Science | The Guardian

The new R21/Matrix-M vaccine will be far more easily available than the first vaccine - but the reality of life in Africa will blunt its impactA new vaccine against malaria - which kills 600,000 people every year, mostly children - is to be injected into babies' arms in 18 countries where the disease is most deadly. That's joyous news. But the unbridled enthusiasm the announcement has generated says as much about the sorry state of malaria control as the brilliance of scientific invention.Because this is an imperfect vaccine that at best will protect 75% of those given it. That's the top figure from the clinical trials. In the reality of village life in poverty-ridden parts of Africa, it may keep fewer than half safe. It's still hugely important to get vaccination programmes going in the 18 countries that will now be funded to run them, because many deaths will be averted. But it's not the end of malaria. Nowhere near. Continue reading...

Scientists work with food companies to try to improve the health impacts of foods, says Prof Peter WildeI am writing in response to your article as one of the scientists named in it (Scientists on panel defending ultra-processed foods linked to food firms, 28 September). I am a researcher at Quadram Institute Bioscience with almost 40 years' research experience. My research focuses on the mechanisms by which food and its composition underpin health benefits or harms.As a government-supported institute, we are encouraged to engage with industry to maximise the impact of our publicly funded research, to translate the findings towards benefiting the public. We work with food companies from time to time to try to help improve the health impacts of foods. Continue reading...

Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L'Huillier share 823,000 prize for work on electron dynamics in matterThree scientists have been awarded the 2023 Nobel prize in physics for their work on creating extremely short pulses of light that can be harnessed to study processes occurring inside atoms and molecules.Pierre Agostini, of Ohio State University, Ferenc Krausz, of Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, and Anne L'Huillier, of Lund University, will each receive equal shares of the 11m Swedish kronor (823,000) prize announced on Tuesday by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. Continue reading...

Silver and copper alloy disc from days of King Alfred hailed as one of the most important finds of its kindWhen it emerged from the earth it was dull, corroded and battered, the centuries it had spent lying beneath a Somerset field having taken their toll.Now restored and gleaming, the Cheddar brooch, a rare early medieval piece regarded as one of the most important finds of its kind, is going on display at a museum close to where it was found by a metal detectorist. Continue reading...

Madeleine Finlay meets menopause expert Dr Louise Newson to find out about some of the myths surrounding the menopause, how women can prepare for this stage in life, and why information and support can be so difficult to access Continue reading...

Dish to pay $150,000 for failing to properly dispose of satellite and violating the FCC's anti-space debris ruleThe US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued its first fine to a company that violated its anti-space debris rule, the commission announced on Monday.Dish Network has to pay $150,000 to the commission over its failure to deorbit its EchoStar-7 satellite, which has been in space for more than two decades. Instead of properly deorbiting the satellite, Dish sent it into a disposal orbit" at an altitude low enough to pose an orbital debris risk. Continue reading...

At its peak BlueWalker 3, which resembles a Tetris block, is as bright as two of brightest stars in night skyThe night sky is peppered with light from stars, planets and other celestial bodies. But now researchers have revealed one of the brightest objects visible from Earth is a communications satellite resembling a Tetris block.Scientists say while the apparent brightness of BlueWalker 3 is not constant, its peak is on a par with Procyon and Achernar, two of the brightest stars in the night sky. Continue reading...

Scientists have spotted a 2km-high dust devil on Mars. The twister was observed moving across the Martian landscape by Nasa's Perseverance rover. The six-wheeled geologist robot documented the lower portion of the twister as part of an atmospheric exploration of the Jezero crater. The whirlwind was seen moving east to west about 19 km/h (12 mph) along Thorofare Ridge on 30 August. Dust devils, which also occur on Earth, form when rising cells of warm air mix with descending columns of cooler air

The answers to today's bam-booze-lersEarlier today I set you the following questions that the authors of Headscratchers, a new puzzle book, suggest are perfect for discussion and solving in licensed premises. The first one, in particular, leads itself to heated debate.Here they are again with solutions. Continue reading...

Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman share 823,000 prize announced by Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute in StockholmTwo scientists have been awarded the 2023 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine for their contributions to RNA biology that contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during the Covid pandemic.Prof Katalin Kariko and Prof Drew Weissman share the 11m Swedish kronor (823,000) prize announced on Monday by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Continue reading...

Jupiter-mass binary objects floating freely in Orion Nebula appear to defy usual definition of planetsDozens of planet-sized objects have been discovered in the Orion Nebula via observations that could herald the existence of a new astronomical category.The free-floating entities, which have been named Jupiter-mass binary objects, or Jumbos, appear in spectacular images taken by the James Webb space telescope. The objects are too small to be stars, but also defy the conventional definition of a planet because they are not in orbit around a parent star. Continue reading...

Test yourself against the readers of New Scientist magazineUPDATE: To read the solutions click herePubs are for drinking, socialising - and doing puzzles. Or so claims Headscratchers, a new compendium of puzzles from New Scientist magazine, from which today's cranium-ticklers are taken.The first is a classic pub puzzle. (An inn-igma? a bam-booze-ler? A conun-dram?) Which is to say, it is a mathematical challenge that lends itself to being tackled in a group, and may lead to heated debate! Continue reading...

Precession of Earth's rotation pole means brightest star in Cepheus will one day function as north starThis week, track down the northern constellation of Cepheus, the king of Ethiopia in Greek mythology. Although somewhat faint, the constellation is large and relatively easy to locate because of its proximity to the W-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia, who was Cepheus's wife.The chart shows the view all week looking roughly south from London and up towards the zenith. The brightest star in Cepheus is Alderamin, located 49 light years from Earth. Because of the precession of the Earth's rotation pole, in the year 7500 Alderamin will function as the north star. Continue reading...

Recovering from the loss of his wife, Allan Brown turned his hand to an ancient craftIn 2016 textile artist Allan Brown, 54, a baker at the time, finally gave in to his four children's demands for a dog and got Bonnie, a golden labrador-cocker spaniel cross. Already exploring ways to live sustainably for a low-carbon future, Allan decided to use their country walks near his home in Brighton to forage and learn about medicinal plants and those that could be used for making cloth. He knew the names of loads of plants, but the most ubiquitous was the stinging nettle, that hated outlier that grows amidst rubble and gravestones, stinks when boiled, and had stung him very badly when he fell into a clump of them as a child.There was something about the nettle's fuck-you attitude" and its resilience and stubborn ubiquity that spoke to Allan's interest in public land for common usage. I thought, I wonder if nettles have ever been used to make clothing, and if they have been, how was it done? I just had to set about trying to do it myself,"' he recounts in The Nettle Dress, a mesmerising documentary directed by his friend Dylan Howitt about Allan's life with nettles and the devotional dress he made in honour of his late wife, Alex, a keen sewer and maker. Continue reading...

The Chilean author's assured fictionalised portrait of the visionary Hungarian scientist who contributed to the Manhattan Project and laid the foundations of modern computing is darkly intelligent and feverishly propulsiveEarly on in this darkly fascinating novel based on real people and events, the Austrian physicist Paul Ehrenfest speaks of a strange new rationality" that's taking shape as the old certainties of classical physics crumble around him. He describes it as a spectre haunting the soul of science... both logic-driven and utterly irrational... preparing to thrust itself into our lives through technology by enrapturing the cleverest men and women with whispered promises of superhuman power and godlike control".Ehrenfest is speaking from the depths of a breakdown but his warning sets the tone for the rest of Benjamin Labatut's book, which explores how these clever men and women (though mostly men) set about unleashing that spectre with dazzling and devastating consequences. After a short, riveting account of Ehrenfest's demise - he killed himself and his son in 1933 as the Nazis rose to power - we meet John von Neumann, the formidably intelligent Hungarian mathematician, physicist and computer scientist who contributed to the Manhattan Project, laid the foundations of modern computing (Maniac is the name of a computer he developed) and foresaw the possibilities of artificial intelligence. Then we flash forward to the rise of AI, whose promises enrapture its developers even as they fret over its apocalyptic potential. Continue reading...

Call it a hunch, call it intuition, sometimes we just have a feeling we can't ignore. But what happens when our instincts let us down?To escape an unresolved work challenge, Archimedes went to the local baths. As he got into the water and noticed the liquid spilling over the edge, it happened. The mathematician jumped up and ran home naked, crying Eureka! I've found it!" Over two millennia later, in 2010, it is Gwyneth Paltrow's 38th birthday weekend in Italy. Her eureka moment is involuntary, like the ring of a bell that has sounded and cannot be undone". She knew her marriage was over. Soon after I read about this incident in her infamous conscious uncoupling essay, I saw a name on an email and knew I'd date that person, without knowing who they were or what they looked like. Whether it's the Archimedes principle or a divorce from Chris Martin or love-at-first-email, intuition is a funny, evasive thing with human consequences.Following these sudden realisations or hits of intuition used to be the way I lived: a bell would ring out and I'd run fully clothed but without fear from one opportunity to the next. It's hard to quantify a just knowing" in the body. If forced to, I'd say my intuition would be instant, inexplicable and irrational. Like if you told the nearest person what you'd just learned, they'd rigidly smile, get up and change seats. For example, I've known I'd work at a specific company after hearing it mentioned in a classroom; as with Archimedes, the idea for my first book dropped into my head fully formed; and like Paltrow, I've known jarringly, in an otherwise content moment, that a relationship was absolutely over. I'd get it with small, seemingly unimportant things, too. I'd think of a loved one I hadn't spoken to in months and a minute later they'd call needing my help. This could sound like magical thinking or a collection of unremarkable coincidences. I sincerely don't know how damning this phenomenon is to write about because, until recently, I hadn't spoken in depth to anyone about it. But I do suspect that for many of us, intuition is not a completely foreign experience. Continue reading...

Celebrities, influencers and therapists have all touted the benefits of icy immersion. But last week a coroner told a different story after the death of a woman in DerbyshireNot so long ago, a cold plunge bath was used as a punishment for people considered insane. Now ice baths are feted by celebrities and social media influencers as a way to treat depression, lose weight and boost immunity. Yet immersion in cold water should be more widely recognised as a potentially lethal activity, according to academics, charities and even advocates of cold plunges.If this was people going for a gentle stroll, it would be fine," said Professor Mike Tipton, who has researched cold water immersion for four decades. Sixty per cent of deaths in cold water happen in the first minute of immersion. You're taking a tropical animal and dropping it into 12C water - that's not a risk-free activity." Continue reading...

Five higher multibeam doses found to be as effective as 20 smaller doses delivered over several weeksMen undergoing treatment for prostate cancer could be safely exposed to fewer radiotherapy sessions, a big trial has found.The trial, conducted by the Royal Marsden NHS foundation trust and the Institute of Cancer Research in London, found that radiotherapy doses can be cut by three-quarters, meaning that five higher doses of radiotherapy are just as effective as 20 smaller doses delivered over several weeks. Continue reading...

It is the size of a bedsheet, an outward display of our mood, age and identity and replaces itself completely every month - here's the lowdown on the skin you're inThe Ancient Egyptians knew all about skincare. Scrolls dating back 3,500 years describe elaborate routines to keep the face soft and smooth, the body gently perfumed. If disease and imperfections threatened to spoil the day - and they certainly did in 1550BC - there were treatments on hand for most common ailments: wrinkles and moles, eczema and itches, boils, stings and bites.How helpful the ancient therapies were is hard to ascertain. But as with the peddling of modern skincare products, it's not clear how much that mattered. Wax, olive oil and fresh milk would swiftly banish wrinkles, one scroll asserts, with the afflicted instructed to See to it!" Unsightly mole? Try berries, grain, honey and leaves crushed in water that has been used to wash the phallus. An itchy neck? A smear of chopped-up bat will heal it at once". But what about that annoying crocodile bite? Slap a lump of meat on it, declares the Ebers papyrus, one of the world's oldest known medical works. Continue reading...

A NSW man recently jailed after filming up skirts had his prison sentence overturned, prompting questions about the little-known disorder

I watched my father lose some of his faculties. Now any signs of my own memory loss make me a bit paranoidWe've been witnessing a burgeoning obsession in the US lately with the effect ageing has on the human brain. This came to mind again when I was reading about the latest woes of Dianne Feinstein, who may have what's politely called cognitive decline". And of course every time Joe Biden misspeaks, his critics seize on it as a symptom of dementia.I'm younger than Feinstein and Biden, but I'm also older than, gulp, almost 90% of Americans. As I plow into my 60s, I find myself awash in the boomer preoccupation over whether one has, or will eventually get, dementia. If you are in my demographic and not routinely self-examining for signs of dementia, that probably means you already have it. Otherwise, it's an introspective compulsion that, once unsealed, will soak into any aspect of everyday life. Continue reading...

From June to August 2023, a series of extreme weather events exacerbated by climate breakdown caused death and destruction across the globeAs the world sweltered through the hottest three month spell in human history this summer, extreme weather disasters took more than 18,000 lives, drove at least 150,000 people from their homes, affected hundreds of millions of others and caused billions of dollars of damage.That is a conservative tally from the most widely covered disasters between early June and early September, which have been compiled in the timeline below as a reminder of how tough this period has been and what might lie ahead. Continue reading...

MMR vaccination levels at lowest since 2010-11, figures show, with uptake of other key jabs also too lowParents are being urged to get their children vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) after a worrying" drop in uptake of key vaccines.Figures from NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show 92.5% of children had had the first dose of the MMR jab at five years old by 2022-23, the lowest since 2010-11. Continue reading...

The humble creatures - which break down organic matter and aerate soils - contribute to as much as 6.5% of the world's grain harvestsEarthworms' contribution to the world's grain harvest matches that of Russia, according to a study documenting their enormous role in food production.This amounts to 140 millions of tonnes of food a year, researchers said, which would make earthworms the fourth largest global producer if they were a country. Russia produced 150m tonnes in 2022 and expects to produce 120m tonnes this year. Continue reading...

Higher levels of poor mental health in England could be linked to worries about money and academic achievement, findings suggestUniversity students are more at risk of depression and anxiety than their peers who go straight into work, according to a study, suggesting mental health may deteriorate due to the financial strain of higher education.The research is the first to find evidence of slightly higher levels of depression and anxiety among students, and challenges earlier work suggesting that the mental health of students is the same as or better than their peers. Continue reading...

Exclusive: three out of five at briefing playing down concerns over UPFs have ties to makers of such foodsThree out of five scientists on an expert panel that suggested ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are being unfairly demonised have ties to the world's largest manufacturers of the products, the Guardian can reveal.Recent studies have linked UPFs such as ice-cream, fizzy drinks and ready meals to poor health, including an increased risk of cancer, weight gain and heart disease. Global consumption of the products is soaring and UPFs now make up more than half the average diet in the UK and US. Continue reading...

British minister Dehenna Davison recently resigned from government, explaining that chronic migraines were making it impossible for her to do her job. Her announcement coincided with a new drug for acute migraines being recommended for use in the NHS. Madeleine Finlay meets Prof Peter Goadsby, whose pioneering research underpins the new drug, to find out about the advances we've made in understanding migraines, and whether we might one day be able to wave goodbye to migraines for goodClips: TalkTV, ITVRead more Guardian reporting on migraine treatments Continue reading...

Durham University researchers also found novelty backgrounds lowered perceptions of trust and competencyPeople who curate the backdrop of their video calls to appear well-read may be vindicated for their trouble, as research has found that bookshelves or plants make the best impression in an online meeting.In contrast, anyone wanting to spice things up with a novelty background should think again, as researchers from Durham University's psychology department have found this makes people less likely to think those they are watching are trustworthy or competent. Continue reading...

The winners of the Nikon Small World in Motion video competition have been announced, with Dr Alexandre Dumoulin's timelapse of developing neurons in a chick embryo taking the top prize.'By studying [chick and mouse embryos], I aim to enhance our comprehension of how the nervous system functions and identify potential factors contributing to neurodevelopmental disorders,' Dumoulin said Continue reading...

The concept of satellites beaming power down to Earth is gaining traction but challenges remainThe British astronaut Tim Peake is backing the idea of solar farms in space, using satellites to capture solar energy and beam it down as microwaves to ground stations. A satellite in geostationary orbit about 36,000km (22,700 miles) above Earth could generate solar power almost all day, every day, whatever the weather, as well as collecting sunlight more intense than on the Earth's surface.The microwaves beamed down would be unhindered by clouds, although the beam would need to be restricted to avoid harming anything that got in the way, before being collected by large receivers that would convert the microwaves into electricity. Continue reading...

Online project draws on 700-year-old records of coroners' inquests in London, Oxford and YorkEarly on a Sunday evening in April 1299, a young scholar led Margery de Hereford inside a house in Oxford. What began with lust ended in murder: when Margery, a sex worker, demanded to be paid, the unnamed man drew a knife, struck her near the left breast and fled.Margery may have never received justice but her story is to feature in a collection of interactive maps that use 700-year-old records of coroners' inquests to locate and detail homicides across three UK cities. Continue reading...

Nasa astronaut Frank Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin landed in Kazakhstan in a Soyuz capsule that replaced the original ride, which was damaged by space junk while docked to the International Space Station. This meant that a mission that should have taken 180 days turned into a 371-day stay

Trio had to stay longer on International Space Station after their original return capsule was hit by space junkA Nasa astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts returned to Earth on Wednesday after being stuck in space for just over a year. American Frank Rubio set a record for the longest US spaceflight - a result of the extended stay.The trio landed in a remote area of Kazakhstan, descending in a Soyuz capsule that was rushed up as a replacement after their original ride was hit by space junk and lost all its coolant while docked to the International Space Station. Continue reading...

Region at centre of Messier 87 galaxy captured by the Event Horizon Telescope in motionAstronomers have captured the first direct evidence of a black hole spinning, providing new insights into the universe's most enigmatic objects.The observations focus on the supermassive black hole at the centre of the neighbouring Messier 87 galaxy, whose shadow was imaged by the Event Horizon Telescope. Like many supermassive black holes, M87 features powerful jets that are launched from the poles at close to the speed of light into intergalactic space. Continue reading...

Tests at Cern refute suggestion that antigravity might apply to antimatter, showing instead it also falls downwardsGalileo put gravitational theory to the test by dropping balls from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Four hundred years on, scientists have performed a higher tech version of the experiment to demonstrate for the first time that antimatter also falls downwards.The study, by scientists at Cern, showed conclusively that gravity pulls antihydrogen downwards and that, at least for antimatter, antigravity does not exist. Continue reading...

How a schoolteacher and a dog educator became crucial to the global fight against coronavirusAt the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the fight against the disease was described by heads of government and public health bosses on primetime television.Countries would receive daily updates collated from data that had been analysed by the world-leading virologists and academics. Continue reading...

Tiny crustaceans described as the bioequivalent of a Dyson vacuum cleaner for wastewater'Tiny water fleas could play a big role in filtering out drugs, pesticides and industrial chemicals from wastewater to make it safe, according to scientists.We've developed our bioequivalent of a Dyson vacuum cleaner for wastewater, which is very, very exciting," said study co-author Karl Dearn, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Birmingham. Continue reading...

Einstein Tower has undergone extensive renovations to preserve it for future generationsA solar observatory built to substantiate Albert Einstein's theory of relativity has been reopened near the German capital after a renovation project to preserve it for future generations.The Einsteinturm (Einstein Tower) on Telegraph Hill in Potsdam, 16 miles (25km) south-west of Berlin, spent a year under scaffolding while work was carried out using modern techniques to seal its many thousands of cracks, cure it of extensive dampness, and to save its domed zinc roof, while retaining its authenticity. Continue reading...

Exclusive: archaeologist Christos Tsirogiannis accuses Manhattan DA's office of abusing intellectual propertySince 2017, when the Manhattan district attorney's office announced the formation of its first antiquities trafficking unit, it has recovered nearly 4,500 artefacts stolen from 29 countries, with a combined value of more than $375m (307m).It is an impressive track record, made possible by specialists such as the Cambridge-based Greek archaeologist Christos Tsirogiannis, a leading expert in looted antiquities and trafficking networks. Continue reading...

On 2 September, the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover were put into sleep mode' to protect their electrical components during the brutal two-week nightHopes are fading for the re-awakening" of India's moon lander after Indian scientists were unable to make communication with the spacecraft since it went into shutdown mode to survive the freezing lunar night conditions.India's Chandrayaan-3 mission made a historic landing on the south pole of the moon in August, after a 40-day journey, and the rover had spent over a week collecting data from the lunar surface. Continue reading...

There's a sensation many of us might have experienced: when something routine or recognisable suddenly feels strange and unfamiliar. It's known as jamais vu, or never seen'. Research into this odd feeling recently won an Ig Nobel prize, which is awarded to science that makes you laugh, then think. Ian Sample speaks to Ig Nobel recipient Dr Akira O'Connor about why he wanted to study jamais vu, what he thinks is happening in our brains, and what it could teach us about memory going right, and wrongRead Nicola Davis' report on the Ig Nobel prizes here Continue reading...

Researchers hope to analyse materials from Mars using program that can detect biosignatures' of other life formsIt is the cloud that overshadows the search for alien life: for all the spacecraft sent to faraway worlds, researchers do not really know what to look for when it comes to evidence of life elsewhere.Now, scientists are claiming progress with the puzzle after training a computer program to distinguish chemical mixtures made by living organisms from those created in more prosaic processes, such as reactions between sunlight and rocks. Continue reading...

Study finds evidence virus can survive treatment with molnupiravir, leading to mutated versions that sometimes spreadAn antiviral drug used to treat patients with Covid-19 may be causing mutations in the virus and fuelling the evolution of new variants, scientists have said.Molnupiravir, which is also sold under the brand name Lagevrio, is designed to mutate coronavirus to destruction, but researchers found evidence that the virus can sometimes survive the treatment, leading to mutated versions that occasionally spread to other people. Continue reading...

Extreme temperatures, radiation and collapse of food supply created by merging of continents would cause mass extinctionThe formation of a supercontinent on Earth could wipe out humans and any other mammals that are still around in 250m years, according to a study.The mass extinction would be caused primarily by heat stress as a result of greater volcanic activity that would put twice as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as current levels, an older sun that would emit more radiation and the extent of inland deserts in the tropics. Continue reading...

Researchers find the fat and protein in yoghurt bind the odour-producing compounds in garlic if eaten directly afterwardsIf you've ever skipped the garlic for fear of romantic rejection, take note: You can have your date and eat garlic - provided you follow up with a spoonful of yoghurt. Research suggests that the fat and protein that yoghurt contains prevents almost all of the smelly volatile compounds in garlic from escaping into the air.Manpreet Kaur and Prof Sheryl Barringer at the Ohio State University in Columbus, US, tested the capacity of yoghurt - and the water, fat and protein in it - to neutralise the sulphurous compounds that give raw and cooked garlic its characteristic odour. Continue reading...

Tech companies see big benefits in making drugs, harvesting stem cells and growing crystals in off-Earth' conditionsSo far, the public faces of the new space race have been billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson joyriding around in rockets, having maybe the most expensive midlife crises ever. But behind the scenes, big tech is thinking more seriously about the first non-Earth production lines.For some startups, the most pressing questions in manufacturing right now are: how do you build computer parts, harvest stem cells or produce pharmaceuticals while in space? Continue reading...

Faint smudges represent combined light from thousands of distant starsEarlier this month, we looked at Andromeda, who as part of the Greek myth, was chained to a rock for the sea monster Cetus to devour but was rescued by the hero Perseus.This week we shift our attention to the constellation of Perseus, and specifically to a deep-sky object that can be seen under good conditions with the naked eye. The Double Cluster is a pair of adjacent star clusters that sit to the north of the main constellation. Continue reading...

Researchers explore whether the animals adapt their behaviour in response to people's happiness, sadness or angerThey are known for living in packs and being sociable animals. Now meerkats are being investigated to see if they can also pick up on human emotions.Researchers and psychologists from Nottingham Trent University are studying meerkats in zoos to see if they can detect emotions such as happiness, sadness or anger from people, and whether they then adapt their behaviour accordingly. Continue reading...

The blog is now closed, but you can read the full story about the successful Osiris-Rex sample touchdown hereAnother hope is that by studying the samples from Bennu, scientists can compare their results against the data they obtained from instruments on board the spacecraft.This ground-truthing' means they can then calibrate the latter, allowing them to more accurately explore differences in composition across the surface of Bennu. Remember - the samples that are heading from Earth only came from one small crater on the asteroid. Continue reading...

Return of the largest asteroid sample ever to be recovered marks the culmination of a seven-year journeySitting isolated in the arid landscape of the Utah desert, its orange and white parachute cast aside, the Osiris-Rex capsule was a picture of stillness. Yet all around, scientists were swinging into action, rushing to recover its precious cargo: 4.6bn-year-old chunks of space rock.Racing towards the scene were four helicopters bearing scientists, engineers and military safety personnel. Their mission: to recover the capsule as quickly as possible to prevent samples of asteroid Bennu from becoming contaminated by planet Earth. Continue reading...