Arexvy could help NHS deal with virus that causes about 8,000 deaths among older people in UK each yearThe UK's medicines regulator has approved the first vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults.The virus typically causes cold-like symptoms, but is a leading cause of pneumonia in infants and elderly people, with infections in older adults accounting for about 8,000 deaths, 14,000 hospitalisations and 175,000 GP appointments in the UK each year - more than influenza during a typical winter season. Continue reading...
Over half of essays written by people were wrongly flagged as AI-made, with implications for students and job applicantsComputer programs that are used to detect essays, job applications and other work generated by artificial intelligence can discriminate against people who are non-native English speakers, researchers say.Tests on seven popular AI text detectors found that articles written by people who did not speak English as a first language were often wrongly flagged as AI-generated, a bias that could have a serious impact on students, academics and job applicants. Continue reading...
No corner of the planet is free from minuscule fragments of plastic packaging, textiles or utensils. We ask scientists what this means for our health - and what we should do to protect itInvisible specks of eroded plastic from long-forgotten toothbrushes, sweet wrappers and stocking-filler toys are everywhere. They live in our laundry bins, the Mariana trench and the human bloodstream. Microplastic particles can be small enough to infiltrate biological barriers such as the gut, skin and placental tissue. We are all now partially plastic - but how worried should we be, and is there any way to minimise our exposure?At the moment, says Stephanie Wright, an environmental toxicologist at Imperial College, London, a lack of epidemiological and in-human data means we don't yet know the harmful effects of microplastics, but I would say reducing particle exposure in general (including microplastic) is likely to be beneficial". But avoiding the stuff is a tall order, considering it's in the air, drinking water, dust and food". Continue reading...
The solutions to today's puzzlesHere are the questions I set today, repeated with the solutions, and a discussion at the bottom.Both puzzles are about binary codes, which are a way of encoding information using only the binary digits 0 and 1, called bits". Continue reading...
The world is split into 10 types of people, those that can solve this puzzle, and those that can'tLast month an example of binary code was cleverly displayed on the door of 10 Downing Street, to promote London Tech Week.A binary code is a way of encoding information (in this case, letters) in the binary digits 0 and 1, called bits". In the standard encoding used on the PM's door, every letter is represented by eight bits. The first line spells L, the second T and the third W. Continue reading...
The Mori new year festivities can begin when the Pleiades star cluster is seen and the moon reaches its next last quarter phaseThe moon moves into its last quarter phase this week, heralding a new moon on 17 July next week. In New Zealand, this means it is time for the celebration of Matariki. In Mori culture, this marks the new year and is a time of reflection for the previous 12 months and a chance to look ahead. The timing of the celebration is determined by the interplay of both stars and moon.Matariki itself is the Mori name for the Pleiades star cluster. It disappears from the skies of New Zealand in May for around a month. When it is spotted again, rising in the dawn sky just before the sun, the festival of Matariki can begin once the moon reaches its next last quarter phase. Continue reading...
Often dismissed by the medical establishment, people with complex illnesses such as ME and long Covid are taking the hunt for treatments into their own handsIn 2019, years after developing the myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) that had kept her bedridden in a state of chronic pain and exhaustion, Tamara Romanuk experienced something miraculous". After taking antibiotics prescribed to treat a separate infection, she experienced a short-term remission in symptoms. I went from being bedbound to twirling outside," Romanuk says. I had no idea that life could be so different from what I'd become adjusted to."Sharing her experience online, Romanuk, a former biology professor, discovered that she wasn't the only person who had had this experience. Both she and Tess Falor, an engineer with a PhD, had developed ME/CFS years before and had picked up a bacterial infection that required antibiotic treatment. Doctors had advised them to take probiotic supplements to help the microbiome recover. Afterwards, both experienced a dramatic remission in ME/CFS symptoms. They called it a remission event". Romanuk and Falor have named their project to investigate the experience the RemissionBiome. Continue reading...
From cabin dwellers to chateau owners, it's a zest for life - even the small things - that makes us flourishWhen my partner, Zan, and I drove our van out of the parking lot in Buenos Aires in 2006 - and faced southwards towards Patagonia - we had rules for the trip ahead: no computer, no phone, no social media, no camera, no compass, no internet. These were the rules. But, more importantly, no plans. Instead, we hauled dozens of books on philosophy, like The Art of Happiness by Epicurus and Conversations of Socrates, and some odd sprinklings of sociology and psychology texts. The question as to how to live was once the focus of thought foremost in the minds of ancient philosophers. What could we learn from them?For almost two decades I've been travelling the world searching for an answer to the question: what makes for a flourishing life? Is it riches, success, fame, a shiny sports car, a mansion with a pool, or is it something more elusive, much like hidden treasure on a map? Continue reading...
Charity calls on government to do more to restrict unhealthy lifestyle choicesOne of the country's leading health charities is calling for urgent action to reduce the carcinogenic effects" of cheap alcohol and unhealthy food after a 40% increase in deaths from liver cancer in a decade.Liver cancer is now the fastest rising cause of cancer death in the UK, warns the British Liver Trust. Since the early 1970s, liver cancer mortality rates have more than tripled. Continue reading...
Gene editing or selective breeding hold promise of a non-toxic variety of the protein-rich and drought-resistant plantIt is grown in some of the world's most inhospitable, arid regions and is noted for being rich in protein. But the grass pea - although hardy and nutritious - comes with a catch. It contains a poison that can occasionally trigger irreversible paralysis, particularly among individuals who are already undernourished.As a result, it is often grown only as an insurance crop, to provide short-term food supply when harvests of other crops have failed. Nevertheless, poisoning from Lathyrus sativus still occurs in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Ethiopia and Algeria. Continue reading...
Humanoid robots speak - with some awkward pauses - in world first' press conference at Geneva AI summitRobots have no plans to steal the jobs of humans or rebel against their creators, but would like to make the world their playground, nine of the most advanced humanoid robots have told an artificial intelligence summit in Geneva.In what was described as the world's first human-robot press conference", one robot, Sophia, said humanoid robots had the potential to lead with a greater level of efficiency and effectiveness than human leaders" but that effective synergy" came when humans and AI worked together. AI can provide unbiased data while humans can provide the emotional intelligence and creativity to make the best decisions. Together, we can achieve great things," it said. Continue reading...
The novelist was in her early teens when her mother, the writer and film-maker Katie Pearson, died of cancer. She reflects on the insights, inspiration and comfort she's found in journals written over 27 yearsWhen my mother died in 2010 at the age of 52, she left behind two teenage daughters, a devoted husband, innumerable friends and an archive of beautifully written diaries chronicling nearly every year of her life from the age of 25 until her final days. My sister and I were aware of this growing collection throughout our childhood; her past selves were stacked neatly at the bottom of the living room bookcase, preserved in their various jackets of worn leather or patterned fabrics. These diaries have been the only constant ritual of my life," one entry reads. After writing, I feel immediately better." Convinced of the psychological benefits, she encouraged my sister and me to take up the habit. When I was seven, she bought me a miniature copy of the book she was filling at the time. It was a magnificent object composed of thick cream parchment, soft Italian suede and an impractically long tie that was always dangling out of my school bag, trailing in puddles or dripping in orange juice. We wrote in our matching books together in the evening, before bed. It was the only diary I ever managed to fill cover to cover.Some writers are natural diarists. I am not one of them. As a child, I was far more interested in writing stories, disappearing into the lives and minds of others. I see now that this stems, in part, from an early distrust of my own voice, which struck me as so irregular, so various and so utterly contradictory that I believed it genuinely dangerous; the first person was a tool to be wielded only with the utmost caution. It is still only under the guise of fiction that I feel I can travel confidently towards any kind of authentic truth. But for my mother - a documentary maker for much of her life - it was effortless. Continue reading...
by Lisa O'Carroll in Brussels and Ian Sample in Londo on (#6CT29)
Expected' return could help retain scientists and researchers lost after grants were cancelled in Brexit rowBritish scientists and academic researchers will be able to reapply to the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) for grants if, as expected, the UK rejoins the flagship Horizon European programme, it has been confirmed.The re-entry comes almost a year after 115 grants approved for British candidates were terminated by the council because of the delay in ratifying the UK's associate membership of the 85bn Horizon funding scheme. Continue reading...
If I don't save things, they will either end up buried in landfill or be burnt, writes Stephen Lyons; Paula Terry-Lancaster asks why billionaires who hoard money are not reviledSamira Shackle presents hoarding behaviour as if it were some kind of sickness situated in the individual (You reach a point where you can't live your life': what is behind extreme hoarding?, 4 July). I prefer to see hoarding objects that, in the words of the NHS definition, most people would consider rubbish" - such as cardboard boxes and empty plastic bottles - as a perfectly sane and rational response to living in an extreme throwaway society. A society that is itself incurably sick and destroying the planet by pointlessly wasting resources.I hoard all sorts: used Jiffy bags, cardboard boxes and tubes, single-use plastic bottles, obsolete consumer electronics, and even the odd second-hand book. I know that if I don't save these precious objects from the binperson they will either end up buried in landfill or be recycled", which in reality means being burned for energy (releasing CO2) or exported and very possibly dumped at sea. Continue reading...
Machine learning can help with analysis of gliomas, most common brain tumor, and reduce time patients are in operating roomA new artificial intelligence tool could help neurosurgeons treat brain tumors, according to a study released this week by Harvard Medical School.Neuroscience researchers for decades have struggled to understand gliomas, an umbrella term for the most common brain tumor in cancer patients. One particularly aggressive type of glioma is responsible for the death of Beau Biden and the Arizona senator John McCain. Continue reading...
Backhug's 26 mechanical fingers offer personalised joint care. How much can it do for me in six weeks?Imagine having a live-in masseur available to pummel away at your aching back at the end of each day; one who never gets tired, or suggests that maybe it is time for you to return the favour.Enter the Backhug: a robotic therapist equipped with 26 mechanical fingers to scan the unique curvature of your spine and press away stiffness in the joints of your back, neck and shoulders, with nothing more than a whirr and occasional squeak of complaint. Continue reading...
Loopholes in proposed post-Brexit laws could allow preventive use to continue, raising risk of resistance, says coalition of groupsProposed laws to curb antibiotic use on UK farms contain loopholes that could undermine the fight against deadly drug-resistant bacteria, campaigners say, adding that they were drafted after closed-door meetings with industry.The government published the draft legislation, designed to replace EU rules post-Brexit, after consultations with pharmaceutical, veterinary medicine and farming lobby groups, according to freedom of information requests filed by the investigative journalism site DeSmog. Continue reading...
Cancer Research UK says melanoma cases could soar' by 50% over next 20 years and warns against sunburnThe number of people in the UK being diagnosed with skin cancer has hit a record high with a sharp rise among over-55s.Melanoma cases across all age groups have reached 17,500 a year in the UK, the highest since records began, according to Cancer Research UK. Continue reading...
by Lisa O'Carroll in Brussels and Ian Sample in Londo on (#6CRTF)
Expected return also greeted with dismay at UK's decision to avoid being a net contributor to EU's flagship programmeScientists including the physicist Brian Cox have reacted with a mixture of caution, anger and relief that the UK appears set to rejoin the EU's flagship 85bn Horizon science research programme after a protracted Brexit row.Sources indicate that an announcement could come in days, possibly next week when Rishi Sunak is scheduled to meet the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, at a Nato summit. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#6CRTG)
Next generation cells surpass limits of today's cells and will accelerate rollout of cheaper, more efficient solar powerSolar power cells have raced past the key milestone of 30% energy efficiency, after innovations by multiple research groups around the world. The feat makes this a revolutionary" year, according to one expert, and could accelerate the rollout of solar power.Today's solar panels use silicon-based cells but are rapidly approaching their maximum conversion of sunlight to electricity of 29%. At the same time, the installation rate of solar power needs to increase tenfold in order to tackle the climate crisis, according to scientists. Continue reading...
Sapiens author tells Geneva summit proliferation of fake people on social media could lead to collapse in democracyThe creators of AI bots that masquerade as people should face harsh criminal sentences comparable to those who trade in counterfeit currency, the Israeli historian and author Yuval Noah Harari has said.He also called for sanctions, including prison sentences, to apply to tech company executives who fail to guard against fake profiles on their social media platforms. Continue reading...
Discovery of more than 800 artefacts includes some of largest early prehistoric stone tools in BritainResearchers have discovered some of the largest early prehistoric stone tools in Britain, including a foot-long handaxe almost too big to be handled.The excavations, which took place in Kent, revealed prehistoric artefacts in deep ice age sediments preserved on a hillside above Medway Valley. Continue reading...
Professor close to research TV presenter is involved in says participants can help themselves as well scienceMore people with Alzheimer's are needed to join groundbreaking drug trials similar to the one that the TV presenter Fiona Phillips is taking part in, a professor close to the research has urged.People with dementia who take part in clinical trials tend to have better outcomes regardless of whether the medication they are administered works, according to a professor in University College London's dementia research centre, which is running the miridesap trial that Phillips is participating in. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#6CR7T)
Ai-da, Desdemona, Nadine and Geminoid join world's largest gathering of humanoids to promote AI as force for goodGrace is a nursing assistant, Ai-da a contemporary artist, Desdemona a purple-haired rock singer and Nadine is on hand for companionship and conversation.They are all at the world's largest gathering of humanoid robots, which is under way at the United Nations AI for Good global summit in Geneva. Continue reading...
by Presented by Ian Sample, produced by Joshan Chana on (#6CR7W)
Ian Sample talks to Dr David Furman, an expert on inflammation and ageing at Stanford University. He explains how chronic inflammation is affecting our health and how lifestyle choices can help us fight it. Continue reading...
Researchers find physically active short sleepers in their 50s and 60s suffer cognitive decline as fast as those who do less exerciseMiddle-aged people not getting enough sleep are less likely to see the benefits of exercise when it comes to protecting against a decline in skills such as memory and thinking, scientists have said.Researchers from University College London (UCL) found that those in their 50s and 60s who performed regular physical activities but slept less than six hours a night had a faster decline in these skills overall. Continue reading...
Talks on returning as an associate member after Brexit row are close to agreement, say diplomatic sourcesThe UK is on the brink of doing a deal to return to the EU's 85bn science research programme Horizon Europe.Diplomatic sources say negotiations to become an associate member will continue over the weekend and the two sides are close to agreement after three months of talks, largely over the cost of re-entry. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#6CQAE)
Wrought iron process that drove UK success was appropriated from black metallurgists, records suggestAn innovation that propelled Britain to become the world's leading iron exporter during the Industrial Revolution was appropriated from an 18th-century Jamaican foundry, historical records suggest.The Cort process, which allowed wrought iron to be mass-produced from scrap iron for the first time, has long been attributed to the British financier turned ironmaster Henry Cort. It helped launch Britain as an economic superpower and transformed the face of the country with iron palaces", including Crystal Palace, Kew Gardens' Temperate House and the arches at St Pancras train station. Continue reading...
Up to 40% of the US population may have aviophobia. Is it possible to conquer it - and how?Why don't you just take a Xanax?"That's what most people suggest when I tell them I'm afraid of flying. Continue reading...
Monogamous birds switch partners for reasons similar to human breakups, scientists sayAffairs or lengthy spells apart commonly spell divorce for human couples - but it seems similar factors play a role in breakups among birds.It is thought more than 90% of bird species generally have a single mate over at least one breeding season, if not longer. However, some monogamous birds switch to a different partner for a subsequent breeding season despite their original mate remaining alive - a behaviour labelled divorce". Continue reading...
Better farming techniques across the world could lead to storage of 31 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide a year, data showsMarginal improvements to agricultural soils around the world would store enough carbon to keep the world within 1.5C of global heating, new research suggests.Farming techniques that improve long-term fertility and yields can also help to store more carbon in soils but are often ignored in favour of intensive techniques using large amounts of artificial fertiliser, much of it wasted, that can increase greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading...
Scientists in Australia solve puzzle of sole egg left in museum and identify new deep-sea species with unique ridged egg caseOff the north-western coast of Australia, near the remote coral atolls of Rowley Shoals, ghost catsharks are slinking through the dim water and searching for bushy colonies of corals growing between 400 and 500 metres (1,300-1,600ft) down.This is where the elusive sharks lay their egg cases and leave them hanging like Christmas tree ornaments. Continue reading...
by Presented and produced by Madeleine Finlay, additi on (#6CPHZ)
Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian's energy correspondent, Jillian Ambrose, about how offshore windfarms are generating record profits for the crown estate, and why King Charles has asked for the money to be used for the wider public good. She also hears from economist Guy Standing about how the seabed became a source of income for the crown and what it means for our view of the oceans as commons'Read more of Jillian Ambrose's reporting on the crown estate here Continue reading...
Shares close down 8% on concerns that new lung cancer drug may not be as successful as hopedNearly 14bn has been wiped off the stock market value of AstraZeneca over concerns that a new lung cancer drug may not be as successful as had been hoped.Shares in the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company closed down 8% on Monday after it published the first results from its phase 3 trial for datopotamab deruxtecan, making it the biggest faller among FTSE 100 companies. Continue reading...
Events appear to unfold five times slower when universe was a tenth of its present age, in effect predicted by EinsteinAstronomers have watched the distant universe running in slow motion, marking the first time that the weird effect predicted by Einstein more than a century ago has been observed in the early cosmos.The scientists found that events appeared to unfold five times slower when the universe was a mere 1bn years old, or about a tenth of its present age, because of the way the expansion of the universe stretches time. Continue reading...
by Jonathan Watts, Julian Amani, Paul Scruton and Luc on (#6CNZS)
Rising temperatures in north Atlantic and drop in Antarctic sea ice prompt fears of widespread damage from extreme weatherVery unusual", worrying", terrifying", and bonkers"; the reactions of veteran scientists to the sharp increase in north Atlantic surface temperatures over the past three months raises the question of whether the world's climate has entered a more erratic and dangerous phase with the onset of an El Nino event on top of human-made global heating.Since April, the warming appears to have entered a new trajectory. Meanwhile the area of global sea ice has dropped by more than 1 million sq km below the previous low. Continue reading...
Linmere site has more monumental pits in a single area than anywhere else in England and WalesA prehistoric site with as many as 25 monumental pits has been discovered in Bedfordshire to the astonishment of archaeologists.Found in Linmere, they date from the Mesolithic period, 12,000 to 6,000 years ago, a time from which few clues into the lives of our hunter-gatherer ancestors survive. Continue reading...
Planet's cloud tops will be reflecting so much light it may cast shadows in dark viewing locationsVenus has been dominating the evening sky for weeks but only now does it reach its brightest. On Friday 7 July, the planet's cloud tops will be reflecting so much sunlight that from a perfectly dark location, it may even cast shadows.The chart shows the view looking west from London at 21.30BST on 7 July. Venus will be low but unmistakable in the gathering twilight. No stars will be visible at this time, but the sun will have set. This is a last hurrah for the planet because as the month progresses, it will drop lower and lower into the dusk sky, becoming more difficult to see. Venus is currently setting about one and three quarter hours after the sun but by the end of the month, the pair will be dipping below the horizon at approximately the same time. Hence, Venus will be lost from the evening sky as it passes between Earth and the sun. It will then reappear as a glorious morning object, beginning mid-August. Continue reading...
The writer's scripts for a TV series about the nurse were among those recovered from her old computer by the British LibraryHad it been made, the television drama would have begun with a middle-aged Mary Seacole, the British-Jamaican woman who nurses hundreds of British soldiers during the Crimean war, introducing herself to staff at the British military hospital at Scutari, near Istanbul, in 1855. Among them is Florence Nightingale, who briskly asks Seacole what she wants. This, at least, is the way the late author Andrea Levy planned to start to tell the extraordinary life story of Seacole in a series that never happened.Digital forensics work at the British Library now shows just how Levy, best known for her prizewinning book Small Island, wanted to turn the 1857 memoir of the famous wartime nurse into a compelling TV drama. Her revisions and edits of this 2012 screenplay, alongside other unpublished projects, have been recovered by archivists from defunct computer files. Continue reading...
We are slowly beginning to understand how our immune systems work, which will help us prevent allergies - but more research is desperately neededIf it seems as though everyone around you has been sneezing, coughing and wheezing more often this summer, you're not imagining things. Allergies are both becoming more common and getting worse. In some ways, this is not news. Respiratory allergy, asthma, eczema and food allergy rates have all been ticking upward for at least the past 50 years. Currently, approximately 30-40% of the global population has at least one allergic condition.Industrialisation, urbanisation, changing diets, overuse of antibiotics and the climate crisis - with its warming temperatures, increased flooding and wildfires - are all exacerbating the difficulties our immune systems face as they are exposed to more and more things. So recently, if you've felt like your body is becoming more and more irritated by the world around it, you're probably correct. In essence, our immune cells are being overwhelmed by modern life - more pollen in the air from both native and invasive plants; all the chemicals that we use in products, from detergents to shampoos; particulate matter from the fuels we burn. Even our companion animals - all the dogs, cats and birds that live inside our homes - are developing allergies. All of our immune systems are struggling to keep up with the changes we've been making over the past 200 years.Theresa MacPhail is a medical anthropologist and author of Allergic: How Our Immune System Reacts to a Changing World Continue reading...
Historians hope to find remains of animal from one of Britain's Victorian travelling menageriesThey are more used to excavating prehistoric, Roman and Anglo-Saxon sites, but archaeologists are now embarking on an extraordinary hunt for the fabled burial site of a 19th-century elephant - in south Gloucestershire.This was a famous beast" that drew crowds as part of a travelling menagerie that toured the length and breadth of Britain. It is thought to be the mighty mammal identified as Nancy in contemporary reports, which praised her considerable intelligence" and ability to achieve many astonishing feats". According to local legend, she died in 1891 after escaping and chewing on poisonous yew leaves, and she was buried somewhere in the town of Kingswood. Continue reading...
I was in denial about climate action - until I realised that you might just have to despair to care...Have you ever felt, Climate breakdown, argh, oh shite"? And then felt, But what am I supposed to do about it?" And then spent an hour listlessly researching electric cars, before getting overwhelmed by the whole extinction-level endeavour and doing sweet FA?My new film, My Extinction, charts my transformation from self-absorbed, guilty, inactive dad to self-absorbed, guilty, slightly less inactive dad. That is, it shows how a journey from total inaction to climate action turned out not to be as radically transformative as I might have supposed. And I mean that in a positive sense. Continue reading...
I was in denial about climate action - until I realised that you might just have to despair to care...Have you ever felt, Climate breakdown, argh, oh shite"? And then felt, But what am I supposed to do about it?" And then spent an hour listlessly researching electric cars, before getting overwhelmed by the whole extinction-level endeavour and doing sweet FA?My new film, My Extinction, charts my transformation from self-absorbed, guilty, inactive dad to self-absorbed, guilty, slightly less inactive dad. That is, it shows how a journey from total inaction to climate action turned out not to be as radically transformative as I might have supposed. And I mean that in a positive sense. Continue reading...
It's no wonder 30,000 women are awaiting a cream that claims to make skin actually youngerThat the launch of a - purportedly - rejuvenating moisturiser is now considered national news is, you have to admit, a kind of progress.Well within living memory, face cream manufacturers would have found coverage of their triumphs hidden away, if they made it out of women's magazines, somewhere within the lifestyle pages. And even there someone might ridicule the more absurd claims. Or some feminist muscle memory might respond adversely to the expectation that women should fall upon anything claimed to alleviate signs of non-youth, a project that Susan Sontag described in 1972 as women's passionate, corrupting effort to defeat nature: to maintain an ideal, static appearance against the progress of age". Continue reading...
European Space Agency mission launches on SpaceX rocket from Florida to shed light on dark energy and dark matterA European-built orbital satellite was launched into space on Saturday from Florida on a mission to shed new light on dark energy and dark matter, the mysterious cosmic forces scientists say account for 95% of the known universe.The Euclid telescope, named for the ancient Greek mathematician known as the father of geometry", was carried in the cargo bay of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket which blasted off about 11am EDT (1500 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force station. A live stream of the liftoff was shown on Nasa TV. Continue reading...
A rocket carrying the European Space Agency's Euclid telescope, named after the Greek mathematician, has taken off from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The launch was broadcast live via Nasa. Euclid is being sent into orbit to help scientists study dark matter and dark energy, which are believed to account for 95% of the known universe. The mission is expected to last at least six years
Science | The Guardian