Parrot can figure out how to use a tool, pick the most suitable one and even transport a set togetherThey might not have a toolbox or even a fancy belt, but it appears Goffin’s cockatoos are the Handy Andy of the bird world. Researchers have revealed the parrots are able to figure out how to use sets of tools, select the best instrument for a job and even transport tools together before attempting to use them.While New Caledonian crows have long been hailed as expert tool users, recent research shows that Goffin’s cockatoos are also proficient at creating instruments and using them, with one study describing how wild birds manufactured and used three types of tools as “cutlery” to extract seeds from tropical fruit. Continue reading...
About 2 million people die a year as a result of a core group of fungi, and the WHO is concerned we are unprepared for the futureThe year is 2003, and a species of Cordyceps fungus has made the leap from ants to humans, transforming its hosts into frenzied, bloodthirsty zombies that spread the infection to everyone they bite. The solution proposed by a leading mycologist in Jakarta, Indonesia, where the first cases were detected, is radical, but in her view, essential: bomb the entire city and everyone in it to stop the infection in its tracks.Last month, HBO’s long-awaited post-apocalyptic series The Last of Us hit our screens, to huge acclaim from both critics and fans. It posits that it isn’t viruses or bacteria that pose the greatest threat to society, but fungi – those same organisms beloved by brewers, bakers and wild-food enthusiasts. More specifically, climate change has prompted Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, commonly known as “zombie-ant fungus”, to adapt to surviving at higher temperatures, rendering humans an alternative host. Continue reading...
Federal scientists would largely be barred from publicly discussing research, which could have a ‘chilling effect’, experts sayThe Biden administration has proposed what some critics label a “gag order” on federal scientists in the US that would largely bar them from publicly discussing their research, and could effectively prohibit them from taking part in controversial studies on issues like the climate crisis, chemical pollution and biosafety.The rule would have a “chilling effect” on the nation’s scientific discourse, and a similar policy has already been used to censor scientists, said Jeff Ruch, Pacific director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer), a non-profit that protects federal researchers. Continue reading...
Warning comes as Alphabet’s shares continue to plummet after error made by Bard AI system during demoThe type of factual error that blighted the launch of Google’s artificial intelligence-powered chatbot will carry on troubling companies using the technology, experts say, as the market value of its parent company continues to plunge.Investors in Alphabet marked down its shares by a further 4.4% to $95 on Thursday, representing a loss of market value of about $163bn (£140bn) since Wednesday when shareholders wiped around $106bn off the stock. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#68PWA)
Presence of teeth from extinct hominin challenges view that only members of Homo genus used complex toolsThe discovery of stone tools dating back nearly 3m years has raised questions about which hominin species was behind the ancient technology.The artefacts, found at a site in Kenya, are thought to be the oldest known example of a specific set of stone tools used for butchery and pounding plant material. The emergence of the so-called Oldowan toolkit is viewed as a milestone in human evolution and was assumed to be an innovation of our ancestors. Continue reading...
Doctor Kelly Fearnley and an immunocompromised patient respond to Dr Jack Pickard’s letter calling for an end to the requirement for mask-wearing in all clinical areasAs a fellow doctor, I’d like to remind Jack Pickard (Letters, 2 February) of his duty of care to patients and of their right to be cared for in safe environments. His opinion that the ongoing requirement for mask-wearing in all clinical areas should be abolished is irresponsible.I am sure many builders would prefer not to wear a hard hat on site, just as some doctors would prefer not to wear a mask. However, as per the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the wearing of correct personal protective equipment at work is a legal requirement. Continue reading...
Big pharma has choices about where to make new investments and, increasingly it seems, it is not choosing BritainAnother day, another warning from the pharmaceutical sector that ministers’ ambitions to make the UK “a life sciences superpower” are in danger of falling flat. The comments from Sir Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, were different in one important respect, however. He offered a concrete example of how the UK is already losing out as an investment venue.AstraZeneca had wanted to build a new $360m “state-of-the-art” manufacturing plant in the north-west of England near its existing facilities in Warrington and Speke. Instead, said Soriot, Ireland got the nod on account of the “discouraging” tax rate in the UK. Continue reading...
Science now has a cabinet seat, but Britain’s world-leading reputation is fading fastAnother day brings yet another cabinet reshuffle to a weary Britain, but to the university community, it was welcome news to see “science” getting a dedicated department and a seat at the cabinet table. It fits with Rishi Sunak’s pledge to make the UK a “science and technology superpower” and was partially in response to a cross-party House of Lords science and technology committee report on the UK’s “somewhat incoherent” international science policy.Across the world, Britain is renowned for its universities and world-leading research. A scholarship to study at Oxford, the world’s oldest English-speaking university, is what brought me from tropical Miami to England, and then Scotland. Sadly, the past decade has seen the UK university sector losing its lustre for students and faculty. While it’s easy to talk about making science a priority, supporting world-leading research requires action and concrete steps that go beyond rhetoric. To make the UK a “science superpower” means addressing at least three crucial components.Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh Continue reading...
A judge ruled last week that using the F-word in work meetings was now ‘commonplace’. So is it acceptable to say whatever we like, wherever we are?If it were the 14th century, your name was Robert Clevecunt and you lived on Pissing Alley, you wouldn’t have hesitated to tell anyone your name or address. Such words were common enough to be unremarkable. It is easily offended 21st-century humans who would change our name by deed poll and lobby the council to change its road signs.However, we may be becoming more relaxed about swearwords. It was reported last week that an employment judge, presiding over a case of unfair dismissal and discrimination, had decided that using the phrase “I don’t give a fuck” in a “tense” meeting was not necessarily significant. “The words allegedly used in our view are fairly commonplace and do not carry the shock value they might have done in another time,” said the judge. Continue reading...
by Presented by Madeleine Finlay, produced by Madelei on (#68P2A)
Companies selling private blood tests offer customers a way to check their health – from measuring cholesterol levels to thyroid hormones – from the comfort of their home. But what happens if there’s an abnormal result? Madeleine Finlay speaks to health journalist Emma Wilkinson and consultant chemical pathologist Dr Bernie Croal about how these tests work, how to interpret your results and whether an already overstretched NHS is being left to deal with the worried well Continue reading...
Examination of trees alive at the time shows three years of severe drought that may have caused crop failures and famineResearchers have offered new insight into the abrupt collapse of the ancient Hittite civilization, with an examination of trees alive at the time showing three consecutive years of severe drought that may have caused crop failures, famine and political-societal disintegration.Around 1200 BC, human civilization experienced a harrowing setback with the near-simultaneous demise or diminishment of several important empires in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean region, an event called the Bronze Age collapse. Continue reading...
Astrophysicists propose geoengineering solution to climate warming, although skeptics still urge ‘massive’ fossil fuel cutbacksProponents of a “moonshot” idea to deal with global heating have been handed a new, very literal, interpretation by researchers who have proposed firing plumes of moon dust from a gun into space in order to deflect the sun’s rays away from Earth.The seemingly outlandish concept, outlined in a new research paper, would involve creating a “solar shield” in space by mining the moon of millions of tons of its dust and then “ballistically eject[ing]” it to a point in space about 1m miles from Earth, where the floating grains would partially block incoming sunlight. Continue reading...
England’s chief medical officer and colleagues call for push to understand health impacts of indoor pollutantsOffices, schools, supermarkets and hospitals should be monitored for indoor air pollutants, according to England’s chief medical officer, amid concerns that dirty air in buildings may contribute to nearly as many deaths as outdoor air pollution.Prof Chris Whitty said monitoring indoor air quality should become standard practice in public spaces and called for urgent investment to help establish records of pollutants that accumulate in homes, offices and public buildings. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#68NDE)
Astronomers find ring much further away from planet than is normal, leaving them wondering how it remains stableAstronomers have spotted a ring around a dwarf planet called Quaoar in the outer reaches of the solar system.The observations, by a powerful telescope on La Palma, reveal the ring to be much further away from the planet than is typical, calling into question how such systems form. Continue reading...
Health minister hails ‘important step towards normality’ as country eases anti-Covid measureThe use of face masks has ceased to be compulsory on public transport in Spain, bringing an end to almost three years of the government’s most visible anti-Covid measure.Masks became obligatory on public transport on 4 May 2020 after the socialist-led coalition government introduced legislation decreeing they had to be worn by those using buses, taxis, trains, metro systems, aeroplanes or boats. Continue reading...
Research teases hopes that ‘rejuvenation of the body may become commonplace within our lifetimes’Scientists working on an experimental anti-ageing therapy claim to have broken a record by extending the lifespan of a lab rat called Sima.Named after the Hindi word for “limit” or “boundary”, Sima is the last remaining survivor from a group of rodents that received infusions of blood plasma taken from young animals to see if the treatment prolonged their lives. Continue reading...
The pharma giant’s UK chief is adding the company’s voice to scientists’ warnings of the dangers of antibacterial resistanceIt’s just over two years since the first Pfizer Covid jabs reached Britons’ arms, with the goal of quickly preventing deaths and halting further strain on the NHS. Now, the US pharmaceutical giant hopes once again to play a part in protecting the health service, at a time when staff are striking, waiting lists in England stand at more than 7 million, and the organisation is at breaking point.Pfizer’s president in the UK, Susan Rienow, is lobbying to switch the focus towards early-stage illness to prevent people being hospitalised. “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity coming out of the pandemic to try to break the cycle of ill health that holds back the economy, the NHS and the health of the population. The key to that is prevention,” she says. “We don’t have enough hospital beds for all the patients who need them.” Continue reading...
Wind, water and solar energy is cheap, effective and green. We don’t need experimental or risky energy sources to save our planetNearly 7 million people die each year from air pollution. Moreover, global warming is already causing catastrophic damage. We have only seven years to eliminate 80% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions – and 12 to 27 years to eliminate the rest – to avoid 1.5C global warming since the 1850 to 1900 period. We are already 1.1C above average.The world also faces serious energy-security risks related to climate change: the economic, social, and political instability that will result when fossil fuels and uranium run out; blackmail by countries that control the supply of fuel to other countries; the high costs of shipping energy long distances; blackouts when a centralized fossil-fuel or nuclear power plant unexpectedly goes down; and health and environmental problems associated with continuous fuel mining, waste storage, nuclear reactor meltdown, and nuclear energy-related weapons proliferation.Mark Z Jacobson is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford. His work informs the scientific bases for the Green New Deal. He is also the author of six books, including No Miracles Needed: How Today’s Technology Can Save Our Climate and Clean Our Air Continue reading...
by Presented by Ian Sample, produced by Madeleine Fin on (#68KKE)
As we approach the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ian Sample talks to physicist Prof John Ellis, and Arctic governance expert Svein Vigeland Rottem, about how the world of science has had to adaptClip: BBC NewsIn the Arctic, in space, and at international research centres such as CERN, scientists have collaborated with colleagues from around the world to push the boundaries of human knowledge. Since the invasion of Ukraine last February some of that work has come under threat, as Russia’s ongoing role in scientific projects and institutes has come under scrutiny. Continue reading...
The solutions to today’s puzzlesEarlier today I set you these problems from Kvanta, a Ukrainian maths and coding club founded by the brothers Arsenii and Andrii Nikolaiev. Here they are again, this time with solutions.1. Match sticks Continue reading...
A young mathematician’s brilliant brainteasersUPDATE: To read the solutions click hereTodays puzzles are mostly written by Arsenii Nikolaiev, a Ukrainian mathematics undergraduate at Trinity College, Cambridge. Arsenii is a former silver medallist at the International Mathematical Olympiad, who, together with his brother Andrii, founded a maths and coding outreach club for Ukrainian schoolchildren, Kvanta, from which the problems below are taken.Ukraine has a strong tradition in mathematics. In order to ensure that this will continue during and after the war, a group of Ukrainian mathematicians last month announced the creation of the International Centre for Mathematics in Ukraine, an institution that will support high level research and train young scientists. They believe that maths will have a key role to play in the reconstruction of the country once the conflict is over. Continue reading...
For 84 years, the Harvard Study of Adult Development has tracked the lives of hundreds of Americans. Now its director, Robert Waldinger, is explaining what it has taught him about health and fulfilmentIn the 1980s, when data from the world’s longest-running study on happiness started to show that good relationships kept us healthier and happier, the researchers didn’t really believe it. “We know there’s a mind-body connection and we all pay lip service to it,” says Dr Robert Waldinger, the director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which has been running for 84 years. “But how could warmer relationships make it less likely that you would develop coronary artery disease or arthritis? How could relationships get into the body and affect our physiology?” Then, other studies started to show the same. “We thought: OK, we can begin to have confidence in this finding.”It was still a surprise, says Waldinger, but so convinced is he of this fundamental truth that the new book he has co-written with Dr Marc Schulz, The Good Life, focuses mainly on relationships and how to improve them. There are other components, of course, and they tend to be similar across countries, cultures and social grades (he points to the UN’s annual World Happiness report). These include good health and a healthy life expectancy, plus the freedom and capacity to make significant life decisions. Trust is important, he says – not just in friends and neighbours, but also in governments. “One interesting thing that people mention around the world is generosity and opportunities to be generous,” says Waldinger. Continue reading...
Locate Spica as starting point to trace out constellation of the virginWe start the month with a conjunction between the moon and Spica, which will allow us to pinpoint the constellation of Virgo, the virgin, in the sky.The chart shows the view looking due south from London at 4am GMT on 11 February. The conjunction will have been visible during the previous evening as well, rising up into the night sky from the east. The moon will be in its waning gibbous phase with almost 75% of its visible surface illuminated. Continue reading...
Josh Gabbatiss began survey of all living creatures more than two decades ago with corals, worms and jellyfishJosh Gabbatiss was nine when he precociously decided he was going to write an encyclopedia of every living creature, beginning with corals, worms and jellyfish.More than two decades later, aged 30, he has finally completed the project and could not be more proud. His final entry is one of our closest relatives, the chimpanzee. Continue reading...
Growing numbers are taking to the fields in search of fresh air, a sense of community and the odd piece of treasureEyes down, headphones on, arm sweeping across the ground, Mandy Duffin slowly paces a Warwickshire field with her metal detector. Suddenly she stops, and reaches for her spade.Duffin is not alone. Up and down the country, men, women and children are listening for the tantalising sound of electronic pips, wondering if today will be the day they turn up an intriguing remnant of the past. Continue reading...
Doctors say preventing obesity by avoiding unhealthy food is better than trying to reverse its effectsThe promise of breakthrough drugs to help people lose weight must not be used as an excuse to avoid tackling the root causes of obesity, experts have warned, as concerns grow over a scramble for the slimming jabs.According to recent figures, the proportion of adults in England who are obese rose from 14.9% to 28% between 1993 and 2019, while NHS England data reveals that in 2019-20 there were 10,780 hospital admissions directly attributable to obesity. Continue reading...
As the world’s top human genome editing researchers gather in London, the ethical issues posed by pioneering scientific advances will be high on their agendaThe name He Jiankui is not listed as a registered delegate for the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing, which is to be held at the Francis Crick Institute in London next month. Yet the disgraced Chinese scientist will be on the minds of most of those attending. He will be a ghost at the feast of science.Jiankui was responsible for one of the most controversial acts in modern scientific history – as was revealed at the world’s previous genome editing summit, which was held in Hong Kong in 2018. In front of stunned delegates, the researcher, then based at China’s Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, announced he had changed the genetic make-up of three young girls in a bid to make them resistant to HIV. This modification – made when they were embryos – could then be passed on to future generations. Continue reading...
Electricity is involved in every aspect of life. But could the new science of bioelectricity help cure diseases and ‘upgrade’ humans?I was back at the checkpoint. The traffic moved as normal. Bored-looking soldiers waved through civilians on foot, dusty cars and rickety trucks full of livestock and produce.Then the Humvee in front of the gate blew up. Out of the eye-searing blast, I made out the figure of a man running at me, full-speed. He was wearing an explosive vest. I shot him. Continue reading...
The new chatbot is generating a lot of hype, but we would do well to consider its human and environmental costSometimes, those who would forget history are condemned to repeat it. For those of us with long memories, the current fuss – nay hysteria – surrounding ChatGPT (and “generative AI” generally) rings a bell.We have been here before: in January 1966, to be precise. That was the moment when Joseph Weizenbaum, a computer scientist at MIT, unveiled Eliza, which would have been called the world’s first chatbot if that term had existed at the time. Weizenbaum wrote the software (in a programming language intriguingly called MAD-SLIP) to demonstrate that communications between humans and computers were inevitably superficial. It did that by providing a text box in which one could exchange typed communications with the machine. Inside the program was a script (christened DOCTOR by Weizenbaum) which parodied the exchanges a patient might have with a psychotherapist who practised the person-centred therapy pioneered by Carl Rogers. (The program’s name came from Eliza Doolittle, the cockney lass who was taught to “speak proper” in Shaw’s play Pygmalion.) Continue reading...
Oxford and Cambridge universities, once given more than £130m a year in total by European research programmes, are now getting £1m annually between themOne of the UK’s most prestigious universities has seen its funding from a large European research programme plummet from £62m a year to nothing since Brexit, new figures show.The latest statistics from the European Commission reveal that Cambridge University, which netted €483m (£433m) over the seven years of the last European research funding programme, Horizon 2020, has not received any funding in the first two years of the new Horizon Europe programme. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#68H17)
Exclusive: He Jiankui stops short of apologising for procedure that shocked the world of science in 2018The scientist at the heart of the scandal involving the world’s first gene-edited babies has said he moved “too quickly” by pressing ahead with the procedure.He Jiankui sent shock waves across the world of science when he announced in 2018 that he had edited the genes of twin girls, Lulu and Nana, before birth. He was subsequently sacked by his university in Shenzhen, received a three-year prison sentence, and was broadly condemned for having gone ahead with the risky, ethically contentious and medically unjustified procedure with inadequate consent from the families involved. Continue reading...
Researchers hail ‘world-class discovery’ that suggests cave bears may have lived farther south than thoughtResearchers exploring a cave system in south-east Spain have discovered a huge cavern, sealed off for millennia, hung with huge stalactites and gouged by the claws of long-extinct cave bears, which, they claim, “opens a new door on prehistory”.The find was made at the Cueva del Arco, a collection of caves in the Almadenes gorge near the Murcian town of Cieza. Although the site had already yielded evidence of settlements stretching back 50,000 years – making it one of the few places in the eastern Iberian peninsula where the transition from Neanderthals to modern humans can be documented – experts digging there suspected it harboured further discoveries. Continue reading...
Kisspeptin found to bolster sexual responses by increasing brain activity linked to arousal and attractionPeople with a low sex drive could benefit from injections of a hormone called kisspeptin, according to clinical trials that found the shots can boost sexual responses.The trials are the first to show the hormone can increase activity in brain regions linked to arousal and attraction in men and women who are distressed by their low libidos. Continue reading...
The speeding C/2022 E3 (ZTF) and its icy tail will not be visible from most parts of Australia until 5 February – and won’t be visible again from Earth for a long, long time
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#68G05)
Scientists suggest patient’s own cells could be grown in the lab and used to repair stroke or trauma injuriesBlobs of human brain tissue have been transplanted into the brains of rats in work that could pave the way for new treatments for devastating brain injuries.The groundbreaking study showed that the “human brain organoids” – sesame seed-sized balls of neurons – were able to integrate into the rat brain, linking up with their blood supplies and communicating with the rat neurons. Continue reading...
by Mark Brown North of England correspondent on (#68G0G)
Two sections of the Thornborough Henges come off Historic England’s at-risk register after donationTwo enormous and thrillingly mysterious ancient monuments, part of a complex regarded as the Stonehenge of the north, have been given to the nation and will come off England’s heritage at-risk register.The Thornborough Henges, near Ripon, in North Yorkshire, are three huge, human-made, enclosed earth circles. Each is more than 200 metres in diameter and they date from 3500BC to 2500BC, making them late neolithic/early bronze age monuments. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Radiotherapy prior to operation could be key to reducing likelihood of tumours regrowing quickly, researchers sayThe NHS has begun a world-first clinical trial of a pioneering treatment technique aimed at extending the lives of people with brain tumours.A team of radiologists, neurosurgeons, oncologists, nurses, physicists and pathologists are using detailed MRI scans and highly targeted radiotherapy before surgery with the aim of reducing the likelihood of tumours growing back quickly, thereby helping patients live longer. Continue reading...
Co-author of paper says results have implications for anyone who has to think hard in polluted areasChess experts make more mistakes when air pollution is high, a study has found.Experts used computer models to analyse the quality of games played and found that with a modest increase in fine particulate matter, the probability that chess players would make an error increased by 2.1 percentage points, and the magnitude of those errors increased by 10.8%. Continue reading...
by Presented by Madeleine Finlay with Fiona Harvey, p on (#68EM7)
This week the government published a major environmental improvement plan for England. It has pledged that every household will be within a 15-minute walk of green space or water, the restoration of 1.2m acres of wildlife habitat, and that sewage spills will be tackled with upgrades to wastewater treatment works. Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian’s environment editor, Fiona Harvey, about the state of nature in the UK, what this plan promises to do, and whether it’s ambitious enough to halt and reverse damage done.Clips: BBC News, Channel 4 News, ITV News Continue reading...
I am filled with grief at losing my friend at a time when we need his calm, direct voice more than everThis week science lost one of its greatest Earth system experts, Australia lost a skilled, passionate communicator of climate science and the world lost a humble soul of the highest humanity, kindness and integrity. As did scores of others, I lost a colleague and friend when Will Steffen left us on Sunday after a battle with pancreatic cancer.It is impossible to overstate Will’s impact on science. The many tributes to his work can only scratch the surface of his legacy. He led the effort to map the Great Acceleration of human impact on the physical and biological systems of our planet, culminating in consideration of the geological age of humans – the Anthropocene, first proposed by Nobel prize winner Paul Crutzen.As the climate system continues to spiral towards a potentially uncontrollable state, I am struck with an increasing sense of both anger and apprehension. I’m angry because the lack of effective action on climate change, despite the wealth not of only scientific information but also of solutions to reduce emissions, has now created a climate emergency. The students are right. Their future is now being threatened by the greed of the wealthy fossil fuel elite, the lies of the Murdoch press, and the weakness of our political leaders. These people have no right to destroy my daughter’s future and that of her generation.
125,000-year-old bones of 70 animals – each about three times the size of today’s Asian elephants – discovered near HalleNeanderthals may have lived in larger groups than previously believed, hunting massive elephants that were up to three times bigger than those of today, according to a new study.The researchers reached their conclusions, published in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday, based on examinations of the 125,000-year-old skeletal remains of straight-tusked elephants found near Halle in central Germany. Continue reading...
Experts find evidence at Derbyshire cremation site of horses and dogs originating from the Baltic ShieldWhen the Vikings arrived in England they didn’t just bring their helmets, axes and beards –they also brought their horses and dogs, research suggests.Experts studying cremated remains associated with the Viking great army that invaded England in AD865, say they have found evidence of animals and humans travelling from the Baltic Shield – a geographical area that encompasses Finland and parts of Norway, Sweden and Russia. Continue reading...
A deep trawl has brought up a potentially new species of a fish whose extreme mating methods include permanent physical fusion“I sometimes describe anglerfish as looking like a satanic potato,” says James Maclaine, senior curator of fish at London’s Natural History Museum, who believes a new species of the fish may have been discovered.Many anglerfish are globular and lumpy in shape. They have a long prong sprouting from their forehead with a glowing tip that lures prey into their enormous, tooth-filled jaws. If their appearance is curious, then the method of reproduction that some species have developed – known as sexual parasitism – is even more so. Continue reading...
Phil McGraw dispensed advice to rebellious teens, disfunctional families and troubled celebrities for 25 yearsDr. Phil, the US talkshow that saw Dr Phil McGraw divvy out life advice to individuals and which became a regular on daytime television around the world, is set to end later this year after 21 seasons.Hosted by McGraw since 2002, the show saw him advise guests who were troubled by problems, often to do with their finances, weight, families, addictions and marriages. Continue reading...
A nine-year-old girl whose neighbour called police as she worked to eradicate invasive insects from her home town has earned honours from one of the US’s most prestigious universities. Bobbi Wilson, who is black, unwittingly set off a national discussion about the dangers of racial profiling when a neighbour called the police on 22 October as she used a homemade repellant spray of water, dish soap and apple cider vinegar to kill spotted lanternflies, an invasive pest native to Asia that harms trees and which scientists advise people to kill in order to protect the environment. The caller later reportedly apologised to Bobbi’s mother. The Yale school of public health earlier this month held a ceremony citing Bobbi's efforts to rid Caldwell, New Jersey, of the spotted lanternfly, university officials said.
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