by Presented by Madeleine Finlay with Robert Booth, p on (#6JRBP)
Social affairs correspondent Robert Booth tells Madeleine Finlay why a class of synthetic opioids called nitazenes, first developed in the 1950s, is leading to a worrying number of fatal overdoses in the UK. And she hears from toxicology and addiction specialist Dr Joseph D'Orazio about a tranquilliser called xylazine that has been showing up in alarming volumes in the US illegal drug supply and is now starting to appear in toxicology reports in the UKClips: Sky News, CBS News Continue reading...
Authors hope data encourages women who may not get enough exercise that even relatively small amounts can be beneficialWomen experience greater benefits than men from the same amount of regular exercise, research suggests when it comes to avoiding an early grave.According to the NHS, men and women aged 19 to 64 should clock up at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise, or 75 of vigorous exercise a week, with muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week. Continue reading...
British pathologist who helped to uncover the first evidence that cancer in humans could be caused by a virusIt did not seem like a good thing when a precious consignment of human tumour samples on its way from Kampala, Uganda, to Heathrow was diverted to Manchester. When the samples finally arrived at the Middlesex hospital in London, they were swimming in murky fluid in their vials as though they had been infected with bacteria.But when the pathologist Anthony Epstein looked at the fluid under the microscope he saw no bacteria, just individual cells that had been shaken loose from the tumours. And that was just what he needed in order to search for elusive virus particles and test his hunch that they were causing cancer. Continue reading...
The solutions to today's problemsEarlier today I set these two puzzles, which were given to me by a computer scientist at Microsoft. They are an analogy for how companies protect data centres from the random failures of hard drives. Here they are again with solutions and workings.The disappearing boxes Continue reading...
How to protect machines against random failuresUPDATE: The solutions can be read hereI've temporarily moved to Berkeley, California, where I am the science communicator in residence" at the Simons Institute, the world's leading institute for collaborative research in theoretical computer science.One nano-collaboration is today's puzzle - told to me by a computer scientist at Microsoft I befriended over tea. It's about data centres - those warehouses containing endless rows of computers that store all our data. Continue reading...
Researcher who established the value of genetics for understanding psychiatric conditionsPeter McGuffin, who has died aged 74, showed the importance of trying to establish how genetic and non-genetic factors act together to predispose people to psychiatric disorders: so-called gene-environment interplay. He was also one of the first to see the potential of the DNA revolution for understanding psychiatric disorders, and his work laid the foundations for the application of genomics to psychiatry.It used to be assumed that depression could be divided into two forms: one the result of adverse circumstances (reactive depression) and the other the result of intrinsic factors such as genetic risk (endogenous depression). Continue reading...
There has been a surge in cases of scabies and measles - both highly contagious - as well as rickets and scurvy, conditions we thought had been eradicated. Are public health cuts to blame?Before Covid-19, Dr Farzana Hussain says, it was rare for her to see a case of scabies at her GP surgery in Newham, east London, but since the pandemic, the number of patients with the parasitic skin infection has increased dramatically.By the time a patient comes to me for advice, everyone in the family has it, including all the children," she says. The itch is maddening. People demand immediate treatment." Continue reading...
My obsession with trying new activities finally led me to my greatest passion - horse riding - when the last lockdown liftedGrowing up, I thought of myself as a horse girl". I knew the importance of keeping your heels down and your back straight, how to braid your horse's mane for dressage, and that real horse girlies mucked out the stalls themselves. I could navigate the febrile politics of a stable, handle the intensity of competition and understood why everyone looked at the new girl sideways - she had to earn her place.Of course, I had never walked into a stable, let alone ridden a horse. I had no sleek jodhpurs folded in my closet, well-worn riding boots zipped up around my calves or favourite gelding to feed apples and Polo sweets to as a treat. My equestrian knowledge came entirely from reading books, starting with the wholesome Pony Pals and Saddle Club series from the local library, through to the tense Thoroughbred novels following the lives of young jockeys in Kentucky racing. Despite growing up in the suburbs of Brisbane, Australia, less than a half-hour drive from multiple stables, I did not once think to ask my parents for riding lessons. It would take a move to London in my mid-20s, a pandemic lockdown in the big city and that old cliched desire to reconnect with nature" before my equine dreams came true. Continue reading...
In the 70s, weather forecasts were accurate just one or two days ahead. Now a specialist university project at Reading is trying to get them right a month into the futureThe mainstay of casual conversation - the unexpected state of the weather - is under existential threat. Scientists plan to make forecasts so accurate they will be able to determine weather patterns a month into the future.Barbecue misery and Wimbledon washouts could take a serious hit - thanks to the new 15-year research programme that has been launched by Reading University, in partnership with the Met Office and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The aim is to transform our ability to unravel the minute influences that determine weather patterns and uncover the limits of predictability in the real world. Continue reading...
Andrea Riseborough and Domhnall Gleeson convince as a perma-turbulent couple; a devastating docuseries pays homage to the doomed Columbia space shuttle crew. Plus, ill-fitting wartime drama with Coco Chanel and Christian Dior and a sweet, old-school reality showAlice & Jack (Channel 4) | channel4.com
Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh, whose sister died of a glioblastoma tumour, is to present a bill calling for new laws for clinical trialsPotential new treatments for brain cancer are being hampered by the failure of pharmaceutical companies to provide the drugs required for research and by regulatory delays, a leading cancer charity has warned.Brain tumours kill more children and adults under 40 in the UK than any other cancer, but research has been underfunded for years. About 12,000 are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour in the UK each year. Continue reading...
From deciding where to have lunch to choosing to walk away from a danger you haven't even identified yet, intuition plays a part in all our livesOn a rainy night in London, a young woman walks towards the entrance of a sidestreet, smiling to herself as she recalls the evening spent with the friend she just farewelled at the train station. She's about to walk down the poorly-lit shortcut that will take her back to her accommodation, when she stops.Something in her body tells her not to go down that street. She pauses, then turns back towards the busy, well lit but longer route home.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...
The environmentally friendly LignoSat probe - set to orbit this summer - has been created to combat harmful aluminium particlesJapanese scientists have created one of the world's most unusual spacecraft - a tiny satellite that is made of timber.The LignoSat probe has been built of magnolia wood, which, in experiments carried out on the International Space Station (ISS), was found to be particularly stable and resistant to cracking. Now plans are being finalised for it to be launched on a US rocket this summer. Continue reading...
A bronze age woman who suffered lower back pain 4,000 years ago and an iron age Pictish man who lived a life of hard labour 1,500 years ago are among our ancient ancestors who have been brought to life in dramatic facial reconstructions. Cutting-edge technology will enable visitors to Scotland's new Perth Museum to come face to face with four individuals from our past in modern-day Perthshire
Dramatic reconstructions of local people who lived up to 4,000 years ago will go on display thanks to advanced DNA techniquesA Bronze Age woman who suffered lower back pain 4,000 years ago and an Iron Age Pictish man who lived a life of hard labour 1,500 years ago are among our ancient ancestors who have been brought to life in dramatic facial reconstructions.Cutting-edge technology will enable visitors to Scotland's new Perth Museum to come face to face with four individuals from our past in modern-day Perthshire. Continue reading...
How social media companies have become the new information gatekeepers; a gripping real-life love affair - or is it?; a psychiatrist reflects on her work with violent offenders; and remembering the late, great Steve WrightThe Gatekeepers (Radio 4) | BBC Sounds
Joao Luis Barreto Guimaraes, a breast cancer specialist and prizewinning poet, is pioneering the teaching of poetry alongside medicine to help trainee doctors empathise with their patientsIn an unremarkable lecture hall on a rainy Monday afternoon, Candida Pereira is expounding passionately on the intricacies of a poem by the Portuguese politician-poet Vasco Graca Moura. Her classmates listen closely as the second-year university student enthuses about lyric form, poetic voice and Moura's use of perceptual imagery" and sensual tone". Nothing unusual for a standard poetry module, perhaps. Yet once the bell goes, Pereira will repack her well-thumbed poetry anthology and replace it with more prosaic textbooks on neuroanatomy and pharmacology. The 19-year-old is one of 20 or so trainee doctors at Porto University's medical faculty taking a new elective course on the fundamentals of modern poetry.In today's ever more transactional healthcare culture, the initiative signals a belief in the priority of people-centred care and old-fashioned notions of a doctor's bedside manner". As the course creator Joao Luis Barreto Guimaraes explains, poetry has a unique capacity to help students connect holistically with their future patients, as opposed to viewing them as a medical problem in need of fixing. Continue reading...
Space agency announces successful liftoff' and says rocket has already released one micro-satelliteJapan's space agency has successfully launched a second test model of its new flagship rocket H3, in a welcome boost to its space program after last year's inaugural flight failed.The launch further burnishes the country's space credentials after the historic pinpoint" moon landing of Japan's Slim spacecraft last month. Continue reading...
Research finds greater proportion of people diagnosed with more advanced melanoma since Covid restrictionsDelays in diagnosis and treatment of a dangerous type of skin cancer because of Covid lockdowns resulted in more than 100,000 years of life lost across Europe and cost the economy more than 6bn, research has suggested.While lockdowns saved lives from Covid, ramifications of the restrictions are apparent in many areas of healthcare, from lengthy waiting lists for surgery to delays in cancer diagnoses and treatment. Continue reading...
Georgia residents and animal rights activists unhappy at proposal to house long-tailed macaques in sprawling complexA plan to establish the largest monkey-breeding facility in the US, which would allow 30,000 macaques to roam within outfitted warehouses in Georgia, is facing a furious backlash from animal rights groups and some local residents.The sprawling, 200-acre complex would house an unusually large number of monkeys, which will then be sent out to universities and pharmaceutical companies for medical research. Over the next 20 years, the facility will assemble a mega-troop of about 30,000 long-tailed macaques, a species native to south-east Asia, in vast barn-like structures in Bainbridge, Georgia, which has a human population of just 14,000. Continue reading...
Fresh from controversially suggesting adding salt to tea, Michelle Francl says eating fruit can prolong caffeine rush from your cuppaIf you find yourself feeling the energising effect of your morning cuppa has worn off before the bus arrives, the scientist behind controversial advice to put salt in tea has some more palatable advice: try some grapefruit.Michelle Francl, a professor of chemistry at Bryn Mawr College, caused an international storm in a teacup last month after suggesting a pinch of salt would create the perfect brew. Continue reading...
Officials say space-based' weapon under development but not yet deployed is not immediate threat to anyone's safetyThe White House has confirmed that it is monitoring a new Russian anti-satellite weapon which it said is being developed but not yet deployed, calling it troubling" but not an immediate threat to anyone's safety.The national security spokesperson, John Kirby, would not directly confirm or deny reports that the new Russian weapon was nuclear, but he did say it was space-based" and that it violated the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits the deployment in space of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction. Continue reading...
Medicine used alongside chemotherapy in trials quadrupled three-year survival rates for mesotheliomaScientists have developed a drug to treat mesothelioma, a notoriously hard-to-treat cancer linked to asbestos, in the biggest breakthrough in two decades.Thousands of people are diagnosed with the disease globally every year, which tends to develop in the lungs and is mainly caused by exposure to asbestos at work. It is aggressive and deadly, and has one of the world's worst cancer survival rates. Continue reading...
Development of classified military communications satellite terminated over cost, scheduling and difficulty with payloadThe US space force, a standalone branch of the US military charged with securing US interests in, from, and to space", has cancelled a multibillion-dollar program to develop a classified military communications satellite.The termination of the Northrop Grumman program was made because of increased costs, difficulties developing its payload and a schedule delay, Bloomberg reported, citing a regulatory filing and people familiar with the decision. Continue reading...
The company pointed at people who failed to update their passwords' as sensitive data was offered for sale on forumsThree years ago, a man in Florida named JL decided, on a whim, to send a tube of his spit to the genetic testing site 23andMe in exchange for an ancestry report. JL, like millions of other 23andMe participants before him, says he was often asked about his ethnicity and craved a deeper insight into his identity. He said he was surprised by the diversity of his test results, which showed he had some Ashkenazi Jewish heritage.JL said he didn't think much about the results until he learned of a huge breach at the company that exposed the data of nearly 7 million people, about half of the company's customers. Worse, he later learned of a hacker going by the pseudonym Golem" who had offered to sell the names, addresses and genetic heritage reportedly belonging to 1 million 23andMe customers with similar Ashkenazi Jewish heritage on a shadowy dark web forum. Suddenly, JL worried his own flippant decision to catalog his genes could put him and his family at risk. Continue reading...
Intuitive Machine's Odysseus lander successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center, due to land on moon in a weekAnother private US company took a shot at the moon on Thursday, launching a month after a rival's lunar lander missed its mark and came crashing back.Nasa, the main sponsor with experiments on board, is hoping for a successful moon landing next week as it seeks to jumpstart the lunar economy ahead of crewed missions. Continue reading...
Tigers, cheetahs and snow leopards, like domesticated cats, respond differently to familiar and unfamiliar voicesFrom tigers to cheetahs, big cats may seem majestically aloof but researchers have found they can tell apart familiar and unfamiliar human voices, suggesting that even animals that shun group living are far from socially inept.While cats are often portrayed as somewhat standoffish, researchers have previously found that domesticated felines can tell apart the voice of their owner from that of other humans. Continue reading...
Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lander sets off on SpaceX rocket from Cape Canaveral on weeklong journeyA solar-powered lunar lander designed by a former Nasa engineer who became frustrated by the space agency's bureaucracy lifted off from Florida early on Thursday on a mission to become the first private spacecraft to achieve a controlled moon landing.Odysseus, the working name for the uncrewed Nova-C lander built by the Houston-based aerospace company Intuitive Machines, lit up the skies above Cape Canaveral shortly after 1am on a Falcon 9 rocket from Elon Musk's SpaceX company. Continue reading...
by Presented by Ian Sample, produced by Joshan Chana, on (#6JN09)
We all know people who find it hilarious to prod and poke, pinch and tickle, all in the name of fun. But are humans the only ones who like to tease each other? Or are other animals in on the act? Ian Sample talks to Prof Erica Cartmill about her work on apes and teasing and asks, given how annoying teasing is, why do apes, and humans, do it?Watch young great apes tease and annoy their elders here Continue reading...
Exclusive: Researchers find mutations that are more common in men with African ancestry after DNA analysisScientists have discovered genetic mutations that could help explain why Black men are at higher risk of developing prostate cancer than those of other ethnicities. The findings could lead to a test to identify those at greatest risk of developing the disease, enhancing survival rates.Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among British men, with about 52,300 new cases and 12,000 deaths recorded in the UK each year. Black men are twice as likely to be diagnosed and 2.5 times more likely to die from the disease compared with white men. Continue reading...
by Amy Hawkins Senior China correspondent on (#6JMXE)
Researchers used samples from populations deemed by experts and campaigners to be vulnerable to exploitation, including Uyghurs and TibetansA genetics journal from a leading scientific publisher has retracted 18 papers from China, in what is thought to be the biggest mass retraction of academic research due to concerns about human rights.The articles were published in Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine (MGGM), a genetics journal published by the US academic publishing company Wiley. The papers were retracted this week after an agreement between the journal's editor in chief, Suzanne Hart, and the publishing company. In a review process that took over two years, investigators found inconsistencies" between the research and the consent documentation provided by researchers. Continue reading...
Visual neuroscientist who transformed the Institute of Ophthalmology in London into a world-class centre of excellenceAdam Sillito, emeritus professor of visual science at the Institute of Ophthalmology in London, who has died aged 79, described one of his recreations in Who's Who as dreaming of better things". A lateral thinker who grasped the bigger picture, he carried out research into the mechanics of visual perception that yielded vital knowledge for future treatments. As director of the institute from 1991 until 2006, he transformed it from a backwater on the verge of closure to a world-class centre of excellence, partnering with Moorfields eye hospital and attracting top scientists from all over the world.In the 1970s, Sillito was a lecturer at the University of Birmingham and exploring an aspect of the intricate process of visual perception. In order to see", neurons must relay information from the eyes to the visual cortex in the brain, where it is interpreted as images. At the time researchers were mostly interested in how neurotransmitters have an excitatory" effect on neurons, causing them to fire and transmit information to the next cell. Continue reading...
Scientist behind hybrid carbohydrate praises its pleasant and novel flavour experience'Bowls of decidedly pink-tinged rice are about to feature on sustainable food menus, according to researchers who created rice grains with beef and cow fat cells grown inside them.Scientists made the experimental food by covering traditional rice grains in fish gelatin and seeding them with skeletal muscle and fat stem cells which were then grown in the laboratory. Continue reading...
Footage of great apes has revealed that humans are not the only ones to endure seemingly endless bouts of teasing dished out by their young ones who appear intent on pushing their luck.Recordings of chimps, orangutans, bonobos and gorillas found the animals to be masters of the dubious art, embarking on an impressive range of playful and occasionally somewhat aggressive acts ranging from the cheeky and plain silly to the fabulously irritating.From 75 hours of footage taken at San Diego and Leipzig zoos, scientists documented 142 clear instances of great apes teasing their compadres, with most instigated by juveniles aged three to five years old
Being cheated on feels like the end of the world. It takes hard work, but relationships can surviveThe trouble with romantic betrayal - apart from the obvious pain - is that it is the salacious lifeblood of everything from tabloid headlines and box sets to true crime podcasts. Because of this, there is a tendency to view it in highly dramatic terms. That is fine when we are snuggled up on the sofa watching other people's heartbreak at a distance, but less helpful when it arrives closer to home.He's a cheater," gossiped one friend recently about a mutual acquaintance's partner. She needs to throw him out and change the locks." Well, maybe. But the man in question is a mild-mannered accountant who had, in the space of six months, lost his mother and his job. Could this have been a temporary blip? Continue reading...
Young chimps, orangutans, bonobos and gorillas show wide range of playful and sometimes aggressive behavioursFootage of great apes has revealed that humans are not the only ones to endure seemingly endless bouts of teasing dished out by their smaller and weaker young who appear intent on pushing their luck.Recordings of chimps, orangutans, bonobos and gorillas found the animals to be masters of the dubious art, embarking on an impressive range of playful and occasionally somewhat aggressive acts ranging from the cheeky and plain silly to the fabulously irritating. Continue reading...
An existing drug for the chronic disease could slow or stop its progression, researchers sayScientists have discovered a jab that could prevent rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a development experts say could offer hope to millions at risk of the disease.RA is a chronic disease that causes inflammation in the body and triggers pain in the joints. About 18 million people globally are affected by the condition, which can lead to heart, lung or nervous system problems, according to the World Health Organization. Continue reading...
Irish barman says two-part pour was done to speed up service, but scientists say it may improve pintGuinness has long maintained that good things come to those who wait" - with its elaborate two-part pour being essential for achieving the perfect head and flavour profile, not to mention the dome synonymous with a proper pint of the black stuff.But an Irish barman has worked Guinness aficionados into a lather by insisting there is no such thing as the perfect pour, and that there is little craft in pulling the beer lever". Continue reading...
Struggling to focus? Overwhelmed by your phone alerts? Experts say the popping kernels are a useful metaphor to explain overstimulation in the digital ageName: Popcorn brain.Age: 13. Continue reading...
by Presented and produced by Madeleine Finlay, sound on (#6JK54)
Last month the British Association of Dermatologists warned that children as young as eight years old were using potentially damaging anti-ageing skin care products. Madeleine Finlay speaks to consultant dermatologist Dr Emma Wedgeworth about where this trend has come from, what damage these products might be causing to young skin and how we can all look after our skin without spending too much time and money Continue reading...
This moving, thorough analysis of what went wrong when seven Nasa crew members died 20 years ago doesn't waste a moment. It's a full, fitting memorial that's not a minute too longThe three-part documentary The Space Shuttle That Fell to Earth marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia disaster, when one of the most complex machines ever built by the human race" disintegrated on the return journey of its 28th mission, killing all seven astronauts on board.It is a commemoration, in the fullest sense, of the men and women who died. Contemporary footage of press interviews, tapes made during their training and recordings created while they carried out their 16-day mission in space (including chats to their families back on Earth) show them as living, breathing human beings, almost until the very moment that the shuttle failed. They are interwoven with current-day interviews of surviving members of their families, notably commander Richard Husband's wife, Evelyn, mission specialist Michael P Anderson's wife, Sandy, and daughter, Kaycee, payload specialist Ilan Ramon's son, Tal, and mission specialist Laurel Clark's husband, Jon, and son, Iain. The other astronauts who lost their lives were pilot William C McCool and mission specialists Kalpana Chawla and David M Brown. Everyone remembering them is thoughtful, articulate, gentle and clearly shaped by the losses they have been carrying for 20 years.The Space Shuttle That Fell to Earth aired on BBC Two and is available on BBC iPlayer. Continue reading...
Structure stretches for almost a kilometre off coast of Germany and may have once stood by a lakeA stone age wall discovered beneath the waves off Germany's Baltic coast may be the oldest known megastructure built by humans in Europe, researchers say.The wall, which stretches for nearly a kilometre along the seafloor in the Bay of Mecklenburg, was spotted by accident when scientists operated a multibeam sonar system from a research vessel on a student trip about 10km (six miles) offshore. Continue reading...
Archaeologists and naturalists astonished to find yolk and albumen that may reveal secrets about the bird that laid itIt was a wonderful find as it was, a cache of 1,700-year-old speckled chicken eggs discovered in a Roman pit during a dig in Buckinghamshire.But to the astonishment of archaeologists and naturalists, a scan has revealed that one of the eggs recovered intact still has liquid - thought to be a mix of yolk and albumen - inside it, and may give up secrets about the bird that laid it almost two millennia ago. Continue reading...
Scientists have found patterns of four proteins that predict onset of dementia more than a decade before formal diagnosisResearchers have taken a major step towards a blood test that can predict the risk of dementia more than a decade before the condition is formally diagnosed in patients.Hopes for the test were raised after scientists discovered biological markers for the condition in blood samples collected from more than 50,000 healthy volunteers enrolled in the UK Biobank project. Continue reading...
300-page catalogue details thousands of books, journals, pamphlets and articles in naturalist's libraryDetails of Charles Darwin's vast personal library, from a paper on epileptic guinea pigs to the Elizabeth Gaskell novel he adored, are being published in their entirety for the first time.The project has involved nearly two decades of painstaking, detective-like work to track down the thousands of books, journals, pamphlets and articles in the naturalist's library. Continue reading...
As the climate crisis supercharges storms over the Pacific, scientists are creating tools that can measure them from the insideThe storm raged over California for more than five days. As the powerful atmospheric river made landfall, furious winds and torrential downpours ripped trees from their roots, turned streets into rivers and sent mud cascading into homes.Along with chaos, the storm brought opportunity. Scientists were ready, on land and in-flight, to deploy instruments that measure atmospheric rivers like this one. They released tools from planes, equipped with small parachutes, or floated them up from the ground attached to balloons, directly into the storm's path. Continue reading...
Safety Shot says it can combat symptoms of drunkenness and reduce blood alcohol so you never lose a day'If dry January left you craving a big night out, the arrival of wet February - where some people overcompensate after a month without alcohol - may already have served up a reminder of the downsides of excess drinking.If so, a new product that is claimed to rapidly reduce blood alcohol, combat symptoms of drunkenness and allow users to never lose a day" to the night before may sound like an appealing antidote. Continue reading...
Adrift after leaving university, Satya Doyle Byock turned to psychology to bridge the journey to adulthoodWhen Satya Doyle Byock finished her studies after nearly 20 years, she felt like she was stepping off a cliff. Adulthood seemed perilously unclear. I was in my 20s and in crisis, looking around myself at friends in crisis," says Byock, now 40. Only a few of her fellow graduates seemed clear-eyed about the future, with jobs or further study lined up. The rest had absolutely no idea".After graduating, Byock volunteered abroad, at a prison in Colombia, in tsunami relief in Sri Lanka, before landing a job as a project manager at a software startup in Portland. It was a good job", in a buzzy sector, with a decent salary. But Byock's disorientation persisted. In her journals she wondered if she was on the right path and why she didn't feel satisfied. Continue reading...
The launch of Hubble in 1990 marked a turning point in our quest to unravel the mysteries of deep spaceIf you've ever been blown away by an image of outer space, it's a pretty safe bet it was taken by a spacecraft. That's no surprise if we're talking about the planets of our own solar system, where probes have been sending back spectacular closeups since the 1960s. But what about all those nebulae, star clusters and galaxies that are much farther away? For stunning astrophotography, nothing can beat Nasa's Hubble space telescope, or its huge new successor, the James Webb space telescope (JWST). They're called space telescopes not just because they observe space, but because they're located in space.The JWST, for example, is about 930,000 miles (1.5m kilometres) away - approximately four times as far as the moon and far enough that radio signals sent from Earth, travelling at the speed of light, take about five seconds to reach it. In other words, the JWST is about five light seconds away from Earth. But many of the galaxies it has photographed are hundreds of millions, or even billions, of light years away. Clearly, the reason for locating the JWST, and Hubble before it, in space has nothing to do with getting closeup pictures. They're no nearer to the objects they're viewing than telescopes here on Earth. So why do astronomers go to all the trouble and expense of putting telescopes in space? Continue reading...
Science | The Guardian