Category Archives: Science

‘Mindblowing’ haul of fossils over 500m years old unearthed in China

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Thousands of fossils date back to huge burst in diversity of life on Earth known as Cambrian explosion

A “mindblowing” haul of fossils that captures the riot of evolution that kickstarted the diversity of life on Earth more than half a billion years ago has been discovered by researchers in China.

Paleontologists found thousands of fossils in rocks on the bank of the Danshui river in Hubei province in southern China, where primitive forms of jellyfish, sponges, algae, anemones, worms and arthropods with thin whip-like feelers were entombed in an ancient underwater mudslide.

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Rare super worm moon will loom large as it coincides with equinox

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Phenomenon last occurred in spring 1905 and won’t happen again until the year 2144

Those gazing up into the sky on Wednesday night are set to witness an unusual event: a super worm moon that coincides with the equinox.

It will be the third time this year a full moon has occurred near to the moon’s closest approach to the Earth – making it a supermoon – and will be the last such event in 2019. Those venturing out can expect to see the moon looming larger than usual in the night sky.

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Key to saving lives of newborns lies in half a teaspoon of blood, study claims

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Research reveals striking changes in babies’ immune development that could form the basis for lifesaving vaccines

A groundbreaking study has claimed that the key to saving the lives of newborns is found in just half a teaspoon of blood.

Research has revealed dramatic changes in the immune systems of newborns, which scientists say could transform our understanding of disease in babies.

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China clones ‘Sherlock Holmes’ police dog to cut training times – report

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Kunxun was cloned from a police sniffer dog in Beijing but cost of process remains an obstacle

Scientists in south-west China’s Yunnan province have reportedly cloned what they called the “Sherlock Holmes of police dogs” in a programme they hope will help cut training times and costs for police dogs.

The dog, named Kunxun, was cloned from a police sniffer dog by the Beijing-based Sinogene Biotechnology Company and the Yunnan Agricultural University, with support from the Ministry of Public Security, the state-owned tabloid Global Times reported.

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Use forecast to talk about climate change, urges ex-BBC presenter

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Bill Giles calls on broadcasters to add slot explaining humans’ impact on climate

The veteran weatherman Bill Giles is calling on the BBC and other major broadcasters to radically overhaul their forecasts to incorporate information about climate change.

The former head of BBC weather presenters has said more needs to be done by broadcasters to highlight climate change to face the “reality more squarely and openly”.

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Stephen Hawking’s former nurse struck off for failings in his care

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Patricia Dowdy deemed not fit to practise over multiple misconduct charges

One of Stephen Hawking’s former nurses has been struck off after the Nursing and Midwifery Council ruled she “failed to provide the standards of good, professional care that we expect and Professor Hawking deserved”.

The NMC said Patricia Dowdy, 61, had faced multiple misconduct charges in relation to the care she was providing to the eminent physicist, including financial misconduct, dishonesty, not providing appropriate care, failing to cooperate with the NMC and not having the correct qualifications.

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Fake drugs kill more than 250,000 children a year, doctors warn

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Printer ink, paint and arsenic found in some drugs sold to treat life-threatening illnesses

Doctors have called for an urgent international effort to combat a “pandemic of bad drugs” that is thought to kill hundreds of thousands of people globally every year.

A surge in counterfeit and poor quality medicines means that 250,000 children a year are thought to die after receiving shoddy or outright fake drugs intended to treat malaria and pneumonia alone, the doctors warned.

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Radical proposal to artificially cool Earth’s climate could be safe, new study claims

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Experts worry that injecting sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere could put some regions at risk

A new study contradicts fears that using solar geoengineering to fight climate change could dangerously alter rainfall and storm patterns in some parts of the world.

Related: Geoengineering may be used to combat global warming, experts say

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Getting fit in middle age as beneficial as starting early – study

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Increasing activity in 40s and 50s lowers risk of early death just like staying fit from teens

Getting active in midlife could be as good for you as starting young when it comes to reducing the risk of an early death, researchers have suggested.

But experts say the study, which looked at people’s patterns of exercise as they aged and their subsequent death records, also shows it does not do to rest on your laurels: the benefits fade once exercise declines.

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SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule splashes down successfully in Atlantic

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Nasa’s quest to resume manned space flight from the US moves a step closer

The SpaceX commercial astronaut capsule has splashed down successfully in the Atlantic Ocean, marking a significant step in Nasa’s quest to resume manned space flight from the US.

The Crew Dragon capsule, whose lone occupant was a test dummy named Ripley, spent a week docked at the International Space Station (ISS) before returning to Earth on Friday morning.

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Elon Musk’s security clearance under review by the Pentagon over pot use

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The SpaceX founder and Tesla chief executive smoked marijuana on a comedian’s podcast last September, a US official said

SpaceX chief executive and Tesla boss Elon Musk’s security clearance is being reviewed by the Pentagon after the billionaire smoked marijuana on a California comedian’s podcast last September, a US official said on Thursday.

An incident report was started by the Pentagon some time after the marijuana event, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The review was first reported by Bloomberg.

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Queen shares digital milestone with royal Instagram followers

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Monarch posted image of 1843 Charles Babbage letter to Prince Albert during Science Museum visit on Thursday

The Queen has proved she is in touch with the touch screen by sharing her first Instagram post in the latest personal technological milestone of her lengthy reign.

The 92-year-old monarch shared an archive image to the 4.6 million followers of @theRoyalFamily’s Instagram account during a visit to the Science Museum to formally open the new Smith Centre and summer exhibition, Top Secret.

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Nasa astronauts to carry out first all-female spacewalk

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Christina Koch and Anne McClain to make history at International Space Station on 29 March

The first all-female spacewalk is to take place later this month, 35 years after a woman first took part in one.

The US space agency Nasa said astronauts Christina Koch and Anne McClain will walk outside the International Space Station on 29 March on a mission to replace batteries installed last summer.

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SpaceX Crew Dragon docks at International Space Station

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Capsule is the first US-made, designed-for-crew spacecraft to dock in eight years

SpaceX‘s new crew capsule has arrived at the International Space Station, completing its second milestone in just over a day.

No one was onboard the Dragon capsule that launched on Saturday on its first test flight, only an dummy.

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SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft launches successfully

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Launch brings US plans to resume sending people into space in own spacecraft closer

Astronauts could be flying again from US soil as early as this summer after the flawless launch of SpaceX’s privately built Crew Dragon capsule opened “a new era in American excellence”, according to the head of the space agency Nasa.

Related: Spacewatch: Nasa to launch new crewed craft in 2019

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Scientists stunned by discovery of ‘semi-identical’ twins

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Boy and girl, now four, are only the second case of ‘sesquizygotic’ twins recorded

A pair of twins have stunned researchers after it emerged that they are neither identical nor fraternal – but something in between.

The team say the boy and girl, now four years old, are the second case of semi-identical twins ever recorded, and the first to be spotted while the mother was pregnant.

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‘FarFarOut’: Nasa astronomer finds potential furthest object in solar system

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Mystery shrouds ‘very faint’ planetary body that appears to be 140 times further from the sun than Earth

A new object has been discovered in the distant reaches of our solar system and given the name FarFarOut, according to a prominent astronomer.

At 140 times further away from the sun than our own planet is, the newly identified body – if its discovery is confirmed – will become the furthest known object in our solar system.

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Kew’s tree library leads hi-tech war on illegal logging

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New techniques will help customs officers identify and seize wood that came from endangered species

The wooden blinds that lie crumpled in Peter Gasson’s laboratory in Kew Gardens are chipped and forlorn-looking. Their manufacturers had claimed they were made of pine but customs officers were wary. And their suspicions were well-founded. Gasson, Kew’s research leader on wood and timber, found the blinds were not made of pine but ramin.

“All ramin trees, which grow in south-east Asia, are endangered and trade in their wood is illegal,” said Gasson. “On this occasion, we got lucky and stopped people profiting from this trade.”

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Japan’s Hayabusa 2 successfully touches down on Ryugu asteroid

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The probe was due to fire a pellet into the surface of the asteroid to try to capture dust

A Japanese spacecraft has successfully touched down on a speeding asteroid 300 million kilometres from the Earth as it attempts an audacious manoeuvre to collect samples and bring them back for scientists to study.

The Hayabusa 2 probe touched down on the asteroid Ryugu at around 11:30pm GMT on Thursday. Data from the probe showed changes in speed and direction, indicating it had reached the asteroid’s surface, according to officials from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

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World’s largest bee, missing for 38 years, found in Indonesia

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Biologists discover single female Wallace’s giant bee inside a termites’ nest in a tree

As long as an adult thumb, with jaws like a stag beetle and four times larger than a honeybee, Wallace’s giant bee is not exactly inconspicuous.

But after going missing, feared extinct, for 38 years, the world’s largest bee has been rediscovered on the Indonesian islands of the North Moluccas.

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