Science News

Russia’s silence over the death of a lab worker underlines that pandemic preparedness amounts to nothing if information on threats is withheld In pandemic preparedness work, scientists like to focus on the technical challenges: identifying pathogens, diagnosing infections, understanding their effects and developing vaccines and treatments. Each step promises progress through human innovation, investment and planning. The World Health Organization (WHO), for example, brings experts together to id

A puzzle for the ages It’s made of wood, it’s in the shape of a circle, and it is the forum for many an important gathering. It is also the setting for today’s puzzle. Continue reading...

From a dark location, the Beehive – or Praesepe – will appear as a faint, misty patch very close to the red planet The red planet, Mars, sails through the beautiful cluster of stars known as the Beehive this week. Catalogued as Messier 44, the cluster lies in the constellation Cancer. It has been known since antiquity, when its hazy appearance earned it the Latin name Praesepe, meaning a manger or crib. Although it is one of the brightest star clusters in the night sky, it can be surprisingly di

Aberffraw, Ynys Môn (Anglesey): Plenty of fungi can be found among the sand here; in fact it is vital to keeping the dunes at bay Dapperlings and toughshanks, bonnets and brittlegills, bird’s nests and fairy clubs. Fungi season has begun, and for me it is heralded by the “fungus foray” held at Bangor University’s Treborth Botanic Garden. An annual event, this year it produced more than 200 species in just 90 minutes, thanks to the 225 forayers who took part. Among the feast of colour and form wa

Heat and humidity have led to one of the worst mosquito years in recent history, with West Nile virus at a decade high Los Angeles might be best known for blue skies, beaches and film premiers — but for the last several years it’s held another, unenviable distinction: the most mosquito-infested city in America. And this year has been especially nightmarish, thanks to a series of heatwaves and an extra-powerful El Niño. Locals have called it a summer of “living hell” as clouds of mosquitoes swarm

Newly established commission identifies 17 catastrophic threats to human health but says ‘realistic route to act’ on each exists Humans could become extinct by the year 2100 due to malicious use of AI or nuclear conflict, according to a new global risk assessment. They top a list of 17 major threats to human health over the next 75 years, which also includes cuts to aid spending by wealthy countries, the climate crisis and childhood malnutrition. Continue reading...

Though mostly visible near the Arctic Circle, the natural phenomenon dazzled sky-gazers as far south Devon, Hampshire and Kent The northern lights illuminated the skies across the UK on Friday and Saturday evening. Sky-gazers as far south as Devon, Hampshire and Kent were treated to the dazzling natural phenomenon, also known as the aurora borealis. Continue reading...

Nobel prizewinning biochemist who succeeded against the odds in mapping the ribosome For years, the crystallographer and biochemist Ada Yonath had to contend with the disdain and sometimes derision of many of her contemporaries after she set herself the challenge of mapping the molecular structure of the ribosome. Ribosomes are found in all living cells. Effectively they are tiny factories that synthesise proteins, complex molecules that are vital for building and repairing the tissues and organ

The sleep disorder has been the butt of jokes and a comedic plot point, but the reality of living with narcolepsy is anything but funny. Things could be about to change for people with the condition though, after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first ever drug to treat narcolepsy itself, rather than just its symptoms. Madeleine Finlay tells Ian Sample how the scientific breakthrough came about, and Julie Flygare, who has narcolepsy and founded the non-profit Project Sleep,

Some change in our lifestyles and environments over a generation has caused this increased risk. What, exactly, is a mystery Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh In the field of global health, we often talk about each generation living longer and healthier lives than their parents. We’ve seen this in the gains in life expectancy, the sharp decrease in child mortality and in the near elimination of many vaccine-preventable diseases. But since the turn

Intense flash of radio waves is more than 10bn years old and has travelled through ‘approximately 80% of cosmic history’ A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a mysterious flash of energy was released into the universe. Astronomers have now detected that flash – a burst of radio waves which travelled for more than 10bn years before reaching Earth – what they believe to be the most distant fast radio burst (FRB) ever recorded. Continue reading...

Researchers found five events, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, caused serious damage to mental wellbeing across UK Brexit, Liz Truss’s mini-budget and other “shocks” over the last 10 years have led to a serious and lasting deterioration in the UK population’s mental health, research has found. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the first and second Covid lockdowns also triggered big rises in psychological distress, as measured by the number of people with depression and anxiety. Continue r

Operation on 19-year-old who had no sperm after chemotherapy offers hope of preserving children’s fertility after cancer treatment Surgeons have performed the first testicular tissue transplant on a teenager in the UK, offering hope that boys left infertile by chemotherapy could one day have biological children. The 19-year-old had his tissue removed and frozen three years ago before undergoing treatment for a serious blood disorder. He said he was “incredibly grateful” to the medical team behin

MIT computer scientist led development of software for moon mission and earned Presidential Medal of Freedom Margaret Hamilton, the computer pioneer whose software powered the first moon landing, has died, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced on Wednesday. She was 90. In an era before titles such as software engineer and computer scientist became mainstream, Hamilton, who died on 30 September, learned to program under the tutelage of a renowned MIT meteorologist. Continue re

Optogenetic therapy, based on Nobel prize-winning science, involves turning nerve cells on and off using light A type of gene therapy based on Nobel prize-winning science is safe and can partly restore sight in blind people, researchers have revealed. The approach, known as optogenetic therapy, harnesses the technique for turning nerve cells on and off using light that scooped the 2026 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine. Continue reading...

‘Transparent information sharing’ from Moscow is required to conduct full risk assessment, UN agency says The World Health Organization has said it does not have the “full picture” from Russia following the suspected death from plague last week of a 28-year-old laboratory worker in Siberia. Darya Shipilova died two days after falling ill with cold-like symptoms. She was an employee at the anti-plague research institute in the eastern city of Irkutsk, with some reports suggesting she was infected