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Updated 2026-05-04 11:30
Deep space astronauts may be prone to erectile dysfunction, study finds
Galactic cosmic rays can impair function of erectile tissues, research in rats showsAs if homesickness, wasting muscles, thinner bones, an elevated cancer risk, the inescapable company of overachievers and the prospect of death in the endless vacuum of space were not enough to contend with, male astronauts may return from deep space prone to erectile dysfunction, scientists say.In what is claimed to be the first study to assess the impact of galactic radiation and weightlessness on male sexual health, Nasa-funded researchers found that galactic cosmic rays, and to a lesser extent microgravity, can impair the function of erectile tissues, with effects lasting potentially for decades. Continue reading...
Bleach does not tackle fatal hospital superbug, UK researchers find
Following government guidance by using disinfectant to tackle C diff bacteria proved ineffective in experimentsLiquid bleach does not kill off a hospital superbug that can cause fatal infections, researchers have found.The researchers say new approaches are needed towards disinfection in care settings. Continue reading...
Aftershocks can occur centuries after original earthquake, says study
Recognising aftershocks is an important part of assessing a region's disaster riskLarge earthquakes are always followed by aftershocks - a series of smaller but still potentially damaging quakes produced as the ground readjusts. But how long does it take for the aftershocks to die out? A new study suggests some areas can experience aftershocks decades or even centuries after the original earthquake.In earthquake-prone areas it is hard to tell the difference between aftershocks and ordinary background seismicity. But recognising aftershocks is an important part of assessing a region's disaster risk. To understand how long aftershocks can persist, researchers turned to the stable continental interior of North America, where earthquakes are uncommon. Using statistical analysis they assessed the timing and clustering of quakes that followed three large magnitude 6.5 to 8 historical earthquakes: one near south-east Quebec in Canada in 1663; a trio of quakes around the Missouri-Kentucky border from 1811 to 1812; and an earthquake in Charleston in South Carolina in 1886. Continue reading...
National living wage to rise to £11.44 an hour from April and extended to 21-year-olds – as it happened
Treasury confirms the national living wage will increase by over a pound an hour from AprilQ: Was there no aspect on the pandemic on which you did not advise?Whitty says he would not put it like that. He says he felt it important to advise on issues where advice from a scientist or doctor would be useful. Continue reading...
John Heilbron obituary
Historian of science whose books, including a biography of Galileo, helped to debunk several mythsJohn Heilbron, who has died aged 89, established the history of science as a professional discipline. By getting the history right, he sought to slay enduring myths created by his predecessors, some of which had become embedded in popular culture.His book The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories (1999) helped dispel the falsehood that science and religion exist in a state of perpetual warfare. A desire to fix the date of Easter was one of the things that led the Roman Catholic church to give more financial and social support to the science of astronomy than any other institution, for more than six centuries. Continue reading...
What does the Covid inquiry really tell us? If another pandemic arrived tomorrow, nothing would be better | Zoe Williams
The argument for holding an inquiry is sound, but the really depressing thing is that none of those elected have learned a thingAnother day, a fresh chapter in the Covid inquiry - and another public servant having their diary read back to them in a public forum that looks like the world's most under-embellished anxiety dream. Sir Patrick Vallance's contemporaneous notes reveal a man deeply worried about everything: public health, prime ministerial flip-flopping"; scientists being used as human shields"; bonkers" cabinet WhatsApp messages in which Boris Johnson is obsessed with older people accepting their fate". He seems to keep a relatively cool head and his brain-dump" doesn't sound self-serving or hysterical, so he's got off relatively lightly compared with others who've had their noses rubbed in their WhatsApp ignominy. But you nevertheless can't help but mourn the road not taken. The only really sensible response to that grim period - particularly for scientists who are all over cause and effect, facts, evidence and whatnot, and faced with a prime minister who floated whisky and a revolver" as a plausible public health solution - would have been to stage a coup. And none of them did. So, sure, that is a shame, but beyond it, none but those elected have anything to be ashamed of.The really depressing thing about this inquiry is the absolute certainty that, if a fresh pandemic arrived tomorrow, nothing would be any better, and many things would be worse. The inequality and poverty that Michael Marmot and Clare Bambra highlighted as contributory factors would be, respectively, worse and deeper. The NHS would be in more desperate straits, the pandemic preparedness that the austerians wound down would not have been restored, and Downing Street would still be full of petty, inadequate, callous politicians. Continue reading...
Chris Whitty, England’s voice of calm authority during Covid crisis
Chief medical officer embodied the return of the expert as he became a household name during pandemic
People who stuck by UK Covid rules have worst mental health, says survey
Trauma of pandemic having lasting impact on people's mental health three years on, research revealsPeople who stuck by Covid lockdown rules the most strictly have the worst mental health today, research has found.Those who followed the restrictions most closely when the pandemic hit are the most likely to be suffering from stress, anxiety and depression, academics at Bangor University have found. Continue reading...
Superyachts and private jets: the carbon impact of the ‘polluter elite’ – podcast
A new report from Oxfam has found that the extravagant carbon footprint of the 0.1% - from superyachts, private jets and mansions to space flights and doomsday bunkers - is 77 times higher than the upper level needed for global warming to peak at 1.5C. Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian's Europe environment correspondent Ajit Niranjan, and from wealth correspondent Rupert Neate, about the highly polluting transport habits of the ultra-wealthy Continue reading...
UK to build new satellite to monitor climate crisis and natural disasters
The pathfinder craft, co-funded by 3m from the UK Space Agency, will provide data to help detect and monitor natural disastersThe UK will help fund and build a new spacecraft that will help scientists monitor the climate crisis and natural disasters.The new pathfinder satellite will be funded with 3m from the UK Space Agency, joining Spain and Portugal in the 80m (70m) Atlantic Constellation project. Co-funding will be provided by Open Cosmos, based on the Harwell campus in Oxfordshire. Continue reading...
Women with Black African ancestry ‘at greater risk when plague hit London’
Experts studying remains of victims buried in 14th century say bubonic plague was not an indiscriminate killerWhen the Black Death hit London in autumn 1348, it caused a wave of devastation, with more than half the city's population thought to have been killed. But a study has now found women with Black African ancestry could have had a greater risk of death than others.Research has previously demonstrated that, far from being a homogeneous white society, medieval England - and its capital - had considerable diversity. As well as residents hailing from the far reaches of Europe, documentary and archaeological evidence has revealed people of Black African ancestry and dual heritage lived in London. Continue reading...
Patrick Vallance contradicts Rishi Sunak’s evidence to Covid inquiry
PM would almost certainly have known concerns over eat out to help out' scheme, says former chief scientific adviser
Caught not quite in the act: church cameras reveal bat sex ritual
Experts say video provides first evidence of a mammal mating without penetrationIt was the surveillance cameras trained on the dark corners of St Matthias church in the village of Castenray in the Netherlands that caught the creatures in the act.The video footage is in black and white, the animals are entwined and upside down, and the events that unfold against a metal grill are more frantic than romantic. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on the Covid inquiry: scientists and the government under the microscope | Editorial
Expanding on his startling diary entries, Sir Patrick Vallance gave crucial evidence from a unique perspectiveThe relationship between the government and scientists is under the microscope as never before. The former chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, gave evidence to the Covid inquiry on Monday, and Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, is due to take the witness stand next. Some of Sir Patrick's views are in the public domain already, due to the release of sections of his diaries. Blunt descriptions of politicians including Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Matt Hancock echo those of other recent witnesses, who described Mr Johnson as incapable of leading and confused by science, Mr Sunak (then chancellor) as overly focused on the economy at the expense of health, and Mr Hancock (who was health secretary) as dishonest.Shocking details included the fact that the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), which Sir Patrick chaired, did not hear anything about Mr Sunak's Eat out to help out" scheme until it was announced. On another occasion, Mr Hancock asked for evidence contained in official advice to be changed (the request was refused). Continue reading...
Boris Johnson ‘bamboozled’ by science and Matt Hancock had habit of saying things that were untrue, UK Covid inquiry hears – as it happened
Former chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance revealed there was complete lack of leadership' at times in crisis. This live blog is closed
Don’t knock vets – we’re doing a tough job under difficult conditions | Letter
Veterinary care is expensive to provide and vets are under more pressure than ever before, says Kate Platt in response to an article by Adrian ChilesIt was with some dismay that my husband and I (both vets) read Adrian Chiles's article (What have I learned after three years of dog ownership? Beware of the vet bills, 15 November). As a practising vet for 25 years, I have never encountered a colleague who does not have the best interests of their patient first and foremost. We are trained to offer a variety of treatments at varying costs. Sadly, we do not have a crystal ball to know which dog will respond to the most basic remedies and which will require more extensive investigations and treatment.We ensure clients are fully aware of the options available and are able to make an informed decision as to which course of treatment they would like to pursue. Continue reading...
What we learned from Patrick Vallance at the Covid inquiry
Chief scientific adviser in pandemic says lockdown should have come sooner and Boris Johnson is not great at science
Martin Rowson on Patrick Vallance’s appearance at the Covid inquiry – cartoon
Continue reading...
‘Where did I go wrong?’ The scientist who tried to raise the climate alarm
Fifty years ago, Australian researcher Graeme Pearman travelled the world with six flasks of air to help prove CO2 in the atmosphere was risingI often wonder: where did I go wrong?" Graeme Pearman says. Why didn't people respond? Is that my responsibility?"When Guardian Australia meets him at his home on the outskirts of Melbourne, the veteran climate scientist is frustrated. Continue reading...
Despite decades of promises, health research still overlooks women
With White House initiative, Jill Biden aims to change thatWomen are twice as likely as men to die from heart attacks.When a nonsmoker dies of lung cancer, it's twice as likely to be a woman as a man. Continue reading...
Scientists say mystery of how red wine headaches occur may be solved
Researchers home in on phenolic flavonoids as culprit for headaches that come on soon after a glass or twoFor the Greek philosopher Celsus, wine was the answer to endless ailments, from fatigue and fever to coughs and constipation. But despite its convenient healing powers, the grape, he conceded to his faithful readers, could bring about the odd headache.Now, researchers believe they have hit on the reason why wine - red wine, in particular - causes such swift and undeserved headaches. When the liver breaks down a particular ingredient, it produces a substance that has the same effects as a drug used to make alcoholics feel dreadful if they drink. Continue reading...
UK needs more lab space if it wants to be science superpower, ministers told
Leading property firms also call for more tax breaks and improved transport links to hubs ahead of autumn statementThe UK needs to build more laboratory space, improve transport links and offer more tax breaks to achieve Rishi Sunak's ambition of becoming a science superpower, two leading property firms have argued ahead of the autumn statement.Demand for laboratories in the UK is growing fast, with lab vacancy rates of just 1% in Cambridge and London, and 7% in Oxford, according to a report by British Land, one of Britain's biggest property developers, and the upmarket estate agency and advisory firm Savills. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on new dictionary words: a parlour game that can clarify a scary reality | Editorial
AI has given us hallucination as word of the year. We should quarrel with this humanising definition while recognising that it evokes unprecedented timesWhen the Cambridge dictionary announced hallucinate" as its word of the year this week, it was not referring to its existing definition as a human condition of seeing, hearing, feeling or smelling something that does not exist", but to the phenomenon of AI developing the capacity to make - or fake - things up. This is itself a somewhat hallucinatory concept, as Naomi Klein has pointed out. Why call the errors hallucinations' at all? Why not algorithmic junk? Or glitches?" she asked. By appropriating the language of psychology, psychedelics and mysticism, she argued, the architects of generative AI had declared themselves midwives at the birth of an animate intelligence that they wanted us to believe would be an evolutionary leap for humanity.The word of the year is a strange fixture - a parlour game crossed with a marketing opportunity that is enthusiastically played by lexicographers around the world. Anyone who remembers the Oxford dictionary's choice for 2022 will know how outlandish the offspring can be: invited to make their own choice, 318,956 people - 93% of the overall vote - opted for goblin mode". Though this term (basically, slobbing out) has been around for more than a decade, its first appearance in a British newspaper, according to the research engine Factiva, was in the Observer in February last year. Continue reading...
Linnean Society faces eviction threat from a philistine government landlord | Letter
Huge rent increases threaten the biological society and other cherished scientific organisations based in Burlington House, writes Philip BarberThe Linnean Society of London was founded in 1788 in honour of Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy, the system of biological classification still in use today. It is the oldest biological society still in existence, and remains a national and global flagship for natural history research. Since 1857 it has been located at Burlington House, where Charles Darwin first presented his theory of natural selection on 1 July 1858, published in the following year as The Origin of Species. The society contributes more than 8m in public value to the nation annually, but is threatened with eviction by its landlord, the housing ministry, if it fails to pay an extortionate rent which has risen by more than 3,000% in six years. Other important scientific societies at Burlington House are similarly threatened.It seems that the philistinism and cultural vandalism of a fast-fading administration are jeopardising the existence of the very institutions it should be cherishing and protecting, and we are threatened with the dismantling of a critical mass of scientific and biological expertise that can never be replaced. A new basis for tenure of one of our most valuable and durable assets needs to be urgently identified. Enough national family silver has surely now been sold off, and enough seed corn eaten, by Margaret Thatcher, George Osborne and their current political and spiritual heirs: we need to hold the line at Burlington House.
Jeremy Hunt to announce US-inspired science and technology scheme
Plan to nurture homegrown investors focused on ensuring UK innovations have commercial payoff
My brother the political prisoner, by Sanaa Seif
I was just his little sister, now I'm trying to free him from an Egyptian prisonThe drive north out of Cairo from my family home is one I know well. It's the route up to the coastal city of Alexandria, a joy-filled trip I often used to make to Egypt's north-coast beaches. On the morning of 17 November 2022, however, almost exactly a year ago today, the journey could not have felt more different. We might have been travelling in that same direction, but our destination this time was the prison where my older brother, Alaa Abd El-Fattah, is locked away. He's one of Egypt's most high-profile pro-democracy activists. A political prisoner, he's been in various jails for much of the past nine years. On the day of our visit, Alaa had spent the last six days refusing all food and water - the culmination of a 200-day partial hunger strike we'd all hoped might help secure his release. We had no idea what state we'd find him in.At 9am, my mother, aunt and I piled into a car and headed out towards the modern prison complex deep in the desert. We sat in silence - there was nothing to say. Pulling up to the compound, we all knew the drill: jump out, show officials our documents and then sit around for hours and hours. The wait that day felt especially anxious. Days previously, our family had received two short handwritten notes from Alaa, which proved he was alive. The first letter stated he was drinking water again. The second that he was eating, too, and that on our visit we should bring a birthday cake. A few days later, he'd be turning 41. Continue reading...
The doomsday vaults storing seeds, data and DNA to protect our future
Around the world, highly secure chambers are being built to preserve everything we need to withstand any number of worst-case scenariosAre we allowed to go in?" I surprise myself with this question, given that I'm staring through the small window of a door into one of six underground vaults, each one essentially a walk-in freezer. The temperature inside is -20C. It is a grey winter day at the Millennium Seed Bank in Wakehurst, Sussex and the maze of featureless corridors and reinforced concrete adds to the 1984-ish austerity of the setting. These vaults are designed to withstand the worst apocalypse we can imagine - be it caused by bombs, radiation, floods or disease.Dr Elinor Breman, a senior researcher, and my guide for today, briefly hesitates before responding: yes, I can, but only if I sign a waiver and don't have any heart conditions. This seems fair enough. I sign a declaration, having read the warnings of frostbite and hypothermia, and Breman hands me a protective blue coat. She flicks a switch before we go in. When I look at her quizzically, she casually explains that this is so an alarm goes off if we're not out in five minutes. Continue reading...
Rows and rockets blow up as Elon Musk’s firms endure turbulent weekend
Another space launch failed, but it's the loss of major advertisers on X that has enraged the tycoonIt has been an explosive weekend for Elon Musk. The American billionaire has had to witness not only the public rapid unscheduled disassembly" of another of his rockets, but also watch while a group of well-known global companies, including Apple, Disney and IBM, pulled advertising from X, his social media platform.The businesses, all of them household names, made the decision to stop spending on the site, formerly known as Twitter, after the American billionaire's public support for an antisemitic conspiracy theory. Last Wednesday, Musk replied to a conspiracy post which accused Jews of promoting hatred of white people, noting that it was the actual truth". He has since argued that his intended criticism was of specific campaign groups, such as the campaign group the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and was not aimed at the wider Jewish community. Continue reading...
Scientists set to expose chaos and disagreement in UK government at Covid inquiry
The eat out to help out scheme will face scrutiny when Patrick Vallance, Chris Whitty and Angela McLean appear this weekExplosive evidence about the tensions and disagreements between the then prime minister Boris Johnson, his ministers and the country's top scientific advisers at key moments during the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to be made public this week at the official inquiry into the crisis. On Monday, Sir Patrick Vallance, the government's former chief scientific adviser - whose incendiary private diary entries are being quoted selectively at the inquiry - will give evidence at an all-day session on Monday that looks certain to cast new light on the chaos in government as the virus swept across the globe.Vallance will be followed in the witness box by the other top scientists who flanked ministers at the televised daily Covid press conferences. Continue reading...
Among the ‘memory athletes’, 1971
Could a computer ever rival their astonishing feats? The idea seemed preposterousYour memory could fill the Albert Hall,' proclaimed the Observer on 21 March 1971, explaining that a computer to perform even the simpler functions of the human brain would need to be at least as big as the Albert Hall.' Now we outsource much of our memory to devices that slip in our back pockets, what can an exploration of extraordinary memory athletes' still tell us about how we remember?Clare' (a pseudonym) discovered her abilities were exceptional while eavesdropping on a Harvard researcher exploring the power of eidetic' imagery - perfect visual recall. I think I can do that,' she said. She was right: Dr Charles Stromeyer's research showed she could scan a card with 10,000 dots for one minute and recall it a few minutes later in full detail.' Her ability to recall abstract visual patterns contrasted with the celebrated Russian mnemonist' Solomon Shereshevskii. Shereshevskii's spectacularly intense synaesthesia both helped and hindered him in constructing the elaborate mental stories he used to remember almost anything for almost any time', from Dante's Inferno to lengthy strings of random numbers. Continue reading...
SpaceX's Starship rocket booster explodes after blast off – video
SpaceX's spacecraft Starship, developed to carry astronauts to the moon and beyond, reached space for the first time on Saturday but was seen in footage experiencing a 'rapid unscheduled disassembly'. The two-stage rocket ship blasted off from the Elon Musk-owned company's Starbase launch site near Boca Chica in Texas on a planned 90-minute uncrewed flight into space. The 120-metre Starship rocket system, the most powerful ever built, failed a first flight test in April, when the spacecraft pulverised the launchpad during lift-off and then exploded at altitude
Kimberley Wilson: ‘You can’t have good mental health without good nutrition’
The psychologist, 40, talks about childhood memories, the shortness of life, always being honest and the answer to most of your problems: beansI was a bookish, quiet and nerdy child. I felt like an outsider, although I wonder if most kids feel that. I was rarely wild - being a black kid in east London, I was always aware of assumptions being made and of what others might get away with, but I might not.My earliest memory is having a picnic on the UK coast: sandwiches, chicken drumsticks in tinfoil and a windy car park. It's a happy one, for sure. Continue reading...
Where did they all go? How Homo sapiens became the last human species left
At least nine hominin species once roamed the Earth, so what became of our vanished ancestors?Just 300,000 years ago - a blink in evolutionary time - at least nine species of humans wandered the planet. Today, only our own, Homo sapiens, remains. And this raises one of the biggest questions in the story of human evolution: where did everyone else go?It's not a coincidence that several of them disappeared around the time that Homo sapiens started to spread out of Africa and around the rest of the world," says Prof Chris Stringer, head of human origins at the Natural History Museum in London. What we don't know is if that was a direct connection." Continue reading...
SpaceX’s Starship reaches space for first time but explodes moments later
Elon Musk's next-generation craft reaches space but then explodes, similar to first flight in AprilSpaceX's uncrewed spacecraft Starship, developed to carry astronauts to the moon and beyond, reached space for the first time on Saturday but was presumed to have failed minutes later.It was Starship's second test after its first attempt to reach space ended in an explosion earlier this year. Continue reading...
SpaceX attempts second test flight of world’s largest rocket – watch live
The Starship rocket system is expected to launch from Texas after the spacecraft exploded in air during a first test flight in April Continue reading...
SpaceX delays second test flight of world’s largest rocket until weekend
Starship now scheduled to launch from Texas on Saturday instead of Friday as component needs replacingSpaceX will attempt a second test flight of the world's largest rocket on Saturday, with expectations high for a big show after April's launch, when the spacecraft pulverised the launchpad during lift-off and then exploded at altitude.The 120-metre Starship rocket system, the most powerful ever built, was due to launch from Texas on Friday but that has been delayed until the weekend after teams found that a component needed replacing. Continue reading...
Ken Mattingly obituary
Astronaut who orbited the moon on Apollo 16 and was instrumental in saving the stricken Apollo 13The astronaut Ken Mattingly, who has died aged 87, was probably more famous for his role in the saga of Apollo 13 - the ill-fated 1970 lunar mission, from which he was removed three days before launch - than he was for Apollo 16, on which he made a successful trip to the moon two years later.Mattingly lost his place as command module pilot on Apollo 13 because he had been exposed to rubella. As a consequence he had to settle for a role within the Houston ground control team, where he helped to power up the stricken Apollo 13 spacecraft after it had broken down. Continue reading...
Prehistoric Australian vultures and eagles brought to life in ‘gory’ new painting
Flinders University palaeontologists use new details about ancient raptors to paint a more complete picture of Pleistocene-era Australia
UK medicines regulator approves gene therapy for two blood disorders
MHRA authorises uses of Casgevy as a potential cure for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemiaBritain's drugs regulator has approved a groundbreaking treatment for two painful and debilitating lifelong blood disorders, which works by editing" the gene that causes them.The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has given the green light for Casgevy to be used to treat sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. Continue reading...
The mysteries of volcanoes: what’s going on beneath the ground in Iceland? – podcast
As Iceland braces for a volcanic eruption, Madeleine Finlay hears from volcanologist Helga Torfadottir about how the country is preparing, and why this is happening now. She also speaks to Cambridge professor of volcanology Clive Oppenheimer about how scientists predict volcanic activity, and what it feels like to stare into a smouldering volcanic craterFind more Guardian reporting on this story hereClive Oppenheimer's book, Mountains of Fire, is available at the Guardian Bookshop Continue reading...
Planet where it rains sand revealed by Nasa telescope
Planet Wasp-107b also has scorching temperatures, raging winds and the burnt-matches scent of sulphur dioxideNasa's James Webb space telescope has revealed a planet where specks of sand fall as rain, in groundbreaking observations.The planet, Wasp-107b, lies 200 light years away in the Virgo constellation and had already caught the attention of astronomers because it is very large but very light, earning it the nickname the candy floss" planet. The latest observations give an unprecedented glimpse of a strange and exotic world beyond our solar system that features silicate sand clouds and rain, scorching temperatures, raging winds and the distinct burnt-matches scent of sulphur dioxide. Continue reading...
‘We can’t carry on’: the godfather of microplastics on how to stop them
As a UN summit in Nairobi debates a treaty on plastic pollution, Richard Thompson, the biologist who first identified microplastics 30 years ago, explains why ocean cleanups and biodegradables will not solve a global crisisIn September 1993, during a beach clean on the Isle of Man, Richard Thompson noticed thousands of multicoloured fragments at his feet, looking like sand. While his colleagues filled sacks with crisp packets, fishing rope, plastic bags and bottles, Thompson became transfixed by the particles.They were so tiny that they did not fit any category in the spreadsheet where volunteers recorded their findings. Yet it was pretty clear to me that the most abundant item on the beach was the smallest stuff," Thompson says. Continue reading...
Archaeologists uncover colourful walls and fireplaces of London workhouse
Discoveries suggest St Pancras workhouse that may have inspired work of Charles Dickens was intended to be place of comfortOver its 200-year history, its premises were cramped and overcrowded, bleak and bug-ridden. However, when the St Pancras workhouse opened in 1809, it was meant to bring comfort to those who had fallen on hard times, site excavations have revealed.Archaeologists from Mola (Museum of London Archaeology) have been astonished to uncover a significant portion of these original buildings" and incredible new details about the lives of the residents and masters". Continue reading...
Plantwatch: restored ghost ponds bring seeds back to life
Seeds preserved for decades can be revived and the plants thrive again along with aquatic animalsPonds were once widespread on farms and rich in aquatic plants and wildlife, but long ago many were drained, filled in for intensive farming and became lost and forgotten. But these ghost ponds can be restored and the seeds of plants buried in old pond sediment can be revived after lying dormant for decades or even a century buried under fields of crops.Clues to these ghost ponds can sometimes be revealed as damp depressions on the ground, poor crop growth or from old maps. Work by University College London (UCL) showed the ponds can be resurrected by excavating them to reveal the original pond bed, then allowing rainwater or groundwater to refill them. Once exposed to light and oxygen, seeds preserved in old sediments can germinate, and in less than a year the plant life thrives again, along with aquatic animals. Continue reading...
Magicians less prone to mental disorders than other artists, finds research
Aberystwyth University study first to show a creative group with lower scores on psychotic traits than general populationCreative types - musicians, painters, writers - are often regarded as a tormented and difficult bunch but a study has revealed that at least one subsection of the artistic community may have grasped the trick of staying well balanced.A study of magicians around the world, led by Aberystwyth University's psychology department, suggests that illusionists may be less prone to mental health difficulties than other creatives and the general population. Continue reading...
NHS England boss to say cervical cancer can be eliminated by 2040
Amanda Pritchard will say combination of vaccination and screening means goal within two decades is realistic ambitionCervical cancer can be eliminated in England by 2040, saving thousands of women's lives, the head of NHS England will say on Wednesday.A combination of HPV vaccination and screening for the disease means that elimination of it is a realistic ambition, Amanda Pritchard, NHS England's chief executive, will say. Continue reading...
Chickenpox vaccine should be given to children on NHS, experts say
Including jab as part of routine immunisations would have really positive impact on health of young children', says JCVIExplainer: Why is the UK proposing chickenpox vaccines and do we really need them?A vaccine to protect against chickenpox should become a routine childhood jab in the UK, government advisers have said, adding that the move would not only reduce the number of children who become sick from the virus, but also cut the number of serious cases that can become fatal.At present, the jab, known as the varicella vaccination after the varicella zoster virus that causes the disease, is only available on the NHS to children and adults who are in regular or close contact with people who could become very ill from a chickenpox infection or have a weakened immune system. Continue reading...
CBD: what’s the science behind the wellness trend? – podcast
Last month the UK's Food Standards Authority slashed the recommended safe daily intake of cannabidiol (CBD) from 70mg to 10mg. An estimated one in 10 people in the UK have used products containing CBD, and many users believe it can help with ailments such as insomnia, anxiety and pain. But is there any evidence for the supposed benefits, and what's behind the FSA's decision? Ian Sample talks to Dr Will Lawn of Kings College University, who has studied the health effects of CBD, to find outClips: @jakequickenden, @bigliamofficial Continue reading...
AI could predict heart attack risk up to 10 years in the future, finds Oxford study
Researchers say more accurate analysis of cardiac CT scans could save thousands of lives and improve treatmentsArtificial intelligence could be used to predict if a person is at risk of having a heart attack up to 10 years in the future, a study has found.The technology could save thousands of lives while improving treatment for almost half of patients, researchers at the University of Oxford said. Continue reading...
Did you solve it? Are you a lateral thinker?
The answers to today's puzzlesEarlier today I set you these problems from the book Lateral Solutions to Mathematical Problems by Des MacHale. Here they are again with answers.1. Three cloves on an orange Continue reading...
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