Category Archives: Science

Fossilised red blood cells found in 115m-year-old dinosaur’s bone, say scientists

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Chemical tests on Aratasaurus bone identify presence of heme, the organic compound that allows haemoglobin in blood to carry oxygen around body

It could be the opening of a Jurassic Park rip-off: scientists examining ancient dinosaur bones find what appear to be fossilised red blood cells, and traces of the molecule that gives the beast’s blood its distinctive crimson hue.

But that is what researchers are claiming to have discovered after analysing the hind leg bones of a small, meat-eating dinosaur called an Aratasaurus that lived and died in what is now north-eastern Brazil 115m years ago.

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Tributes paid to ‘inspiring’ Cambridge scientist who died in Spain train crash

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Dr Marta Shahbazi was travelling to a conference to receive award for scientific excellence in developmental biology

An “inspiring” University of Cambridge scientist died in the Spanish train collision on Wednesday that killed at least 69 people.

Dr Marta Shahbazi, 41, an affiliate associate professor at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and a group leader at the city’s Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), was travelling on one of the trains involved in the crash near Urda in Toledo province.

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Putin hails Elon Musk’s ‘genius’ amid plans for Russian version of Starlink

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Russia plans to build own version of US billionaire’s satellite communications to help attack Ukraine

Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk’s genius and said he was in touch with Starlink’s controlling shareholder as Russia develops its own satellite communications for its military to use against Ukraine.

The Russian president, speaking at a summit with African leaders in Moscow, was comparing the Earth-orbiting network built by Musk’s SpaceX with Russia’s gradual efforts to build its own Rassvet constellation.

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Africa’s ‘unprecedented’ Ebola outbreak could reach UK, says top health official

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Jean Kaseya, of the Africa CDC, warns of the illness spreading like Covid unless more funding is secured to increase preparedness and possible treatment

The “unprecedented” spread of the Ebola outbreak means it could reach the UK and other countries, according to one of Africa’s top health officials.

As the current outbreak reached 10,000 cases, with almost 5,000 deaths, Dr Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), compared the outbreak to the Covid pandemic, which first took hold in China before spreading to countries across the world, claiming millions of lives, and ravaging health systems and economies.

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Big pharma accused of ‘free-riding on nature’ as global fund attracts just $7,000

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The Cali Fund, set up to raise $1bn a year for biodiversity from drug companies, remains near empty

Big pharmaceutical companies have been accused of “free-riding on nature”, after a landmark biodiversity fund that invites businesses to put some of their profits back into conservation was left virtually empty.

The Cali Fund set out to raise $1bn (£750m) annually, by asking companies that profit from nature’s genetics to contribute towards conservation in low-income countries. But more than 18 months after the fund was launched, it remains far below this target.

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Stop making sense: focus on sounds to help learn a language, study suggests

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Research shows that the best linguists process unfamiliar foreign speech sounds more like non-speech sounds

If you want to get really good at French, Arabic or Hungarian, don’t start with rote learning vocabulary and grammar, focus on how they sound instead, research suggests.

A new study of how humans learn modern languages has found that the brains of the most talented linguists hear foreign terms as random noise, not words.

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Astronomers detect mysterious burst of energy from a galaxy far, far away

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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.

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Covid, Brexit and Liz Truss mini-budget led to lasting decline in mental health, study finds

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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.

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‘Catastrophic wildfire loop’ after colonisation left parts of Australia more at risk from bushfires, study finds

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Researchers found the shift from open woodland to dense forest after 1788 led to more intense fires, consistent with loss of cultural burning practices

The drastic land use changes wreaked by colonisation created a “catastrophic wildfire loop” that rendered south-east Australia more susceptible to climate-fuelled bushfires, experts say.

A team of researchers, working with the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, an organisation that represents traditional owners, reconstructed 1,000 years of vegetation and fire history at Purghagoolah, a lake surrounded by forest in Croajingolong national park in Gippsland, Victoria.

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Scientists who put faith in technology less likely to take climate action

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‘Techno-optimism’ may lead to reliance on unproven solutions at expense of societal changes needed

Scientists who believe technology will largely solve the problems caused by the climate crisis are less likely to engage in civic action on the issue, according to a study.

The report from the London School of Economics found they are 23% less likelyto sign petitions or take part in protests than peers who doubt that technology is the answer. They are also 18% less likely to make high-impact lifestyle changes, from reducing flights to changing to a vegan or vegetarian diet.

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Scientists who put faith in technology less likely to take climate action

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‘Techno-optimism’ may lead to reliance on unproven solutions at expense of societal changes needed

Scientists who believe technology will largely solve the problems caused by the climate crisis are less likely to engage in civic action on the issue, according to a study.

The report from the London School of Economics found they are 23% less likelyto sign petitions or take part in protests than peers who doubt that technology is the answer. They are also 18% less likely to make high-impact lifestyle changes, from reducing flights to changing to a vegan or vegetarian diet.

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Skull fractures suggest servants of Egypt’s ancient kings were sacrificed

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Study of remains taken from royal cemetery at Umm el-Qa’ab appears to confirm early Egyptologist’s theory

Court officials and craftspeople serving early Egyptian kings may have been sacrificed when their ruler died, according to research that found fractures in several ancient skulls.

The royal cemetery of Umm el-Qa’ab near Abydos features the tombs and enclosures of the First Dynasty rulers of Egypt, and dates as far back as 3,000BC.

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DNA database of UK dogs could help police collar criminals

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Experts working on database that could identify particular breeds involved in crimes, or rule out canine suspects

From tracking criminals to sniffing out drugs, dogs have long helped police crack cases. Now experts are hoping a database of canine DNA could offer vital leads.

While hair, saliva and other canine material may be found at crime scenes, or on individuals connected to incidents, scientists say they are often not fully investigated.

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‘Gamechanging’ brain tumour test reduces diagnosis from eight weeks to two hours

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NHS England says test can be done while patient is on operating table and is being piloted in five centres around the country

A rapid new test for brain tumours can diagnose patients while they are still on the operating table.

Scientists have called the development “gamechanging” and said it could secure early treatment for those who “do not have time on their side”.

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Glimpses into lives of Roman suburbanites in Bath revealed in rare finds

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Exclusive: Restoration work at Bath Assembly Rooms unearths Roman ditches containing pottery, coins and fragments of a military helmet

The restoration of a Georgian building in Bath once frequented by Jane Austen has unexpectedly provided a tantalising glimpse into the life of the city’s Roman suburbanites.

A network of Roman ditches containing pottery, coins, glassware and a fragment of a military helmet has been found beneath Bath Assembly Rooms in the north of the city.

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Trump reportedly to form health funding board that could veto ‘woke’ initiatives

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President’s latest order expected to bring NIH funding under control of Trump administration to align with agenda

Donald Trump’s latest executive order is expected to establish a board responsible for approving National Institutes of Health grant funding, marking another attempt by the Trump administration to censor topics that do not align with the president’s agenda.

The executive order, reported by outlets including the Washington Post and Politico, was discussed in a meeting on Friday where senior administration officials accused the NIH of funding “woke” initiatives that went against Trump’s political priorities.

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New cat species identified for first time in more than a century in Bolivia

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New species of wild feline was discovered in Bolivia’s Yungas forest that is smaller than the average domestic ⁠cat

A diminutive wild cat that inhabits Bolivia’s ⁠cloud forest has been identified as a previously unknown species, marking the first time a new living feline species has been formally named and described in more than a century.

The cat, called tilcayo by local communities, is part of a group called tiger ⁠cats found across much of South ⁠America. It was found in Bolivia’s ​lush Yungas forest, a mountainous region where forests are often covered by clouds and surrounded by high humidity, according to researchers. It measures about 18in (46cm) long and weighs about 3lb (1.4kg), making it smaller than the average domestic ⁠cat.

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Climate crisis likely behind devastating Nepal-Tibet floods that killed more than 1,300, first study finds

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Scientists say global heating was a destabilising factor in collapse of 200,000 sq metre glacier in August

Climate breakdown probably weakened the glacier that collapsed causing catastrophic floods and killing hundreds of people in Nepal and Tibet last month, the first scientific study of the disaster has found.

Researchers identified unusually warm conditions before the glacier’s collapse, which sent an avalanche of 110m cubic metres (3,885 cu ft) of snow and ice into the valley below. This triggered flash floods on an almost unprecedented scale, hitting communities downstream without warning.

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UK mathematician debunks myth around Parthenon’s optical illusions

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Study challenges belief that temple’s curves were designed to correct optical illusions that would have ruined its clean lines

A mathematician has uncovered what may be one of the longest-running myths in history after studying optical illusions and the Parthenon, the famed Greek temple that overlooks Athens.

Scholars have marvelled at the building on the Acropolis hill for more than 2,000 years and heaped praise on its architects for their clever use of geometry. Its subtle curves are said to correct optical illusions that would have otherwise ruined the Parthenon’s clean lines.

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Ebola outbreak in DRC has peaked, say authorities, as infection rates slow

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Almost 3,500 people have died in outbreak and experts say more must be done to ensure Bundibugyo is under control

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have announced that the Ebola outbreak ravaging parts of the country has reached its peak.

For the first time since the epidemic was declared in May, the numbers of people becoming infected is slowing down, according to officials.

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