Meeting is expected to discuss ‘internationally coordinated action’ to mitigate risks posed by artificial intelligenceRishi Sunak has announced that the UK will host a global summit on safety in artificial intelligence in the autumn, as fears grow that the technology’s rapid advancement could spin out of control.Safety concerns are mounting after breakthroughs in generative AI, which can...

Experts in UFO lore suggest the assertions should be taken with a grain of salt and demand to see evidence of the non-human craftsSome prominent experts have expressed growing skepticism over whether the US is harboring UFOs, as the government whistleblower who made the extraordinary claims has gone on to suggest the US had also recovered alien bodies.David Grusch, a former intelligence official...

Study says marine life being harmed by prescription and recreational drugs in wastewaterA study looking at water pollution on the south coast of England has revealed high levels of potentially harmful chemicals including recreational drugs and antidepressants.Scientists involved in the research say marine life is being harmed by human drugs, pointing to evidence that oestrogen in water can...

Scientists call for major clinical trial after lifespans of mice extended by boosting levels of micronutrientScientists have called for a major clinical trial of a substance added to many energy drinks after studies in animals showed that supplementation may slow the ageing process and promote healthier lives.Researchers found that levels of the micronutrient, taurine, fell substantially with age,...

Ministers looking for an easy answer are pinning their hopes on appetite suppressants like Wegovy. But it’s not as simple as that It’s over three years now since a visibly chastened Boris Johnson emerged from his near-fatal brush with Covid to declare that he had seen the light.He had, he said candidly, been “way overweight” when he got the virus and only now did he understand how...

Models analysing a player’s broader contribution to team success show the clear winner, says Ian GrahamThe rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has riveted football pundits and primary schoolchildren alike, fuelling endless debates over who is the greatest player of modern times – or ever. The forwards are almost neck and neck on goals scored, Ballon d’Ors and Golden Shoe...

Scientists find people with symptoms of insomnia have 16% increased risk of developing conditionScientists in the US have found people with one or more self-reported symptoms of insomnia have a 16% increased risk of developing the serious medical condition, compared with those without symptoms.They said the link was stronger in participants under 50, where those with five to eight symptoms had...

Scientists say world is burning through ‘carbon budget’ that can be emitted while staying below 1.5CGreenhouse gas emissions have reached an all-time high, threatening to push the world into “unprecedented” levels of global heating, scientists have warned.The world is rapidly running out of “carbon budget”, the amount of carbon dioxide that can be poured into the atmosphere if we are...

Last week, Nasa held the first public meeting of a panel established to investigate sightings of UFOs. It came just before a whistleblower former intelligence official told the Debrief that the US government had ‘intact and partially intact’ craft of non-human origin. Ian Sample talks to Prof David Spergel, the independent chair of Nasa’s panel, about why this is happening now, what they...

UK data watchdog says science of monitoring brain and nervous system is expanding fast but holds ‘real danger’ of discriminationMind-reading technologies pose a “real danger” of discrimination and bias, the Information Commissioner’s Office has warned, as it develops specific guidance for companies working in the sci-fi field of neurodata.The use of technology to monitor information...

Some patients’ health-related life quality scores worse than those of people with stage 4 lung cancerMany people with long Covid have a lower health-related quality of life than people with some advanced cancers, research suggests.Fatigue is the symptom with the greatest impact on the daily lives of long Covid patients, according to a study led by researchers at University College London (UCL)...

Reptile had been in captivity for 16 years when zookeepers discovered eggs, journal reportsScientists have recorded the first known case of a “virgin birth” in a female crocodile that had no contact with males for about 16 years.The reptile was able to produce a fully formed foetus that was 99.9% genetically identical to her. Continue...

AI-based analysis suggests the north starts at Watford Gap, where avocado wraps give way to sausage rolls, and includes Birmingham The precise location of the north-south of England divide is a fraught question that has been debated for centuries, drawing on factors ranging from economic prosperity and political views to the pronunciation of the word “scone”. Now, scientists have entered the...

An agoraphobic downloads an app that promises to turn his life around – but things begin to get sinister when it takes over his social interactionsThis disturbingly real-looking artificial intelligence sci-fi was made a couple of years ago on what looks like a budget of small change tipped out of the film-makers’ coin jars. It’s getting a release now presumably on account of AI anxiety...

Metre-long piece of timber was found in trench dug for workshop at property in Boxford, BerkshireIt could easily have gone on to the bonfire or into the skip. But Derek Fawcett decided to take a closer look at the blackened, waterlogged piece of wood found at the bottom of a 5ft trench dug for foundations for a new workshop.It turned out to be the oldest carved piece of wood to be discovered in...

Behaviour predates humans by tens of millions of years but evolutionary purpose is less clear, scientists sayEvolutionary biologists have traced the origins of masturbation to ancient primates that predate the first humans by tens of millions of years.The findings emerged from what scientists believe is the largest dataset ever compiled on the activity, and confirm that humans arose on a branch of...

Less regulation of weight-loss drug would make Wegovy accessible to more peopleMinisters are launching a £40m pilot scheme to trial wider access to the controversial slimming jab Wegovy, to examine how people could receive the drug outside hospitals.Under current advice from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence drugs regulator, Wegovy is only given via specialist weight...

Whistleblower former intelligence official says government posseses ‘intact and partially intact’ craft of non-human originThe US has been urged to disclose evidence of UFOs after a whistleblower former intelligence official said the government has possession of “intact and partially intact” alien vehicles.The former intelligence official David Grusch, who led analysis of unexplained...

Three studies add weight to growing evidence that physical activity can help patients who have the diseaseWalking for 30 minutes a day and practising yoga can help reduce fatigue in cancer patients and cut the risk of the disease spreading, coming back or resulting in death, research suggests.Globally, more than 18 million people develop cancer every year. It is well known that being inactive...

Ambition doesn’t exist outside cultural forces that shape it. Could we reframe it for the collective good?In the first few months of the pandemic, when my physical and mental health seemed to be deteriorating faster than I could patchwork fixes for them, I wrote in my journal. “I feel emptied out, like when I shake a tote and gum wrappers and two nickels and half-finished chapstick fall...

Narrow 11,000-metre shaft will reach the Earth’s crust to study internal structures as China seeks to explore new frontiersChina has begun digging its deepest borehole in an effort to study areas of the planet deep beneath the surface.The drilling of the borehole began on Tuesday in a desert in the Tarim basin in China’s north-western region of Xinjiang, according to the Chinese state-run...

Leading scientists write to PM amid campaign against expansion of clean air zone in LondonWorld-leading air pollution scientists have called on Rishi Sunak to distance himself from Conservative colleagues who are dismissing the facts on the serious health risks of toxic air.In a letter, Prof Frank Kelly and 35 other prominent air pollution scientists call on the prime minister to tell his...

Ian Sample talks to Dr Rachel Clarke about her experience working in palliative care in the NHS and now with hospices in Ukraine. She tells him what dying can teach the living, what we can learn from the Covid pandemic, and reveals the anguish and defiance of trying to provide a dignified death in the midst of warClips: BBC, Al Jazeera Continue...

Submissions at Folbigg’s trial were based in misogynistic stereotypes and had no rational relationship with a charge of murderFollow our Australia news live blog for the latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastFor more than 20 years, the Australian legal system has demonised a grieving mother as a child killer. Kathleen Folbigg was convicted in 2003...