Syrian scientists who risked their lives preserving the region’s ancient farming heritage with nearly 150,000 seed samples are presented Gregor Mendel award in Berlin Continue reading...

Event expected to trigger huge downturn in power demand as people go outside to watch, as well as sudden removal of solar power from electricity supply Continue reading...

Improvements in treatment have led to better survival rates following a heart attack. But is the quality of that longer life measuring up? Continue reading...

Some scientists claim that new discoveries have proved free will is an illusion. Nonsense, says Julian BagginiWhenever you read stories about identical twins separated at birth, they tend to follow the template set by the most remarkable of them all: the “two Jims”. James Springer and James Lewis were separated as one-month-olds, adopted by different families and reunited at age 39. When University of Minnesota psychologist Thomas Bouchard met them in 1979, he found, as a Washington Post article put it, both had “married and divorced a woman named Linda and remarried a Betty. They shared interests in mechanical drawing and carpentry; their favourite school subject had been maths, their least favourite, spelling. They smoked and drank the same amount and got headaches at the same time of day.” The similarities were uncanny. A great deal of who they would turn out to be appears to have been written in their genes.Other studies at the world-leading Minnesota Center for Twin and Family Research suggest that many of our traits are more than 50% inherited, including obedience to authority, vulnerability to stress, and risk-seeking. Researchers have even suggested that when it comes to issues such as religion and politics, our choices are much more determined by our genes than we think.To predict whether someone believes in God, it’s more useful to know they live in Texas than what their genes areVarious options are pencilled in by our genes, and our life experiences determine which get inkedA fan of Shostakovich does not, usually at least, wish she could just decide to prefer Andrew Lloyd WebberOur current knowledge of neurobiology makes it clear that there is no such thing as absolute freedom Continue reading...

Last unresolved ‘major problem in mammalian evolution’ – the origin of two ungulates – has been resolved according to researchersTo 19th century British naturalist Charles Darwin, they were the strangest animals yet discovered, one looking like a hybrid of a hippo, rhino and rodent and another resembling a humpless camel with an elephant’s trunk.

Agency provides key data on volcanoes, algae growth and weather, but the Texas senator wants Nasa to focus on space exploration and drop climate change studyCurtailing the Earth sciences mission of Nasa would deprive scientists of important data relating to volcanic eruptions, destructive algae growth, extreme weather events and much more, experts warned a week after a confrontation on Capitol Hill over the Nasa budget between Senator Ted Cruz and the agency director.

Analysis over 20 years reveals heavy Anglo-Saxon influence, with French and Danish DNA coming from earlier migrations than the Normans or Vikings

Fall in amount of carbon absored by rainforest means even greater cuts to manmade emissions are needed to combat climate change, warn scientists Continue reading...

An exchange between Ted Cruz and the Nasa administrator, Charles Bolden, got heated when Cruz, chair of the Senate space, science, and competitiveness subcommittee, told Bolden Nasa should concentrate on space exploration and spend less time collecting data on climate change. Bolden replied robustly explaining: 'It is absolutely critical that we understand Earth's environment because this is the only place that we have to live.' Continue reading...

A recent study suggests that the longer a baby is breastfed, the more intelligent and successful they become. While the research itself may be fine, there are so many variables around these issues that simplistic associations can distort people’s understanding, and even cause harm.Bed sharing with babies - is it safe? Continue reading...

Technicians prepare for impact of solar power loss on electricity grids as moon passes between solar panels and the sun but power supply unlikely to be affected Continue reading...

If we are to understand the risks associated with bed sharing, we need to consider why parents are sleeping with their infants, argues researcher Anna Pease Continue reading...

Astrophysicist Joseph Roche says selection process for one-way mission is not vigorous enough, Dutch organisers are naive and project is unlikely to happenHe is not the first person to express scepticism about Mars One, a vastly ambitious private mission aiming to settle humans on Mars from 2025. But Joseph Roche is different to most critics: he’s on the shortlist to be one of the astronauts.Roche, an astrophysicist at Trinity College Dublin who was announced last month as among the 100 people in line for the mission, has written for the Guardian expressing his grave doubts about the viability of Mars One.Related: I’m on list to be a Mars One astronaut –but I won’t see the red planet | Joseph RocheAll of a sudden it changed from being a proper regional interview over several days to being a 10-minute Skype callRelated: Mars One shortlist: the top 10 hopefulsRelated: Houston, we have a lot of problems: is Mars One too good to be true? Continue reading...

The organisers’ plan is ambitious but naive and unrealistic. It’s time to admit this venture won’t work and pour our energy into more viable space missions Continue reading...

Stronger than expected burst of plasma from the sun sends light show into unexpected latitudes of both the northern and southern hemispheres

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Study in peer-reviewed journal finds ‘substandard vaccination compliance likely to blame’ as 145 measles cases linked to Disneyland outbreak confirmed by CDC Continue reading...

The organisers claim everything is hunky dory with their plan to send 40 people to spend the rest of their days on the red planet, but sources suggest otherwiseAge: Going since 2011, but probably best described as nascent.Appearance: Either a crazy, far-fetched story about a mission to Mars; or an actual mission to Mars. Continue reading...

The world will turn a little darker on Friday as the moon wanders across the face of the sun

Archaeologists and anthropologists say they have positively identified fragments from the body of literary giant who died in 1616 in Madrid Continue reading...

The paleo diet is coming under increasing scrutiny from the science and health community, resulting in criticisms and questions about its validity. But people will always want trendy diets, and there are plenty of periods in science history to arbitrarily base an eating regime around Continue reading...

Late last year, a metastudy was published showing that, since 2000, things are improving for women working in most STEM-based fields, although there are some notable exceptions Continue reading...

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As backup supply dwindles, Jay Famiglietti says state has about one year of water left and calls for a more ‘forward-looking process’ to deal with crisisRelated: California farmers resign themselves to drought: 'Nobody's fault but God's'As California experiences the fourth year of one of the most severe droughts in its history, a senior Nasa scientist has warned that the state has about one year of water left. Continue reading...

When interpreting the mysterious monuments and art created by our ancestors, we’ve been gazing in the wrong directionMy suggestion that Stonehenge was probably neither a temple nor a calendar but most likely a raised, ceremonial altar used by hundreds of people has attracted considerable attention and some criticism from archaeologists. I’ve nothing against archaeology, but let me make clear that my idea didn’t come from digging into the ground. It came, instead, from looking up at the stars and wondering what our ancestors thought about them when they thought the earth was flat.When Don Marcelino Sanz de Sautuolo explored the Altimira cave in 1879 he dug in the floor. It never occurred to him to look up. It was his young daughter, Maria, who pointed to the ceiling and shouted: “Look Papa, oxen!” So the first cave paintings were discovered. It’s my contention that we’ve been looking in the wrong direction when we’ve interpreted many of the great monuments and works of art of the past.Related: Circular thinking: Stonehenge's origin is subject of new theory Continue reading...

The president and managing partner at Google Ventures says he’s betting on humans living that long one day. But who would benefit?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a vital but embattled organisation. With the resignation of its chair, Rajendra Pacharuri, there is an opportunity for renewal. Here, Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, one of the candidates to succeed Pachauri, sets out his stall. Continue reading...

3D printing firm Stratasys’ latest device makes realistic models for the dental industry, rather than people’s mouths Continue reading...

In today’s “Museum Monday” video, we watch a time-lapse as a coral reef aquarium is set up in the Natural History Museum’s Jerwood Gallery. This aquarium will be featured in their upcoming exhibition where the public can learn about the importance of marine coral reef communities. Continue reading...

Innovate UK, the £500m quango responsible for funding innovation and technology, has appointed Ruth McKernan as its new CEO. Stian Westlake offers her five ideas for the organisation’s future. Continue reading...

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Wiltshire monument may have been equivalent of ‘an ancient Mecca on stilts’ according to an idea put forward by former museum director Julian SpaldingWhether it was a Druid temple, an astronomical calendar or a centre for healing, the mystery of Stonehenge has long been a source of speculation and debate. Now a dramatic new theory suggests that the prehistoric monument was in fact “an ancient Mecca on stilts”.The megaliths would not have been used for ceremonies at ground level, but would instead have supported a circular wooden platform on which ceremonies were performed to the rotating heavens, the theory suggests.

Rare event will blot out the sun in Faroe Isles while best place to watch it in the UK, the Isle of Lewis, prepares for public viewingSolar eclipse 1999 - in pictures

Ahead of the forthcoming solar eclipse visible in the far north of Scotland, we look back at the total solar eclipse on 11 August 1999, one of the most widely viewed in history

Friday’s eclipse will not touch land anywhere across the UK, but the line of totality will pass six miles north-west of the uninhabited island of Rockall Continue reading...

In 1977, Voyager 1 and 2 started their one-way journey across our galaxy, travelling a million miles a day. Jonathan Margolis meets the dedicated team keeping the craft movingOn a chilly March morning, Steve Howard, aged 65, is at work in his office on the northern edge of Pasadena, California. Two computer screens are squeezed on to his corner desk along with family photos, a tissue box and tins of Altoids Curiously Strong Peppermints. The office is in a quiet business park by a workaday main road. Next to it is a McDonald’s, where people linger for hours over a $1 coffee, seemingly to keep warm. Over the road there’s a scruffier burger joint, Jim’s, with an M missing from its sign – and, visible from Howard’s window, a landscaping supplies yard.If the few people walking by on West Woodbury Road, Altadena, or popping into the landscaping place for some patio paving slabs were to peer into Howard’s office, they might guess, seeing the graph-covered twin screens and a third PC at the other end of the desk, that he was, perhaps, a financial adviser or a day trader. But what Steve Howard is actually doing makes this very ordinary all-American scene quite extraordinary. Continue reading...

Long mistaken for another species, this Australian marsupial may now be under threat from rising temperatures. That doesn’t stop it from enjoying a vigorous, if deadly, sex life Continue reading...

The political parties may argue passionately that science is our future, but let’s see some real action to promote it Continue reading...

Next month, 170 years after the Erebus and all its crew were lost, experts will try to reach the wreck – under thick ice on an undersea ridge Continue reading...

The European Space Agency’s ambitious mission to fly closer to the Sun than ever before is now ready for testing, ahead of its 2017 launchIt is hard not to be impressed with the spacecraft standing in the clean room at Airbus Defence and Space, Stevenage. It is a test model for a spacecraft that will travel closer to the Sun than any mission yet flown.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott recently caused much confusion by publicly eating a raw onion in the manner people would usually eat apples, with no complaint or objection. Whilst baffling to many, this may be one instance where science supports Tony Abbott’s actions. Continue reading...

As geoengineering researchers gather for a conference in Cambridge, Duncan McLaren draws lessons from ethics and science fiction to make a case for caution Continue reading...