A recent study shows the benefit of being a middle-aged weekend warrior' who only exercises once or twice a weekIn these bleak times, glimmers of hope often seem to come out of the pages of scientific research. Take what we know about exercise. Just in the past few months, we've learned that moderate exercise may almost halve the risk of postpartum depression for new mothers, and that even five minutes of exercise a day could help lower blood pressure.But what really caught my eye recently was a study from Latin America that included roughly 10,000 people who were assessed over two decades using the Mexico City prospective study. The research, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, examined cognitive function with the aim of understanding the impact of exercise on mental ability, including mild dementia. The researchers took account of confounding variables such as age, diet, smoking and alcohol intake, nightly sleep and educational attainment, which have all been shown to affect overall health and wellbeing. By controlling for these factors, the contribution of physical activity towards mild cognitive impairment was estimated.Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, and the author of How Not to Die (Too Soon) Continue reading...

Three, two, one...UPDATE: read the solutions hereToday, we're down with the digits. Here are three elegant number puzzles, each nudging your brain to think creatively in different ways.1. Well balanced Continue reading...

Comprising 10-11 stars in the constellation of Coma Berenices, with a little effort, it is visible to the naked eyeThis week, we will track down an often overlooked naked eye star cluster; the Coma star cluster, which can be found in the constellation of Coma Berenices, Queen Berenice's hair. It is not as well known as the Pleiades in Taurus, the bull, but nevertheless gives a distinct sense of satisfaction when identified.While the Pleiades are almost immediately recognisable, it takes a little more effort to track down Coma. The chart shows the view looking south from London on 14 April 2025 at 10pm BST, although the view will remain essentially the same all week. Continue reading...

My father, Nick Heather, who has died aged 86, was a clinical psychologist with an international reputation in alcohol and addiction research, and published more than 500 articles and more than 20 books. He was tireless and uncompromising in his efforts to advance the understanding and treatment of alcohol problems, especially in challenging the disease model of addiction.Perhaps his most significant contribution was pioneering brief interventions" (short counselling sessions), now a key component of efforts used by medical professionals to reduce alcohol problems worldwide. He conducted the first randomised controlled trial, in 1985, and continued to advance their theoretical understanding and practical application for many years. Continue reading...

Annual celestial display is visible for several days in April as the Earth passes through debris left by comet C/1861 G1With the Lyrid meteor shower expected to light up the skies this month, we reveal how to get the best view and what to look for. Continue reading...

Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin rocket blasts off on Monday, with his fiancee, Katy Perry and three others on board. But is it more than just a stunt?Jeff Bezos is blasting his bride-to-be Lauren Sanchez and her guests" to space on Monday - a plan that might, under other circumstances, contain mixed messages.A crew of six women - Amanda Nguyen, a civil rights activist who will become the first Vietnamese woman to fly to space; the CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King; the pop star Katy Perry; film producer Kerianne Flynn; entrepreneur and former Nasa rocket scientist Aisha Bowe; and Sanchez, a journalist and philanthropist - will blast off on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket from the company's launch site, 30 miles north of Van Horn, Texas, on an 11-minute, suborbital flight to the edge of space and back. Continue reading...

Almost as amazing as the knowledge we have gained in the past four decades is the fact that some people continue to deny the damage we are doing to our worldEarlier this year Ireceived an email from a reader asking background questions about an article I had written more than four decades ago. Given the time gap, my recollection was hazy. To be honest, it was almost non-existent. So Iwas intrigued - and then astonished when I read the feature.I had written about the British glaciologist John Mercer, author of a 1978 Nature paper in which he warned that continuing increases in fossil fuel consumption would cause amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide to soar. Global temperatures could rise by 2C by the mid-21st century, causing major ice loss at the poles and threatening a 5-metre rise in sea levels, he warned. Continue reading...

It's deeply human to seek approval and recognition from a parent, even when we are fully grownThe question I'm a man in my late 50s. My parents were teenagers when I was born. They married so I wouldn't be illegitimate, it was the 1960s. My parents divorced. My mum and stepdad moved up north, my father remarried and stayed down south.My father and his wife have three children, now in their 40s. My stepdad killed himself when I was in my early 20s, but I've come to realise he was much more of a parent to me than my actual father. Continue reading...

A podcast claims to show that autistic children with limited speech may be able to communicate via telepathy. What does the science say about the idea?

Researchers behind test using biomarkers say it could revolutionise' early diagnosis of diseaseResearchers have developed a simple and cost-effective" blood test capable of detecting Parkinson's disease long before symptoms emerge, according to a study.About 153,000 people live with Parkinson's in the UK, and scientists who undertook the research said the test could revolutionise" an early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, paving the way for timely interventions and improved patient outcomes". Continue reading...

A neuroscientist decided to study the addiction-like obsession of limerence, while overcoming it himselfI never really gave much thought to the nature of love until it became a problem.Throughout adolescence I suffered through a series of intense, mostly unrequited crushes, but just assumed this was the exquisite agony of desire that poets and lyricists work so hard to capture in words. Continue reading...

Contact from the Observer prompts withdrawal as dealers urged to do more to stop illicit trade in antiquitiesA London antiquities dealer has withdrawn an ancient Greek amphora from sale after evidence arose that links it to a notorious smuggler.The Kallos Gallery in Mayfair, London, has removed a black-figure amphora - a jar with two handles and a narrow neck made around 550BC - from sale after the Observer contacted it about concerns raised by an expert in the illegal trade of antiquities. Continue reading...

Study into medication known as King Kong' of weight loss drugs throws fresh light on effects of longer-term usePeople who use the drug Mounjaro are able to sustain weight loss for three years, data from a trial suggests.Mounjaro, nicknamed the King Kong" of weight loss drugs, contains tirzepatide and is self-administered in once-a-week injections. Continue reading...

More than 40% of pesticides discovered in dust linked to toxic effects including cancer and hormone disruptionAlmost 200 pesticides have been found by a study examining dust in homes around Europe, as scientists say regulators need to take toxic cocktails" of chemicals into account when banning or restricting the use of pesticides.Scientists say their research supports the idea that regulators should assess the risks posed by pesticides when they react with other chemicals, as well as individually. They say this should apply to substances already in use, as well as those yet to be approved. Continue reading...

Eat-Lancet report recommended shift to more plant-based, climate-friendly diet but was extensively attacked onlineA leaked document shows that vested interests may have been behind a mud-slinging" PR campaign to discredit a landmark environment study, according to an investigation.The Eat-Lancet Commission study, published in 2019, set out to answer the question: how can we feed the world's growing population without causing catastrophic climate breakdown? Continue reading...

U-turn by medicines watchdog means about 3,000 women with advanced forms of disease could benefit each yearThousands of women with advanced breast cancer in England and Wales are to be offered a gamechanging" twice-a-day pill on the NHS after a U-turn by the medicines watchdog.Experts hailed the decision as a landmark moment". As many as 3,000 women every year could benefit from capivasertib for hormone receptor (HR)-positive HER2-negative breast cancer that has certain genetic mutations and has spread. Continue reading...

Fossil found off Taiwan coast adds to picture of enigmatic human species having a prominent jaw with huge teethAn ancient jawbone dredged from the Taiwanese seabed has revealed new insights into the appearance and sweeping geographic range of an enigmatic human species called the Denisovans.The fossil was discovered by fishers trawling the Penghu Channel off Taiwan and is thought to be the most complete fossil that has been genetically identified as Denisovan. The male individual, who lived at least 10,000 years ago, had a strong jaw and very large, powerful molars. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Racial disparities highlighted as researchers estimate 10 million women have conditions such as fibroids or endometriosisMore than a quarter of women in England are living with a serious reproductive health issue, according to the largest survey of its kind, and experts say systemic, operational, structural and cultural issues" prevent women from accessing care.The survey of 60,000 women across England in 2023, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and analysed by academics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, found that 28% of respondents were living with a reproductive morbidity, such as pelvic organ prolapse, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, or cervical, uterine, ovarian or breast cancer. Continue reading...

Have you spotted the comet? Share your pictures and tell us about your sightingsA new, bright green comet, officially designated Comet C/2025 F2 (SWAN), has been discovered by an amateur astronomer. It was spotted by Michael Mattiazo using imagery from SWAN, an instrument on the European Space Agency's SOHO spacecraft, in late March. It is now visible from the UK and elsewhere and will remain so until around 14 April.Have you spotted the comet? You can share photos and tell us about your sightings below. Continue reading...

The pups are cute - and great for PR - but they're modified grey wolves. The real work is being done with their red cousinsI've been waiting for this. Ever since researchers almost brought a wild goat species back from extinction in 2003, it was only a matter of time until someone came forward and said they had successfully de-extincted" a species. Now, it has happened.This week, American biotech company Colossal Biosciences announced it had resurrected the dire wolf, an animal that went extinct at the end of the last ice age. Colossal released a video that invited viewers to experience the first dire wolf howls heard in over 10,000 years".Helen Pilcher is a science writer and the author of Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-Extinction and Life Changing: How Humans are Altering Life on Earth Continue reading...

Switzerland is leading the world in purifying its water of micropollutants, a concoction of chemicals often found in bodies of water that look crystal clear. They include common medicines like antidepressants and antihistamines, but have unknown and potentially damaging consequences for human and ecosystem health.

Researchers say relatively simple, inexpensive' means of assessing genetic risk offers hope of better screeningAn at-home spit test appears to perform better at predicting prostate cancer risk than the current frontline test, a study suggests.The test assesses 130 genetic variants to provide a risk score for prostate cancer, which is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in men in the UK. Continue reading...

Nasa cuts contract that convened USGCRP, which released assessments impacting environmental decision-makingThe White House is ending funding for the body that produces the federal government's pre-eminent climate report, which summarizes the impacts of rising global temperatures on the United States.Every four years, the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is required by Congress to release a new national climate assessment to ensure leaders understand the drivers of - and threats posed by - global warming. It is the most comprehensive, far-reaching and up-to-date analysis of the climate crisis, playing a key role in local and national decision making about agriculture, energy production, and land and water use. Continue reading...

The 3D map of a cubic millimetre of mouse brain reveals half a billion synapses and 5.4km of neuronal wiringThe most comprehensive circuit diagram of neurons in a mammalian brain has been created by scientists, providing groundbreaking insights into the mystery of how the brain works.The map is of a speck of a mouse's visual cortex, smaller than a grain of sand, and traces the structure of 84,000 neurons linked by half a billion synapses and approximately 5.4km of neuronal wiring. The 3D reconstruction of the cubic millimetre of brain is helping uncover how the brain is organised and how different cell types work together, and could have implications for the understanding of intelligence, consciousness and neuronal conditions such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, autism and schizophrenia. Continue reading...

As fears of a global recession continue in the wake of Donald Trump's tariffs, Keir Starmer insists the UK should keep a cool head. But with markets in turmoil and a looming economic crisis, does the prime minister need to be bolder? John Harris asks the Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff.Plus, he speaks to Daisy Cooper, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, about whether people should buy British' to combat the tariffs.--Listen to John discuss how music helped him connect with his autistic son on the Today in Focus podcast here: https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2025/apr/04/how-the-beatles-helped-my-autistic-son-find-his-voice-podcast-- Continue reading...

Billionaire Jared Isaacman has funded his own journeys into space and insists he would not abandon moon missionsThe next Nasa leader will prioritize sending American astronauts to Mars if he is confirmed, a Senate panel heard on Wednesday.But the billionaire Jared Isaacman, an entrepreneur who has privately funded his own journeys into space, insisted he would not abandon current plans to land humans back on the moon in 2027, despite placing greater emphasis on missions to the red planet. Continue reading...

World Cancer Research Fund goes further than UK and WHO advice on alcohol after review of evidenceWomen should avoid alcohol altogether to reduce their risk of breast cancer, a charity has warned.The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has published a review of evidence on how diet and lifestyle factors can play a role in the development of the disease. Continue reading...

If we stay on this administration's course, future life-saving medicines may never be inventedLike many scientists, I came to the US as a young adult, driven by idealism and ambition. I arrived with all my belongings contained in two suitcases, and just enough cash to cover the first month's rent on a small apartment. But I also had something of greater value: an offer to work and train in one of America's top biomedical research laboratories, a chance to participate in the revolution that is modern biological science.In the years that followed, I became an American scientist and raised an American family. Now, I lead a laboratory in one of the US's great universities. I am a member of America's National Academy of Sciences. From a scientist's perspective, I have lived the American dream.Paul Darren Bieniasz is a British-American virologist whose main area of research is HIV/Aids. He is currently a professor of retrovirology at the Rockefeller University Continue reading...

Trump administration's dismantling of institutions under guise of efficiency' will lead to a grim future for AmericansMass layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) portend a future with more infectious disease outbreaks, chronic conditions, and a widening gulf in health between the most affluent and vulnerable, experts told the Guardian.Further, they said, the Trump administration's multipronged attacks on American science represent a generation-defining experience, a new chapter in the boom and bust" cycle of health funding, and a masterclass in branding, as Donald Trump and the secretary of health and human services, Robert F Kennedy Jr, dismantle institutions in the name of improving them. Continue reading...

Alessandro Coatti described by former colleagues at Royal Society of Biology as passionate and dedicated'Tributes have been paid to a passionate and dedicated" scientist after parts of his dismembered body were found in a suitcase in Colombia.Alessandro Coatti, who worked at the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) in London, was discovered on the outskirts of Santa Marta, a port city on the Caribbean coast. The 42-year-old molecular biologist was travelling and conducting research in South America after working in London for eight years. Continue reading...

Blue Skies Space - commissioned by Italian Space Agency - hopes faint signals from dawn of universe could be detected from far side of moonA British space company is designing a fleet of satellites that could orbit the moon and map the early universe.The Italian Space Agency has commissioned Blue Skies Space to design the satellites that could detect faint radio signals from the dawn of the universe. These signals are almost impossible to detect from Earth's surface due to human-made radio interference, but the far side of the moon is shielded from this noise. Continue reading...

Pouring water slowly, steadily and from height is key to achieving avalanche' mixing effectForget expensive beans and pricey filters - if you want a stronger cup of pour-over coffee, just add water slowly, steadily and from a height, researchers say.While there are myriad ways to make coffee - from moka pots to cafetieres and barista-style machines - pour-over coffee is an everyday staple for many. Now scientists say they have discovered how to make a stronger cup using the same quantity of ground coffee. Continue reading...

The UK is known for its national parks: areas of outstanding natural beauty with rolling hills and crystal-clear streams and lakes. But research has shown that England's most protected rivers are full of pharmaceuticals.In episode one of a two-part series, biodiversity reporter Phoebe Weston tells Madeleine Finlay about the problem of chemical pollution in our waterways, and how it could be contributing to what the World Health Organization has described as the silent pandemic' - antimicrobial resistance.Rivers you think are pristine are not': how drug pollution flooded the UK's waterways - and put human health at riskSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

California Institute of Integral Studies, located in San Francisco, will welcome its first undergrad class this AugustThe home of the Summer of Love will soon house the first undergraduate program in psychedelic studies.The California Institute of Integral Studies - a non-profit university founded in 1968 and located in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood - will welcome its first class of undergrads to its Bachelor of Science in Psychedelic Studies program this August. The program's launch symbolizes the renewed attention hallucinogens like MDMA and psilocybin have received in recent years as a growing body of evidence suggests they may be powerful treatments for psychiatric conditions, like PTSD and treatment-resistant depression. Continue reading...

Researchers suggest troponin tests could help detect silent' harm and predict the risk of future cardiovascular eventsThousands of heart attacks and strokes could be prevented with the aid of a simple 5 blood test, research suggests.Checking levels of troponin in patients could enable doctors to predict their risk of cardiovascular events with much greater accuracy, according to a study funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Continue reading...

George Freeman urges country to act as global lead for space regulation, insurance and financeThe UK's role in the next generation of interplanetary exploration should be that of a space watchdog" leading on regulation, insurance and finance, a former science minister has said, in an effort to rein in a situation he compared to the wild west.George Freeman, the MP for Mid Norfolk who was minister for science, research, technology and innovation under Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, said the need for standards was pressing. Continue reading...

Pairing of moon with brightest star in constellation of Virgo will be easily visible from southern hemisphereThe full moon will meet the blue giant star Spica on 12 April, making for a pleasing pairing in the evening sky. Although officially the moon only becomes full in the early hours of the following day, it will be indistinguishable from full to the naked eye, with more than 99% of its visible surface illuminated.The chart shows the view looking south-east from London at 2200 BST on 12 April 2025. Spica is the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo, the virgin, and the 16th brightest star in the whole night sky with a mass fully 11.43 times larger than the sun's and a radius of almost 7.5 times that of our star. As befits such a giant, it emits roughly 20,500 times more light as the sun. Continue reading...

UK's 800m research body backs project that might unlock radical therapies to extend human lifespansThe curious case of the queen bee has long had scientists pondering whether the head of the hive harbours the secret to a long and healthy life.While queen bees and workers have nearly identical DNA, the queens enjoy what might be regarded as royal privileges. They are larger, fertile throughout life and survive for years compared with workers, who last a few months at best. Continue reading...

Children taking ADHD drugs showed small increases in blood pressure and pulse rates but risk-benefit ratio is reassuring'The benefits of taking drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder outweigh the impact of increases in blood pressure and heart rate, according to a new study.An international team of researchers led by scientists from the University of Southampton found the majority of children taking ADHD medication experienced small increases in blood pressure and pulse rates, but that the drugs had overall small effects". They said the study's findings highlighted the need for careful monitoring". Continue reading...

Considering everyone is a protagonist in their own narrative brought clarity for Will StorrFor nearly 20 years, I've been researching and writing about the human brain as a storyteller. My work has unalterably changed the way I see the human world in general, and myself in particular. It has helped me understand everything from political hatred and religions to cults to the nature of identity and suicidal thought. It has even made sense of my own lifelong struggle with making friends.Our evolution into Homo narrans, the storytelling animal, is the secret of our success. Like other animals, humans exist in a realm of survival in which we seek sustenance, safety and procreation. But, uniquely, we also live in a second realm, a story world that's made out of the collective imagination. The human brain has evolved to remix reality and turn it into a narrative. We are made to feel like the underdog heroes of our own lives, surrounded by allies and enemies, pursuing meaningful goals and striving towards imagined happy endings. We have a voice in our head that authors a constantly unfolding autobiography of who we are and what we're doing. We experience, and remember, the events of our lives in three-act episodes of crisis, struggle, resolution. We think in stories, we talk in stories, we believe in stories, we are stories. Continue reading...

This inner critic isn't you, it's just a voice that has been given far too much authorityThe question I am struggling with intrusive and increasingly critical self-talk around my appearance. So much so that some days I struggle to look in the mirror. I've recently had a baby and assumed that my long history of feeling ugly, lesser and fundamentally inadequate would be surpassed by being a mother and having an external concern other than myself but, if anything, it's worse.It has become so bad I have convinced myself that my partner will find someone else despite him being lovely, reassuring and committed. I know this cognitively, but emotionally I feel deeply flawed as a woman and ugly in the world. I judge myself constantly when I'm around other women. Continue reading...

Prof David Liu is among the winners of 2025's Oscars of science', with honours also going to researchers for landmark work on multiple sclerosis, particle physics and skinny jabs'For the past five years, David Liu - a professor at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, a biomedical research facility in Massachusetts - has marked Thanksgiving by handing over his entire annual salary, after taking care of taxes, to the staff and students in his laboratory.It started as the pandemic broke and Liu heard that students who wanted to cycle instead of taking public transport could not afford bicycles. Given how hard they worked and how little they were paid, Liu stepped in. He couldn't unilaterally raise their incomes, so emailed them Amazon eGift cards. This ran into problems too, however. Everyone thought they were being scammed," he recalls. And so he switched to writing cheques. Continue reading...

The bankruptcy of genealogy company 23andMe has resulted in a fire sale of millions of people's genetic information - and there's no shortage of eager buyers with questionable motivesEver thought of having your genome sequenced? Me neither. But it seems that at least 15 million souls have gone in for it and are delighted to know that they have Viking ancestry, or discombobulated to find that they have siblings of whom they were hitherto unaware. The corporate vehicle that enabled these revelations is called 23andMe, which describes itself as a genetics-led consumer healthcare and biotechnology company empowering a healthier future".Back in the day, 23andMe was one of those vaunted unicorns" (privately held startups valued at more than $1bn), but is now facing harder times. Its share price had fallen precipitately following a data breach in October 2023 that harvested the profile and ethnicity data of 6.9 million users - including name, profile photo, birth year, location, family surnames, grandparents' birthplaces, ethnicity estimates and mitochondrial DNA - and there have been internal disagreements between its board and the CEO and co-founder, Anne Wojcicki. So on 24 March it filed for so-called Chapter 11 proceedings in a US bankruptcy court in Missouri.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

US political scientists' book argues aggressive Covid policies such as mask mandates were in some cases misguidedWere conservatives right to question Covid lockdowns? Were the liberals who defended them less grounded in science than they believed? And did liberal dismissiveness of the other side come at a cost that Americans will continue to pay for many years?A new book by two political scientists argues yes to all three questions, making the case that the aggressive policies that the US and other countries adopted to fight Covid - including school shutdowns, business closures, mask mandates and social distancing - were in some cases misguided and in many cases deserved more rigorous public debate. Continue reading...

Revolutionary scanner to be fired into Earth orbit this month to measure effects of deforestationScientists are about to take part in a revolutionary mission aimed at creating detailed 3D maps of the world's remotest, densest and darkest tropical forests - from outer space. The feat will be achieved using a special radar scanner that has been fitted to a probe, named Biomass, that will be fired into the Earth's orbit later this month.For the next five years, the 1.25-tonne spacecraft will sweep over the tropical rainforests of Africa, Asia and South America and peer through their dense 40m-high canopies to study the vegetation that lies beneath. The data collected by Biomass will then be used to create unique 3D maps of forests normally hidden from human sight. Continue reading...

Pharma firms are developing drugs that avoid the brain's opioid receptors to minimise the risks of dependence and overdoses, but not all experts are convincedIn January, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first new type of painkiller in more than two decades. The decision roused excitement across the healthcare sector for a key reason: the drug, which is called suzetrigine and sold under the brand name Journavx, is not an opioid.Opioid painkillers such as oxycodone and morphine are still used to treat severe pain in the UK and US. But they come with an obvious downside: the risk of addiction. Continue reading...

We're moving toward a society where genetic information is a part of everyday life - and we don't want it in the wrong handsWith a heavy heart, I clicked on my 23andMe account on a recent morning, confirming that I wanted to delete my data. The genetic testing company filed for bankruptcy late last month and the California attorney general and others have recommended that users delete their data lest it be acquired by less scrupulous companies as the company is stripped for parts during bankruptcy proceedings.I was one of the company's earliest customers and had used their service to genotype not just myself but my entire extended family. I even got my kids' babysitter a kit.Dalton Conley is Henry Putnam university professor of sociology at Princeton University and author of The Social Genome: The New Science of Nature and Nurture Continue reading...

While the act may help some, it can harm others, says Amanda Ann GregoryWhile I deeply respect the work of Fred Luskin and Robert Enright, psychologists should be careful not to suggest that forgiveness is beneficial for everyone (Leave the hurt behind! How to let go of a grudge, 26 March). It isn't. There is no one-size-fits-all solution in mental health. While forgiveness may helpsome, it can harm others.Trauma survivors are often encouraged to forgive their abusers, with the promise that it will aid their healing. However, there's no evidence to support the idea that forgiveness improves trauma recovery. Mandatory forgiveness can, in fact, impede healing and is a major reason many survivors avoid seeking help. Instead of promoting forgiveness as a moralistic ideal, we should encourage individuals tofind what truly works for them.

Nests on Amsterdam canals provide archive of plastic waste and show how the material is really here to stay'One day in 1996, someone ate a McDonald's McChicken burger in Amsterdam.Perhaps it was a quick bite after work? A leisurely stroll down the canals? A family outing? These details are lost to time, but others are hard to erase completely. Continue reading...

As LRIs put pressure on health services, a Spanish-led study examines what role exposure to air pollution may playThe Covid crisis highlighted gaps in our understanding of the role that air pollution plays in infections.A flurry of studies carried out during and after the crisis allowed a UK government advisory group to conclude that long-term exposure to air pollution may contribute to worse coronavirus symptoms. The group offered examples that included a study of more than 3 million people in Denmark that showed air pollution added to the risk of death or hospital admission with severe Covid, especially in the least well off. Continue reading...