Tadpole that wriggled around 160m years ago surpasses previous record holder by about 20m years
Scientists have discovered the oldest-known fossil of a giant tadpole that wriggled around over 160m years ago.
The new fossil, found in Argentina, surpasses the previous ancient record holder by about 20m years.
Continue reading...Participants bonded more after watching films that sparked intense emotions
Whether it is laughing at a classic comedy or watching a horror film from behind a cushion, movies can generate myriad feelings. Now researchers say experiencing intense emotions alongside others makes people feel more connected – provided you can see them.
It has long been known that experiencing emotional events together can strengthen bonds between people, with a previous study finding that watching emotional films with another person makes people feel more connected.
Continue reading...Archaeologists draw on laser mapping to find city they have named Valeriana, thought to have been founded pre-AD150
After swapping machetes and binoculars for computer screens and laser mapping, a team of researchers have stumbled on a lost Maya city of temple pyramids, enclosed plazas and a reservoir, all of which had been hidden for centuries by the Mexican jungle.
The discovery in the south-eastern Mexican state of Campeche came about after Luke Auld-Thomas, an anthropologist at Northern Arizona University, began wondering whether non-archaeological uses of the state-of-the-art laser mapping known as lidar could help shed light on the Maya world.
Continue reading...Team at Nottingham Trent University is investigating how chemotherapy in early life could damage nerve cells
Treatments that could help alleviate the chronic pain experienced by thousands of childhood cancer survivors are being investigated by scientists and researchers in the UK.
About eight out of 10 children survive their cancer for 10 years or more but more than half of them report delayed and ongoing pain in adulthood.
Continue reading...British capital may be second only to New York in the number of at-risk languages spoken, says Ross Perlin
Life in London has been mapped according to its health, wealth, land ownership, politics and transport at key points in its long history. But it is now hoped it can be charted in a way that tells a different story: the story of language itself.
Ross Perlin, an academic who claimed a prestigious £25,000 book prize last week, now hopes to start work on a mapping project with British researchers that would reveal the whereabouts of the speakers of the capital’s most at-risk languages. The map, they believe, would be a first step to saving them.
Continue reading...Expert says any suggestion of Human Diversity Foundation accessing sensitive data could affect public trust in science
Concerns have been raised about access to a scientific trove containing the genetic data and medical records of more than 500,000 people, after an investigation revealed that “race scientists” appeared to claim to have obtained the data.
A senior scientist has warned that the leadership responsible for the data held by UK Biobank “have to be very careful with ensuring that correct processes are followed” around access to the information in order to maintain public confidence.
Continue reading...Paintings include one depicting a scantily clad Phaedra, mythological queen of Athens, and her stepson Hippolytus
A tiny house featuring erotic frescoes is the latest discovery in the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Experts say the exquisitely decorated abode, called the House of Phaedra after the mythological queen of Athens, sheds light on the changing architectural styles in the first century AD but is also further proof that the residents of Pompeii had an appetite for sensual art.
The vividly coloured wall paintings include one depicting a sexual encounter between a satyr and a nymph on a bed and one of a scantily clad Phaedra and her stepson Hippolytus, whom, according to Greek legend, she accused of rape after he spurned her advances. Another fresco features gods presumed to be Venus and Adonis.
Continue reading...Open letter by 82 laureates commends Harris and calls Trump a potential threat to progress on climate crisis
More than 80 Nobel prize winners have endorsed Kamala Harris for the presidency, warning that Donald Trump would “jeopardize any advancements in our standards of living” given his earlier proposals for enormous cuts to science funding.
In an open letter, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, 82 Nobel prize winners from the US in the fields of physics, chemistry, economics and medicine, said “this is the most consequential presidential election in a long time, perhaps ever, for the future of science and the United States”.
Continue reading...Many drugs in development aim to delay, slow or reverse symptoms, but which are causing the biggest stir?
This week England’s health spending watchdog rejected a new Alzheimer’s drug – the second such drug it has turned down this year.
Both donanemab and lecanemab were approved by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), yet the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said their benefits were too small to justify their costs, while there have also been concerns over potential side-effects – such as brain swelling and bleeding.
Continue reading...SpaceX capsule touches down carrying three Americans and a Russian who were scheduled to return in August
Four astronauts have returned to Earth after a nearly eight-month space station stay extended by Boeing’s capsule trouble and Hurricane Milton.
A SpaceX capsule carrying the crew parachuted before dawn on Friday into the Gulf of Mexico, just off the Florida coast, after undocking from the International Space Station earlier this week.
Continue reading...Official hails discovery ‘of great significance’ on Port Island, with remains of as yet unknown species to go on display in shopping district on Friday
Hong Kong officials say they have discovered dinosaur fossils in the city for the first time, on a remote and uninhabited island.
The fossils were part of a large dinosaur from the Cretaceous period, about 145m to 66m years ago, the government said in a statement. They will need to conduct further studies to confirm the species of the dinosaur.
Continue reading...‘Superhuman’ technology known as Aire can detect potential problems doctors cannot see from ECG results
The NHS in England is to trial a “superhuman” artificial intelligence tool that predicts a patient’s risk of disease and dying early.
The new technology, known as AI-ECG risk estimation, or Aire, is trained to read the results of electrocardiogram (ECG) tests, which record the electrical activity of the heart and are used to check for problems.
Continue reading...Researchers hope to uncover how people died and how diseases have developed over 1,000 years
Deep beneath the streets of Paris, the dead are having their last word. They are recounting 1,000 years of death in the city: how many are buried in the labyrinth of tunnels that make up Les Catacombes, what killed them and how the diseases that may have led to their demise have developed over the centuries.
In the first ever scientific study of the site, a team of archeologists, anthropologists, biologists and doctors is examining some of the skeletons of an estimated 5-6 million people whose bones were literally dumped down quarry shafts at the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Lack of formal oversight means anyone can set up in practice and continue to work after misconduct cases, campaigners say
Ministers face calls for the urgent regulation of psychotherapists and counsellors to protect vulnerable people, as lawyers report a rise in lawsuits by patients for alleged harm done during therapy.
Unlike most other healthcare roles, including doctors, midwives and osteopaths, “psychotherapist” and “counsellor” are not protected titles nor statutorily regulated professions in the UK.
Continue reading...Researchers urge caution after Jordan tomb excavation and say new clues about Nabataean culture may lie elsewhere
For one of the most famous ancient sites on the planet, there is a surprising amount about the city of Petra – and the Nabataean people who built it – that we don’t know for sure.
What exactly were their origins? How did their society operate? And why did they hand-carve such spectacular monuments into the reddish rock of the Jordanian desert?
Continue reading...Research is one of 11 projects part of a £12m government plan to reduce drug overdoses with new technology
Researchers are building a virtual reality world to help people overcome their cocaine addiction by repeatedly exposing them to tempting scenarios in a safe environment.
The project draws on the experiences of drug users to create tailored 3D experiences, such as being alone in a flat or at a party with friends, where people can be immersed via a VR headset in realistic situations that trigger the urge to take drugs.
Continue reading...Exclusive: proposal to Cop16 could see ‘funga’ get global legal consideration distinct from flora and fauna
A new era of mycelial conservation could begin this month when the UK and Chile propose that fungi should be placed alongside animals and plants as a separate realm for environmental protection.
Mushrooms, mould, mildew, yeast and lichen would all receive elevated status under the plan, which will be submitted to the UN convention on biological diversity (CBD) during the Cop16 meeting in Cali, Colombia, which opens on 21 October.
Continue reading...Archaeologists say site near Seddin once had surprisingly densely populated community of farmers and traders
Archaeologists digging at the site of a bronze age kingdom in northern Germany have uncovered remains of what they say was a surprisingly densely populated community of farmers and traders whose lives were upended by climate change.
Traces of eight large houses have been laid bare in the sandy soil outside the village of Seddin, about 95 miles (150km) north-west of Berlin, near the spectacular “triple grave” of King Hinz, remembered as a kindly ruler, who was laid to rest, purportedly in a golden coffin, next to his wife and a loyal servant.
Continue reading...Process tested in patients over 10-year period involves short course of chemotherapy before chemoradiation
Doctors are hailing a “remarkable” new treatment regime for cervical cancer that reduces the risk of dying by 40%, in the biggest advance against the disease in 25 years.
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women globally, with about 660,000 new cases and 350,000 deaths every year, according to the World Health Organization. In the UK, there are about 3,200 cases and 800 deaths each year.
Continue reading...Elon Musk’s huge rocket sets off on test flight before upper stage splashdown and explosion in Indian Ocean
Elon Musk’s SpaceX achieved a significant milestone on Sunday by catching the massive booster stage from its Starship rocket in a pair of robotic arms as it fell back to the company’s launchpad in southern Texas.
The historic feat, which drew praise from astronauts and space experts, topped a successful fifth test flight for the uncrewed Starship, which blasted off from the Boca Chica starbase at 7.25am local time (1325 BST) on Sunday.
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