Kosmos 482, weighing 500kg, was meant to land on Venus in the 1970s but it never made it out of orbit because of a rocket malfunction
A Soviet-era spacecraft meant to land on Venus in the 1970s is expected to soon plunge uncontrolled back to Earth.
It’s too early to know where the half-ton mass of metal might come down or how much of it will survive re-entry, according to space debris-tracking experts.
Continue reading...Maintaining a positive mood and eating more fruit may also help lower risk, researchers find
Drinking champagne, eating more fruit, staying slim and maintaining a positive outlook on life could help reduce the risk of a sudden cardiac arrest, the world’s first study of its kind suggests.
Millions of people worldwide die every year after experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), when the heart stops pumping blood around the body without warning. They are caused by a dangerous abnormal heart rhythm, when the electrical system in the heart is not working properly. Without immediate treatment such as CPR, those affected will die.
Continue reading...Experts hope vessel’s old timbers and nails will help shed light on how boats were built during medieval period
Archaeologists excavating the site of a former fish market in Barcelona have uncovered the remains of a large medieval boat that was swallowed by the waters off the Catalan capital 500 or 600 years ago.
The area, which is being dug up in order to build a new centre dedicated to biomedicine and biodiversity, has already yielded finds ranging from a Spanish civil war air-raid shelter to traces of the old market and of the city’s 18th-century history.
Continue reading...Health secretary is planning wide-ranging monitoring of autistic people’s health record and cuts to disability services
Autism experts and autistic people are pushing back on Robert F Kennedy’s “terrible” approach to autism as the health secretary plans more expansive monitoring of autistic people’s health records and proposes cuts to disability services.
A huge study on autism proposed by Kennedy will draw upon private medical records from federal and commercial databases, and a new health registry will track autistic Americans, CBS News reported on Monday.
Continue reading...Study offers rare insight into human-animal combat during Roman empire
Bite marks from a lion on a man’s skeleton, excavated from a 1,800-year-old cemetery on the outskirts of York, provide the first physical evidence of human-animal combat in the Roman empire, new research claims.
While clashes between combatants, big cats and bears are described and depicted in ancient texts and mosaics, there had previously been no convincing proof from human remains to confirm that these skirmishes formed part of Roman entertainment.
Continue reading...An ashen pallor and an eerie stillness all that remains where there should fluttering fish and vibrant colours in the reefscape, one conservationist says
The world’s coral reefs have been pushed into “uncharted territory” by the worst global bleaching event on record that has now hit more than 80% of the planet’s reefs, scientists have warned.
Reefs in at least 82 countries and territories have been exposed to enough heat to turn corals white since the global event started in January 2023, the latest data from the US government’s Coral Reef Watch shows.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Leaked report says high visa costs also derailing clinical trials and research, denying NHS life-saving drugs
The world’s best cancer doctors, scientists and researchers are being put off moving to or staying in the UK by politicians’ rhetoric on immigration, a leaked report reveals.
Recruiting and retaining “global talent” to treat NHS patients and find new ways to cure cancer is vital, amid an acute British workforce crisis and rising numbers being diagnosed with the disease.
Continue reading...Footage of apes consuming fermented breadfruit leads researchers to ask if it may shed light on origins of human feasting
Humans have gathered to feast and enjoy a tipple together for thousands of years, but research suggests chimpanzees may also bond over a boozy treat.
Wild chimpanzees in west Africa have been observed sharing fruit containing alcohol – not in quantities to get roaring drunk but, possibly, enough for a fuzzy beer buzz feeling.
Continue reading...Orforglipron also reduced blood sugar levels in participants with type 2 diabetes
A significant trial of a daily weight-loss pill has found that it helped people to shed the pounds and reduce their blood sugar levels, making it a contender to join the new wave of drugs that combat obesity and diabetes.
People who took a 36mg pill of orforglipron lost an average of 7.3kg (16lbs) over nine months, according to results from a phase 3 clinical trial reported by the drug’s manufacturer, Eli Lilly, on Thursday.
Continue reading...Findings from Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region indicate traditional eating habits in rural Africa can boost the immune system and reduce inflammation
Plantains, cassava and fermented banana drink should be added to global healthy eating guidelines alongside the olive oil, tomatoes and red wine of the Mediterranean diet, say researchers who found the traditional diet of people living in Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region had a positive impact on the body’s immune system.
Traditional foods enjoyed in rural villages also had a positive impact on markers of inflammation, the researchers found in a study published this month in the journal Nature Medicine.
Continue reading...New talent program aims to attract academics fleeing US as administration slashes higher education funding
The “smartest minds” in the United States will be beckoned to Australia with a new talent program aiming to capitalise on academics disfranchised by the Trump administration’s research cuts.
The Australian Academy of Science announced the global talent attraction program on Thursday, warning the nation needed to “act swiftly” to capitalise on the opportunity.
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Continue reading...Astrophysics team say observation of chemical compounds may be ‘tipping point’ in search for extraterrestrial life
A giant planet 124 light years from Earth has yielded the strongest evidence yet that extraterrestrial life may be thriving beyond our solar system, astronomers claim.
Observations by the James Webb space telescope of a planet called K2-18 b appear to reveal the chemical fingerprints of two compounds that, on Earth, are only known to be produced by life.
Continue reading...Presenting an award at the Breakthrough prize ceremony, the actor and writer allegedly accused the president of destroying American science
A pointed criticism of President Trump’s policies on science by Seth Rogen was edited out of the filmed coverage of an annual science awards show, it has emerged.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, which was one of the sponsors of the event, Rogen was one of the presenters at this month’s Breakthrough prize ceremony, a high profile and lavishly funded awards programme recognising “outstanding scientific achievements” co-founded by, among others, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and which describes itself as “the Oscars of science”.
Continue reading...Amy Schumer, Olivia Wilde and Olivia Munn are among the famous names calling out the much-publicised space trip
The all-female Blue Origin rocket launch may have received plenty of glowing media coverage – but not everyone is impressed.
The stunt has drawn criticism from a number of female celebrities who were not keen on the Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin NS-31 mission, which included Katy Perry, Bezos’s fiancee Lauren Sanchez, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn and, in a twist straight out of Apple TV’s The Morning Show, CBS Mornings host Gayle King.
Continue reading...Medical information will be available from UK Biobank, despite western intelligence agencies’ security fears
Researchers from China are to be allowed access to half a million UK GP records despite western intelligence agencies’ fears about the authoritarian regime amassing health data, the Guardian can reveal.
Preparations are under way to transfer the records to UK Biobank, a research hub that holds detailed medical information donated by 500,000 volunteers. One of the world’s largest troves of health data, the facility makes its information available to universities, scientific institutes and private companies. A Guardian analysis shows one in five successful applications for access come from China.
Continue reading...All-female crew led by Jeff Bezos’s fiancee Lauren Sánchez lands in Texas after reaching the edge of outer space
Six women – including the pop star Katy Perry and morning TV host Gayle King – safely completed a trip to the edge of outer space and back from a private Texas ranch on Monday morning on a rocket belonging to Jeff Bezos, the Amazon co-founder and commercial space flight entrepreneur.
The women, who also included Bezos’s fiancee, Lauren Sánchez, made the trip to the Kármán line – the internationally recognized boundary of space – to float about, weightlessly, in the rocket’s capsule for three minutes before returning to Earth.
Continue reading...Critics say Nasa faces ‘extinction-level event’ with budget plan, with climate research funding also to be slashed
Donald Trump shows no signs of easing his assault on climate science as plans of more sweeping cuts to key US research centers surfaced on Friday.
The administration is planning to slash budgets at both the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (Noaa) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), according to internal budget documents, taking aim specifically at programs used to study impacts from the climate crisis.
Continue reading...More than 40% of pesticides discovered in dust linked to toxic effects including cancer and hormone disruption
Almost 200 pesticides have been found by a study examining dust in homes around Europe, as scientists say regulators need to take “toxic cocktails” of chemicals into account when banning or restricting the use of pesticides.
Scientists say their research supports the idea that regulators should assess the risks posed by pesticides when they react with other chemicals, as well as individually. They say this should apply to substances already in use, as well as those yet to be approved.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Racial disparities highlighted as researchers estimate 10 million women have conditions such as fibroids or endometriosis
More than a quarter of women in England are living with a serious reproductive health issue, according to the largest survey of its kind, and experts say “systemic, operational, structural and cultural issues” prevent women from accessing care.
The survey of 60,000 women across England in 2023, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and analysed by academics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, found that 28% of respondents were living with a reproductive morbidity, such as pelvic organ prolapse, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, or cervical, uterine, ovarian or breast cancer.
Continue reading...World Cancer Research Fund goes further than UK and WHO advice on alcohol after review of evidence
Women should avoid alcohol altogether to reduce their risk of breast cancer, a charity has warned.
The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has published a review of evidence on how diet and lifestyle factors can play a role in the development of the disease.
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