Scientist who resigned after being lambasted for his comments about his ‘trouble with girls’ will not be reinstated at University College London

Bone weakness is a significant problem for astronauts, but a unique biological process that occurs in hibernating bears could be the basis for a new therapyAstronauts could protect themselves against bone wastage by harnessing a unique biological process that allows black bears to maintain their skeletons during hibernation.A study has revealed that bears protect their bones from degrading, despite hardly moving for up to six months, by suppressing the usual constant release of calcium from the bones into the blood. Such a lengthy period of inactivity in humans would lead to a severely weakened bone structure. Continue reading...

Plus, how technology is changing what we know about StonehengeThe annual Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition wrapped up last week. On last week's podcast we looked at one of its featured topics – quantum computing. This week we're picking up three other themes from the exhibition.Can science help us produce meat in a sustainable way? Ian Sample is joined in the studio by Professor Michael Lee, head of Rothamsted Research's North Wyke Site, and by the Guardian's science correspondent Hannah Devlin, to find out. Continue reading...

The devastating impact CO2 emissions are having on oceans recently brought one professor to tears during a radio interview. But does such passion validate or weaken science in the audience’s eyes?Should scientists show emotion while discussing their science? I ask because a professor of ocean geology wept as she discussed with me the impact carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are having on the sea.She fears we are acidifying and heating the ocean so fast that her young daughters may no longer enjoy coral reefs and shellfish by the end of the century. Continue reading...

Today sees the publication of the report of an independent review of the contentious use of metrics — numerical indicators of performance — in the assessment of UK research and researchers. Can it plot a sensible course in a world increasingly obsessed with numbers?The 2009 movie Knowing starred Nicolas Cage as a professor of mathematics and was advertised with the strap-line: what happens when the numbers run out? Without giving away too much of the plot of this ludicrous piece of sci-fi shlock, the answer turns out to be A Very Bad Thing. But in the real world of research, where often we want to know who are the top performers – usually in deciding who gets funded, appointed or promoted – we have the opposite problem. There is no shortage of numbers. The question is rather: what happens when the numbers take over?That question is much discussed in The Metric Tide, the report published today by the UK Independent review of the role of metrics in research assessment. The steering group, of which I was a member, was convened in Spring 2014 by then Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts. The primary task was to examine the potential of metrics – numerical indicators of performance such as the number of times a research paper is cited by other researchers, or the average citation score embodied in journal ‘impact factors’ – to inform the Research Excellence Framework (REF). This is a complex and intensive exercise that, every six years or so, evaluates the scholarly prowess of university departments across the UK. Continue reading...

Across research, the metric tide is rising. An independent report published today argues that we have the opportunity to influence how it washes through higher education and research.Yesterday’s Budget brought good news for those vice-chancellors who have been lobbying to raise student tuition fees above the current £9,000 annual cap. But it came with a sting in the tail: George Osborne said that fees could rise in line with inflation only for those universities “that demonstrate excellence in teaching”. This will be assessed through a new Teaching Excellence Framework, or TEF, to be introduced alongside the Research Excellence Framework (REF), which is used to allocate around £1.6 billion each year on the research side of the system.Chris Cook, policy editor of Newsnight, suggested yesterday that linking fee rises to “excellent” tuition in this way “will mess with the Russell Group’s head.” And it’s true that the prospect of yet another layer of audit and assessment in universities is enough to make many academics weep. A letter to the Guardian this week from 121 professors reflects the concern of many in the sector about “continuous pressures to standardise, conform, obey and duplicate in order to be “transparent” to measurement”. A related call for “slow scholarship” and active resistance to the acceleration of academic life has been doing the rounds on blogs and social media over recent weeks. Continue reading...

Australia's gastric-brooding frog was discovered in the 1970s but by the early 1980s was classed as extinct. However, this remarkable frog, which projectile-vomits its young after gestating them in its stomach, is the subject of ground-breaking research at the University of New South Wales to recreate an extinct species.

Video shows a clearly visible International Space Station passing between Jupiter and Venus above Sydney. The two planets have been closely aligned for some time but it is the first time the ISS is believed to have passed so close to them since it was launched in 1998. The spectacle occurred at around 5:30pm local time on Wednesday and was visible from most parts of eastern Australia Continue reading...

One of the most eminent cardiovascular researchers of his generation, he demonstrated the relationship between cholesterol and coronary artery diseaseShortly after the National Health Service was established in 1948, a new breed of doctor emerged who was clinically competent but sought to go further by undertaking research into the cause of disease, usually in collaboration with scientists. Michael Oliver, who has died aged 89, was in the vanguard of this movement, and with his biochemist colleague in Edinburgh, George Boyd, he demonstrated the relationship between cholesterol and coronary artery disease.A tall, elegant figure, immaculate in his white coat, MFO, as he was known, would occasionally visit his wards and then rush, with arms and legs flailing, down the long medical corridor to the department of cardiology in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, followed by his breathless entourage. He was envied, as were his few like-minded colleagues, by the more prosaic clinicians on the staff who felt that academic colleagues like him did not contribute sufficiently at the coalface. But the international standing of that hospital unquestionably depended upon these clinical scientists. Continue reading...

Dynasty Foundation, which gave grants to young scientists, announces it is liquidating all activities after it was sanctioned under controversial Kremlin lawA Russian foundation that gave grants to young scientists and mathematicians has been forced to close down after it was branded a “foreign agent”, under a controversial Kremlin law.In a one-line statement on its website the Dynasty Foundation in Moscow announced on Monday that it was “liquidating” all of its activities. The foundation had been operating since 2002 and had sponsored numerous scientific grants and prizes. Continue reading...

Technique to unravel how each molecule of CO2 absorbs light allows more accurate predictions about how much the Earth is likely to warm, reports Climate News Network

Racial prejudice has its roots in children’s natural drive to carve the world up into categories. Can research do anything to fix this?Racist stereotypes, at their root, come from quite a fundamental learning mechanism. Humans are able to learn and adapt so quickly because they are excellent at making generalisations about the world based on very limited experience. Take dogs, for example - a toddler might reasonably conclude after meeting just two or three that all dogs are furry, bark and have tails that should be treated with some caution.

British scientists develop GM oilseed crop containing omega-3 fatty acids that could provide sustainable alternative to farmed fish, such as salmonFish oil grown on the farm has come a step closer following promising results from a genetically modified crop trial.

With people living longer than ever, being able to replace bits of the human body as they wear out has become a new frontier in medicineMost babies born in 1900 died before the age of 50; 100 years later life expectancy in the UK now exceeds 80 years, with the number of over-65s expected to double by 2030. This trend is radically changing the age demographics of the population and creating a new set of challenges for engineers. One of the most significant of these is to give people a higher quality of life in their old age.Significant progress has been made; 300,000 hip replacements are now performed annually worldwide, releasing people from pain, and extending the active period of their lives by 20 years or more. The success of these implants has led scientists to develop a new type of biomaterial that is promising to do for medicine what silicon did for computing. Continue reading...

A survey has shown some of us are much younger or older than our biological age. Our writers discuss whether their minds and bodies are out of syncIt was reported this week that people age at vastly different rates. A study of nearly 1,000 38-year-olds, which considered 18 physiological markers, found that some were much older or younger than their biological age. But what about our psychological experience of age? Do you feel the age you are? Or will you always be a teenager at heart? Continue reading...

Global FinPrint survey will use new technology to monitor underwater life and shark habitats, which have been ‘notoriously difficult’ to studyThe first ever global survey of sharks, rays and skates in coral reef environments using underwater cameras will begin in August.The Global FinPrint survey uses technology called baited remote underwater video (Bruv) to take one hour of underwater footage, capturing marine life. Continue reading...

Prescriptions of sildenafil are at 1.7m, compared with 1.4m in 2013, and antidepressants saw an increase of more than 97% since 2004The number of prescriptions for Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs has gone up by more than a quarter in a year, official figures show.Statistics released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) show that last year there were 1.7m prescriptions for sildenafil – commonly sold as Viagra, but also available under other trade names – compared with 1.4m in 2013 and 1m in 2004. Continue reading...

From what I can make out, if one wants to live forever – or at least until 110 – you must head straight to your local hipster restaurantThere’s a sign on Susannah Mushatt Jones’s kitchen wall. It reads: “Bacon makes everything better.” You could legitimately quibble with this. Not better for the pig, of course. Plus, what about concerns around the cholesterol and sodium content, as well as links between bacon and chronic pulmonary disease and diminished sperm morphology? But it’d be hard to argue to her face: Jones is the world’s oldest living person. On Monday, when she turned 116, she credited her longevity to a regular breakfast of bacon and eggs. Regular as in she’s eaten it every day for 100 years.The fry-up turns out to be something of a staple for the supercentenarian. Charlotte Hughes (1877–1993) said her advanced age was down to a “stiff brandy and bacon and eggs”. Ditto Edna Parker (1893–2008), who topped up with sausage. The spanner in the works is Emma Morano, who, alongside Jones, is the only person still alive who was born in the 1800s. Eggs? Yes, she says: ever since she was a teenager, she’s had three raw ones every day. Bacon? Not so much. Continue reading...

On the eve of the summer budget, a new campaign seeks to remind the government that science has a huge role to play in boosting the UK economy“I believe that science is the engine of prosperity,” renowned physicist and author Dr Michio Kaku once remarked .

A sensational claim that ESA’s Philae spacecraft has landed on a comet teeming with life doesn’t hold waterThe Guardian’s story “Philae comet could be home to alien life, say scientists” has been met with scepticism and outright dismissal by leading comet experts.The people behind the headline are Chandra Wickramasinghe, University of Buckingham, and Max Wallis, University of Cardiff. Today, the Daily Mirror reported Wickramasinghe as saying, “Data from the comet seems to unequivocally point to micro-organisms being involved.”

Here’s how to solve the hexagon puzzle.Can you solve it? Four beehive Hidato puzzles, the new Sudoku?I hope you enjoyed this week’s Hidato puzzles. I’m going to explain how to solve the hardest one, since the strategies used will also help you solve the simpler ones.The aim is to find the path from 1 to the largest number, in this case 85, such that consecutive numbers touch each other. Continue reading...

Today's problem is an Israeli version of sudoku, a hexagonal number puzzle invented by computer scientist Gyora Benedek. Were you able to solve it? Never fear, Alex will show you how. Alternatively, click here to see a written solution. Continue reading...

Alex Bellos and Edmund Harriss’s Snowflake, Seashell, Star promises to be ‘both a field guide and a therapeutic exercise book’Adults who are running out of cats and gardens to colour in as part of the new craze for “mindful” colouring books will soon have a more educational option for their eager felt-tips, thanks to the forthcoming release of a mathematical colouring book.Alex Bellos, the author of bestselling popular maths books including Alex’s Adventures in Numberland, has teamed up with British mathematical artist Edmund Harriss to create Snowflake, Seashell, Star, a series of mathematical patterns first to colour, and then to create, using simple rules. Out from Canongate in September, it will be, said the publisher, “both a field guide and a therapeutic exercise book”: it requires no mathematical knowledge, but is “a stunning celebration of how mathematics is the search to understand the patterns of the universe in their purest form”. Continue reading...

To do justice to the ongoing Greek crisis, journalists should ditch the achilles heels and pyrrhic victories and explore the underused wonders of Greek myth and language. Lalochezia, anyone?An air of inevitability has hung over journalists’ notebooks this past week. Not the certainty of economic chaos in the Aegean. No, I’m talking about the near 100% chance of finding a classical allusion in their copy. Multiple Greek tragedies, achilles heels and mentions of Icarus flying too close to the sun have now given way to a slew of pyrrhic victories as prime minister Alexis Tsipras emerges triumphant from his referendum gamble.Greek myth has been plundered for its riches, just as the real treasuries of Athens are running dry. Nothing wrong with that: but hacks are going to have to dig a little deeper if they want to avoid repeating themselves. How about Horkos, the god who punishes those who break oaths? Or Moros, the spirit of impending doom? Continue reading...

Instead of believing they have all the answers, leaders need to be comfortable with uncertainty and making mistakes to unleash creativityToo many senior leaders want to be the hero, believing they are responsible for all creative output. This is unfair and exhausting. By trying to control it, they kill it. The only way to guarantee great output is to create the conditions for those around you to bring their genius to the fore; whether that’s your people, customers, agencies or suppliers. When we create the conditions and step back unattached from the output, brilliance inevitably comes knocking. To avoid suffocating creativity, here’s what we need to be wary of: Continue reading...

Hidato is a big hit in Israel – a sudoku-like puzzle invented by computer scientist Gyora Benedek. It's usually laid out on a grid, like sudoku, but for the first time we give you ... beehive Hidato! Click here for a written version of the puzzle Continue reading...

Astronomers say features of comet landed on by spacecraft in November, such as black crust and icy lakes, suggest living micro-organisms beneath surface

It has been just over two months since the devastating earthquake in Nepal and, for much of the world, the event has faded from memory. But for Nepalese people the nightmare continues and now that the monsoon rains have arrived a new threat looms.Every year landslides are common in Nepal during the monsoon, which usually runs from June to September, but this year is likely to be particuarly bad. Steep hillsides have been seriously destabilised by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in April and its subsequent aftershocks, and it is feared that the heavy rains will trigger multiple landslides from these precarious slopes. Continue reading...

New Horizons craft suffered malfunction – which triggered an 81-minute break in radio communications – just nine days before it was due to fly past PlutoNasa scientists were working on Sunday to revive the New Horizons spacecraft, after it suffered a computer malfunction just nine days before it was due to fly past Pluto.The probe has been barreling toward the dwarf planet and its primary moon, Charon, since January 2006. Continue reading...

Given that we’re living in a golden age for space photography, it’s surprising how antiquated the hardware responsible is…For those who keep up with the latest developments in space exploration, the last couple of years have offered a rich feast of images: from close-up pictures of water-worn pebbles on the surface of Mars to the views of galaxies at the edge of the visible universe, by way of the cratered surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. We are becoming almost blase with the seemingly daily occurrence of a fresh view of a star or planet.Back on Earth, we are also no longer amazed by the instant communication of social media or the ability to watch films in high definition on our smartphones. Rather, we tend to complain if our mobile signal drops out when going through a tunnel on a train journey or the internet speed slows because it can’t cope with the 10GB film you are streaming at the same time your kids are playing an online fantasy game ported through a server some thousand miles away. The latest developments in hi-tech communications incorporate 64bit architecture, 1GB RAM, 1.4 GHz speed, 20 megapixel cameras and so on. How does all this relate to the wonderful images produced by space instruments? Continue reading...

With much skill – and some luck – the New Horizons spacecraft is about to provide our closest glimpse yet of the frozen and little-understood world of PlutoPluto is so far away (4.8bn km) and so small (about two-thirds the size of the Earth’s moon) that we’ve never had a good look at it, not even with the Hubble space telescope. In Hubble images, Pluto has always been a tiny, pixelated blob. Until now.Related: Target Pluto: fastest spaceship set for epic encounter with our remotest planet Continue reading...

A gripping, novelistic intellectual history from the man behind ‘nudge’ economicsProfessor Richard Thaler is a bit lazy, prone to procrastination and likes his booze: his observations, not mine. He is also the president of the American Economic Association, a role held in the past by such luminaries as Milton Friedman, JK Galbraith, Gary Becker and Amartya Sen.That a person with such everyday flaws has scaled the unforgiving heights of the economics establishment is striking in itself. Even more so is the fact that he has done so by turning those weaknesses into the very subject of a new branch of economic science. Thaler has spent a career seeking to understand individuals as they really are – chock-full of weaknesses, irrationalities and idiosyncrasies. He labels these creatures “humans”, rather than as “econs”, walking calculators rationally optimising their utility. Continue reading...

16-year-old mathlete Joe Benton travels with UK team to Thailand next week to battle, against the odds, the powerhouses of China, USA and Taiwan“I’ve always been interested in maths, since I can remember,” says 16-year-old Joe Benton. “I find it elegant. I really enjoy the kick you get when you solve a problem, when it’s something you’ve been thinking of as impossible for a long time, and it suddenly becomes obvious. That ‘a-ha’ moment – it’s fun.”Joe is one of six gifted young mathematicians chosen for the British team who will compete next week in the 56th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The IMO is the world cup of mathematics competitions for secondary school-age students. It began in 1959 with seven countries competing in Bucharest, Romania. Now, it’s a global event with more than 500 teenagers from over 100 countries. Continue reading...