and take action. You can use the acronym DUST to help with the diagnosis… Continue reading...

Europe brings big benefits for many sectors, including science. That’s why the pro-EU movement should be based in communities like yoursThis year will almost certainly be the year of the EU referendum. Although some parts of the media will portray it as a struggle between two official campaigns, the real story must be a rich national democratic debate. There are many grassroots communities emerging with vital understandings of the importance of continued EU membership. Doctors, nurses, researchers, farmers, lawyers, police, environmentalists, as well as Brits living abroad, all have much to say.As the Scottish independence referendum showed, an agile swarm of passionate activist communities can run rings around a top-down Westminster-based operation and engage voters whom politicians cannot reach. The official Britain Stronger in Europe campaign can benefit enormously by engaging with what is already a very diverse array of pro-EU campaigns, with several more emerging. The question must be not only what these campaigns can do for BSE, but what a central campaign can do to support these passionate and committed communities. Continue reading...

Journals begin withholding locations after warnings the data is helping smugglers drive lizards, snakes and frogs to ‘near-extinction’Academic journals have begun withholding the geographical locations of newly discovered species after poachers used the information in peer-reviewed papers to collect previously unknown lizards, frogs and snakes from the wild, the Guardian has learned.

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Tim Peake wishes the UK and the rest of the world a happy new year from the International Space Station (ISS). The 43-year-old former army helicopter pilot is Britain’s first publicly funded astronaut and the first Briton to visit the space station. Peake is spending six months in space to maintain the ISS and perform experiments Continue reading...

The stuff we own can be a wellspring of the spirit. After all, our possessions are often an extension of who we are