A new study of a sphere orbiting a red dwarf star 124 light years from Earth is raising hopes. Here's why the evidence is inconclusive

Decades-long use of chalice at Worcester College highlights violent colonial history of looted human remains, says Prof Dan HicksOxford academics drank from a chalice made from a human skull for decades, a book that explores the violent colonial history of looted human remains has revealed.The skull-cup, fashioned from a sawn-off and polished braincase adorned with a silver rim and stand, was used regularly at formal dinners at Worcester College, Oxford, until 2015, according to Prof Dan Hicks, the curator of world archaeology at the university's Pitt Rivers Museum. Continue reading...

The American biotech company Colossal Biosciences recently made headlines around the world with claims it had resurrected the dire wolf, an animal that went extinct at the end of the last ice age. But does what the company has done amount to de-extinction' or should we instead think of these pups as genetically modified versions of the grey wolves that exist today? Science correspondent Nicola Davis tells Madeleine Finlay about the process that created these wolves, how other companies are joining the effort to use genetic modification in conservation, and why some experts have serious ethical questions about bringing back species whose habitats no longer existSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Instead of alarmism or shaming, we need to create spaces where young men feel heard, challenged and supported

Exclusive: Leaked report says high visa costs also derailing clinical trials and research, denying NHS life-saving drugs

Lifestyle changes and medications found to reduce risk of cognitive disease by about 15%People given intensive help to reduce their high blood pressure such as medication and coaching have a lower risk of dementia, researchers have found.According to the World Health Organization, 57 million people around the world had dementia in 2021. Continue reading...

Footage of apes consuming fermented breadfruit leads researchers to ask if it may shed light on origins of human feastingHumans have gathered to feast and enjoy a tipple together for thousands of years, but research suggests chimpanzees may also bond over a boozy treat.Wild chimpanzees in west Africa have been observed sharing fruit containing alcohol - not in quantities to get roaring drunk but, possibly, enough for a fuzzy beer buzz feeling. Continue reading...

Burying our heads in the sand won't stop the climate crisis or pandemics. We're taking action to preserve government toolsUnited States science has propelled the country into its current position as a powerhouse of biomedical advancements, technological innovation and scientific research. The data US government agencies produce is a crown jewel - it helps us track how the climate is changing, visualize air pollution in our communities, identify challenges to our health and provide a panoply of other essential uses. Climate change, pandemics and novel risks are coming for all of us - whether we bury our heads in the sand or not - and government data is critical to our understanding of the risks these challenges bring and how to address them.Much of this data remains out of sight to those who don't use it, even though they benefit us all. Over the past few months, the Trump administration has brazenly attacked our scientific establishment through agency firings, censorship and funding cuts, and it has explicitly targeted data the American taxpayers have paid for. They're stealing from us and putting our health and wellbeing in danger - so now we must advocate for these federal resources. Continue reading...

Away from street lights, observers can expect to see about 15 to 20 bright and fast meteors an hourThe peak of the world's oldest known meteor showers will grace the skies this week. The Lyrid meteor shower is active from 16-25 April but is at its height on Monday night.The chart shows the view looking east from London at midnight as 21 April becomes 22 April. The radiant (the point on the sky from which the meteors appear to originate, and here labelled Lyrids), is found near the border of Lyra, the lyre, and Hercules, the hero. Conveniently, it is rather near to the bright star Vega. Continue reading...

Maura Healey says president targeting universities hurts US competitiveness' and affects research and hospitalsMassachusetts governor Maura Healey said on Sunday that Donald Trump's attacks on Harvard University and other schools are having detrimental ripple effects, with the shutdown of research labs and cuts to hospitals linked to colleges.During an interview on CBS's Face the Nation, the Democratic governor said that the effects on Harvard are damaging American competitiveness", since a number of researchers are leaving the US for opportunities in other countries. After decades of investment in science and innovation, she said: intellectual assets are being given away." Continue reading...

Readers critique the symbolism, substance and style of the recent all-female rocket tripFor those who have not already read Ursula K Le Guin's 1976 essay SpaceCrone, it is the perfect antidote to this weird Charlie's Angels-in-space exploit (So Katy Perry went to space. Wasn't there anyone else we could have sent?, 14 April).Le Guin rightly suggests that it is an apparently unremarkable postmenopausal woman who is the ideal candidate to represent humanity on a space mission. The crone" has a depth of experience of being human that no young, fit, looks-great-in-Lycra man or woman can match. Continue reading...

The scientist reflects on a speculative idea about human perception in a 2004 book he co-wrote and, two decades on, an experiment that has produced a colour no one has seen beforeHue new? Scientists claim to have found colour no one has seen before". Congratulations on a genuinely witty double pun in the online headline on your article, which was also in Saturday'spaper under a different heading.And - forgive a little self-congratulation - my co-author Yan Wong reminds me that in our book, The Ancestor's Tale (first published in 2004, with a second edition in 2016), we wrote: This raises an intriguing possibility. Imagine that a neurobiologist inserts a tiny probe into, say, a green cone and stimulates it electrically. The green cell will now report light' while all other cells are silent. Will the brain see' a super green' hue such as could not possibly be achieved by any real light? Real light, no matter how pure, would always stimulate all three classes ofconestodifferingextents." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Britons found to have lost out' while rest of Europe benefits from golden age of research and treatments

Don Pettit became a septuagenarian as he landed back on Earth after a seven-month mission onboard the International Space Station. Pettit and Russian cosmonauts Alexei Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner touched down in a remote area south-east of Zhezkazgan in Kazakhstan at 6.20am on Sunday. The astronauts spent their time on the ISS researching areas such as water sanitisation technology, plant growth under various conditions and fire behaviour in microgravity, Nasa said

Don Pettit became septuagenarian hurtling towards Earth after seven-month mission at International Space StationCake, gifts and a low-key family celebration may be how many senior citizens celebrate their 70th birthday.But Nasa's oldest serving astronaut, Don Pettit, became a septuagenarian while hurtling towards Earth in a spacecraft to wrap up a seven-month mission onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Continue reading...

In terms of Earth, we are a dangerous speciesRobin McKie's account of his 40years as the Observer's science editor is as deeply absorbing as it is a warning to humanity (What I've learned after 40 years as the Observer's science editor", Focus). He takes us back nearly 50years to British glaciologist John Mercer's warning that continued use of fossil fuel could lead to a 2C temperature rise by the mid-21st century threatening, among other potential catastrophes, a 5m sea level rise.His warnings, since echoed by swelling numbers of scientists, point out that climate change threatens to displace hundreds of millions of people from their homelands". Tragically, McKie reports, large parts of society turn their heads and deliberately reject the truths that have been presented to them". Our increasingly busy roads and airports illustrate this. His article needs to be read by government ministers, reported widely in the press and studied in schools.

Extraterrestrial rocks, recently delivered by a space probe, could answer the big questions about alien lifeforms and human existenceSeveral billion years ago, at the dawn of the solar system, a wet, salty world circled our sun. Then it collided, catastrophically, with another object and shattered into pieces.One of these lumps became the asteroid Bennu whose minerals, recently returned to Earth by the US robot space probe OSIRIS-REx, have now been found to contain rich levels of complex chemicals that are critical for the existence of life. Continue reading...

The pressure's off when we're not staring at each other, we can relax and have a nice chatOn the day after Boxing Day last year, my dad and I went to buy some cabbage. My aunt and cousins were joining us for dinner that evening and we had a meal to prepare. The local supermarket was closed and the cabbage, sourced from an Italian deli around the corner, was obscenely overpriced. In a bind, we bought some anyway and headed back home to begin cooking. Standing around the kitchen island chopping and peeling vegetables, preparing a rib of beef and assembling a side dish of dauphinoise potatoes, we listened to music and chatted. The meal was a success and the cabbage - lightly browned and decorated with caraway seeds - tasty. But most important was that, for the time we had spent cooking, I felt closer to my dad.This kind of intimacy almost always occurs for me while I'm cooking with someone. When I was 14, I was paired with a classmate in food technology where we were tasked with making a meal from scratch. We decided on a menu of jerk chicken, rice and peas. For practice, we gathered a group of friends at my house and, after procuring our ingredients, got to work. The results of our efforts were average, but that joint experience of clumsily blitzing fiery scotch bonnet peppers, onions, garlic and various sauces into a clumpy and barely edible mess cemented our friendship. Continue reading...

Tentative evidence for life on a distant world is exciting, but unconfirmed. As new telescopes bring exoplanets into sharper focus, is the truth out there?Towards the end of his life, the cosmologist Stephen Hawking was asked about the odds of finding intelligent alien life in the next two decades. The probability is low," he declared in 2016, and took a lengthy pause before adding: Probably."This week, other scientists from the University of Cambridge reported tentative evidence for two compounds in the atmosphere of a planet, K2-18b, that sits in the constellation of Leo 124 light years away. Continue reading...

Contested discovery achieved by experiment firing laser pulses into eyes, stimulating retina cellsAfter walking the Earth for a few hundred thousand years, humans might think they have seen it all. But not according to a team of scientists who claim to have experienced a colour no one has seen before.The bold - and contested - assertion follows an experiment in which researchers in the US had laser pulses fired into their eyes. By stimulating individual cells in the retina, the laser pushed their perception beyond its natural limits, they say. Continue reading...

The authors of a new book explain why understanding the science of stress can help us manage it betterTrue (up to a point)

Analysis aims to solidify agreement on cannabis's potential as a cancer treatment, lead author of research saysThe largest ever study investigating medical cannabis as a treatment for cancer, published this week in Frontiers in Oncology, found overwhelming scientific support for cannabis's potential to treat cancer symptoms and potentially fight the course of the disease itself.The intention of the analysis was to solidify agreement on cannabis's potential as a cancer treatment, said Ryan Castle, research director at the Whole Health Oncology Institute and lead author of the study. Castle noted that it has been historically difficult to do so because marijuana is still federally considered an illegal Schedule I narcotic. Continue reading...

Department of Transportation employees who provide support for Starlink and SpaceX launches safe amid job cutsElon Musk's department of government efficiency" (Doge) and the Trump administration have spared the jobs of US Department of Transportation employees who provide support services for spacecraft launches by Musk's companies, SpaceX and Starlink - a revelation that raises a new round of conflict of interest questions around Doge.In its most recent buyout announcement, the transportation department did not note that the positions spared supported Musk's and others' space operations. Continue reading...

Scientists sound the alarm over substances such as arsenic and lead contaminating soils and entering food systemsAbout one sixth of global cropland is contaminated by toxic heavy metals, researchers have estimated, with as many as 1.4 billion people living in high-risk areas worldwide.Approximately 14 to 17% of cropland globally - roughly 242m hectares - is contaminated by at least one toxic metal such as arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel or lead, at levels that exceed agricultural and human health safety thresholds. Continue reading...

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Orforglipron also reduced blood sugar levels in participants with type 2 diabetesA significant trial of a daily weight-loss pill has found that it helped people to shed the pounds and reduce their blood sugar levels, making it a contender to join the new wave of drugs that combat obesity and diabetes.People who took a 36mg pill of orforglipron lost an average of 7.3kg (16lbs) over nine months, according to results from a phase 3 clinical trial reported by the drug's manufacturer, Eli Lilly, on Thursday. Continue reading...

As a measles outbreak expands across the US, comments by health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr have come under scrutiny. Kennedy has said that the best way to prevent measles is to get vaccinated - but he has also caused alarm among paediatricians, vaccine experts and lawmakers by promoting vitamin A and nutrition as treatments for measles and questioning the safety testing of the MMR vaccine. He also recently announced a US-led scientific effort to establish the cause of what he terms the autism epidemic', with some experts concerned that this study will support the widely discredited association between autism and vaccines. US health reporter Jessica Glenza tells Ian Sample, the Guardian's science editor, how these mixed messages are already impacting scientific research.RFK Jr says his response to measles outbreak should be model for the world'RFK Jr contradicts experts by linking autism rise to environmental toxins' Continue reading...

Findings from Tanzania's Kilimanjaro region indicate traditional eating habits in rural Africa can boost the immune system and reduce inflammationPlantains, cassava and fermented banana drink should be added to global healthy eating guidelines alongside the olive oil, tomatoes and red wine of the Mediterranean diet, say researchers who found the traditional diet of people living in Tanzania's Kilimanjaro region had a positive impact on the body's immune system.Traditional foods enjoyed in rural villages also had a positive impact on markers of inflammation, the researchers found in a study published this month in the journal Nature Medicine. Continue reading...

Astrophysics team say observation of chemical compounds may be tipping point' in search for extraterrestrial lifeA giant planet 124 light years from Earth has yielded the strongest evidence yet that extraterrestrial life may be thriving beyond our solar system, astronomers claim.Observations by the James Webb space telescope of a planet called K2-18 b appear to reveal the chemical fingerprints of two compounds that, on Earth, are only known to be produced by life. Continue reading...

US health secretary bucks expert opinion as research shows rise in diagnoses due to better tools and screeningThe US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, said in his first press conference that the significant and recent rise in autism diagnoses was evidence of an epidemic" caused by an environmental toxin", which would be rooted out by September.Autism advocates and health experts have repeatedly stated the rise in diagnoses is related to better recognition of the condition, changing diagnostic criteria and better access to screening. Many also reject the label of an epidemic", arguing that neurodivergence should be valued. Continue reading...

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Readers respond to George Monbiot's piece on how economic inequality fosters resentment, exclusion and nostalgiaGeorge Monbiot (Rightwing populists will keep winning until we grasp this truth about human nature, 13 April) makes some very important points about the psychology of those who follow demagogues and rightwing populist leaders. But this knowledge is not new. After the horrors of the rise of the Nazis and the persecution by them of Jews and other minority groups before and during the second world war, psychologists, many of them Jewish, began to systematically study the origins of such hatred. One was Henri Tajfel, a Jew born in Poland whose family were murdered by the Nazis.Tajfel was primarily interested in group identity, and popularised the terms in-group and out-group. Most importantly for understanding our times, Tajfel's work helped to show that not only do we work for, and experience reward through, the in-group's success (familiar to supporters of any football club), but, more sinisterly, we will work for, and experience reward through,the detriment of the out-group, even if that also meansthein-group suffers, so longas it is to a lesser extent. Continue reading...

Japanese-led team grow 11g chunk of chicken - and say product could be on market in five- to 10 yearsResearchers are claiming a breakthrough in lab-grown meat after producing nugget-sized chunks of chicken in a device that mimics the blood vessels that make up the circulatory system.The approach uses fine hollow fibres to deliver oxygen and nutrients to chicken muscle cells suspended in a gel, an advance that allowed scientists to grow lumps of meat up to 2cm long and 1cm thick. Continue reading...

Presenting an award at the Breakthrough prize ceremony, the actor and writer allegedly accused the president of destroying American scienceA pointed criticism of President Trump's policies on science by Seth Rogen was edited out of the filmed coverage of an annual science awards show, it has emerged.According to the Hollywood Reporter, which was one of the sponsors of the event, Rogen was one of the presenters at this month's Breakthrough prize ceremony, a high profile and lavishly funded awards programme recognising outstanding scientific achievements" co-founded by, among others, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and which describes itself as the Oscars of science". Continue reading...

Seeds can germinate having been buried in sediments of ghost ponds' for thousands of yearsGhosts of the ice age are being resurrected in Norfolk. When the ice sheets retreated at the end of the last ice age, mounds of ice called pingos remained underground until they thawed and the soil slumped, leaving behind shallow hollows that filled with water.These turned into swampy wetland habitats rich in plants and wildlife and Breckland, in Norfolk, became pocked with hundreds of these pingo pools, although many of them were later filled in for farmland and became lost. Continue reading...

Scientists call for urban areas to be tested for contaminants and potentially cleaned before wildflowers are plantedWildflowers could be absorbing toxic metals from soil in urban areas and passing toxins on to pollinators, a study has found.Researchers from the University of Cambridge found that common plants including white clover and bindweed, which are vital forage for pollinators in cities, can accumulate arsenic, cadmium, chromium and lead from contaminated soils. Continue reading...

Gamechanger' brought in after success of trial offering larger doses of drugs within first two weeks of treatmentPeople in Britain with heart failure are being given larger doses of drugs at the start of their treatment after a global study found that this led to a huge fall in deaths.Experts say the new approach could mean those with the potentially fatal condition start receiving their ideal amount of medication within two weeks of diagnosis rather than after many months. Continue reading...

Study of 420,000 Britons suggests going at speeds of at least 4mph can lower risks by up to 43%Walking at a brisker pace could lower the risk of a wide range of heart rhythm problems, according to a study.The peer-reviewed research, published in BMJ Heart, analysed data from 420,925 participants of the UK Biobank who had provided data on their walking speed. Of these, 81,956 gave more detailed data on the amount of time they spent walking at different paces. Continue reading...

Amy Schumer, Olivia Wilde and Olivia Munn are among the famous names calling out the much-publicised space tripThe all-female Blue Origin rocket launch may have received plenty of glowing media coverage - but not everyone is impressed.The stunt has drawn criticism from a number of female celebrities who were not keen on the Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin NS-31 mission, which included Katy Perry, Bezos's fiancee Lauren Sanchez, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn and, in a twist straight out of Apple TV's The Morning Show, CBS Mornings host Gayle King. Continue reading...

Medical information will be available from UK Biobank, despite western intelligence agencies' security fearsResearchers from China are to be allowed access to half a million UK GP records despite western intelligence agencies' fears about the authoritarian regime amassing health data, the Guardian can reveal.Preparations are under way to transfer the records to UK Biobank, a research hub that holds detailed medical information donated by 500,000 volunteers. One of the world's largest troves of health data, the facility makes its information available to universities, scientific institutes and private companies. A Guardian analysis shows one in five successful applications for access come from China. Continue reading...

The all-female Blue Origin flight on Monday broke boundaries and set records in the spouting of girlboss gibberishWell, I watched every second of the buildup, flight and aftermath of the first Blue Origin all-female space trip. You've heard of one small step for man? This was one giant leap backwards for womankind. I'm kidding, I'm kidding! What could be more empowering or something than watching Lauren Sanchez make going to space sound like brunch with the girrrrrls. Sally Ride could never.Anyway, if you missed this, Jeff Bezos's fiancee took an 11-minute trip to the edge of space on one of his Blue Origin craft on Monday, alongside some all-female passengers - sorry, crew" - who included CBS anchor Gayle King and pop star Katy Perry. So yes: the Woman's World video is no longer the most plastic feminist thing Katy's done.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Robin McKie reflects on his 40 years as science editor for the Observer and tells Madeleine Finlay about the game-changing discoveries and scientific controversies that he's reported on during that time. He describes how the discovery of the structure of DNA revolutionised science, what he learned about misinformation from the HIV/AIDS pandemic and why cold fusion and the millennium bug failed to live up to their hype.What I've learned after 40 years as the Observer's science editorSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Six women, including the pop star Katy Perry and the morning TV host Gayle King, have safely completed a trip into space. They used a rocket owned by Jeff Bezos, the Amazon co-founder and commercial space flight entrepreneur. His fiancee, Lauren Sanchez, was also on the flight

I scored low for agreeableness in a personality test for the big five' traits - does this mean I'm doomed to be disagreeable? I looked into how I can change who I amThe other day, a friend decided to playfully name our individual roles within the group: planner, emotional support, and so on. I was the fault-finder - or, as she put it, the grumpy teenager" - who points out problems, but doesn't suggest alternatives.She was only kidding around, but she struck at an insecurity I have: that I'm unacceptably, intolerably negative.I'm an adult. Why do I regress under my parents' roof?I like my own company. But do I spend too much time alone?People say you'll know - but will I regret not having children?Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change by Olga Khazan is out now Continue reading...

The answers to today's puzzlesEarlier today I set three number puzzles. Here they are again with solutions.1. Well balanced Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the flight, read our full report:

Analysis of over-50s who engage with phones, tablets and other devices challenges fears of digital dementia'Fears that smartphones, tablets and other devices could drive dementia in later life have been challenged by research that found lower rates of cognitive decline in older people who used the technology.An analysis of published studies that looked at technology use and mental skills in more than 400,000 older adults found that over-50s who routinely used digital devices had lower rates of cognitive decline than those who used them less. Continue reading...

Researchers say gepotidacin could be delivered via a pill and help combat strains resistant to standard treatmentScientists have hailed a new antibiotic treatment for gonorrhoea, the first in three decades, which they said could help combat the global rise of drug-resistant infections.The sexually transmitted infection can result in serious complications if it is not treated promptly, especially for women, for whom it can lead to increased risks of ectopic pregnancy and infertility. Continue reading...

All-female crew led by Jeff Bezos's fiancee Lauren Sanchez lands in Texas after reaching the edge of outer spaceSix women - including the pop star Katy Perry and morning TV host Gayle King - safely completed a trip to the edge of outer space and back from a private Texas ranch on Monday morning on a rocket belonging to Jeff Bezos, the Amazon co-founder and commercial space flight entrepreneur.The women, who also included Bezos's fiancee, Lauren Sanchez, made the trip to the Karman line - the internationally recognized boundary of space - to float about, weightlessly, in the rocket's capsule for three minutes before returning to Earth. Continue reading...

Giving patients statins and ezetimibe after a heart attack can reduce risk of second attack or stroke, say scientistsThousands of heart attacks or strokes could be prevented and lives saved with a combination of two cheap drugs, a study suggests.Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death worldwide, with heart attacks the most common acute event. For those who survive an attack, the risk of another one is highest in the first year because blood vessels are more sensitive, making it easier for blood clots to develop. Continue reading...