Science | The Guardian

Patient says pharmacists she went to were suspicious because Vyvanse is a stimulant, causing her the most dehumanising medical experience' of her life

Maths is a language that has helped humanity lay bare the mysteries of the universeIn Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter observes that say what you mean" is not the same as mean what you say", for you might just as well say that I see what I eat' is the same thing as I eat what I see'!" Readers might smile in recognition at the author's tongue-twisting, logic-spinning nonsense. But the Victorian literature expert Melanie Bayley has suggested something much more interesting at play. Carroll was a pseudonym for Charles Dodgson, an Oxford maths don who satirised radical new ideas in algebra. In the passage above, he targeted the emerging form of multiplication known as noncommutativity: when a times b" does not equal b times a".Yet such controversial concepts became widely accepted as the new ideas proved their worth. How these laid the foundation of the modern world is part of the story told in a remarkable new book, Vector, by Robyn Arianrhod, a historian of science. Understanding her text fully requires an undergraduate-level grasp of maths. But her broader theme is easier to recognise: how social and technological change are intertwined with the progress of mathematical thought. Continue reading...

Experts say addiction patients are being treated as second-class citizens as essential' Pabrinex is withdrawnDoctors have warned that a severe shortage of an essential" medicine used to help protect alcoholics from degenerative brain conditions could disproportionately affect some of the most vulnerable" in society.Pabrinex, a multivitamin injection, is used to protect heavy drinkers from conditions such as Wernicke's encephalopathy and Korsakoff syndrome, which can have symptoms similar to dementia. Doctors are concerned the incidence of these debilitating conditions may increase as a result of the shortages. Continue reading...

From Snoop Dogg's two fingers to Simone Biles's sweet signal, TikTokers are debating the summer's best symbolNever mind the buzz around Katarina Johnson-Thompson in the heptathlon or Noah Lyles's Covid bronze. Another battle is being waged in Paris among the TikTok-obsessed and it's all about which hand gesture is going to win summer.Will it be the peace sign, as shown by the rapper Snoop Dogg while carrying the Olympic torch to the opening ceremony? Or will it be the hand heart", so sweetly semaphored by the US gymnast Simone Biles to her husband, Jonathan Owens, last week? Continue reading...

Areas where farmers provide good habitats show notable increase in butterflies, bees, bats and breeding birdsButterflies, bees and bats are among the wildlife being boosted by England's nature-friendly farming schemes, new government research has found.Birds were among the chief beneficiaries of the strategy, particularly ones that largely feed on invertebrates. An average of 25% more breeding birds were found in areas with more eco-friendly schemes. Continue reading...

Illnesses that would once have been easily managed are no longer responding to antibiotics, and the world's poorest regions are being hit hardestHer tiny body hooked up to machines twice her size, her mother standing vigil at the side of her cot, Yusra was in a struggle for life. The baby had severe sepsis, which meant her body had turned on itself - her immune system attacking her organs. Doctors tried different antibiotics but none of the drugs were working.Yusra and her twin had been born two months premature, by caesarean section, in Woldia, a hill town in the Amhara region of northern Ethiopia where rebel and government forces are in violent conflict. Two years earlier, the hospital had been raided by a militia which stripped it of vital supplies. At six days old, Yusra's sister died for want of a blood transfusion. Continue reading...

Two astronauts who left Earth in June remain at International Space Station after issues with Boeing's Starliner capsuleTwo US astronauts who blasted into space for an eight-day mission in June may be stuck on the International Space Station until next year if their Boeing Starliner cannot be repaired for them to return home, Nasa has said.Nasa officials on Wednesday said astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who became the first crew to fly Boeing's Starliner capsule, could return on SpaceX's Crew Dragon in February 2025 if Starliner is still deemed unsafe to return to Earth. Continue reading...

Jess Thom, lead psychologist for Team GB, tells Madeleine Finlay how she prepares athletes for failure and success - and the challenges that arise when the games are over and they have to return to normal lifeThey get anxious but still win gold': Team GB's psychologist on nerves, negativity and self-doubt Continue reading...

Ministers say network of 27 radar dishes in Pembrokeshire crucial to defend against increasing belligerence in space'Plans for a network of radars tracking deep space activity to help protect the UK from space warfare" are to go ahead in Pembrokeshire, despite the opposition of local campaigners.The 27 radar dishes planned for the St Davids peninsula, which will be 20 metres high and can track objects as small as a football, are part of a network planned around the globe. Continue reading...

Treatment may be offered to hundreds with severe form of disease, most often found in people of Mediterranean, Asian and Middle Eastern heritagePeople living with a rare genetic blood disorder in England will be offered a life-changing" new treatment on the NHS, in what has been described as a historic moment.Casgevy, which is a one-off gene therapy, has been approved for use on the NHS in England for people living with a severe form of thalassaemia. Continue reading...

Research finds one in three people taking the drugs show signs of becoming dependent, and one in eight are at risk from misuseMillions of people are addicted to, or at risk of becoming dependent on, prescription opioid painkillers, according to international research.The study found that one in three people taking prescribed opioid analgesics, which include codeine, tramadol, oxycodone and morphine, show symptoms of being dependent on them, while one in 10 become fully dependent on the drugs. Continue reading...

A video has suggested a simple solution to static hair that does not require sprays or straightenersIt is a small downside of hot, dry weather: static hair that sticks up in a Worzel Gummidge-style halo.Now a viral TikTok video has suggested a simple solution for static frizz that does not require sprays or straighteners. Simply smoothing hair down with a piece of aluminium foil appears to magically produce a sleek silhouette. Continue reading...

US researchers say findings challenge view that cats are antisocial and suggest bereavement may be universalCats are often considered aloof, independent and fickle in their affections. But, research suggests, they also show signs of grieving after the death of another pet in the same household - even when it is the family dog.Some cats struggled to sleep, went off their food or made yowling noises. Others were more needy around their caregivers or went off their favourite games, owners reported. Continue reading...

Some with terminal cancer have said psilocybin helped them confront death. But how that happens is still unclearAny person with stage four colon cancer deals with anxiety, but for the first few years after his diagnosis in 2016, Thomas Hartle considered himself to be managing pretty well. In part, this was because his Pet scans suggested the cancer wasn't progressing rapidly.That changed in 2019, when a colonoscopy found tumors on his large intestine that the scans had missed. A follow-up surgery found dozens more. His relative calm evaporated. Continue reading...

Percentage of badgers with bTB fell to zero in Cornish study, raising hopes of end to cull of 210,000 badgers since 2013A large-scale vaccination programme could help eradicate bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in badgers, according to a first-of-its-kind study with really promising" results for cattle farmers, whose herds have been devastated by the disease.Over four years, researchers vaccinated 265 badgers across 12 farms in Cornwall. They found the percentage of badgers testing positive for bTB fell from 16% to zero. Continue reading...

Humans have always been obsessed with getting old, or rather staying young, but now science is beginning to catch up. Longevity has become a hot topic, from university laboratories to Silicon Valley startups. In the final episode of a special Science Weekly three-part mini-series on ageing, Ian Sample meets Dr Rachel Broudy, medical director at Pioneer Valley Hospice and faculty lead of eldercare at Ariadne Labs, to find out how we can stop fearing our old age, and perhaps even make it fun. Continue reading...

My mentor, Toby Wall, who has died aged 77 of cancer, was a committed educator and scholar who made a globally significant contribution to the field of occupational psychology.Through his research as director of the Medical Research Council Social and Applied Psychology Unit (Sapu), then its successor, the Institute of Work Psychology (IWP), over three decades at Sheffield University, Toby identified aspects of jobs that enhance workers' motivation, health and wellbeing, transforming the quality of millions of lives. He developed new theoretical explanations for how work affects learning, as well as how, working with automated robots, human workers might retain their agency and health. These and other discoveries still resonate, with Toby's research reminding us of the need to keep human interests front and centre in today's digital revolution. Continue reading...

The solutions to today's puzzlesEarlier today I set you these puzzles for English majors, i.e people who studied English at university. Here they are again with solutions and commentary from Ben Orlin, whose book Math for English Majors is out in September.For each question below, which option is bigger? No calculators allowed!the sum of all squares from 1 to 100the sum of all cubes from 100 to 20017% of 3232% of 173997/40014996/5001the square root of 6the cube root of 15the number of seconds in a year,the number of hours in a millennium25 Continue reading...

Acquaint yourself with matters mathematicalUPDATE: Read the solutions hereWith apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan, but I meant the other type of English major: a person who studied English at university.American maths author Ben Orlin has a new book out aimed at this demographic. (More on this below.)the sum of all squares from 1 to 100the sum of all cubes from 100 to 20017% of 3232% of 173997/40014996/5001the square root of 6the cube root of 15the number of seconds in a year,the number of hours in a millennium25 Continue reading...

It can be difficult to resist the urge to divulge that someone has been rattling around your unconscious. But it is worth proceeding with careTalking about your dreams is a bit like describing the inside of your own mouth: intimate, personal but mostly dull. And yet, the urge to tell someone that they had a starring role in your dream is always extremely tempting. At least for me. I seem to become particularly seized by the urge to share my night-time wanderings if I haven't actually seen the person in the sleeve-touching, hair-smelling flesh for a while.I once spent two hours tracking down an email address for someone I went to middle school with (and hadn't seen since we were both about 13), just to tell him he was in my dream. I won't bore you with the details (not a consideration I extended to him), but it involved something to do with a doorway, milk bottles and me collecting signatures. Somehow, the fact that this person sprang into my unconscious, apparently unbidden and uninvited, easily 10 years since we'd last shared oxygen and dust, felt significant. Was he OK? Did it mean something? Had he summoned me? It turned out, he was living in Nottingham, worked for a charity and hadn't thought of me for probably a decade. Continue reading...

Up to 100 meteors an hour will appear to emanate in all directions from their radiant point in Perseus constellationIt is the big one for meteor watchers. The annual Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak of activity on the night of 12 August going into the early hours of 13 August. The chart shows the view looking north-east from London at midnight.The moon will have 50% of its visible surface illuminated, and will be setting near midnight, leaving the sky as dark as possible for seeing the fainter of the meteors. Continue reading...

Pylon design | Wind turbines | Grieving | Summer riots | Former Conservative MPsWhen our children were young, tolighten the boredom of driving on holidays in France, we gave titles to different designs of pylon - such as perky cat" and droopy dog" (Letters, 30 July). Perhaps if we had more variety in pylon design in the UK and gave them quirky names, people might learn to love them as well as appreciating their necessity.

A fuller appreciation of the sounds that surround us can transform your lifeThe philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote that life without music would be a mistake. I agree, but I'd expand the frame to include a wide variety of other human and non-human sounds. For me, the world is often auraculous or ear-marvellous" - full of noises, which, to cite Caliban in Shakespeare's The Tempest, give delight and hurt not".Among my earliest memories as a small child is the sound, on a summer evening, of a peal of church bells echoing off the hillsides around the village in Hampshire where my grandparents lived. Over the years since then I have been intrigued by sounds of almost every kind - though I do exclude a few, such as some of those in the genre of music known as noise", which a friend says he finds soothing, but which I find about as welcome as putting my head in a buzzsaw. Continue reading...

Technical issues and poor comms led many to believe two astronauts are lost in space, but a return date is imminentIt should have been a welcome public relations triumph for Boeing, an opportunity to show that even if panels were falling from its aircraft, it could still fly humans into space and return them safely to Earth.And for a while at least, it looked like it had been successful. The majestic June launch of the much-delayed and over-budget Starliner capsule from Florida, ferrying two Nasa astronauts to the International Space Station, offered a glimpse of a bright new future in the heavens for the troubled aerospace giant. Continue reading...

Analysis suggests extent of problem UN estimates is causing 500,000 deaths a year in sub-Saharan regionA fifth of medicines in Africa could be substandard or fake, according to a major research project, raising the alarm over a problem that could be contributing to the deaths of countless patients.Researchers from Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia analysed 27 studies in the review and found, of the 7,508 medicine samples included, 1,639 failed at least one quality test and were confirmed to be substandard or falsified. Continue reading...

The 35-nation Iter project has a groundbreaking aim to create clean and limitless energy but it is turning into the most delayed and cost-inflated science project in history'It was a project that promised the sun. Researchers would use the world's most advanced technology to design a machine that could generate atomic fusion, the process that drives the stars - and so create a source of cheap, non-polluting power.That was initially the aim of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (Iter) which 35 countries - including European states, China, Russia and the US - agreed to build at Saint-Paul-lez-Durance in southern France at a starting cost of $6bn. Work began in 2010, with a commitment that there would be energy-producing reactions by 2020. Continue reading...

The director of the Carl Sagan Center on the possibility of life elsewhere in our solar system, what Venus can teach us about global heating, and what she thinks of Elon MuskThe astrobiologist Nathalie Cabrol was born in 1963 and raised near Paris. She completed a PhD at the Sorbonne on the evolution of water on Mars and moved to the US in 1994 as a researcher at Nasa Ames. She has worked extensively in the Atacama desert and the Chilean Andes, exploring how life adapts to extreme environments analogous to those on other planets. Cabrol, who lives in Northern California, is now the director of the Carl Sagan Center at the Seti [Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence] Institute. Her latest book, The Secret Life of the Universe: An Astrobiologist's Search for the Origins and Frontiers of Life, is published on 15 August.How did you get interested in the heavens?

UK tax credits to promote research and development were claimed by a pub for changing its menus and by window cleaners for hanging their bucketsA government scheme to champion new research and boost the economy has cost more than 4bn in fraud and error since 2020 after widespread abuse.The research and development tax credits scheme was designed to help drive world-leading innovation, but turned into what has been described by experts as a wild west" with huge volumes of dubious claims. Continue reading...

Protein from flies and larvae is taking off, if more for chicken feed than human lunches. But what's bugging the whole sector is a post-Brexit rules snarl-upCentral London is not known for its farms. Yet under railway arches a five-minute walk from London Bridge station is a farm that breeds livestock in their hundreds of thousands every year. But there are no cows or chickens down on Entocycle's farm; it focuses on an altogether different category of livestock - insects.The business, which was launched in 2016, is now at the forefront of the UK's growing insect farming sector. It sells its patented technology and modular farms across the globe. Continue reading...

Scientists find impact vaporisation responsible for about 70% and a process known as solar wind sputtering 30%The mystery of how the moon's thin atmosphere is produced has been solved, according to scientists studying lunar samples brought back by the Apollo missions.Discovered in the 1960s and 70s, when Nasa sent astronauts to the moon, the lunar atmosphere is far thinner than that of Earth, and was thought to arise from space weathering of the moon's surface. Continue reading...

Dr Lucy Shenton says specialist care is required for patients such as Maeve Boothby-O'Neill, who died aged 27There needs to be properly funded research into people suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and specialist services for patients, a GP who treated a young woman with the condition told her inquest.Dr Lucy Shenton said doctors needed more help to treat patients such as Maeve Boothby-O'Neill, 27, who had the condition, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, for a decade before she died at home in October 2021. Continue reading...

Sports psychologists - and nail artists - say expressing themselves can help some athletes perform better

Parasites in ponds and rivers cause female genital schistosomiasis - easily treated but rarely diagnosed. A health campaign in Kenya aims to change thisAfter a year of debilitating pain, Penina Kitsao discovered what was really wrong with her after a routine screening for something else.The farmer from Kilifi in eastern Kenya had contracted female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) from the small parasitic worms in the pond her family uses for all their water.I couldn't do anything for weeks," says Kitsao, a 33-year-old mother of four. Doctors kept giving me the same pills every time I went to the hospital. They would suppress the symptoms for a few days, and then they would return even worse." Continue reading...

Archaeologists say wide open mouth of woman who died about 3,500 years ago may be caused by rare, immediate form of rigor mortisShe looks uncannily like The Scream painting by Edvard Munch, but just why an ancient Egyptian mummy has such a startling expression has long puzzled researchers. Now they say they may have the answer - suggesting the woman died crying out in agony.The woman is thought to have been buried about 3,500 years ago and was discovered in 1935 in a wooden coffin beneath the tomb of Senmut - an important architect during the reign of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut. Continue reading...

Rare specimens found in China from 514m years ago thought to be remains of proto-molluscFrom colourful, enigmatic octopuses, to oysters with their iridescent pearls, molluscs today are as beautiful as they are diverse. But it seems their ancient relatives may have resembled the love child of a slug and a hedgehog.Soft-bodied creatures are a rarity in the fossil record as their tissues decay rapidly after death. However, researchers say they have found a rare exception in the eastern Yunnan province, in south-western China, in fossils dating to about 514m years ago. Continue reading...

Research shows strong correlation between summer launches and the frequency of the wispy silvery-blue phenomenonNoctilucent clouds are a rare and special sight. Only visible at latitudes between 45 and 80, these shimmering wispy silvery-blue clouds can occasionally be seen high in the sky on a clear summer's night. But in recent decades they have been making more frequent appearances and now a new study reveals that space launches are helping to spawn them.Made up from very thin sheets of ice crystals, noctilucent - night-shining" - clouds only form under special conditions. High up in the dry mesosphere, about 50 miles (80km) above Earth's surface, the clouds need dust particles, moisture and very cold temperatures to form. Explosive volcanic eruptions sometimes produce these ingredients, and meteor showers too. In the 19th century, noctilucent clouds were only seen once every few decades but now they can be seen several times every summer, with July the most likely month. So what's changed? Continue reading...

Humans have always been obsessed with getting old, or rather staying young, and now science is beginning to catch up. Longevity has become a hot topic from university laboratories to Silicon Valley startups. In the second of a special Science Weekly three-part mini-series on ageing, Ian Sample talks to Venki Ramakrishnan, winner of the Nobel prize in chemistry and author of the book Why We Die. Venki outlines the most promising scientific advances in the field of longevity and discusses the more unusual ways that the wealthy are trying to extend their lives, from blood transfusions to cryonicsClips: Dr James Rouse, CBS Sunday Morning, The Vibez Show, ABC Bay AreaTo support the Guardian, order Why We Die from the Guardian Bookshop Continue reading...

Now is the winter of our discontent. Here are six ways you can overcome the seasonal slumpWith short days and colder temperatures, many of us begin to feel the weight of the winter blues. The lack of sunlight can disrupt our circadian rhythms and reduce serotonin levels, leading to feelings of sadness and lethargy. This seasonal slump can diminish our energy levels, dampen our mood and make the winter months feel interminable.For those who haven't experienced feelings like this before, it can be concerning. However, it's important to recognise that these feelings are common and can be managed. By understanding the causes and implementing proactive strategies, we can combat the winter blues and maintain a positive outlook. Continue reading...

Researchers name 14 factors for people to address to hugely' reduce risk of developing conditionAlmost half of dementia cases worldwide could be prevented or delayed, a study has found, as experts named 14 risk factors.The number of people living with dementia globally is forecast to nearly triple to 153 million by 2050, and researchers warn this presents a rapidly growing threat to health and social care systems. Global health and social costs linked to dementia exceed $1tn (780bn) a year, the research shows. Continue reading...

Experts say facility beyond reach of climate breakdown and other terrestrial events is needed to safeguard biodiversityWith thousands of species at risk of extinction, scientists have devised a radical plan: a vault filled with preserved samples of our planet's most important and at-risk creatures located on the moon.An international team of experts says threats from climate change and habitat loss have outpaced our ability to protect species in their natural habitats, necessitating urgent action. A biorepository of preserved cells, and the crucial DNA within them, could be used to enhance genetic diversity in small populations of critically endangered species, or to clone and create new individuals in the worst-case scenario of extinction. Continue reading...

The insects are being looked after in a conservation project that encourages visitors to enjoy their piercing' lightFar out in the Channel, the lights of ships at anchor flickered while the lighthouse at Anvil Point emitted its steadier beam. Late on, a crescent moon shone a coppery orange.But, undoubtedly, the most extraordinary light source to be seen was the vivid green gleam from the glow-worms that inhabit the herb-rich grassland on the cliffs and quarries in this tucked-away corner of southern Britain. Continue reading...

Initial blood test without need for semen analysis could make screening more accessible'A new accessible blood test that can predict male infertility could soon be available for use in GP practices, researchers say.Published in the journal Scientific Reports, the research looked at data from nearly 4,000 men who underwent semen and hormone testing for male infertility from 2011-20. Continue reading...

US researchers say they have uncovered potential link after tracking 130,000 people over four decadesEating processed red meat could be a significant risk factor for dementia, according to a large study that tracked more than 100,000 people over four decades.Processed red meat has previously been shown to increase the risk of cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Now US researchers say they have uncovered a potential link to dementia. Continue reading...

Observations of spectacular southern lights phenomenon recorded from Tasmania and Melbourne to Western Australia

Liraglutide appears to reduce brain shrinkage in people with early-stage Alzheimer's, a small UK study reportsA weight-loss drug could help slow the loss of brain volume in people with Alzheimer's disease, according to a small study.Liraglutide, which can also be prescribed for diabetes, is typically taken as an injection once a day. Continue reading...

Humans have always been obsessed with getting old, or rather staying young, but now science is beginning to catch up. Longevity has become a hot topic, from university laboratories to Silicon Valley startups. In the first of a Science Weekly three-part miniseries on ageing, Ian Sample speaks to Richard Faragher, a professor of biogerontology at the University of Brighton, to discover what we know about the biological hallmarks of ageing in our bodies -and why we have evolved to have the lifespans we doClips: Diary of a CEO, Huberman Lab, Healthy Long Life, The Economist Continue reading...

Separate study shows poor diet and added sugar also linked to rise in biological ageThe stress of bereavement may accelerate the ageing process, according to researchers who found evidence that losing a loved one early in life had an impact long before people reach middle age.Scientists spotted biological markers of faster ageing in people who had lost a parent, partner, sibling or child, but the signs were absent in others who had not experienced the death of someone close to them. Continue reading...

It's easy to blame your problems on everyone else. It's much more difficult to face your own failings and take agency in your lifeLike billions of other parents around the world, I have a baby who does not like to go to sleep. Which explains why, among other frankly unhinged attempts, I recently found myself standing over her cot, rhythmically alternating between clapping my hands and clicking my fingers while chanting: Moses supposes his toeses are roses, but Moses supposes erroneously."

Science secretary Peter Kyle says national resilience suffered catastrophically' under ToriesThe UK science secretary has warned Britain is desperately exposed" to cyber-threats and the upheaval of another pandemic, claiming that national resilience suffered catastrophically" under the previous government.Deep public spending cuts under the austerity programme diminished the NHS and other local and national services, and hampered pandemic preparedness exercises, Peter Kyle told the Guardian, while too little was done to address rising cybersecurity risks. Continue reading...

Crescent moon will appear with Pleiades star cluster, Jupiter and Mars, and the bright star AldebaranJuly ends with a spectacular grouping of celestial objects in the eastern pre-dawn skies. The waning crescent moon will appear with the Pleiades star cluster, the planets Jupiter and Mars, and the bright star Aldebaran for two consecutive mornings.The chart shows the view looking east from London at 4am BST on 31 July. On this night, the 25-day-old moon will be a thin waning crescent with just 19% of its visible surface illuminated. The night before, the crescent will be larger, and less fragile-looking, but will be more centrally placed, appearing close to Mars. Continue reading...