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by Alan Pickup on (#35K0)
The sparkling constellation of Orion marches westwards from the SE each evening to cross the meridian at 20:00. At the same time, Capella in Auriga the Charioteer passes within 10° of our zenith, closer than any other of the brightest 30 stars in the sky. Our chart of Auriga stretches as far north as Delta at a declination (the celestial equivalent of latitude) of 54° N so that it passes directly overhead as seen from N England. Continue reading...
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| Updated | 2026-03-25 06:00 |
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by Zoe Williams on (#35BE)
If we called it ‘metabolic syndrome’, we’d be lining up to demand a cure. But that wouldn’t fit the Conservative mindset Continue reading...
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by James Rubin and Simon Wessely on (#359E)
The Breaking Bad spin-off features a character who is afraid of mobile phone signals. As two scientists explain, it’s a psychological ailment – but you wouldn’t know that from browsing media reportsBetter Call Saul, the long-awaited spin-off of Breaking Bad, has already thrown up some interesting questions: why is Saul chopping up cookie dough in a shopping mall? Will Mike Ehrmantraut ever let him out of the car park at the first time of asking? But perhaps most intriguing is the one raised by Saul’s brother Chuck: what is electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS)? Chuck (played by Spinal Tap’s Michael McKean) is a recluse on extended leave from his legal firm who lives without electricity and wraps himself in a shiny “space blanket†to ward off the effects of exposure to Saul’s mobile phone.It’s an unusual condition, but Chuck is not alone. In the UK, around 4% of people report that they experience unpleasant symptoms due to exposure to electromagnetic fields given out by mobile phones, Wi-Fi routers, TVs and so on. In severe cases, it can ruin people’s lives, making them unable to work in computer-filled offices, enter shops with fluorescent lights or visit friends or family whose homes are filled with electronics. In the most extreme – and rare– cases, affected people withdraw from modern society almost entirely, living in isolated caravans or remote communities in “EMF-free zonesâ€. Continue reading...
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by Stuart Clark on (#34WY)
Two years ago, the Earth caught a glimpse of disaster in the form of a 12,000-tonne meteorite that exploded above the Russian city of ChelyabinskIt happened at 9:20am local time. A fireball appeared from out of the crystal clear blue sky over the southern Ural region in Russia. Rapidly increasing in brightness, it blazed brighter than the Sun.The lightshow turned dangerous when the fireball abruptly exploded, injuring more than 1200 people. Some were burnt by the heat but most were cut as the shock wave from the explosion violently smashed windows. The city sustained 1 billion roubles (£10m) worth of damage. Continue reading...
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by Ian Sample, science editor, in San Jose on (#34VB)
Medical students were so numerous in Georgian London they had to share cadavers, study of autopsy practices revealsFor physicians teaching in Georgian London, the solution was never in question. Faced with a shortage of bodies to dissect, they chopped up cadavers and handed parts out.
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by Jon Butterworth on (#34ET)
Dark Matter is high on the list of possible discoveries in the next run of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. However, depending on what Dark Matter actually is, shining light through walls might get there first
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by Ian Sample in San Jose on (#32RD)
Digital twins, already in use at top clinics and medical schools, could help plan complex operations, surgeon says
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by Ian Sample, science editor, in San Jose on (#31W4)
Some experts concerned that vaping may be pathway to nicotine addiction, but others say it is less dangerous than smoking Continue reading...
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by Chris Elliott on (#31W5)
An anonymous reader posted on Times columnist Matt Ridley’s views on climate change a suggestion that no one would mourn if he were beheaded Continue reading...
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by Ian Sample in San Jose on (#31J6)
Pentagon-funded device could help people with age-related macular degeneration by enlarging objects so they can see them with peripheral vision Continue reading...
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by Susan Jebb on (#32RE)
Advising companies doesn’t have to mean agreeing with them. If the BMJ wants to say there’s a conflict of interest, it should present evidence Continue reading...
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by Nathalia Gjersoe on (#31EN)
What do children really think about their special teddies and what does it reveal about them as adults? Continue reading...
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by Dean Burnett on (#314N)
Today is Friday the 13. Again. Cultures all over the world consider this an unlucky date, despite the fact that there’s no logical or scientific reason to support this notion. So why do people believe Friday the 13 is unlucky? And why won’t this notion go away? Continue reading...
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by Hannah Devlin, science correspondent on (#30YF)
Exclusive: Background noise created by development near Cheshire observatory could harm attempt to observe gravity waves predicted by Einstein Continue reading...
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by Ruth Wainman on (#30SD)
Is there room for personal relationships in science? As Valentine’s Day approaches, Ruth Wainman considers an often neglected aspect of the historical study of scientific careers Continue reading...
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by Press Association on (#30R7)
Women who undergo hormone replacement therapy have ‘significantly increased’ risk of developing ovarian cancer, according to major research Continue reading...
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by Paul Scruton and Pete Guest on (#30QM)
South African men live an average of 51 years, while a third of Japan’s women are over 60. Our graphic reveals startling gulfs in the data from six countries worldwide.
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by Ian Sample on (#30NJ)
Theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate Prof Weinberg talks about his new book, To Explain The World, and explains how we learn to learn about the world Continue reading...
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by Andreas Merkl on (#2ZRN)
A landmark study out today finds huge quantities of plastic are entering the ocean. Since much of it isn’t accounted for, says Andreas Merkl, we should be concerned about where it’s ending up Continue reading...
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by Ian Sample, science editor, in San Jose on (#2ZRQ)
Fears over new Seti plan to repeatedly broadcast greetings to habitable planets for hundreds of years dismissed as paranoiaFears that a major program to contact alien life could spell disaster for planet Earth were dismissed as “paranoid†on Thursday by scientists who hope to beam messages to distant worlds from powerful radio telescopes.
by Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent on (#2ZRP)
Climate change is likely to cause decade-long mega-droughts across US south-west and Great Plains, new study shows Continue reading...
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by Benjamin Jones on (#2ZKG)
Atheism has soared among young Britons, as science answers our questions and God fades from our cultural life Continue reading...
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by Guardian Staff on (#2ZC1)
This Nasa video shows the sun's activity over the past five years. The video celebrates the fifth year in space for the Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun 24 hours a day. The video shows explosions and eruptions on the surface of the sun since 11 February 2010 Continue reading...
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by Jessica Bland on (#2ZAN)
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by Ian Sample, science editor, in San Jose on (#2ZAP)
Deepening gulf between public and scientific views is the greatest problem facing scientists, says Alan Leshner, chief executive of American Association for the Advancement of SciencePublic tensions over the progress of modern science are at their most intense for decades and threaten to undermine efforts to better human lives, warns one of the most senior scientists in the US.
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by Stuart Clark on (#2Z6M)
Physicists are growing confident of detecting ephemeral ripples in the universe, and they are gearing up to engage the public in the discoveryHere’s a date for your diary: 1 January 2017. It’s the day that physicists are predicting for a great scientific breakthrough: the first direct detection of gravitational waves.Even if you have not yet heard about gravitational waves, you are going to in the coming years. When they are detected, it will revolutionise our investigation of the universe. Continue reading...
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by Tom Corby on (#2Z0A)
One of the first female aeronautical engineers, who went on to chair the Equal Opportunities CommissionBeryl Platt, Lady Platt of Writtle, who has died aged 91, chaired the Equal Opportunities Commission between 1983 and 1988. She was also one of the first female aeronautical engineers, and played a vital part in the design of aircraft pivotal to the allied victory in the second world war.She was only 20, and a new Cambridge graduate, when in 1943 she joined Hawker Aircraft in its experimental flight test department at Langley, Berkshire, in top-secret work on fighter aircraft: the Hurricane, Typhoon, Tempest and Fury. She was present when the Last of the Many, the final Hawker Hurricane – an aircraft that had shot down more enemy aircraft in the Battle of Britain than the rest of UK air and ground defences combined – rolled off the production line in July 1944. Continue reading...
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by Adam Vaughan on (#2YPG)
Labour and Unions seek reassurances over Capita’s role in forthcoming Food and Environment Research Agency joint venture to ensure public science research is safeguarded against commercial interestsUnions and the Labour party have sought reassurances that the takeover of the running of the environment department’s science agency by outsourcing company Capita will not see commercial interests trump public science.On Wednesday, ministers said the government would retain a 25% share in the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), which will be run by Capita from 1 April as a joint venture in partnership with Newcastle University. Continue reading...
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by Dean Burnett on (#2YDK)
The book Melanie’s Marvelous Measles has proven to be an online hit (sort of). This suggests that there is a market for more books like this; books that present dangerous health risks as jolly good fun for children, in defiance of centuries of scientific evidence and any sign of basic rational thoughtPete Etchells: Melanie’s Marvelous Measles: the detrimental power of anti-vaccination rhetoric Continue reading...
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by Pete Etchells on (#2YDM)
A children’s book claiming that measles is good for you and a measles outbreak in Disneyland both highlight the need for clear and accessible information about vaccinesDean Burnett: Terrible books for ruining children’s health Continue reading...
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by Sarah Boseley, health editor on (#2XG5)
Researchers defend Prof Susan Jebb after journal says food companies funded 10 projects in which she was involvedThe government’s leading obesity adviser has strongly denied suggestions from a medical journal that her independence has been compromised by taking funding from the sugar and other food industries for research projects.The British Medical Journal says many public health scientists have links to the sugar industry, including Prof Susan Jebb, chair of the government’s Responsibility Deal food network. Continue reading...
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by Associated Press in Cape Canaveral, Florida on (#2XFZ)
High winds forced Elon Musk’s company to cancel Florida test just hours before sendoff set for deep-space observatory originally conceived by Al Gore Continue reading...
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by Guardian Staff on (#2XG6)
The European Space Agency (ESA) launches an experimental spaceplane from French Guiana on Wednesday. The Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV), which is wingless and roughly the size of a car, will reach an altitude of 450 kilometres before beginning re-entry. It is hoped the craft will pave the way towards Europe's first reusable space transportation systems Continue reading...
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by Press Association on (#2XG7)
Illegal metal-detecting close to 1,900-year-old landmark is wrecking part of UK’s cultural heritage, landowners say Continue reading...
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by Hannah Devlin, science correspondent on (#2XG8)
Many of 97 ‘weight gene’ variants identified work by changing brain’s regulation of appetite, according to research published in Nature
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by Karl Mathiesen on (#2XG9)
Can technical fixes provide a viable solution to climate change or are they a high-risk, irresponsible distraction from the need to cut carbon emissions?In 2010, science writer Eli Kintisch called geoengineering “a bad idea whose time has comeâ€. It is considered by many to be the ultimate admission of our failure to curb carbon emissions – a tech-fix that excuses continued carbon gluttony in the industrialised world.A report released on Tuesday by the US National Academies of Sciences (NAS) said tinkering with the global climate now would be “irrational and irresponsible†and climate change can only be avoided by cutting emissions.Related: Scientists urge global 'wake-up call' to deal with climate change Continue reading...
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by Ijad Madisch on (#2XGA)
The PDF makes reading science research even more difficult and prevents a two-way conversation from taking place Continue reading...
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by Alan Yuhas on (#2XGB)
Entrepreneur Elon Musk’s company calls off launch of DSCOVR satellite with just 12 minutes remaining in countdown due to safety concerns over wind shearSpaceX has called off its planned launch of a deep-space observatory that would have been its latest attempt to land a reusable rocket booster on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean.With just 12 minutes remaining in the countdown at Cape Canaveral in Florida on Tuesday night, wind gusts of 115mph caused a safety concern, officials said. It was SpaceX’s second attempt this week to launch the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) after an earlier attempt on Sunday was cancelled due to weather. The launch must go forward by Wednesday, or face delays until next week.Extreme wind shear over Cape Canaveral. Feels like a sledgehammer when supersonic in the vertical. Hoping it changes …Related: SpaceX Falcon 9: private space company’s floating barge mission fails Continue reading...
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