Operation was designed to test technology that allows multiple targets to be studied at same time Nasa launched its experimental Fortis (Far-ultraviolet Off Rowland-circle Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy) telescope on 28 October from the White Sands missile range in New Mexico.The flight lasted 15 minutes, reached 162 miles (260km) in altitude, and then fell back to Earth – exactly as...

Scientists say threat posed by measles is ‘much greater than we previously imagined’Measles causes long-term damage to the immune system, leaving children who have had it vulnerable to other infections long after the initial illness has passed, research has revealed.Two studies of unvaccinated children in an Orthodox Protestant community in the Netherlands found that measles wipes out the...

A splashy new series imagines what would have happened if Russia had won the space race with decent, if rarely compelling, resultsMonths of hype for Apple TV+ and the many A-list names attached has dramatically dissipated this week as reviews have revealed a ragtag bunch of half-formed shows that have replaced big ideas with big production values. It might therefore be faint praise to label glossy...

World Organisation for Animal Health warns spread of disease has inflamed worldwide crisisAbout a quarter of the global pig population is expected to die as a result of the African swine fever (ASF) epidemic, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).Global pork prices are rising spurred by growing demand from China, where as many as 100 million pigs have died since ASF broke out...

Architects are taking issue with risk-averse playparks full of sluggish roundabouts and tiny climbing frames. But are playgrounds in the middle of roads really the answer?In the decades after the second world war, the celebrated architect Aldo van Eyck designed more than 700 playgrounds in Amsterdam, filling bomb sites with dazzling constellations of tumbling bars, leapfrog posts and climbing...

New agreement secures 66% reduction in cost of rifapentine, which prevents ‘latent’ TB from becoming active The price of a drug crucial to prevent tuberculosis is to be slashed by two-thirds in a deal that could stop millions from developing the disease.TB is the leading cause of death from infectious disease worldwide, killing 1.5 million people a year, according to the latest World Health...

Buruli ulcer has spread to town on Great Ocean Road and a suburb of GeelongThe spread to a new geographic area of Victoria of a severe tissue-destroying ulcer once rare in Australia has caused health authorities to issue a state-wide health alert to doctors.The Buruli ulcer occurs in very specific areas of Victoria and Queensland, and those who don’t enter an endemic area don’t get the...

Scientists say policymakers must better account for climate impacts of damage to forests, and benefits of conserving themGreenhouse gas emissions caused by damage to tropical rainforests around the world are being underestimated by a factor of six, according to a new study.Research led by the University of Queensland finds the climate impact of selective logging, outright clearing and fire in...

Google’s DeepMind beat 99.8% of humans at StarCraft II, but bigger challenge was not giving itself awayAI becomes grandmaster in ‘fiendishly complex’ StarCraft IIWhen DeepMind, Google’s AI research outfit, set out to demonstrate its latest breakthrough, it had to confront an added twist: how do you set your robot free to play games on the internet without anyone realising they’re...

Researchers say they have identified ‘immune switch’ that can trigger long-term damageA potential route to reducing brain injury in premature babies has been found, say researchers who have discovered a way to tackle overactive immune cells in the brain.Microglia are a type of immune cell that play an important part in the building of a baby’s brain. However, if these cells go into overdrive...

Scientists are developing rapid-charging batteries that could be in use in a couple of yearsNew battery technology could give electric cars more than 200 miles of charge in as little as 10 minutes, according to new research.Lithium ion batteries have had a dramatic impact because of their ability to store a large amount of energy in a small, compact battery and be recharged again and again. A trio...

There are many reasons why we should really just leave these shy, possibly anxious, introverts alone• Vote here in the Guardian/BirdLife Australia 2019 bird of the year pollRumour has it that everything in so-called Australia can kill you. Cassowaries don’t do much to dispel those rumours. Not only do they look terrifyingly similar to the velociraptors in the Jurassic Park franchise with their...

Dawn Butler’s claims regarding animal sexuality has been called ‘offensive’ and ‘homophobic’ by one of Jeremy Corbyn’s advisers. But what’s the scientific verdict?A new split has emerged in the Labour party over a matter more urgent than Brexit: the sexuality of giraffes. “Ninety per cent of giraffes are gay,” Dawn Butler, the shadow secretary for women and equalities, told a...

Too little is known about how drugs affect older people, House of Lords committee toldElderly patients are being “poisoned” with medication because too little is known about how different drugs interact with each other and correct dosages for older people, experts have said.Speaking at the House of Lords’ science and technology committee hearing on healthier living in old age, Sir Munir...

Infected ticks are discovered in Norfolk and on Hampshire-Dorset borderA disease that can harm the brain, and which is spread to humans through tick bites, has been identified in the UK for the first time.Public Health England (PHE) confirmed the presence of the tick-borne encephalitis virus in Thetford Forest, Norfolk, and on the Hampshire-Dorset border. Continue...

New study shows evidence of positive outcomes is scarce while symptoms can be exacerbatedThe use of cannabis medicines to treat people with depression, anxiety, psychosis or other mental health issues cannot be justified because there is little evidence that they work or are safe, according to a major new study.A review of evidence from trials conducted over nearly 40 years, published in the...

Satellite cameras are being used to penetrate thunderstorms and produce a map of their densityScientists have long used satellite cameras, such as the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), to count lightning flashes and monitor storms. Now Michael Petersen, of Los Alamos National Laboratory, is using the pulses of illumination to produce “fulminograms” showing clouds from inside.“The output...

Sir Richard Branson beat Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos by listing his venture in New York Publicity-hungry billionaires must have a space venture, and here’s Sir Richard Branson’s: Virgin Galactic is now a stock market-listed company with a $2.4bn valuation. Actual space tourists won’t depart until next year, but Branson has beaten Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in getting his business floated in New...

Healthier food choices almost always benefit environment as well, according to analysisEating healthy food is almost always also best for the environment, according to the most sophisticated analysis to date.The researchers said poor diets threaten society by seriously harming people and the planet, but the latest research can inform better choices. Continue...

Air force quiet on what plane did in orbit for 780 daysOfficials say mission completed its objectivesThe air force’s mystery space plane is back on Earth, following a record-breaking two-year mission. Related: Virgin Galactic launches (on the New York Stock Exchange) Continue...

Other scientists raise questions about results, which were based on DNA samplesScientists claim to have traced the ancestral home region of all living humans to a vast wetland that sprawled over much of modern day Botswana and served as an oasis in an otherwise parched expanse of Africa.The swathe of land south of the Zambezi River became a thriving home to Homo sapiens 200,000 years ago, the...

Darker eggs may be at an advantage in colder regions as they are more heat-absorbentScientists have cracked the mystery of why bird eggs are different colours, with new research suggesting it boils down to temperature.The appearance of bird eggs is rooted in two pigments, one of which is greenish and the other reddish-brown. Different concentrations of these pigments, together with the underlying...

Research at University of California shows a ban slashed staff’s intake by nearly halfDoctors have called on workplaces to ban sales of sugary drinks after research showed that removing them from cafes, canteens and vending machines helped reduce people’s waistlines and improve their health.Researchers monitored more than 200 staff at the University of California in San Francisco and its...

Public investors can now buy shares in Sir Richard Branson’s space tourism ventureVirgin Galactic has become the first publicly traded space tourism company as Sir Richard Branson’s venture prepares to take its first paying customers beyond the confines of the planet.Investors can buy shares under the stock market ticker symbol “SPCE” in the company, which is betting enough wealthy...