Science | The Guardian

Tiny structures are not identical to human embryos, but could have various uses in medical researchResearchers have created complete" models of human embryos from stem cells in the lab and grown them outside the womb, in work that paves the way for advances in fertility, pharmaceutical testing and transplants.The tiny balls of tissue were made by combining stem cells that arranged themselves into structures that mimic the 3D organisation of all the known features found in human embryos from one to two weeks old. Continue reading...

States face challenges getting federal aid amid dwindling Fema funds and laws that don't consider heat a climate disasterThe spiraling costs of extreme weather in the US are hitting hard as more than 60 million Americans are under heat alerts this week, experts say, even though federal law does not explicitly consider heatwaves to be climate disasters.Temperatures on Tuesday climbed toward record highs across the north-east, upper midwest and mid-Atlantic, with the south also bracing for soaring temperatures later in the week. Continue reading...

Senate recommendations must go beyond concussion and look into the risk of the brain disease from environmental exposure

More than a million under-50s a year dying of cancer and figure projected to rise by another 21% by 2030The number of under-50s worldwide being diagnosed with cancer has risen by nearly 80% in three decades, according to the largest study of its kind.Global cases of early onset cancer increased from 1.82 million in 1990 to 3.26 million in 2019, while cancer deaths of adults in their 40s, 30s or younger grew by 27%. More than a million under-50s a year are now dying of cancer, the research reveals. Continue reading...

Nine in 10 of all cancers affect people over 50 but research shows a worrying rise in early onset casesThere are many upsides to growing old, but one of the downsides, unfortunately, is a higher risk of developing cancer. Increasing age is a key risk factor. And with more of us living longer worldwide, millions of older people will have to contend with the disease.Now a new study adds weight to previous work warning of a grim trend in global health: cancer in people under the age of 50 is becoming more common. Continue reading...

Remains pillaged in colonial era for scientific' experiments are DNA matched to Tanzanian descendantsResearchers in Berlin have identified living relatives of people whose remains were stolen from Tanzania and taken to Germany for scientific" experiments during the colonial era.Berlin's Museum of Prehistory and Early History has been carrying out research since 2017 on about 1,100 skulls taken from what was then known as German East Africa. Continue reading...

The UK Health Security Agency has announced plans to bring forward its autumn Covid-19 vaccination programme, and scale up testing and surveillance, after the emergence of the BA.2.86 variant. Madeleine Finlay and Ian Sample discuss where current infection rates stand, the characteristics of the new variant, and how prepared the UK is for a new waveRead the latest on Covid-19 from science correspondent Nicola Davis here Continue reading...

Scientists find that most partners have shared traits including political views, education levels and drinking habitsThe power of animal magnetism has brought countless couples together, but when it comes to who we fall for, scientists say there's little truth in the old adage that opposites attract.A study on romantic relationships found that for more than 80% of traits analysed - from political views to drug taking and the age at which people first had sex - partners were often remarkably similar. Continue reading...

The answer to today's puzzleEarlier today I set you this puzzle, created by Kirsty Land, a former student of King's Maths School, the school that topped this year's A-level rankings. (To read more about King's Maths School, see my original post.)The amazing word machineAdd any vowel to the start of a word. i.e. MAZE ->AMAZE.Add any consonant to the end of a word. i.e. CARD -> CARDS.Delete two or more consecutive vowels. i.e. PLEASE ->PLSE.Delete two or more consecutive consonants. i.e. STRING -> SING, RING, ING or STRI.Double the entire word. i.e. AYE -> AYEAYE.OX...XOXO...XOXO...OXOX...OX Continue reading...

Members of mission run by Nasa and SpaceX parachute in capsule off coast of Florida after spending six months at ISSFour astronauts splashed down to Earth early on Monday, returning home after spending six months on a rotation mission at the International Space Station.SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule parachuted off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, bringing a spectacle to many residents of the north-east part of the state just after midnight. Continue reading...

Isro, the Indian space agency, has released footage of the Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram completing a hop experiment, shortly after the spacecraft made a historic landing on the moon's south pole

Take the King's Maths School challengeUPDATE: To read the solution click hereIt's the beginning of term, so let's hear it for King's Maths School, a state sixth form college in London, which topped this year's A-level rankings: 69 per cent of A-levels taken by its students were A*, and 92 per cent were A or A*. Chapeau!The school was founded in 2014 by King's College London, and caters for the mathematically gifted. Each year has about 70 students, of whom 1 in 4 has parents with no history of higher education. About 1 in 3 students progresses to Oxford or Cambridge, a higher proportion than any other school.Add any vowel to the start of a word. i.e. MAZE ->AMAZE.Add any consonant to the end of a word. i.e. CARD -> CARDS.Delete two or more consecutive vowels. i.e. PLEASE ->PLSE.Delete two or more consecutive consonants. i.e. STRING -> SING, RING, ING or STRI.Double the entire word. i.e. AYE -> AYEAYE. Continue reading...

The monument dates to between 4000 and 3000BC and is thought to be the only complete example in BritainBelow the rolling heath on the Isle of Arran's south-west coast, overlooked by harriers and the occasional peregrine, a monument to ancient ceremony is being uncovered.In August, archaeologists working alongside local volunteers began their excavation at Drumadoon of what is almost certainly the only complete Neolithic cursus monument found in Britain. Continue reading...

A new variant and waning immunity mean surveillance that had been wound down since pandemic will be increasedCoronavirus testing and monitoring are set to be scaled up for the winter, the UK's public health agency has said, as pressures on the health service are expected to rise in the coming months.Scientists warned last month that the UK was nearly flying blind" when it comes to Covid, because many of the surveillance programmes that were in place at the height of the pandemic have been wound down. Continue reading...

The broadcaster's first disinformation correspondent spends her time pursuing trolls and dismantling conspiracy theories. In return she is abused, slandered, threatened. She talks about battling cranks, extremists - and Elon MuskOn my way into Broadcasting House, the BBC's London HQ, I saw some graffiti on the building - BBC Covid Liars". I had just finished Marianna Spring's most recent podcast, Marianna in Conspiracyland, and there was something neat and droll about seeing its proposition in real life: Covid hoaxers are real and they are alive with their own righteousness. Not only that, but the BBC is at the centre of their theorising - the supposed public service broadcaster brainwashing the people of the UK.What I didn't know until I met Spring, 27, the BBC's first specialist disinformation and social media correspondent, was that when the graffiti appeared a week ago, posters of Spring's face went up with it. I don't like the way that the huge volume of online abuse spills over into offline action," she says, trenchant but understated. She doesn't want this normalised, for people to think: it's OK to go outside the BBC and leave a message saying, We're outside.'" Continue reading...

Discovered by an amateur astronomer in August, C/2023 P1 is likely to be visible to the naked eye this weekYou may already have read about the recently discovered comet that could become a naked-eye object in September. For those in the northern hemisphere, this is the week it could happen.Hideo Nishimura, a Japanese amateur astronomer, discovered what is now known as comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) on 12 August. Computation of its orbit showed it would make its closest approach to Earth on 12 September at a distance of 78m miles (125m km), just five days ahead of its closest approach to the sun. Continue reading...

DNA evidence examined three years after his false conviction for rape in 2004 was vital in exonerating himThe Andrew Malkinson case highlights egregious failings in the criminal justice system, but also the unique power of forensic scientific evidence to bring about redress.In 2007, three years after Malkinson's conviction and after scientific advances, a new DNA profile was identified from the victim's clothing, which had been securely archived after the original trial. This was crucial to Malkinson's eventual exoneration and could yet help bring the right person to justice. Continue reading...

The idea that you can manifest' your soulmate by raising your vibration', once the domain of New Age spirituality, is common among gen Z social media users. Juliana Piskorz wonders whether to give it a goI've been through my fair share of breakups. In fact, my most recent one was last month. I'll spare you the details but it left me thinking: is there such a thing as the one"? Or is each relationship just a melange of random circumstances and individuals whose compatibility is based on which side of the river they grew up, whether or not they wear ankle socks, and sheer luck? I voice-noted all this to a friend while garnering more than my usual fair share of pitying looks in the Sainsbury's checkout queue and was buoyed when she replied almost instantly: No!!!! ur soulmate is coming, you just need to write your list and raise your vibration."She wasn't referring to my ringtone or propensity to fidget. In the rhetoric of New Age spirituality, every person, object or emotion has its own unique frequency" and in order to manifest something you must alter your own frequency to match the thing you want. Two years ago, this kind of jargon was limited to the eccentric colleague who, after undergoing a toad venom cleanse in Ibiza, decided to retrain as a yoga instructor, grow a rat-tail and extol the anti-ageing properties of snail slime. But since the pandemic, I would be hard pushed to find a friend who doesn't check their vibrations, hasn't Googled their partner's astrological birth chart or used the term my truth" or manifested" at least once in the past month. Continue reading...

Local archaeologists dedicate their lives to protect priceless artefacts from smugglers, Hamas and Israeli attacks in a land at history's crossroadsThere is considerable debate over the origin of the name Gaza. Some etymologists trace it back to azaz, which means strong" in Semitic languages; other accounts believe it derives from the Persian word ganj, which means treasure".It's true that you almost can't move for ancient treasures in the tiny blockaded strip. Fishers, farmers and construction workers regularly uncover elements of Gaza's 5,000-year-old past in the course of a day's work. Continue reading...

Vaccines, available only to high-risk groups, have been brought forward as cases begin to rise and the British winter loomsThe vaccine campaign against Covid-19 has just been brought forward by a month in the face of changes in the disease's behaviour. The decision was made as the UK heads into autumn and has raised concerns that the nation faces a new wave of a disease that triggered a national lockdown three years ago. Here we look at the issues involved and scientists' responses to the threats that lie ahead. Continue reading...

Foundation backtracks on earlier announcement that representatives from Russia, Belarus and Iran would be invitedThe Nobel Foundation has reversed its decision to invite ambassadors from Russia and Belarus to this year's Nobel awards ceremony in Stockholm after the invitation sparked anger.In 2022, the Nobel Foundation, which organises the annual Nobel prize ceremony and banquet in Stockholm, decided not to invite the Russian and Belarusian ambassadors to the awards event because of the war in Ukraine. Continue reading...

This summer, a South Korean lab declared a world-changing breakthrough. Their claims didn't survive scrutiny, but physicists hold out hope for the holy grail of electric efficiencyA possible real solution to the energy crisis" that could change everything". That's how recent headlines billed the mundane lumps of a dirty-looking material known as LK-99 reported by scientists in South Korea in July. Their findings were described in two papers (https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.12008 and https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.12037) posted to the arXiv preprint server - a website where researchers present work that has not yet been subjected to peer review. They said they had for the first time in the world" made a superconductor that worked at room temperature and at everyday pressure.A superconductor is a material that can conduct an electric current without any resistance, meaning that no energy is lost through heat. Superconductors have been known about for more than 100 years, but previous ones have worked only at extremely low temperatures or when under very high pressures. LK-99 on the other hand, the South Korean team said, was superconductive just sitting there on a benchtop. If they had been right, the discovery would genuinely have merited the word revolutionary". Continue reading...

India has launched a spacecraft towards the sun in the latest mission of its ambitious space programme. The launch comes a week after the country's successful unmanned moon landing. Aditya-L1 launched with a live broadcast, showing the vessel making its way to the upper reaches of the Earth's atmosphere. The vessel is carrying scientific instruments to study the sun's outermost layers in a four-month journey

As humans encroach further on the natural world, researchers warn that 75% of novel diseases are transmitted from wildlife

An Emirati astronaut, Sultan al-Neyadi, will make history when he completes his six-month tenure on the International Space Station this Saturday, the longest-ever space mission by an Arab man or woman. Neyadi, 42, answered questions from the Guardian in a recorded interview, giving details about his time in space. 'It's our responsibility to deliver the knowledge,' says Neyadi, who regularly posted videos on social media detailing daily life on the space station Continue reading...

Cancer Research analysis shows Britain is beating cancer' but strain on NHS could derail progressMore than a million lives have been saved thanks to a golden era" of progress in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment in the UK, with death rates plunging by a quarter, according to a study.The Cancer Research UK analysis suggests major advances in tackling the disease over the last four decades have prevented 1.2 million deaths. Continue reading...

Biomarker discovery indicates that sufferers from brain fog and fatigue post-virus could be treated with anticoagulantsScientists have identified molecular signatures in the blood that are linked to brain fog, other cognitive problems and fatigue in patients who are diagnosed with long Covid after catching the virus.Raised levels of two different proteins were more common in people who developed long Covid symptoms that affected their brains, the researchers found. Both are hallmarks of blood clots in the body, the likely cause of the symptoms reported. Continue reading...

Genomics analysis indicates that at least 800,000 years ago breeding individuals sank to as few as 1,300Early human ancestors came close to eradication in a severe evolutionary bottleneck between 800,000 and 900,000 years ago, according to scientists.A genomics analysis of more than 3,000 living people suggested that our ancestors' total population plummeted to about 1,280 breeding individuals for about 117,000 years. Scientists believe that an extreme climate event could have led to the bottleneck that came close to wiping out our ancestral line. Continue reading...

Museum-goers to be transported back to 1450BC by odours of oils, resins and beeswax with which noblewoman, Senetnay, embalmedMuseum-goers are to be transported back more than 3,500 years in a sniff after researchers identified and recreated the scent of balms used in the mummification of an ancient Egyptian noblewoman.While mummification may conjure up scenes of bandages and jars, the process was a fragrant affair in which the body and organs were embalmed to preserve them for the afterlife. Continue reading...

Researchers used genetic analysis to identify species that cannot be distinguished by appearance aloneSeven new leaf insect species, known as walking leaves", have been discovered.The insects exhibit a sophisticated twigs and leaf-like" camouflage allowing them to blend into their surroundings without detection, posing a challenge to both predators and researchers. Continue reading...

A rare blue supermoon, the closest full moon of the year, has dazzled stargazers around the world. It was the second full moon of August, thus the blue label. And it was unusually close to Earth, therefore a supermoon. If you missed it, it will be a long wait: the next blue supermoon will be in 2037 Continue reading...

Welcome to the world of rugged wellness podcasts and newsletters, fronted by bearded men with very big shouldersThe concept of wellness is a relatively undermined one by now, if not entirely disgraced - thanks to sterling work from the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop - regarded by many of us with a healthy (not in the Goop meaning of the word) scepticism. If we would like to be well, we would also like not to be taken for suckers, and new entrants into the field must find an approach that, simultaneously, exploits what remains of audience credulity without triggering our kneejerk distrust. Or, to put it in terms framed so ably by Mr Banks in Mary Poppins, wellness these days has to avoid transmitting the vibe that it is still rooted in slipshod, sugary female thinking".Welcome, then, to the world of rugged wellness podcasts and newsletters, fronted by bearded men with large shoulders and Orson Welles scowls, or bearded men with large shoulders and frank open faces, or just bearded men. The prevalence of facial hair in this space is striking and also, I suspect, linked to a desire among providers to indicate maleness straight out the gate. No aromatherapy candles or vaginal eggs here! Just men, offering muscular insights backed by science - science, not vibes! - and a range of behavioural and therapeutic suggestions that have absolutely nothing in common with weedy self-help but, did I mention it, are rooted in science?Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Serving as a two-way electrical superhighway', the vagus nerve - which is actually a pair of nerves - allows for communication between the brain and the heart, lungs and abdominal organs. And because of this, it has been shown to help control things such as the heart rate, breathing, digestion and even immune responses. Now, scientists and health influencers are asking whether stimulating the vagus nerve could transform physical and mental health.Science correspondent Linda Geddes tells Ian Sample about her recent investigation into the hype and science surrounding the vagus nerve, and also whether her own experiment with an allegedly nerve-stimulating device is having any effectClips: TikTok, YouTube Continue reading...

Move in England comes after detection of highly-mutated coronavirus variant that is spreading around the worldHealth officials have brought forward plans for autumn flu and Covid vaccinations after detecting a highly-mutated Covid variant that is spreading around the world.The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said vaccinations would be available from 11 September in England as a precautionary measure intended to protect the most vulnerable as the winter months approach. The vaccination programme had not been scheduled to launch until early October. Continue reading...

Differences in technique, speed and risk-taking suggested as reasons for surgery by men leading to more problemsPeople who are operated on by female surgeons are less likely to experience complications and need follow-up care than when males wield the scalpel, according to two major studies that suggest male surgeons have important lessons to learn.Doctors in Canada and Sweden reviewed more than 1m patient records from two separate medical registers and found that patients seen by female surgeons had significantly better outcomes with fewer problems in the months after the operation. Continue reading...

Spot where ancient people scanned the landscape for prey is now farmland near the Devon village of LustleighA stone age viewpoint from which ancient people scanned the landscape for prey has been pinpointed by archaeologists and volunteer helpers on a windswept Devon moor.More than 80 pieces of flint have been recovered during excavations of the spot, which is now farmland near the village of Lustleigh on Dartmoor. Continue reading...

Fungi should be recognised and protected on equal footing with plants and animals, says Fungi FoundationThe word funga" should be used alongside flora and fauna when discussing conservation issues to reflect the importance of fungi to ecosystem health, campaigners have said.The Fungi Foundation said in a post on a social media account of the secretariat of the UN convention on biological diversity (UNCBD) that it was time fungi were recognised and protected on an equal footing with animals and plants in legal conservation frameworks". Continue reading...

Guardian Australia picture editor Carly Earl explains the dos and don'ts of photographing the full super moon

US research casts doubt on anecdotal evidence, but suggests drinking may give you courage' to approach attractive peopleIf you thought beauty was in the eye of the beer holder, think again. Scientists have poured cold water - or rather, vodka - on the existence of beer goggles": the idea that alcohol makes other people appear better looking. However, it may arm you with the liquid courage" to approach attractive people, the research suggests.The term beer goggles" is said to have been coined by male North American university students in the 1980s. Yet despite anecdotal evidence for the phenomenon, the link between alcohol intoxication and physical attraction has not been systematically studied. Continue reading...

After a live roundworm was found in the brain of an Australian woman, we take a look at other unusual casesAfter a live roundworm was found in the brain of an Australian woman, we take a look at other unusual cases of parasites turning up unexpectedly and explore how worried we should be. Continue reading...

Images taken in 1845 of Sir John Franklin and his crew on the ill-fated HMS Erebus and Terror - believed lost until recently - are to go under the hammer at Sotheby's in London Continue reading...

Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian's technology reporter Hibaq Farah about Worldcoin, a new cryptocurrency offering users tokens in exchange for a scan of their eyeballs. Farah explains what the motives behind the company are, why they think we all need to become verified humans', and how governments have responded to the projectClips: Worldcoin, DW NewsRead more of Hibaq's reporting here Continue reading...

Guardian Australia picture editor Carly Earl explains the dos and don'ts of photographing the full super moon

Newborns suffered less pain during heel-prick blood tests if they heard a Mozart lullaby, researchers reportPlaying music such as a Mozart lullaby to babies may help reduce their suffering during painful procedures, research suggests.Minor medical procedures such as injections or heel-prick blood tests are commonly performed on newborn infants, and while some people have argued that babies' brains are not developed enough for them to really feel pain, recent research has suggested that they experience it much like adults do. Continue reading...

There's lots of fascinating detail in this documentary about Virgin Orbit's attempt to get Britain into the space race. But like the flight itself, it falls shortEither you know what happened when Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit attempted to pull off the first orbital satellite launch from the UK at the beginning of this year, or it passed you by - although if you are watching a documentary about it, you probably have at least a semblance of an idea that Cornwall has not yet become the new Cape Canaveral. A Very British Space Launch follows the four months before the team's attempt to launch a rocket from Newquay in January.For the most part, it has the same corporate documentary jauntiness that usually accompanies Channel 4's brand-centred shows. It feels like an episode of the 90s documentary Airport, right down to its joker of a manager, an upbeat chap called Steve - although, as this is an aerodrome spaceport, there is a lot more money at stake. Perhaps the makers were hoping it would be called The Great British Space Launch; unfortunately, real life intervened. Continue reading...

Woman complained of forgetfulness and depression before doctors pulled out an 8cm roundworm normally found in pythonsIt was a fairly regular day on the ward for Canberra hospital infectious diseases physician Dr Sanjaya Senanayake, until a neurosurgeon colleague called him and said: Oh my god, you wouldn't believe what I just found in this lady's brain - and it's alive and wriggling."The neurosurgeon, Dr Hari Priya Bandi, had pulled an 8cm-long parasitic roundworm from her patient, prompting her to call on Senanayake and other hospital colleagues for advice about what to do next. Continue reading...

From tedious blind dates to dud clinical trials, the right kind of failure always helpsYou've probably heard the cheerful quotes: Winston Churchill, with his success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm", or CS Lewis, who wrote failures are finger posts on the road to achievement". What about Billie Jean King, who enthused losing a tennis match isn't failure, it's research"? Maybe you find yourself thinking, Sure. Easy to say when you're famous and successful."For most people, failure is pretty simple: it's bad, even shameful. Life is going well if you're not experiencing failures, and we think that avoiding failure is obviously the right goal. We worry about what it says about us when we get something wrong (we're not good enough!). The social stigma of failure exacerbates that spontaneous reaction. Continue reading...

The DeepMind co-founder calls for the containment' of new technology in a heartfelt and candid exploration of what the future may hold for usWhat is it with wave metaphors? Technological determinists - people who believe that technology drives history - love them. Think of Alvin Toffler, who saw the history of civilisation as a succession of three such waves (agricultural, industrial and post-industrial). The idea is of immense power, unstoppable, moving inexorably towards us as we cower before its immensity, much as the dinosaurs must have done when they saw the mile-high tsunami heading in their direction.Mustafa Suleyman says he is not a determinist, but at times he sounds awfully like one. At its heart," he writes at one point, technology emerges to fill human needs. If people have powerful reasons to build and use it, it will get built and used. Yet in most discussions of technology people still get stuck on what it is, forgetting why it was created in the first place. This is not about some innate techno-determinism. This is about what it means to be human." Continue reading...

Small trial of Bemdaneprocel, which aims to replace dopamine-producing neurons, raises hope for treatmentScientists have reported early success in a trial of an experimental cell therapy for Parkinson's disease, raising hope for patients.Bemdaneprocel therapy is at an early stage, and the year-long trial involved just 12 patients, but the positive outcome is viewed as significant after decades of setbacks in the hunt for an effective treatment. Developed by BlueRock therapeutics, a subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company Bayer, it was shown to be safe and the data gave a tantalising suggestion that patients may have benefited. Continue reading...

Beyond the Light, an exhibition developed in a collaboration between the Artechouse gallery in New York and Nasa, explores the universe through immersive technology-driven art. It includes newly analysed data from the James Webb space telescope Continue reading...