Using chemicals in the environment can save wildlife from deadly pathogens, but process is not without risks, say expertsJoseph Hoyt and his team first showed up to the abandoned mineshaft in Wisconsin during the late summer of 2017, personal protective equipment in hand. Long before Covid-19, the supplies were to protect them from the chlorine dioxide gas they had brought along. Their aim was to use the disinfectant gas to kill the Pseudogymnoascus destructans fungus lining the walls of the mineshaft, which had already killed millions of bats across North America.“You’re talking about...

Package also includes overhauling regulatory process for new medicines and funding for UK BiobankThe government is aiming to quadruple the number of patients taking part in commercial clinical trials in the next four years as part of an ambitious plan to boost UK life sciences.Unveiling a package of measures for the sector, the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, said patients would get quicker access to new medicines and the government would cut the bureaucratic burden of approving clinical trials, which has been blamed for a rapid decline in NHS-based trials for cancer and Alzheimer’s drugs. Other...

Research on gulls in Brighton found birds can work out which scraps are worth snaffling by watching what humans are eatingIt will take more than a bunch of signs declaring “do not feed the birds” to deter gulls from swooping down to pinch people’s snacks, a study has suggested.Research on herring gulls at Brighton beach found that the birds can work out which kinds of scraps are worth snaffling by watching what humans are tucking into themselves. Continue reading...

Archaeologists begin excavation of two 500-year-old vessels filled with porcelain and timberTwo 500-year-old shipwrecks in the South China Sea, filled with Ming-era porcelain and stacked timber, provide significant clues about the maritime Silk Road trade routes, Chinese archaeologists have said.The two shipwrecks were discovered in October, and cultural and archaeological authorities have now begun a year-long process of deep-sea exploration and excavation, government officials announced. Continue reading...

Research sheds light on how endotoxins play role in increasing risk of obesity and type 2 diabetesFragments of bacteria leaking into the body from the gut are damaging fat cells and driving weight gain, research suggests.Scientists at Nottingham Trent University have found that these microbe fragments, known as endotoxins, are able to enter the bloodstream and directly affect how well fat cells function. Continue reading...

Researchers identify differences in bacteria that colonise the gut in adults living with obesityThe gut bacteria of a toddler can predict whether they will be overweight later in life, research suggests.The study, led by Gaël Toubon from the Université Sorbonne Paris, looked at the data from 512 infants who were part of a study that tracked the lives of 18,000 children born in France. Continue reading...

Anger at decision to axe the main task of the New Horizons spacecraft to probe the remote Kuiper beltIt may have reached the edge of the solar system and travelled more than 5 billion miles through space, but the New Horizons spacecraft is causing major ripples on Earth. A dispute has erupted between scientists and US space officials in the wake of Nasa’s decision to stop funding next year for the vessel’s main mission.The move was described as “misguided and unfortunate” by Alan Stern, New Horizons’s principal investigator. Continue reading...

Meta sank tens of billions into its CEO’s virtual reality dream, but what will he do next?Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to remember the metaverse, which was quietly laid to rest a few weeks ago by its grieving adoptive parent, one Mark Zuckerberg. Those of you with long memories will remember how, in October 2021, Zuck (as he is known to his friends) excitedly announced the arrival of his new adoptee, to which he had playfully assigned the nickname “The Future”.So delighted was he that he had even renamed his family home in her honour. Henceforth, what was formerly called “...

Cavendish made to resist fungus threatening variety worldwide is seen as potential safety net for growers if industry wiped outGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastScientists have submitted Australia’s first genetically modified fruit – a Cavendish banana – to regulators for approval, saying it has been engineered to withstand a deadly fungus that poses a threat to banana growers worldwide.The banana, known as QCAV-4, has been genetically modified to resist a fungus known as Panama disease tropical race 4 (TR4), which is threatening the multibillion-...

The course focuses on taming a ubiquitous emotion. But what about addressing its root causes?There are six rules of anger management, says my anger workbook. The first rule: “STOP, think, take a look at the BIG picture.” Then, because why use lower-case when you’ve got capitals: “ANGER MANAGEMENT IS A THINKING PERSON’S GAME!”But thinking, it turns out soon into the course, is discouraged. “I’m not here to psychoanalyze you,” says our group leader, a self-styled anger management guru. “I’m just here to help you follow the program. If you follow the program, you’ll see...

Real-time data will be displayed for Dr Alyssa Schwartz to play at Atlanta conferenceMove aside Metallica and Led Zeppelin: scientists are planning to make “rock” music by letting seismic activity headline in a live flute performance.On Tuesday, Dr Domenico Vicinanza of the UK’s Anglia Ruskin University will use a computer program he has developed to turn real-time data, recorded by a seismograph at Yellowstone national park in the US, into a musical score. Continue reading...

From repellants to app-based mosquito monitoring and a new malaria vaccine, researchers are making important breakthroughs in the fight against the biting insectsThe earliest signs of summer herald my annual metamorphosis – from woman to lifesize pincushion. Whether at home or abroad, when mosquitoes begin their hunt for blood I am reminded, via a blanket of red blotches that have more than once swelled to the size of a golf ball, that mine is a godlike nectar. On a single day last December, a tropical Christmas trip quickly became a less-than-festive scratchathon after a glut of bites...

No one wants to end a long-term friendship – but sometimes a rift is unavoidable. Experts suggest the most ethical ways to approach the conversationIn a recent viral video, New York psychologist Arianna Brandolini was called “callous” by some after she posted a TikTok guide to breaking up with a friend. While she claimed that phrases such as “I’ve treasured our season of friendship” and “I have no capacity to invest” could be useful, others disagreed. Some even found her approach so “cold and insincere”, they said they would rather be ghosted.While the clinical approach is...

For the first time, researchers have found a way to non-invasively translate a person’s thoughts into text. Using fMRI scans and an AI-based decoder trained on a precursor to ChatGPT, the system can reconstruct brain activity to interpret the gist of a story someone is listening to, watching or even just imagining telling. Ian Sample speaks to one of the team behind the breakthrough, the neuroscientist Dr Alex Huth, to find out how it works, where they hope to use it, and whether our mental privacy could soon be at riskClip: BBCRead Hannah Devlin’s coverage of the research here. Continue...

Flavour molecules cause champagne bubbles to rise in straight line – unlike those in other drinksFrom the pop of its cork to its delicate golden hue, champagne has many features that make it a celebratory tipple – but none are as recognisable as its fine fizz. Now researchers have shed new light on the quintessential sparkle, revealing why champagne bubbles rise in a straight line, unlike those of many other drinks.“Our intuition, from studying bubble dynamics, is that bubbles rising in line do not follow a straight line. The wake behind each bubble knocks out the trailing bubble behind...

Scientists believe planet the size of Jupiter plunged into star, causing ‘insanely bright’ burst of lightAstronomers have witnessed the intense burst of light from a planet being swallowed by its host star, the same dramatic fate that awaits Earth when the sun expands rapidly near the end of its life.It is the first time researchers have captured the moment when an ageing star swells so much that a nearby planet starts to skim the surface, sending streams of gas and dust into space, before finally plunging into the fiery depths. Continue reading...

Study of 200,000 Chinese hospital admissions finds acute exposure to air pollution raises risk of heart arrhythmiasSpikes in air pollution increase the risk of cardiac arrhythmias, a large study has found.The research, based on nearly 200,000 hospital admissions in China, found a significant increase in risk of arrhythmias in the first few hours after an increase in air pollution levels. Heart arrhythmias can increase the risk of heart disease and sudden cardiac death. Continue reading...

Spica, the 16th brightest star in the night sky, is 11 times larger than the sunWe start the month with the almost full moon making a close pass of Spica, the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo, the virgin. The conjunction takes place across the evening of Wednesday 3 May, continuing past midnight into the pre-dawn hours of Thursday.The chart shows the view looking south from London at 23.00BST. The moon will be virtually full with 96% of its visible surface illuminated – it is considered full when 98% or more of its visible surface is lit. On Wednesday night the moon will pass...

We are exploring the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors.This week, from 2020: After losing four pregnancies, Jennie Agg set out to unravel the science of miscarriage. Then, a few months in, she found out she was pregnant again – just as the coronavirus pandemic hit Continue reading...

Learning to feel OK with unpredictability can bring great rewards. Just ask the world’s scientists and artists who embrace doubts and the unknown We are experiencing now the greatest uncertainty humanity has ever known.” Nine years ago, this statement by Yuval Harari provoked explosive laughter from my teenage daughter. She whispered to me, “what about the blitz? The Black Death? Come on …” I was torn between embarrassment, as heads scowled at a young woman who clearly didn’t know her place, and pride in her critical thinking. That instinctive rejection of Harari’s generational...

The psychotherapist on body hatred, what’s changed since she wrote Fat Is a Feminist Issue – and the smell of her clientsSusie Orbach’s first book, Fat Is a Feminist Issue, a pioneering exploration of women’s relationship with eating and body image, became an instant classic when it was published in 1978. Orbach is one of the world’s best-known psychotherapists, lecturing internationally, advising organisations ranging from the NHS to the World Bank, and helping patients who have included Diana, Princess of Wales. The daughter of an American teacher and a Labour MP, Orbach grew up in...

'Enhanced rock weathering' uses tiny volcanic rocks to capture the greenhouse gas carbon from the atmosphere.

Water companies apologise over sewage spills in England, but critics say customers should not have to pay.

Scientists found the vital habitat was home to far less life during warmer times on Earth

Ali Hussein Julood's father told the BBC his son's life was sacrificed for record profits.