Science | The Guardian

Re-examination finds what were taken to be veins of leaves are actually bone growth patternsTwo small, oval fossils thought to be prehistoric plants are actually the remains of baby marine turtles, researchers have revealed.The fossils, found in rocks dating to between 132 and 113 million years ago, were discovered in Colombia in the middle of the 20th century by Padre Gustavo Huerta, a priest with a penchant for fossil plants. Continue reading...

African-led trial ended a year early as researchers conclude there is little or no chance' new combination vaccines cut HIV riskThe first trial in Africa of two combination vaccines to prevent HIV has been halted after researchers concluded it was not working.The vaccines (part of the PrEPVacc study) were being tested on 1,500 people aged between 18 and 40 in Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Five IPCC report authors say scientists should be allowed to make policy prescriptions and potentially oversee implementationSenior climate experts are calling for an overhaul of the structure and powers of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in despair at the slow pace of climate action.Five lead authors of IPCC reports told the Guardian that scientists should be given the right to make policy prescriptions and, potentially, to oversee their implementation by the 195 states signed up to the UN framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC). Continue reading...

Ex-PM says he had assumed Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance were briefed and denied UK locked down too late in 2020Boris Johnson has told the Covid inquiry that he assumed Rishi Sunak's eat out to help out" hospitality scheme had been cleared by government scientists and was surprised to learn later that it had not.In evidence that could pose notable difficulties for Sunak when he appears before the inquiry on Monday, Johnson said it would have been normal" for advisers such as Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance to have been briefed, and he had assumed this was the case. Continue reading...

Madeleine Finlay hears from the biodiversity and environment reporter Patrick Greenfield, who is reporting for the Guardian from Cop28 in Dubai. He describes the rollercoaster first week of highs and lows, which included an important agreement on loss and damage and a tetchy press conference from the summit president, Sultan Al Jaber. He also sets out what is still on the table as the second week of negotiations gets under way This episode was amended on 7 December to reflect the fact that Sheikh Ahmed did not want to be interviewed Continue reading...

US researchers say findings may also enable doctors to predict progression of Alzheimer's diseaseUsing a blood test to determine the biological age of a person's organs could help treat them before they get sick, as well as predict the progression of conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, researchers have suggested.A study by academics in the US found people whose organs were ageing faster than the rest of their body had a higher risk of developing diseases in that particular organ within 15 years. Continue reading...

Problems such as back pain, incontinence and depression cause widespread suffering but are underrecognised, global review findsMore than 40 million women a year experience lasting health issues after childbirth, a global review has found, prompting calls for greater recognition of common postnatal problems.The sweeping analysis of maternal health worldwide shows a very high burden of long-term conditions that last for months and even years after giving birth. One in three new mothers worldwide are affected. Continue reading...

Immigration minister quits saying small boats crisis doing untold damage' to the countryHugo Keith KC is questioning Johnson.He asks if Johnson's approach has been to give all relevant material to the inquiry.I understand the feelings of these victims and their families and I am deeply sorry for the pain and the loss and suffering of those victims and their families. Continue reading...

Researchers say dash of water added to beans before they are ground creates more consistent, tastier coffeeThe key to making a perfect espresso has been argued over by generations of coffee snobs. Now a group of scientists say they have the answer and have singled out the secret ingredient - and it comes before the grind even begins.Researchers have discovered that a dash of water added to coffee beans before the grinding process creates a more consistent and tastier espresso, which they say will help baristas and industrial coffee brewers overcome a major hurdle. Continue reading...

Scientists complain after sheer waste' of human embryos discarded despite patients' wishesLeading scientists are calling for a change in the law to help IVF patients donate unused embryos to biomedical research after a collapse in donations over the past 15 years.The increasing commercialisation of IVF, overstretched NHS clinics and cumbersome paperwork are blamed for a 25-fold decrease in the number of donated embryos. Scientists described some patients going to extraordinary lengths" to ensure their embryos could be used for research rather than discarded, with many private clinics failing to routinely offer donation as an option. Continue reading...

Collyweston Palace, home of Henry VII's mother, uncovered despite no money, no expertise, no plans'When a group of amateur archaeologists set out to find the buried remains of a Tudor palace in their Northamptonshire village five years ago, they knew the odds were against them.Many of us were brought up in the village, and you hear about this lost palace, and wonder whether it's a myth or real. So we just wanted to find it," said Chris Close, the chair of the Collyweston Historical and Preservation Society (Chaps) which made the discovery of the Palace of Collyweston in a back garden this year. Continue reading...

Lightroom, Kings Cross, London

The microscopic world hidden within an autumn leaf has won the Royal Society Publishing photography competition 2023. Overall winner Irina Petrova Adamatzky researches the electrical activity of fungi, slime moulds and other micro-organisms, at Unconventional Computing Lab, UWE Bristol.I unintentionally captured this scene while collecting samples of slime moulds in a field near my home in Somerset, noticed them the evening before and had intended to gather samples to measure their electrical activity for our research. However, my attention was diverted by a simple autumn leaf that, although seemingly ordinary, held something intriguing within. I gathered it, along with my samples, and the following day I was amazed to discover what appeared to be another world within the confines of that unassuming leaf' Continue reading...

Experts says findings of dots tests are down to information processing not yet being fully developedBabies really do see the world differently, researchers have found, after revealing that those under six months old do not fall for a visual illusion that can trick older children and adults.Experts say that is because information processing in the tots' brains is not yet fully developed, which means they make different assumptions about what they see. Continue reading...

In a world of chatbots and influencers, Merriam-Webster, Cambridge and Collins are in rare agreementThe moment we've all breathlessly waited for is finally here: dictionaries are announcing their words of the year. Last week, the US's most esteemed lexicon, Merriam-Webster, revealed its choice: authentic".In its announcement, the dictionary said the word had seen a big jump in searches this year, thanks to discussions about AI, celebrity culture, identity, and social media". It makes a lot of sense - the concept of authenticity does, to use another buzzy phrase, sit at the intersection of so much of what's been on our collective minds. Continue reading...

Most of those tested lack nutrients crucial for healthy foetal development as found in abundance in meat and dairy productsMore than 90% of women who are trying for a baby may have marginal or low levels of vitamins that are essential for a healthy pregnancy, according to researchers, who say the problem is likely to worsen as vegetarian diets become more popular.Tests on more than 1,700 women in the UK, New Zealand and Singapore who planned to conceive revealed that most were lacking nutrients found in abundance in meat and dairy products, many of which are crucial for healthy foetal development. Continue reading...

Patients are facing shorter lives as drug companies are demanding prices that health services here and in other countries cannot payCystic fibrosis is a distressing disease, clogging the lungs of children who have to fight to breathe, and shortening lives. Parents - and young adults who also suffer from it - have been on a rollercoaster ride in the last few years. They have been taken to the giddy heights of hope by the invention of drugs that for the first time work on the underlying causes of the illness where previous treatment just alleviated symptoms. And they have been plunged to the depths when those new drugs have been denied thembecauseoftheircost.The drugs that have caused such a stir are made by the US biotech company Vertex. Its groundbreaking Kalydeco drug was licensed in Europe in 2012 and useful at first to only a small percentage of sufferers. Then came Orkambi in 2015 and Symkevi in 2018 - both two-drug combinations. Since 2020, there has been Kaftrio, which is a triple combination. Hopes rose in the UK as the combination drugs were shown to target more genetic mutations and help more people, only to be dashed by the verdict of the cost-effectiveness watchdog body, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). Kaftrio is the latesttobelabelled unaffordable foracash-strappedNHS. Continue reading...

Aristocrat introduced smallpox inoculation to Britain, saving many lives, yet remains largely unknownIt is a monument that celebrates the achievements of someone who would, her supporters say, be far better known if she had been a man.But now a 300-year-old obelisk is being given one of England's highest listings because of the remarkable story it tells of an overlooked medical pioneer. Continue reading...

As the pill becomes available over the counter and free of charge in England, Madeleine Finlay talks to science correspondent Nicola Davis about the problems women in the UK face in getting access to appropriate contraception, and how unwanted side-effects and lack of support have led to a rise in the popularity of fertility awareness-based methods. She also hears from Katie about her own journey trying to find the right contraception for her body Continue reading...

Samples have been taken of huge iceberg known as A23a, which calved off Antarctica 40 years ago and measures 4,000 sq kmAntarctic scientists have been able to get an incredibly lucky" inspection of the world's largest iceberg - about three times the size of New York City - which calved off the icy continent nearly 40 years ago.The huge iceberg, known as A23a, was once attached to an ice shelf in West Antarctica, south of Chile, but separated in 1986. Since then, the iceberg has been stranded in the Weddell Sea, stuck to the ocean floor. Continue reading...

Venting can help us bond, but it can also leave a sour taste in your mouth - where is the line, and why do we love doing it?It's a rush to realize you dislike the same person as someone else. There's a delicate, intoxicating dance: throwing out oblique criticisms and prowling around the edges until one person takes the leap and bravely says: Honestly, they kind of suck."Soaking up the golden rays of your rightness and another's wrongness can feel exhilarating. Then, sometimes, there's a comedown. It hits a little later, or even while you're making a snarky comment: a sour taste in your mouth that makes you wonder if you went too far. Continue reading...

British billionaire alarms investors by stating space tourism company has enough cash to operate on its own'Shares in the space tourism group Virgin Galactic tumbled on Monday after its founder, Sir Richard Branson, ruled out further funding.The British billionaire alarmed investors by stating in an interview that the loss-making business has enough cash to operate on its own", weeks after it announced job cuts and a pause in commercial flights from next year in an effort to save cash. Continue reading...

We need you,' says Scientist Rebellion, which includes authors of IPCC reports on climate breakdown, as diplomats meet for Cop28

Modern medicine makes it seem as if drugs are the only way to deal with diabetes. But what if diet can be a solution?One gray Sunday in the middle of the Covid lockdown, I received an unwelcome call from my family doctor. Until then, for virtually my entire life, I had managed to stay out of a doctor's office, except for routine checkups. My luck had run out.I am sorry to disturb you on a weekend," she said. But your tests just came back and your blood sugar levels are alarming. I am pretty sure you have diabetes." Continue reading...

Scientist proposes framework for reconciling mathematically incompatible theories of quantum mechanics and Einstein's gravityAt the heart of modern physics is a gulf that scientists have spent more than a century trying to bridge. Quantum mechanics gives an apparently flawless description of the forces that dominate at the atomic scale. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity has never been proven wrong in its predictions of how gravity shapes cosmic events. But the two theories are fundamentally incompatible.Now, scientists have proposed a framework that they say could unify these two pillars of physics, through a radical rethink of the nature of spacetime. Instead of time ticking away predictably, under the postquantum theory of classical gravity", the rate at which time flows would wobble randomly, like the ebb and flow of a stream. Continue reading...

The morning star' will be joined by the brightest star of Virgo and a waning moon in both hemispheresThere is a beautiful triple meeting in the dawn sky this week. The brilliant morning star" of Venus is close to Spica, the brightest star of Virgo, the virgin. On the mornings of 8 and 9 December, the already pretty pairing will be joined by a thin waning crescent moon.On 8 December, the moon will be closest to Spica and will have 22% of its visible surface illuminated. A day later, the moon will be closer to Venus and its illuminated portion will have shrunk to just 14%. Continue reading...

Biochemist who transformed the treatment of diabetes and was an expert witness in two high-profile murder trialsVincent Marks, who has died aged 93, was a world expert in insulin and hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar). In 1985, his expert opinion helped to acquit Claus von Bulow of attempted murder, in a case that was dramatised in the film Reversal of Fortune (1990).On 21 December 1980, the American heiress Sunny von Bulow was discovered comatose in her bathroom, and she remained in a persistent vegetative state until her death in 2008. Her husband Claus, a Danish-born lawyer, was tried and found guilty of injecting her with insulin. On appeal in 1985, the defence showed there was no injection and, having scrutinised Sunny's medical notes, Marks said her collapse was likely to have been triggered by alcohol-induced fasting hypoglycaemia. Sunny," he said, was the victim of natural illness and her lifestyle." 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 conceptsWhat is the most unlikely event to have taken place? Eva Tilman, County DurhamSend new questions to nq@theguardian.com. Continue reading...

After being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, I stopped trying to please everyone else. Now I have better relationships and a healthy, joyful lifeI'm a recovering people pleaser. Suppressing and repressing my needs, desires, expectations, feelings and opinions used to be as natural to me as breathing. To me, it was normal to tell people what they wanted to hear (read: lie) to make them feel better. Yes, I'll be there for Christmas. Yes, I'll do that for you. Yes, I can fit that in. And then I'd seethe with resentment and feelings of self-loathing, even as the Good Person in me knew I had ticked off at least some of the requisite qualities - kind, loving, hardworking and eager to help - that people pleasers hold dear.Despite being a Good Person, I felt like, well, shit most of the time. It baffled me that while I devoted so much time, energy, effort and emotion to being a Good Girl, I did not feel good about myself. Which is why I never felt I had the right to say no. Continue reading...

At Quai 9 in Geneva, safe equipment and healthcare have cut overdoses and illnesses among addicts. But around the world, opinion is divided on whether such projects really workIn a lime-green room behind Geneva's main train station, a man is slumped over a chair, the heroin he has just injected taking effect. Around him, a handful of others are in the process of reaching that same state of bliss: administering bands to their arms to produce a vein, unpeeling plastic-clad syringes, exhaling as the needle goes in. Some will return later today - maybe a handful of times - to get their hit at one of the oldest supervised drug consumption rooms in the world, where users can take their own illicit substances without fear of prosecution.A state-provided supply of safe injecting equipment, along with tea, croissants and hot showers, may seem an unusual way to handle a citywide drug epidemic, but Geneva's Quai 9 facility - which turned 20 this year - may well provide a blueprint for Britain. In September, it was announced that the UK's first legal consumption room is to open in Glasgow, a city in a country with higher fatal overdose rates than anywhere in Europe; deaths caused by drug poisoning in Scotland are 2.7 times higher than the UK average. First proposed seven years ago, the site - five minutes from the city centre's main drag, by a Morrison's and a pram shop - will cost 7m to build. Continue reading...

A fascination that began in childhood led to the Apollo 13 star launching his spectacular immersive experience of the moon landings in LondonTom Hanks became obsessed with space travel at almost exactly the moment that he became obsessed with film. Listening to him talk, the two events - their ability to manufacture wonder - remain interchangeable in his mind.The first awakening came when he went to watch Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey. I can tell you the day," he says. It was a Sunday, it was kind of rainy and it was cold. It was the day the Oakland Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs, November of 1968." He'd have been 12 years old. Continue reading...

The former prime minister will come under scrutiny and these are the pressing issuesIt is expected that Johnson will make an apology at the inquiry, conceding that the government was too slow in realising the severity of the virus, and blaming a lack of preparation. Continue reading...

Greener neighborhoods can slow ageing process of human cells but effects of environmental racism can erase any benefitsMany studies have shown that people living in greener neighborhoods have several health benefits, including lower levels of stress and cardiovascular disease. But new research indicates that exposure to parks, trees and other green spaces can slow the rates at which our cells age.The study, published in Science of the Total Environment, found that people who lived in neighborhoods with more green space had longer telomeres, which are associated with longer lives and slower ageing. Continue reading...

New invention, which can be set up at home, promises to transform the way we monitor our health, say scientistsScientists have developed a laser camera that can read a person's heartbeat at a distance and pinpoint signs that they might be suffering from cardiovascular illnesses.The system - which exploits AI and quantum technologies - could transform the way we monitor our health, say researchers at Glasgow University. Continue reading...

Discredited ex-PM faces a demolition job in one of the few policy areas to which he and his allies still clingEven at the height of his popularity, Boris Johnson routinely avoided close questioning - to the extent of once hiding in a fridge to dodge a TV inquisitor. The former UK prime minister is likely to be dreading next week's appearance at the Covid inquiry. And he probably should.It is no exaggeration to say that events on Wednesday and Thursday at the inquiry's repurposed office building in Paddington, west London, could help define the post-power image and legacy of Johnson, and very possibly not for the good. Continue reading...

Dr David Brown says erectile dysfunction drug, subject of a BBC drama, could have been scrapped if a miner hadn't spoken outIt was the ultimate serendipitous discovery: a failed heart medication that became a multibillion-dollar erectile dysfunction drug. But the blockbuster story of Viagra could have ended differently were it not for the frankness of the Welsh miners who took part in a clinical trial just before the drug was due to be scrapped, according to Viagra's co-inventor.Speaking before the screening of Men Up, a new BBC drama, executive produced by Russell T Davies, about the ordinary middle-aged Welsh men who took part in early trials, Dr David Brown said the drug's unexpected side-effect was almost overlooked. Continue reading...

Seoul's satellite was launched into orbit on one of Elon Musk's SpaceX rocketsA SpaceX rocket has launched South Korea's first military spy satellite, intensifying a space race on the peninsula after Pyongyang launched its own first surveillance satellite last week.Seoul's reconnaissance satellite, carried by one of Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, lifted off from the Vandenberg US Space Force Base in California at 10.19am local time on Friday. Continue reading...

Readers respond to a piece about Harvard's Avi Loeb and his explorations into extraterrestrial lifeAvi Loeb's scientific approach, including Times Square billboards, would fit perfectly into a story by Arthur C Clarke (The alien hunter: has Harvard's Avi Loeb found proof of extraterrestrial life?, 29 November). Clarke, who predicted the use of satellites for communication and co-created Stanley Kubrick's 2001:A Space Odyssey, had an affection for quirky scientists who found the money for their interplanetary exploits beyond theconfines of the ivory tower.The unpredictable 2020s have so far provided us with plenty of plot points that we are familiar with from hard science fiction stories by the likes of Clarke or Greg Bear. Wars, artificial intelligence, tensions between power blocs, ultra-rich people investing in immortality while building their own starships - it's all there. In Clarke's 1973 book Rendezvous with Rama, an 'Oumuamua-like object is discovered zipping through the solar system. Humanity is able to send a ship to the interstellar visitor, and first contact is made with an alien spacecraft. The people of Earth in 2023 could use afriendly partner in the universe, as Loeb suggests. Continue reading...

Study finds infants first understand language via rhythm and tone rather than individual soundsA, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P ... How many would read this to that tune?According to scientists from the University of Cambridge, there's more to the earworm than infuriating parents across the English-speaking world - they have found that singsong speech is crucial to helping babies learn language. Continue reading...

Examination of remains in hospital grounds uses DNA analysis and other disciplines to build biographies'Archaeologists at Cambridge University have reconstructed the biographies" of hundreds of the city's ordinary medieval residents by examining their skeletons in detail, using a wealth of scientific data to fill out the life stories of poor or disadvantaged people whose names were never recorded.By examining the bones of more than 400 adults and children who were buried in the grounds of a medieval hospital between AD1200 and 1500, the researchers have built up a detailed picture of the lives, health and even appearance of those who lived and died in Cambridge in the period. Continue reading...

Fact that planet 13 times bigger than Earth is orbiting star nine times smaller than sun shows how little we know about the universe'Astronomers have spotted an overweight" planet that appears to be far too massive for its petite host star.The planet, which is 13 times bigger than Earth, is orbiting a star called LHS 3154, which is nine times smaller than the sun. The planet's heft is unremarkable in its own right, but its pairing with an ultracool dwarf star, the smallest and coldest stars in the universe, has puzzled scientists. Continue reading...

Scientists studying the birds in Antarctica have found they snooze for 11 hours a day without falling deeply asleepSpending your nights sleeping for just four seconds at a time might sound like a form of torture, but not for chinstrap penguins, which fall asleep thousands of times a day, new research finds.Scientists studying the birds on King George Island in Antarctica found they nod off more than 10,000 times a day, allowing them to keep a constant eye on their nests, protecting eggs and chicks from predators. In total, the birds manage 11 hours of snoozing a day - without ever slipping into uninterrupted sleep. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereHancock is now deploying the defence previewed in the Observer on Sunday. (See 9.58am.)He says from the middle of January the DHSC was trying to effectively raise the alarm". He says:We were trying to wake up Whitehall to the scale of the problem and this wasn't a problem that couldn't be addressed only from the health department. Non-pharmaceutical interventions cannot be put in place by a health department. A health department can't shut schools. It should have been grasped and led from the centre of government earlier. And you've seen evidence that repeatedly the department and I tried to make this happen.And we were on occasions blocked, and at other times our concerns were not taken as seriously as they should have been until the very end of February. Continue reading...

From the seemingly inexorable increase in atmospheric CO2 to the rapid growth in green energy, we explore the data as Cop28 beginsThe level of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, has been rising since the Industrial Revolution and is at its highest in about 4m years. The rate of the rise is even more striking, the fastest for 66m years, with scientists saying the world is in uncharted territory". Continue reading...

Four groups claim no legal basis exists for setting up the Federated Data Platform which facilitates information sharingThe NHS has been accused of breaking the law" by creating a massive data platform that will share information about patients.Four organisations are bringing a lawsuit against NHS England claiming that there is no legal basis for its setting up of the Federated Data Platform (FDP). They plan to seek a judicial review of its decision. Continue reading...

Every year the world's leaders gather for the UN climate change conference, and after a year of record temperatures, this year's summit has been called the most vital yet. As Cop28 begins in Dubai, Ian Sample hears from Guardian environment editor and resident Cop expert Fiona Harvey. She explains why this summit proved controversial before it even began, what the main talking points will be, and how countries can still collaborate to meet the goals set out in 2015's Paris agreementClips: BBC, Cop28, SkyKeep up to date with all the Guardian's Cop28 coverage here Continue reading...

UK Biobank offers up biggest ever cache of whole-genome sequences for medical researchA new era of medical discoveries, treatments and cures is on the horizon, researchers say, following the announcement that an unprecedented trove of genetic information is to be made available to scientists.Health researchers from around the world can now apply to study the whole genomes of half a million people enrolled in UK Biobank, a biomedical research project that has compiled detailed health and lifestyle records on individuals since it began 20 years ago. Continue reading...

The resource, which is on the move to Manchester, now ranks as the world's most important health databaseThe origins of the UK Biobank can be traced back to a pilot study in a building in Stockport bordered by the Cheadle Heath police station on one side and the local recreation ground on the other. It was the early 2000s and scientists had realised the potential for genomics and big data to transform health research.With diabetes, cancer, dementia and other ailments on the rise, scientists pushed for a database devoted to genetics, health and lifestyle to help them tease apart who was most at risk and how diseases could be prevented. Continue reading...

People from less privileged background at greater risk of developing condition under age of 65, study findsPeople from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more than three times as likely to experience early-onset dementia, a study has found.The study, published in the Lancet Healthy Longevity journal and conducted by researchers at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China, used UK BioBank data of more than 440,000 participants aged between 37 and 73. Continue reading...

Findings could help explain how planets in our own solar system move around the sunSix planets that orbit their star in a coordinated dance have been discovered by scientists, who say the finding could help shed light on why planets in our own solar system move to their own beat.The newly discovered planets orbit a star that sits about 100 light years away in the constellation Coma Berenices, with a mass about 20% smaller than our Sun. Continue reading...