Category Archives: Science

EU diplomats hope Horizon deal could be first of many with UK

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UK’s return to science programme raises hope of more deals, including suspension of planned EV tariffs

A dramatic thaw in relations between Britain and the EU has raised hopes that the Horizon science deal could be the first of many breakthroughs, diplomats in Brussels have said.

They claimed the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, had a close relationship that was in stark contrast to the hostility EU officials faced from Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

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‘We can’t take any of this for granted’: Gaza’s fight to keep its treasures safe at home

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Local archaeologists dedicate their lives to protect priceless artefacts from smugglers, Hamas and Israeli attacks in a land at history’s crossroads

There is considerable debate over the origin of the name Gaza. Some etymologists trace it back to azaz, which means “strong” in Semitic languages; other accounts believe it derives from the Persian word ganj, which means “treasure”.

It’s true that you almost can’t move for ancient treasures in the tiny blockaded strip. Fishers, farmers and construction workers regularly uncover elements of Gaza’s 5,000-year-old past in the course of a day’s work.

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Nobel Foundation reverses decision to invite Russian ambassador to awards

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Foundation backtracks on earlier announcement that representatives from Russia, Belarus and Iran would be invited

The Nobel Foundation has reversed its decision to invite ambassadors from Russia and Belarus to this year’s Nobel awards ceremony in Stockholm after the invitation sparked anger.

In 2022, the Nobel Foundation, which organises the annual Nobel prize ceremony and banquet in Stockholm, decided not to invite the Russian and Belarusian ambassadors to the awards event because of the war in Ukraine.

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Seven new ‘walking leaf’ insect species discovered

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Researchers used genetic analysis to identify species that cannot be distinguished by appearance alone

Seven new leaf insect species, known as “walking leaves”, have been discovered.

The insects exhibit a sophisticated “twigs and leaf-like” camouflage allowing them to blend into their surroundings without detection, posing a challenge to both predators and researchers.

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UK health officials bring forward autumn flu and Covid vaccinations

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Move in England comes after detection of highly-mutated coronavirus variant that is spreading around the world

Health officials have brought forward plans for autumn flu and Covid vaccinations after detecting a highly-mutated Covid variant that is spreading around the world.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said vaccinations would be available from 11 September in England as a precautionary measure intended to protect the most vulnerable as the winter months approach. The vaccination programme had not been scheduled to launch until early October.

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Labor launches new body to evaluate public programs using randomised trials

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Assistant Treasury minister Andrew Leigh says Australian Centre for Evaluation could help save government money and make spending fairer

Mimicking the way pharmaceutical companies use data to develop new drugs could help save the federal government millions of dollars while also making spending fairer, according to the assistant Treasury minister.

Andrew Leigh will use a National Press Club speech on Tuesday to help launch the Australian Centre for Evaluation (ACE), a body funded in the May 2023 budget with an initial $10m over four years to design better policies.

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Monday briefing: The story of India’s space programme – and why it took off

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In today’s newsletter: The country’s lunar landing was a triumph. This is how it quietly built a successful mission

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Last week India became the fourth ever country to land a spacecraft on the moon, and the first to touch down successfully near its south pole. It was hailed as a success for “budget” missions, with the project costing £60m, less than half of the £131m it cost Christopher Nolan to make his 2014 space epic, Interstellar.

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Ultra-processed food raises risk of heart attack and stroke, two studies show

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Research presented to annual meeting of European Society of Cardiology prompts calls for action

Ultra-processed food significantly raises the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes, according to two studies that one expert says should serve as a wake-up call for governments worldwide.

Global consumption of heavily processed items such as cereals, protein bars, fizzy drinks, ready meals and fast food has soared in recent years. In the UK and US, well over half the average diet now consists of ultra-processed food (UPF). For some, especially people who are younger, poorer or from disadvantaged areas, a diet comprising as much as 80% UPF is typical.

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The best medicine: study finds laughter is good for heart health

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Unique research shows cardiovascular gains recorded in patients who were shown TV comedy

The old adage that “laughter is the best medicine” may contain an element of truth when it comes to heart health.

A study has demonstrated that having a chuckle causes the tissue inside the heart to expand – and increases oxygen flow around the body.

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Female scientists found to be almost entirely absent from Australian high school textbooks

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Researchers say ‘alarming’ lack of representation could be contributing to gender gap in the field of Stem

Female scientists are almost entirely omitted from Australian textbooks, a new study has found, with researchers warning the “alarming” lack of representation could be contributing to the gender gap in the field of Stem.

The study, released by the Australian National University (ANU) and Curtin University on Monday, analysed the curriculum of the four year 11 and year 12 Stem subjects taught in Australian schools – biology, chemistry, physics and environmental science.

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Salt-free diet ‘can reduce risk of heart problems by almost 20%’

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Large new study using UK Biobank data shows even a small reduction in salt intake can be beneficial

Cutting out salt from meals can slash your risk of heart problems and strokes by almost a fifth, the largest study of its kind suggests.

Research has documented how adding salt to food increases the likelihood of cardiovascular disease and premature death. Now experts have established just how big a difference you could make to your heart health – simply by reducing the number of meals to which you add salt or by ditching it altogether.

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Political support for surveillance of Covid waning in Australia despite ‘waves of mutations’, scientists say

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Active community testing required on an intermittent basis to see ‘the whole iceberg, not just the tip’, Prof Catherine Bennett says

Political momentum for the monitoring and surveillance of Covid-19 is “fading”, the Australian virologist who developed a world-first method for rapidly isolating and characterising variants said.

Prof Stuart Turville, with the University of New South Wales Kirby Institute, said while the impact of Covid-19 in Australia is waning, the Sars CoV-2 virus that causes disease is constantly changing and “there is still a lot we don’t know”.

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Americans at high risk advised to wear masks as new Covid variant detected

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CDC said that scientists discovered a new coronavirus variant, BA 2.86, and that higher-risk individuals should be cautious

As authorities revealed that a new Covid-19 variant has been detected in the US, medical experts are emphasizing that high-risk persons resume masking to prevent potentially deadly infection. Warnings from these physicians come amid an ongoing increase in Covid-19 hospitalizations.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that scientists have discovered a new coronavirus variant, BA 2.86, during routine monitoring of wastewater. Officials said that this variant’s “large number of mutations” has prompted concerns that it could evade immunity derived from vaccination and prior infections more than other variants.

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India’s rover takes walk on the moon after frenzied celebrations

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Solar-powered vehicle will spend two weeks roaming lunar surface to help scientists understand geology of moon

India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft has rolled its rover on to the moon’s surface after its successful landing at the lunar south pole.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced the rover had “ramped down from the lander and India took a walk on the moon”.

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Women with ME tend to have more symptoms than men, study suggests

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Study of chronic fatigue syndrome also finds women are more likely to develop worse symptoms over time

Women with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) tend to have more symptoms than men and are more likely to develop increasingly severe symptoms over time, according to initial results from a major study.

It is already known that women are at higher risk of CFS, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), and the latest study, called DecodeME, provides new insights into how their experience differs from men. The study found that women who have ME/CFS for more than 10 years are more likely to experience increasingly severe symptoms as they age.

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India’s south pole moon landing is big business for global space race

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India has raised its spacefaring profile and will now be seen as low-cost provider for missions possible

For all the risks, for all that was riding on a successful landing, the descent to the moon’s surface was remarkably uneventful, if not exactly stress-free. The Vikram lander, part of India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, dropped steadily on its thrusters to the rock below, slowed to a hover as it approached the ground, and finally came to a rest on the dusty terrain.

When confirmation came that the lander was down, anxiety in the control room gave way to cheers and applause. With the soft touchdown, India becomes the first country to land a probe at the moon’s south pole, a rugged region where deep craters lie in permanent shadow and where ice could provide water, oxygen and fuel for future missions. The first will be on the moon itself, and in lunar orbit, but they could also supply trips to Mars, with the benefit that the materials do not need to be lifted off the Earth’s surface at great cost. It is a region of key scientific interest.

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India lands spacecraft near south pole of moon in historic first

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Vikram lander touches down at lunar south pole shortly after 6pm India time

India has become the first country to successfully land a spacecraft near the south pole of the moon, in a historic moment that drew cheers at watching parties around the country.

“India is on the moon,” Sreedhara Panicker Somanath, the chair of the Indian Space Research Organisation, said as the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft’s Vikram lander touched down shortly after 6pm (1230 BST) near the little-explored lunar south pole in a world first for any space programme.

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Woman ‘over the moon’ after sister donates womb in UK first

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Pioneering operation could allow dozens of infertile women a year to have babies

Surgeons have performed the first womb transplant on a woman in the UK, opening up the possibility for dozens of infertile women to have babies every year. The woman’s sister was the living donor of the womb.

The 34-year-old was “incredibly happy” and “over the moon” with the success of the nine-hour operation, according to the medical team behind the pioneering procedure. She now plans to have two children using IVF.

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Full of beans: scientists use processed coffee grounds to make stronger concrete

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Australian engineers say they can make concrete nearly 30% stronger by incorporating processed coffee grounds into the material

In an idea that fittingly arose over a cup of coffee, researchers have devised a technique to recycle used coffee grounds to make stronger concrete.

Engineers at RMIT University say they have developed a way to make concrete nearly 30% stronger by incorporating processed coffee grounds into the material.

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