Category Archives: Science

Patrick Vallance contradicts Rishi Sunak’s evidence to Covid inquiry

Posted on by

PM would almost certainly have known concerns over ‘eat out to help out’ scheme, says former chief scientific adviser

Rishi Sunak would almost certainly have known scientists were worried about his “eat out to help out” scheme during the pandemic, Sir Patrick Vallance has said, directly contradicting the prime minister’s evidence to the Covid inquiry.

In potentially damaging testimony, Vallance, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser during the pandemic, said he would be “very surprised” if Sunak had not learned about objections to his plan to help the hospitality industry.

Continue reading...

UK needs more lab space if it wants to be science superpower, ministers told

Posted on by

Leading property firms also call for more tax breaks and improved transport links to hubs ahead of autumn statement

The UK needs to build more laboratory space, improve transport links and offer more tax breaks to achieve Rishi Sunak’s ambition of becoming a science superpower, two leading property firms have argued ahead of the autumn statement.

Demand for laboratories in the UK is growing fast, with lab vacancy rates of just 1% in Cambridge and London, and 7% in Oxford, according to a report by British Land, one of Britain’s biggest property developers, and the upmarket estate agency and advisory firm Savills.

Continue reading...

Nasa’s hunt for signs of life on Mars divides experts as mission costs rocket

Posted on by

The soaring price-tag of a plan to fly rock samples back to Earth is jeopardising other space projects, say critics

It is one of the most complex space missions ever contemplated. A flotilla of unmanned probes and robot rovers will be flown to Mars to gather rock samples which will then be blasted back to Earth for study for signs of life.

This is Nasa’s Mars Sample Return and it would involve the first-ever space launch from another planet, as well as the first-ever rendezvous in orbit around another planet.

Continue reading...

Tongue-twisters could be used to gauge alcohol-intoxication levels, study finds

Posted on by

Method could be used to stop people from unlocking cars or to support bartenders serving alcohol

Whether it is the story of Peter Piper and his pickled peppers or a woman selling sea shells on the seashore, tongue-twisters tackled when sober can sound rather different after a drink.

Now researchers believe such changes, in particular those relating to pitch and frequency, could be used to alert people to their level of intoxication.

Continue reading...

Simple blood tests for dementia to be trialled in NHS

Posted on by

£5m project launched with aim of having reliable tests within five years to provide quick diagnosis

Scientists are to begin piloting simple blood tests for dementia that could revolutionise detection of the disease and within five years lead to people being diagnosed in seconds by the NHS.

Currently, getting a formal diagnosis in the UK relies on mental ability tests, brain scans or invasive and painful lumbar punctures, where a sample of cerebrospinal fluid is drawn from the lower back.

Continue reading...

Drug that can halve breast cancer risk offered to 289,000 women in England

Posted on by

Anastrozole to be made available to women who have been through the menopause and have family history of breast cancer

Almost 300,000 women at higher risk of developing breast cancer are being given access to a drug that can halve their risk in a “major step forward” in the fight against the disease.

An estimated 289,000 women in England who are at moderate or high risk of breast cancer will from Tuesday be able to take the tablet to try to prevent it from developing, NHS bosses said.

Continue reading...

Large-scale warfare occurred in Europe ‘1,000 years earlier than previously thought’

Posted on by

Reanalysis of skeletal remains in Spain suggests conflicts took place about 5,000 years ago in neolithic period, say researchers

The earliest period of warfare in Europe might have occurred more than 1,000 years before what was previously thought to be the first large-scale conflict in the region, researchers have suggested.

Reanalysis of more than 300 sets of skeletal remains uncovered in Spain – radiocarbon dated to between 5,400 and 5,000 years ago – indicates that conflicts took place long before powerful states formed in the region.

Continue reading...

Rare white platypus spotted in northern NSW: ‘I didn’t think anyone would believe me’

Posted on by

Researcher shares images of an ultra-rare platypus – possibly the first ever documented - observed in the Northern Tablelands

Researchers hunting for an endangered turtle have discovered something even rarer – a white platypus frolicking in a New South Wales stream.

Photos and footage of the extraordinary creature have been published in a scientific journal after several encounters over the past two years or so.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Cold war satellite images reveal hundreds of unknown Roman forts

Posted on by

Declassified spy images point to 396 undiscovered forts in Syria and Iraq, shifting understanding of Roman frontier

Declassified cold-war spy satellite images have thrown new light on the workings of the Roman empire by revealing hundreds of previously undiscovered forts, with dramatic implications for our understanding, experts have said.

Archeologists examining aerial photographs taken in the 1960s and 70s said they reveal 396 sites of unknown Roman forts in Syria and Iraq across the Syrian steppe.

Continue reading...

Tim Peake to quit retirement to lead UK’s first astronaut mission

Posted on by

British astronaut last flew to International Space Station in 2015 as European Space Agency astronaut

The last British astronaut to go into space is to come out of retirement to lead the UK’s first astronaut mission.

Tim Peake, 51, who will be leading the mission, last flew to the International Space Station (ISS) as a European Space Agency astronaut in 2015.

Continue reading...

Ancient rock carvings revealed by receding Amazon waters amid drought

Posted on by

Human faces and other figures believed to be up to 2,000 years old exposed as Brazil river level hits record low

Human faces and other figures etched in stone up to 2,000 years ago have been revealed on Amazon riverbanks as a historic drought in the Brazilian region has brought water levels to unprecedented lows.

The petroglyphs, which include animals and other natural forms, have been revealed on the shores of the Rio Negro, at an archeological site known as the Ponto das Lajes, or Place of Slabs.

Continue reading...

‘A Neolithic feat of engineering’: Orkney dig reveals ruins of huge tomb

Posted on by

Clues unearthed more than 100 years ago inspired archeologists to locate the 5,000-year-old site

The ruins of a 5,000-year-old tomb in a construction that reflects the pinnacle of neolithic engineering in northern Britain has been unearthed in Orkney.

Fourteen articulated skeletons of men, women and children – two positioned as if they were embracing – have been found inside one of six cells or side rooms.

Continue reading...

Quantum physicist Michelle Simmons awarded PM’s top science prize over computing work

Posted on by

The 2018 Australian of the year was recognised for her work on super-fast technology in the field of atomic electronics

The quantum physicist and 2018 Australian of the year, Prof Michelle Simmons, has been awarded the top honour at the prime minister’s prizes for science.

Simmons, of the University of New South Wales, was recognised on Monday night for her work in creating the field of atomic electronics.

Continue reading...

Revealed: how a little-known pollution rule keeps the air dirty for millions of Americans

Posted on by

Major investigation shows local governments are increasingly exploiting a loophole in the Clean Air Act, leaving more than 21 million Americans with air that’s dirtier than they realize

A legal loophole has allowed the US Environmental Protection Agency to strike pollution from clean air tallies in more than 70 counties, enabling local regulators to claim the air was cleaner than it really was for more than 21 million Americans.

Regulators have exploited a little-known provision in the Clean Air Act called the “exceptional events rule” to forgive pollution caused by “natural” or “uncontrollable” events – including wildfires – on records used by the EPA for regulatory decisions, a new investigation from The California Newsroom, MuckRock and the Guardian reveals.

Continue reading...

Solar-powered off-road car finishes 620-mile test drive across north Africa

Posted on by

The Stella Terra was designed by students at Eindhoven University of Technology and completed trip without recharging

A solar-powered car said to be the first in the world capable of driving off-road over long distances without recharging has completed a 620-mile (1,000km) test drive across Morocco and the Sahara.

The two-seat Stella Terra, designed by students at the Eindhoven University of Technology, completed the journey across a variety of challenging landscapes as part of a final test of its lightweight frame and aerodynamic profile.

Continue reading...

Dominica’s mountain chicken frog disappears in ‘fastest extinction ever recorded’

Posted on by

Ecological calamity on the Caribbean island demonstrates how quickly wildlife can be destroyed, scientists say

They were once so numerous they were cooked as the national dish of Dominica. Every year, thousands of mountain chicken frogs, roasted with garlic and pepper, were eaten by islanders and tourists.

Two decades later, the animal – one of the world’s largest species of frog – has in effect disappeared from the Caribbean island. A series of ecological disasters has reduced its former healthy, stable population of hundreds of thousands of animals to a total of 21 frogs, according to scientists’ most recent survey.

Continue reading...

‘A gorgeous sight’: delight and wonder as US viewers watch annular solar eclipse

Posted on by

Amid varying levels of cloud cover, Americans gathered and donned special glasses for rare celestial show

It was a moment that won’t happen again for 16 years – and Mother Nature obscured it in some places.

“It was supposed to be sunny in Corpus Christi today and now is clouds everywhere. Trying to see where we have to drive to,” one frustrated eclipse viewer in Texas posted on the Total Solar Eclipse 2024 Facebook page. (The title references next April’s total eclipse, which will be visible in some areas of the US.)

Continue reading...

‘Moment of annularity’ sweeps across parts of US as millions watch eclipse – live updates

Posted on by

‘Ring of fire’ solar eclipse to be visible in California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and the Gulf of Mexico

The sun’s “ring of fire” is becoming visible to hundreds of thousands of more Americans as the annular eclipse sweeps across the mainland US in a south-eastern direction towards Texas.

The eclipse has passed Oregon and a sliver of northern California, and sky watchers in New Mexico are the next to experience the full effects of the moon passing in front of the sun.

Continue reading...

‘Ring of fire’ visible in parts of US as crowds gathered to watch annular eclipse

Posted on by

Annular solar eclipse passed over eight states from Oregon to Texas and partial eclipse was visible in other continental states

As the “moment of annularity” was reached, photos were snapped, crowds cheered and the sky darkened – in the areas that the annular solar eclipse could be seen, at least.

Annularity during a solar eclipse is the moment when the moon is fully in front of the sun, creating the ring of fire that is the visual highlight of today’s eclipse. It lasts for only a few minutes.

Continue reading...

‘Extremely rare’ Jurassic-era fossils discovered in Lake Powell

Posted on by

Tritylodonts, mid-sized mammal-related herbivores, roamed the area’s deserts 200m years ago

Scientists have discovered an “extremely rare” set of fossils at Lake Powell that the National Park Service (NPS) is calling one of the most important vertebrate discoveries in the US this year.

The findings, revealed this week, include skulls and teeth from dozens of mid-sized, mammal-related herbivores called tritylodonts that once roamed the region’s vast desert. The bones lay hidden in the sandstone walls of the reservoir for roughly 180m years before a lucky discovery in March.

Continue reading...