Does a good apology contain five steps, seven steps - even eight? And why do we find it so difficult?

With close encounters due in 2029 and 2032, space scientists are getting to grips with an existential threatIt is a scenario beloved of Hollywood: a huge asteroid, several miles wide, is on a collision course with Earth. Scientists check and recheck their calculations but there is no mistake - civilisation is facing a cataclysmic end unless the space rock can be deflected.It may sound like science fiction, but it is a threat that is being taken seriously by scientists. Continue reading...

A revelatory cultural history of our relationship with native wildlife, from newts doing handstands to Mrs Tiggy-WinkleWhen newts go a-wooing, sometime in the spring, theirsignature move is the handstand. Girl newts cluster round to watch, while the boy newts flip on to their creepily human hands and shake their tails in the air. The waggiest newt is the winner, although the actual act of love is a strictly no-contact sport. The male deposits a packet of sperm on an underwater leaf for the female tocollect and insert into her own reproductive tract. The whole business is best thought of, says Karen R Jones, as a sexually charged game of pass-the-parcel".This kind of anthropomorphising often strikes naturalists as unscientific or even downright distasteful. But Jones is an environmental historian and her methodology allows, indeedimpels, her to start from the principlethat Britain's human and animal populations are culturally entwined. Consequently, we cannot see" a fox, hedgehog or newt withoutbringing to it a rich stew ofpresumptions and fantasy, drawn from childhood picturebooks, out-of-date encyclopedias and, in my case, the 1970s TV classic Tales of the Riverbank, in which small critters say funny things in the West Country burr of . Continue reading...

The winter crop growing season requires three days of steady rain - but many inland parts of southern Australia did not receive an autumn break this yearHow often do you mow your lawn in winter? It may seem like an odd way to start a conversation about drought, but the answer helps explain why our current drought has not broken, despite recent rain - and why spring lamb may be more expensive this year.Southern Australia has been short of rain for 16 months. Western Victoria, the agricultural regions of South Australia (including Adelaide) and even parts of western Tasmania are suffering record dry conditions. Those rainfall measurements began in 1900 - 126 years ago. Continue reading...

Subtle DNA changes in trees demonstrate Charles Darwin's natural selection - although human help may be neededNew generations of wild ash trees are rapidly evolving resistance to the fungus devastating their numbers, scientists have discovered.The discovery gives hope, the researchers said, and shows that allowing the natural regeneration of woodlands is vital to enabling this evolution to take place. However, it remains too early to say if the development of resistance in the ash trees can outpace the destruction being caused by the ash dieback fungus. Continue reading...

Move comes after health secretary replaced advisory board with ideological allies and several vaccine skepticsRobert F Kennedy Jr's reconstituted vaccine advisory panel recommended a new treatment to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants.The treatment, a new monoclonal antibody called clesrovimab, which will be sold under the brand name Enflonsia by Merck, was recommended by the powerful committee after being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) roughly two weeks ago. Continue reading...

Study discovered abnormal process in womb lining, with potential for new treatments to prevent pregnancy lossScientists have developed a test to identify women with an increased risk of miscarriage, which could pave the way for new treatments to prevent pregnancy loss.About one in six of all pregnancies are lost, most before 12 weeks, and each miscarriage increases the risk of another one happening. Continue reading...

Five-year SynHG project aims to pave way for next generation of medical therapies and treatment of diseasesResearchers are embarking on an ambitious project to construct human genetic material from scratch to learn more about how DNA works and pave the way for the next generation of medical therapies.Scientists on the Synthetic Human Genome (SynHG) project will spend the next five years developing the tools and knowhow to build long sections of human genetic code in the lab. These will be inserted into living cells to understand how the code operates. Continue reading...

Our human microbiome is in decline, which is likely to be contributing to the sharp rise in non-communicable diseases, health conditions that cannot be directly transmitted between people, such as cardiovascular disease and cancers. Josh Toussaint-Strauss talks to Dr James Kinross, colorectal surgeon and author of the book Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome, about why the human microbiome is in decline, how modern life is impacting it and what we can do to look after it

It has been 25 years since Bill Clinton announced one of humanity's most important scientific achievements: the first draft of the human genome. At the time, there was a great deal of excitement about the benefits that this new knowledge would bring, with predictions about curing genetic diseases and even cancer. To find out which of them came to pass, and what could be in store over the next two-and-a-half decades, Madeleine Finlay is joined by science editor Ian Sample, and hears from Prof Matthew Hurles, director of the Wellcome Sanger InstituteSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Proportion of women giving birth after fertility treatment up by more than a third in a decade, figures revealThe proportion of women giving birth after fertility treatment in the UK has increased by more than a third in a decade, with the equivalent of one child in every classroom now born as a result of IVF, figures show.One in 32 births in 2023 were the result of in vitro fertilisation, up 34% from one in 43 in 2013, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Continue reading...

UK health officials launch study into side-effects of weight loss drugs after increased reports of acute pancreatitisHundreds of people have reported problems with their pancreas linked to taking weight loss and diabetes injections, prompting health officials to launch a study into side-effects.Some cases of pancreatitis reported to be linked to GLP-1 medicines (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists) have been fatal. Continue reading...

Chinese and Hong Kong scientists succeed in animal trials, but potential problems include risk of devices being left in body and public suspicionsSwarms of tiny robots, each no larger than a speck of dust, could be deployed to cure stubborn infected sinuses before being blown out through the nose into a tissue, researchers have claimed.The micro-robots are a fraction of the width of a human hair and have been inserted successfully into animal sinuses in pre-clinical trials by researchers at universities in China and Hong Kong. Continue reading...

Evolutionary change driven by intensive fishing led cod to shrink' from average 40cm length in 1996 to 20cm in 2019Overfishing has led to a collapse in the eastern Baltic cod population, but over the past three decades the size of the fish themselves has also been dramatically and mysteriously shrinking.Now scientists have uncovered genomic evidence that intensive fishing has driven rapid evolutionary changes that have contributed to these fish roughly halving in average body length since the 1990s. Continue reading...

TWA 7b is 110 light years away and by far the smallest-mass planet to be observed by direct imageryThe James Webb space telescope has captured unprecedented direct images of a planet beyond our own solar system, in its first exoplanet discovery.The observations reveal a planet, which has been called TWA 7b, carving its way through a disc of glowing dust and rocky debris in orbit around a star 110 light years from Earth. Continue reading...

Countries send their first astronauts in decades into space on Axiom Mission 4, along with US commanderA US commercial mission carrying crew from India, Poland and Hungary blasted off to the International Space Station on Wednesday, taking astronauts from these countries to space for the first time in decades.Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, launched from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 2.31am local time with a brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Continue reading...

While figures like Steve Bannon have exploited the issue, scientists have done themselves no favours by shutting down legitimate inquiryMore than five years after the Covid-19 pandemic was declared, its origins remain a subject of intense - and often acrimonious - debate among scientists and the wider public. There are two broad, competing theories. The natural-origins hypotheses suggest the pandemic began when a close relative of Sars-CoV-2 jumped from a wild animal to a human through the wildlife trade. In contrast, proponents of lab-leak theories argue that the virus emerged when Chinese scientists became infected through research-associated activities.A perplexing aspect of the controversy is that prominent scientists continue to publish studies in leading scientific journals that they say provide compelling evidence for the natural-origins hypotheses. Yet rather than resolving the issue, each new piece of evidence seems to widen the divide further.Jane Qiu is an award-winning independent science writer in Beijing. The reporting was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer CenterDo 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...

Women and older adults most likely to suffer dog walking injuries such as finger and wrist fractures, research saysWalking your dog may be good for you and your canine companion, but research shows it can also be dangerous.While the health benefits are numerous - encouraging increased activity levels and physical exercise, improving cardiovascular health and weight - researchers found that being pulled on the lead increases the risk of falls and injuries. Continue reading...

The Winston Red, one of only 24 red diamonds of more than one carat publicly recorded, is on display in Washington DCRed diamonds are some of the rarest gems on the planet: only 24 stones of more than one carat (200 milligrams) have been publicly recorded.Now, one of the finest red diamonds - the Winston Red - has gone on public display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. Continue reading...

Ever since Pluto was demoted from planet to dwarf planet in 2006, astronomers have been wondering whether Neptune really is the most distant planet from the sun. Now, a new telescope could uncover what lies in the farthest reaches of the solar system. The Vera C Rubin Observatory released its first images this week, and soon the world's most powerful digital camera will be pointing across the whole of the night sky. Scientists are hopeful that if planet nine exists, the telescope will find it within its first year of operation. Ian Sample is joined by Dr Scott Sheppard, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science, to find out how Pluto lost its planetary status, why scientists think there could be another super-Earth, and why planet nine has been so hard to findClips: BBC, NBC, CBCFirst images of distant galaxies captured by ultimate' telescope Continue reading...

Researchers say satellites may be at risk and impact could create a spectacular meteor shower in the skiesIf a giant asteroid smashes into the moon in 2032 it could send lunar debris hurtling towards Earth, researchers have said, posing a risk to satellites but also creating a rare and spectacularly vivid meteor shower visible in the skies.Asteroid 2024 YR4 triggered a planetary defence response earlier this year after telescope observations revealed the city killer" had a 3% chance of colliding with Earth. Continue reading...

The answers to today's problemsEarlier today I set five logic problems. Here they are again with solutions.A questionable planet Continue reading...

Genetically modified E coli used to create painkillers from material produced from plastic bottlesBacteria can be used to turn plastic waste into painkillers, researchers have found, opening up the possibility of a more sustainable process for producing the drugs.Chemists have discovered E coli can be used to create paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, from a material produced in the laboratory from plastic bottles. Continue reading...

Stunning pictures from Vera C Rubin observatory in Chile released at start of 10-year survey of cosmosSpectacular views of distant galaxies, giant dust clouds and hurtling asteroids have been revealed in the first images captured by a groundbreaking telescope that is embarking on a 10-year survey of the cosmos.The stunning pictures from the $810m (595m) Vera C Rubin observatory in Chile mark the start of what astronomers believe will be a gamechanging period of discovery as the telescope sets about compiling the best view yet of the universe in action. Continue reading...

Questions about questionsUPDATE: You can read the answers here.For readers who answered yes", you are correct.For readers who answered no", you are also correct. Continue reading...

Watching the night sky, the time it takes for light from these celestial objects to reach Earth is vastly differentFollowing last week's conjunction between Regulus and Mars, the moon now gets in on the act. This meeting of a star, a planet and a moon takes place on 29 June. The chart shows the view looking west from London at 22:15 BST that day.Red planet Mars has moved on from its close pass of blue-white star Regulus, giving enough space for a waxing crescent moon to slip in between them. The moon will be 4.7 days old, and heading towards its first quarter (half-moon) phase. Just over 22% of its visible surface will be illuminated. Continue reading...

This summer will mark 80 years since the attacks stunned the world. Today, every one of the crew members who carried out the bombings is dead. Here, one of the last writers to interview them reopens his filesIt was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining on the buildings. Everything down there was bright - very, very bright. You could see the city from 50miles away, the rivers bisecting it, the aiming point. It was clear as a bell. It was perfect. The perfect mission."I'm sitting in a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco opposite the navigator of the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on 6August 1945. The year is 2004, and Theodore Dutch" Van Kirk, aged 83, has agreed to be interviewed for a book I'mwriting for the 60th anniversary of that fateful mission. Van Kirk informs me, with the trace of a smile, that this will probably be the last interview in his life. Continue reading...

Newborns will have whole genome sequencing to enable personalised healthcare that predicts and prevents illnessEvery baby in England is to have a DNA screening to avoid fatal diseases and receive personalised healthcare as part of the government's 650m investment in DNA technology, it has been reported.Within a decade, every newborn will undergo whole genome sequencing, which assesses the risk of hundreds of diseases and is expected to form part of the government's 10-year plan for the health service. Continue reading...

Knowledge trumps popularity in the long haul of trying to be influential, researchers sayWhen it comes to social climbing, it's not who you know, or how many people you know, it's about knowing who knows whom, research suggests.Experts studying social connections made by first-year university students say those who ended up with the most influence were not necessarily the most popular, but those who had a good idea, early on, about who belonged to which clique or community. Continue reading...

My friend and former colleague David Hopkinson, who has died aged 89, was director of the Medical Research Council's human biochemical genetics unit at University College London from 1976 until its closure in 2000.Hoppy, as he was universally known, had joined the unit at its inception in 1962 because in an earlier, more junior, position he had been one of the first medical scientists to describe molecular differences in human enzymes, long before DNA sequence differences were known about. Continue reading...

The Golden Record - launched in 1977 on the Voyager space probes - contained everything from Chuck Berry to Chinese dialects and the sound of humpback whales. But what would we put on it today?It's almost 50 years since one of the strangest records ever made was launched - not into the pop charts but into the farthest reaches of outer space. Known as the Golden Record, this 12-inch, gold-plated copper disc was an album compiled by astronomer Carl Sagan featuring everything from classical music and spoken-word greetings to the sounds of nature and a blast of Chuck Berry's Jonny B Goode. Humans could enjoy it, of course, but they weren't the target audience. Rather, a copy was placed on Voyager 1 and 2, the two space probes launched in 1977, in the hope that they would one day be discovered and listened to by an alien life form.The Golden Record came with various diagrammatic instructions on how to play it correctly. But as to what aliens might make of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto, the sounds of humpback whales and a greeting in the Chinese dialects Wu, we will never know. Both Voyager probes are still intact, currently hurtling through the Kuiper belt in interstellar space, but we are likely to lose contact with them in around a decade's time. This means we will miss the Golden Record's first realistic chance of being discovered - when it's expected to pass within 1.6 light years of the star Gliese 445 in 40,000 years' time. Continue reading...

An unprecedented planetary-scale seismic event caused the earth to vibrate for nine days straight back in 2023, but the reason why was unclear. Scientists initially had more questions than answers, labelling the event an unidentified seismic object and undertook a mammoth scientific collaboration across multiple countries and institutions to get to the bottom of what really happened. Josh Toussaint-Strauss looks into the mystery at the heart of this scientific investigation

One of Elon Musk's SpaceX rockets exploded during a routine test in Texas. The Starship 36 suffered 'catastrophic failure and exploded' at the Starbase launch facility according to the Cameron County authorities. Starship, the world's largest and most powerful rocket, is central to Musk's long-term vision of colonisingMars. This is the latest setback, with SpaceX betting that its 'fail fast, learn fast' ethos will eventually pay off Continue reading...

False claims obstructing climate action, say researchers, amid calls for climate lies to be criminalisedRampant climate misinformation is turning the crisis into a catastrophe, according to the authors of a new report.It found climate action was being obstructed and delayed by false and misleading information stemming from fossil fuel companies, rightwing politicians and some nation states. The report, from the International Panel on the Information Environment (Ipie), systematically reviewed 300 studies. Continue reading...

Starship 36 was preparing for 10th test flight from Texas when it underwent catastrophic failure' while on standOne of Elon Musk's SpaceX Starships has exploded during a routine test in Texas, authorities said, in the latest setback to the billionaire's dream of turning humanity into an interplanetary species.The Starship 36 underwent catastrophic failure and exploded" at the Starbase launch facility shortly after 11pm on Wednesday (0400 GMT Thursday), a Facebook post by the Cameron County authorities said. Continue reading...

Exploration of Bahamas seabed will be first time notorious New Providence hideout has been searchedPirates of the Caribbean is a $4.5bn swashbuckling film franchise and Blackbeard and Calico Jack Rackham are among marauding buccaneers who have captured imaginations over the centuries.But almost nothing is known about the life and times of actual pirates. Continue reading...

More of us are turning to products containing mushroom extracts, with the medicinal fungi market now worth billions of pounds. Promises of benefits to mental and physical health have seen its popularity spill over from wellness influencers to the shelves of Marks & Spencer - but is there any scientific evidence behind these claims?Ian Sample chats to Madeleine Finlay about the appeal of mushroom drinks and supplements, and hears from the mycologist Prof Nik Money on what we really know about how fungi can affect our minds and bodies Continue reading...

Volatile weather patterns may be altering taste of juniper berries - a key botanical in the spirit - scientists sayThe flavour of a gin and tonic may be impacted by climate change, scientists have found.Volatile weather patterns, made more likely by climate breakdown, could change the taste of juniper berries, which are the key botanical that give gin its distinctive taste. Continue reading...

Production of staple crops projected to fall by as much as 120 calories per person per day for every 1C of heatingSome of our critical staple crops could suffer substantial" production losses due to climate breakdown, a study has found, even if farmers adapt to worsening weather.Maize, soy, rice, wheat, cassava and sorghum yields are projected to fall by as much as 120 calories per person per day for every 1C the planet heats up, according to new research in Nature, with average daily losses that could add up to the equivalent of not having breakfast. Continue reading...

Experts find link between compulsive use of social media, phones and video games and mental health problemsTeenagers who show signs of being addicted to social media, mobile phones or video games are at greater risk of suicidal behaviour and emotional problems, according to research.A study, which tracked more than 4,000 adolescents for four years, found that nearly one in three reported increasingly addictive use of social media or mobile phones. Those whose use followed an increasingly addictive trajectory had roughly double the risk of suicidal behaviour at the end of the study. Continue reading...

Television documentary producer and director who collaborated with Brian Cox on Wonders of the Solar SystemThe television producer and director Michael Lachmann, who has died aged 54 in a mountaineering accident in the French Alps, helped to turn the former pop musician and particle physics professor Brian Cox into a TV presenter known for bringing science documentaries into a new age. Lachmann also took the pig farmer Jimmy Doherty around the world to explore the pros and cons of GM foods, and made thought-provoking programmes on great scientists and the space race.His skill in popularising science without dumbing down included placing Cox inside a derelict Rio de Janeiro jail for a sequence in the 2011 BBC Two series Wonders of the Universe. Cox sprayed chemical element symbols on the walls, and Lachmann had the building dramatically blown up. The four-part series attempted to answer the question: What are we and where do we come from?" In Stardust, the episode directed by Lachmann, he and Cox travelled not only to Brazil, but also to Kathmandu and Chile, to reveal the origins of humans in distant stars. Continue reading...

Giant groundsels are superbly adapted to upland environments where temperatures can plunge to -20CThe common groundsel is a weedy plant often seen on waste ground and roadsides, growing up to about 40cm (16in) tall. But on mountains in east Africa relatives of the groundsel can grow up to 9 metres (30ft) in height. One of these giant groundsels is Dendrosenecio kilimanjari, which only grows high up on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and looks like something from another world - a woody trunk that can branch out like a candelabra, sprouting a large inflorescence atop each branch.Other Dendrosenecio species grow on other mountains, all superbly adapted to the harsh upland environments where temperatures can plunge as low as -20C (-4F) in biting winds. Their thick stems are insulated by jackets of dead and withered leaves, they use an antifreeze agent to prevent ice forming in their tissues, and at night their leaves sleep", folding up to help keep the plant warm. Rainfall can be scarce and the giant groundsels store water in the pith of their stems. As a result of their spartan existence, they can grow extremely slowly. Continue reading...

Study suggests role of male parents may be under-appreciated in some primate speciesIf male baboons were subject to the same kind of cultural commentary as humans, the phrase deadbeat dads" might be called for, such is the primate's relatively limited involvement in raising their young.But a study suggests that even their little effort might go a long way, with female baboons who experience a stronger relationship with their fathers when young tending to live longer as adults. Continue reading...

Information stolen from US company included details of 150,000 British residents including family treesThe genetic testing company 23andMe has been fined more than 2.3m for failing to protect the personal information of more than 150,000 UK residents after a large-scale cyberattack in 2023.Family trees, health reports, names and postcodes were among the sensitive data hacked from the California-based company. It only confirmed the breach months after the infiltration started and once an employee saw the stolen data advertised for sale on the social media platform Reddit, according to the UK Information Commissioner's Office - which levied the fine. Continue reading...

The popularity of healing' through psychedelics is fueling exploitation of Indigenous peoples and threatening biodiversity in EcuadorIn the world of the Ecuadorian Amazon, humans, plants and animals are relatives, and ancient stories reflect real ecological relationships and Indigenous knowledge rooted in profound connections to the land. But one of those connections - ceremonial medicine known as hayakwaska - is now marketed as a mystical shortcut to healing and enlightenment. Behind the scenes of these healing retreats" lies a deeper story of cultural erasure, linguistic distortion and ongoing colonisation masked as wellness.The global popularity of ayahuasca" has given rise to a new form of spiritual tourism that romanticises and distorts Indigenous cultures. This growing industry fuels the exoticisation of Indigenous peoples, turning our languages, practices and identities into consumable fantasies for outsiders. Sacred rituals are stripped of context, spiritual roles are commercialised, and even the names of the plants are misused, reducing complex cultural systems into simplified, marketable experiences. Continue reading...

Patients in real world shed less weight than in clinical settings and may benefit more from bariatric surgeryPeople using weight loss jabs shed far fewer pounds in the real world than in clinical trials, researchers have found.Jabs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, which contain the drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide respectively, have transformed the treatment of obesity, with studies suggesting the former can help people lose up to 20% of their body weight after 72 weeks of treatment. Continue reading...

Anne Wojcicki made $305m bid for firm, which has lost customers since declaring bankruptcy, with backing of Fortune 500 company23andMe's former CEO is set to regain control of the genetic testing company after a $305m bid from a non-profit she controls topped a pharmaceutical company's offer for it in a bankruptcy auction.Last month, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals agreed to buy the firm for $256m, topping a $146m bid from Anne Wojcicki and the non-profit TTAM Research Institute. The larger offer prompted Wojcicki to raise her own with the backing of a Fortune 500 company, according to the former executive. The deal is expected to close in the coming weeks after a court hearing currently scheduled for 17 June, the company said on Friday. Continue reading...

Four booths hidden from view, prompting fury from Israel's defence ministry and visiting US Republicans

Celestial objects will be separated by less than a degree and the colour difference between them will be strikingLook into the western sky this week to see an eye-catching conjunction between Mars and Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation of Leo, the lion. The chart shows the view from London at 2300 BST on 16 June 2025.The pair of celestial objects will be separated by less than a degree, less than twice the apparent diameter of the full moon. This means that as well as being an easy spot with the naked eye, they are close enough to fit into the same field of view when viewed through binoculars. Although they will move further apart as the week continues. Continue reading...

Combination of two targeted drugs found to produce better outcomes and was more tolerable than chemotherapyA groundbreaking UK-wide trial has found a chemotherapy-free approach to treating leukaemia that may lead to better outcomes for some patients, with the results being hailed as a milestone".Led by researchers from Leeds, results from the Flair trial, which took place at 96 cancer centres across the UK, could reshape the way the most common form of leukaemia in adults is treated, scientists said. Continue reading...