A space rocket operated by a Chinese private company crashed and exploded into flames near a city on Sunday. It soared straight up into the air before losing power and falling back to earth, hitting nearby forested hills.The first stage of the Tianlong-3 rocket left its launchpad due to a structural failure, said the company Beijing Tianbing, also known as Space Pioneer, in a statement on its official WeChat account
Light from the detonation, which will make the star visible without an aid, has been travelling through space all this timeWe are still waiting for the star T Coronae Borealis (T CrB) to do its thing. First mentioned in April, the star experiences a thermonuclear detonation on its surface roughly every 80 years. This explosion will make the star visible without an aid for the first time since the 1940s.The chart shows the view looking south-south-west from London at about 2300 BST. It marks the location to keep an eye on. When it erupts, T CrB is expected to reach the same brightness as Alphecca, the brightest star in the constellation of Corona Borealis, the northern crown. Continue reading...
Company Space Pioneer says first stage of its Tianlong-3 launched during test after structural failure' and crashed in hills near city of GongyiThe space rocket of a Chinese private company crashed and exploded into flames near a city on Sunday, after it accidentally launched during a test.The first stage of the Tianlong-3 rocket left its launch pad due to a structural failure at the connection between the rocket and the test stand, said company Beijing Tianbing, also known as Space Pioneer, in a statement on its official WeChat account. The rocket landed in a hilly area of the city of Gongyi in central China, it said. Continue reading...
Moss that grows in Mojave desert and Antarctica may help establish life on the red planet, researchers sayWhile Matt Damon relied on potatoes cultivated in crew biowaste to survive in the hit film The Martian, researchers say it is a humble desert moss that might prove pivotal to establishing life on Mars.Scientists in China say they have found Syntrichia caninervis - a moss found in regions including Antarctica and the Mojave desert - is able to withstand Mars-like conditions, including drought, high levels of radiation and extreme cold. Continue reading...
The long-running series in which readers answer other readers' questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsMy 13-year-old daughter just came to me and said: I have a much longer tongue than my friends. Does that mean I have more taste buds?" I don't know who else to ask; can the readers help? David Wynne, West SussexPost your answers (and new questions) below or send them to nq@theguardian.com. A selection will be published next Sunday. Continue reading...
It felt selfish, but at home I couldn't finish a thought without being interrupted by my kids - so I packed my bags and headed to the coastAs the windscreen wipers cut back and forth, and my house disappeared in the rear-view mirror, I wondered if I was going to cry. I tried reminding myself that I was on my way to do something lovely: I'd booked a three-night stay at a hotel in Devon to work on my novel: my first ever solo writing retreat.I was driving away from a world of chaos, leaving my seven-year-old weeping at the front door, my nine-year-old worrying about a science project, my mother-in-law unexpectedly in hospital, and my husband juggling it all. Continue reading...
In 1974, the fossilised bones of Lucy, a 3.2 million-year-old hominin, were discovered in Ethiopia. How has this remarkable skeleton disproved Darwinian theory - and what links her to the Beatles?On 24 November 1974, the US anthropologist Donald Johanson was scrabbling through a ravine at Hadar in the Afar region of Ethiopia with his research student, Tom Gray. The pair were looking for fossilised animal bones in the surrounding silt and ash when Johanson spotted a tiny fragment of arm bone - and realised it belonged to a human-like creature.We looked up the slope," Johanson later recalled. There, incredibly, lay a multitude of bone fragments - a nearly complete lower jaw, a thighbone, ribs, vertebrae, and more! Tom and I yelled, hugged each other, and danced, mad as any Englishman in the midday sun!" Continue reading...
Book says one of Australia's most eminent scientists promoted discussion of eugenics in the 1960s and 70s, but not that he supported racist ideas - and researchers praise his thorough commitment to reconciliation and racial justice
The organisation responsible for monitoring digital falsehoods is reportedly being wound down after pressure from Republicans and conspiracy theoristsFor most of us, the word medium" means a channel or system of communication, information, or entertainment". For a biologist, though, the term means something rather different: the nutrient solution in which cells or organs are grown". But there are times when the two conceptions fuse, and we're living in one such time now.How come? All developed societies have a media ecosystem, the information environment in which they exist. Until comparatively recently that ecosystem was dominated by print technology. Then, in the mid-20th century, broadcast (few-to-many) technology arrived, first as radio and later as television, which, from the 1950s to the 1990s, was the dominant communication medium of the age. And then came the internet and the technologies it has spawned, of which the dominant one is the world wide web. Continue reading...
Celebrities have spoken up about their experiences - and Silicon Valley types learned ovaries may hold the key to long lifeIf you had asked 20-year-old me to explain what perimenopause" was, I would have stared at you blankly. Honestly, I would have struggled to even tell you much about menopause. It was never a mainstream topic of conversation and studies have found most women were never educated about it. Indeed, I'm pretty sure I learned far more at school about Henry VIII's wives than what I could expect from my own body as I got older. Continue reading...
Love Islanders have it, daters want it and TikTok influencers will teach you how to get it - but rizz (a close cousin of charisma) is hard to fabricateAt the end of 2023, the Oxford University Press chose rizz" as its word of the year. Rizz, which topped a shortlist that included Swiftie", parasocial" and situationship", is defined by the OUP as a noun denoting style, charm, or attractiveness; the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner". It can also be used as a verb, often linked with the word up", as in to rizz up".Etymologically, rizz is said to be derived from charisma, although the person directly credited with popularising rizz - the American YouTuber Kai Cenat - has said that, as far as he knows, it is not. Continue reading...
Next government urged to lower upfront visa costs that are 17 times higher than international averageTop international researchers cannot afford to take jobs in the UK because of a tax on talent" that makes it impossible for them to afford the upfront costs, the head of the Wellcome Trust has warned.Dr John-Arne Rottingen, who has led the biomedical research charity since January, said some of the best researchers offered posts in the UK would have to turn them down because they faced having to pay tens of thousands" in visa fees and surcharges. Continue reading...
by Hosted by Savannah Ayoade-Greaves; written by Char on (#6NW1Y)
Charlotte Edwardes interviews the Labour leader as he closes in on power, but who exactly is the man who wants to run Britain? Plus the extraordinary story of the woman who stepped in as a surrogate for her daughter's baby, and Sam Pyrah examines the latest scientific understanding about why we dream what we do Continue reading...
Lacklustre Euro 2024 performances may prompt faddish quick fixes but the real key to success may lie in replacing fear with the fun players felt as 10-year-oldsSporting success isn't down to pickle juice, according to a leading sports psychologist. The secret isn't to be found in the inflatable unicorns England's players famously mounted to recuperate in the pool. Or the 3,400 electric bikes they pedalled to boost their post-match recovery. It's not even about the manager.Instead, what I'm going to say will horrify you," said Michael Caulfield, who has worked in professional sport for more than 25 years. Football is - or should be - only about joy."Take your mind away from the consequences of your action and focus on the action. Anxiety, fear, stress are projections of the future: concentrate on the present.Learn how to change your perceived reality. Premier League footballers learn to shut out fans if they feel oppressed by them. This could help people who don't like public speaking, for example, who can see their audience as more intimidating than they may actually be.Find a ritual to recover from disappointment that creates positivity.Learn from those you admire. Stay close to them and be forgiving of their mistakes and failures.Don't have top tips, said Caulfield, because by tomorrow someone else will have come up with five other tips and you'll be completely confused". A good grandparent is better than any tip," he said. Turn to grey hair because the chances are they've been through a bit. They're not right or wrong but they'll ask the right questions and help you sort things out." Continue reading...
by Kat Lay, Global health correspondent on (#6NVFM)
Leaked documents from Philip Morris reveal secret' strategy to market its heated tobacco product IQOSThe tobacco company Philip Morris International has been accused of manipulating science for profit" through funding research and advocacy work with scientists.Campaigners say that leaked documents from PMI and its Japanese affiliate also reveal plans to target politicians, doctors and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as part of the multinational's marketing strategy to attract non-smokers to its heated tobacco product, IQOS. Continue reading...
Viral video of Prince William prompts experts to laud benefits of men communicating their hormones', from lifting mood to boosting trustIn his early 20s, Prince William was often seen stumbling out of night clubs after a night of grooving. Now, however, as though a clock has struck 12, this youthful cavorting appears to have transformed into something altogether more cringeworthy: dad dancing.In a viral video captured at a Taylor Swift concert, the heir to the throne was filmed with his arms aloft, chest shimmying swiftly - and somewhat stiffly - to the beat. Continue reading...
The six US astronauts aboard International Space Station rush to their spacecrafts in case of emergency departureA defunct Russian satellite has broken up into nearly 200 pieces of debris in orbit, forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter for about an hour and adding to the mass of space junk already in orbit, US space agencies said.There were no immediate details on what caused the breakup of the Resurs-P1 Russian Earth observation satellite, which Russia declared dead in 2022. Continue reading...
Early onset ischaemic stroke more likely to affect adolescents with low cognitive function, study findsTeenagers with lower levels of mental ability may be three times more likely to experience a stroke before the age of 50, research suggests.The association held true even after accounting for a range of factors, prompting experts to say more comprehensive assessments beyond traditional stroke risk factors were now needed to ward off disability and death. Continue reading...
Higher incidence of damage to hips, jaws and thumbs reveals their writing efforts may have taken a tollFrom bad backs to eye strain, office work can take its toll on the body.But it seems such perils are nothing new: researchers have found Egyptian scribes experienced damage to their hips, jaws and thumbs as a result of their efforts. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#6NTNB)
Study shows population on Arctic island was stable until sudden demise, countering theory of genomic meltdown'The last woolly mammoths on Earth took their final stand on a remote Arctic island about 4,000 years ago, but the question of what sealed their fate has remained a mystery. Now a genetic analysis suggests that a freak event such as an extreme storm or a plague was to blame.The findings counter a previous theory that harmful genetic mutations caused by inbreeding led to a genomic meltdown" in the isolated population. The latest analysis confirms that although the group had low genetic diversity, a stable population of a few hundred mammoths had occupied the island for thousands of years before suddenly vanishing. Continue reading...
by Presented and produced by Madeleine Finlay, sound on (#6NT9V)
Psychologists usually expect ambivalence to be a driver of political apathy. But a new study appears to show a link between ambivalence in our views and the likelihood that we'll support extremist actions. Madeleine Finlay speaks to the study's co-author Richard Petty, professor of psychology at Ohio State University, to find out what pushes people to take extreme actions, how politics could be driving this behaviour and how it could be combated Continue reading...
UPFs should also be heavily taxed due to impact on health and mortality, says scientist who coined termUltra-processed foods (UPFs) are displacing healthy diets all over the world" despite growing evidence of the risks they pose and should be sold with tobacco-style warnings, according to the nutritional scientist who first coined the term.Prof Carlos Monteiro of the University of Sao Paulo will highlight the increasing danger UPFs present to children and adults at the International Congress on Obesity this week. Continue reading...
Researchers say in most cases condition is mild but it can increase risk of heart attacks and strokesOne in four healthy people aged 60 and over in the UK have undiagnosed heart valve disease, research suggests.The conditions develops when one or more of the heart valves do not work properly. The main problems are caused by the valves either not opening fully or not closing correctly. Continue reading...
Skull anatomy shows the boy or girl would have been severely disabled, yet survived until the age of sixA Neanderthal child with Down's syndrome survived until at least the age of six, according to a new study whose findings hint at compassionate caregiving among the extinct, archaic human species.Recent examination of a human fossil unearthed at the Cova Negra archaeological site in the Spanish province of Valencia found traits in the inner-ear anatomy which indicated Down syndrome, in the earliest-known evidence of the genetic condition. Continue reading...
Argument about a lemon- or orange-shaped planet highlights importance of international competition in science, curator saysIt was a row that split scientists, launched globe-trotting expeditions and for one man, ended in murder: was the Earth shaped like an orange or a lemon?The 18th-century debate - and the endeavours that settled it -can now be relived by visitors to this year's Royal Society summer science exhibition, in a display called Figuring the Earth". Continue reading...
Analysis of 400,000 healthy adults finds no health benefits from taking daily multivitaminsTaking a daily multivitamin does not help people to live any longer and may actually increase the risk of an early death, a major study has found.Researchers in the US analysed health records from nearly 400,000 adults with no major long-term diseases to see whether daily multivitamins reduced their risk of death over the next two decades. Continue reading...
Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams have spent better part of month in ISS as engineers work out problemBoeing's public relations crisis is now out of this world: the company's Starliner spacecraft - with two astronauts onboard - are currently stuck in space.After what started as an eight-day mission, US astronauts Sunita Suni" Williams and Barry Butch" Wilmore have now spent the better part of a month in the International Space Station as engineers work out the problems with Starliner. Continue reading...
Tectonic movement creates most basins and ridges, but study finds deep mantle temperatures also have a roleThe constant movement of Earth's tectonic plates reshapes our planet on a daily basis, but deep mantle processes also play a role, recent research shows.Many of Earth's most significant features sit on plate boundaries: mountain ranges such as the Himalayas appear where continental plates collide; volcanoes and ocean trenches like those around the Pacific Ocean occur where ocean plates dive beneath continental ones. But our planet also has many surface features that sit far from tectonic plate boundaries and cannot be explained so easily. Continue reading...
by Kat Lay, Global health correspondent on (#6NSDZ)
Alarm over high mortality and miscarriage rates as mutated virus spreads in eastern Democratic Republic of the CongoA dangerous strain of mpox that is killing children and causing miscarriages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most transmissible yet and could spread internationally, scientists have warned.The virus appears to be spreading from person to person via both sexual and non-sexual contact, in places ranging from brothels to schools. Continue reading...
UK researchers say study shows stopping use of the drugs is possible at scale without costly therapyAlmost half of long-term antidepressant users could stop taking the medication with GP support and access to internet or telephone helplines, a study suggests.Scientists said more than 40% of people involved in the research who were well and not at risk of relapse managed to come off the drugs with advice from their doctors. Continue reading...
Two-page letter written by physicist and fellow scientist, for sale at Christie's, urged US government to invest in researchA two-page letter written by Albert Einstein warning Franklin D Roosevelt - then the president of the US - that Nazi Germany might harness nuclear research to invent an atomic bomb is going up for sale at Christie's auctioneers in September with an estimate value of $4m.Einstein's letter - one of two the theoretical physicist drafted in a cabin on the north shore of New York's Long Island with a fellow scientist, Leo Szilard - warned that the German government was actively supporting nuclear research and could make extremely powerful bombs" like the kind that were eventually deployed by the US at the end of the second world war. Continue reading...
Money is emotional. Financial therapists can help make sense of these feelings, from budget plans to money scriptsNot many people seem to feel happy about their financial lives right now. In the US, 63% of Americans cited money as a significant stressor" in their lives, according to the American Psychological Association's 2023 Stress in America report. Among those aged 18 to 34, that number went up to 82%. In the UK, a November 2023 poll found that a third of adults had felt anxious in the past month because of their personal financial situation, and 9% reported feeling hopeless".cdxnmghThere are concrete reasons for this anxiety. In the US, high inflation has given consumers a grim outlook on the economy, and a cost of living crisis has seized the UK. Continue reading...
Study identifies 16,825 sites around the world where prioritising conservation would prevent extinction of thousands of unique speciesProtecting just 1.2% of the Earth's surface for nature would be enough to prevent the extinction of the world's most threatened species, according to a new study.Analysis published in the journal Frontiers in Science has found that the targeted expansion of protected areas on land would be enough to prevent the loss of thousands of the mammals, birds, amphibians and plants that are closest to disappearing. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#6NRNX)
Small increase in temperature of intruding water could lead to very big increase in loss of ice, scientists sayA newly identified tipping point for the loss of ice sheets in Antarctica and elsewhere could mean future sea level rise is significantly higher than current projections.A new study has examined how warming seawater intrudes between coastal ice sheets and the ground they rest on. The warm water melts cavities in the ice, allowing more water to flow in, expanding the cavities further in a feedback loop. This water then lubricates the collapse of ice into the ocean, pushing up sea levels. Continue reading...
On Tuesday, China's Chang'e-6 lunar mission achieved a milestone as its re-entry capsule successfully landed in Inner Mongolia, retrieving the first samples from the moon's far side. The capsule made its touchdown at 2.06 pm Beijing time, bringing back lunar soil that the probe had gathered earlier this month. The soil was collected from the South Pole-Aitken Basin, an impact crater that is 8 miles deep
Re-entry capsule containing precious cargo from mission has parachuted into Inner MongoliaChina has become the first country to gather samples from the far side of the moon and bring them back to Earth in a landmark achievement for the Beijing space programme.A re-entry capsule containing the precious cargo parachuted into a landing zone in the rural Siziwang Banner region of Inner Mongolia on Tuesday after being released into Earth's orbit by the uncrewed Chang'e-6 probe. Continue reading...
Artefacts including a roundhouse and a clay furnace - only the second ever found - have been discovered at Trelai ParkAt first sight, it does not feel like the sort of spot where you may happen upon extraordinary insights into the daily lives of the people who inhabited bronze age Britain.But in the corner of a sports field in Cardiff, archaeologists and volunteers are uncovering a trove of artefacts on the site of two roundhouses that give clues into how people lived and worked there 3,500 years ago. Continue reading...
by Presented by Madeleine Finlay; produced by Madelei on (#6NRGV)
Anyone who has had a urinary tract infection knows how agonising they can be. Some infections go away on their own, but many need antibiotics.Beneath the surface of this very common infection lie many mysteries, unanswered questions, and unnecessary suffering. And it gets to the heart of the challenge of tackling antimicrobial resistance.Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Jennifer Rohn, head of the centre for urological biology at University College London, about what we now understand about how UTIs take hold, and the complexity surrounding their treatmentFor more information about chronic UTI, visit the CUTIC website. Continue reading...
People who feel chronically lonely over long period of time at higher risk, finds first study of its kindLoneliness may increase the risk of stroke by as much as 56%, according to research that experts say explains why the issue poses a major health threat worldwide.The World Health Organization (WHO) has said loneliness is among the most significant global health concerns, affecting every facet of health, wellbeing and development. The US surgeon general has warned that its mortality effects are equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Continue reading...
The answers to today's puzzlesEarlier today I set you three symmetry puzzles. Here they are again with solutions.The most entertaining way to solve these problems is to cut the pieces out of paper and do the rearranging by hand. However, a generous reader made an interactive version available here. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#6NR14)
71% of patients found to experience a relapse compared with 43% who received the pills twice a weekSlow-release ketamine pills have been found to prevent relapse into depression, in a trial that could pave the way for a new treatment option for patients with severe illness.Ketamine is already used as a treatment for depression when conventional antidepressant drugs and therapy have failed. But ketamine is currently only administered intravenously, which requires supervision in a clinic, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence ruled that a ketamine-like nasal spray should not be available on the NHS. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#6NQW8)
Oran Knowlson, who could suffer hundreds of seizures a day, had neurostimulator fitted at Great Ormond StreetA UK teenager with severe epilepsy has become the first person in the world to be fitted with a brain implant aimed at bringing seizures under control.Oran Knowlson's neurostimulator sits under the skull and sends electrical signals deep into the brain, reducing his daytime seizures by 80%. Continue reading...
An L-of a problemUPDATE: Read the answers hereToday's puzzles are of a piece. Two, three, and five pieces, to be exact.In each problem you are presented with a set of non-symmetrical shapes. The challenge is to rearrange them without overlaps so the combined shape has a line of symmetry. Continue reading...
Planet's yellow disc can be seen near the boundary of Pisces and Aquarius in two-day conjunctionThe moon heads for Saturn this week. The yellow disc of the sixth planet in the solar system can be found near the boundary of Pisces, the fish, and Aquarius, the water bearer, in the early hours of the morning.The chart shows the view looking south-east from London at 03.00 BST on 27 June. Continue reading...
The long-running series in which readers answer other readers' questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsWhy is it easier for me to remember that I've forgotten something than to remember the thing I've forgotten? John Gray, YorkSend new questions to nq@theguardian.com. Continue reading...
Genetically speaking, we are more microbe than human and, whether on our skin or up our nose, they are essential to our health. Here are simple ways to keep yours thrivingWe feel a strange sense of responsibility, in these microbiome-aware times, towards the bacteria, yeasts, fungi, viruses and protozoa living in and on us. While we can't see our tiny brethren, research has revealed their fundamental role in keeping us healthy and happy. Genetically speaking, we are more microbe than human. Even if we only count the microbes that live on our skin, says Adam Friedman, a professor of dermatology at George Washington University's School of Medicine and Health Sciences, We have more bacterial genes than we do human genes. Together, we are a superorganism."It is nigh on catastrophic, then, that so many typical 21st-century western behaviours - poor diet, obsessing over hygiene, sedentary jobs - are bad for our microbes. But at least now that we know, we can act. We are nothing without our bugs, so here is how to nurture them. Continue reading...
Insects from the famous Royal Navy flagship are helping experts plot the genome of the notorious timber pestThe oak timbers of HMS Victory have played an unexpected role in ensuring a scientific research triumph for Great Britain. A deathwatch beetle - taken from an infected beam on Nelson's great warship - has been used to create the first fully sequenced genome of the species.The project, carried out by scientists at the Sanger Institute and Oxford University and by National Museum of the Royal Navy conservationists, has made a key breakthrough, say researchers. Continue reading...