Jeanne Calment was 122 when she died. But last year a Russian scientist claimed she was a con artist, sparking an international dispute over the woman who may still hold the secret to eternal lifeIf time makes fools of us all, you couldn’t blame André-François Raffray for taking it more personally than most. In 1965, Raffray, a lawyer in the southern French city of Arles, thought he had hit on...

The pick of the best flora and fauna photos from around the world, including a giant tortoise and a painted stork Continue reading...

Bench in Manchester celebrates BBC DJ’s cancer treatment and is part of Re-Write Cancer campaignIt is an established way to commemorate the dead: dedicating a bench to a loved one’s memory and placing it in one of their favourite locations.But the BBC DJ Mark Radcliffe has been bestowed the honour in life after a bench bearing his name was installed in the grounds of Manchester University,...

We are producing and consuming fashion at a rate like never before – and mass shopping sales are simply fanning the flamesThis morning I opened my inbox to find reams of emails – mid-season sale, 50% off, exclusive offer – enticing me to grab the best deal while it lasts. When we’re barraged by messages from the fashion industry to buy more, it’s hard to resist – and I have easily...

Dr Amy Dickman is an internationally renowned conservation biologist. She’s dedicated her life to saving big cats in the wild, working in Africa for over 20 years on carnivore ecology and how to resolve human-wildlife conflict. Amy talks to Nicola Davis about her career trying to bring a halt to the decline in big cat populations, including the role that trophy hunting might play Continue...

IPPR says UK should shoulder burden due to major historical contribution to rising carbon emissionsThe UK contribution to the UN’s climate fund should balloon to £20bn by 2030 if it plans to pay a “fair share” to helping tackle the global climate crisis, according to new research.A report from the IPPR thinktank says the UK should “shoulder more of the burden” of the global climate...

... Europe, China, India and Russia all send payloads into space in a weekIt’s been a busy week for rocket launches. Europe, China, India and Russia have all sent payloads into space in the last seven days. Starting on 23 November, China launched two navigation satellites as part of their growing BeiDou navigation satellite constellation. Continue...

New cases of highly infectious disease that should be ‘consigned to the history books’ reported in Nigeria, the DRC, CAR and AngolaNew cases of polio linked to the oral vaccine have been reported in four African countries and more children are now being paralysed by vaccine-derived viruses than those infected by viruses in the wild, according to global health numbers.The World Health...

Bristol band team up with academics from Manchester University to share tour dataMassive Attack: We’ve toured for years. Now we’ll have to changeLast week Coldplay announced they were to stop touring until they were sure it would be carbon neutral; now Massive Attack are partnering with academics to map the carbon footprint of the music industry.The researchers from Manchester University’s...

Homo sapien invasion may not have prompted Neanderthals’ demise 40,000 years ago Perhaps it wasn’t our fault after all: research into the demise of the Neanderthals has found that rather than being outsmarted by Homo sapiens, our burly, thick-browed cousins may have gone extinct through bad luck alone.The Neanderthal population was so small at the time modern humans arrived in Europe and the...

Warning of ‘existential threat to civilisation’ as impacts lead to cascade of unstoppable eventsThe world may already have crossed a series of climate tipping points, according to a stark warning from scientists. This risk is “an existential threat to civilisation”, they say, meaning “we are in a state of planetary emergency”.Tipping points are reached when particular impacts of global...

I’m dizzy, angry and desperate – but I’m prepared to put my body on the line to force action to stop billions of deathsI desperately want to eat, but I would rather have a future. It’s day 10 of Extinction Rebellion’s global climate hunger strike and more than 500 people have ended their fasts. I am not ready to end mine. I am willing to starve to death, if that would help initiate real...

Bottlenose dolphins found to have an even stronger right-side bias than humansDolphins, like humans, have a dominant right-hand side, according to research.About 90% of humans are right-handed but we are not the only animals that show such preferences: gorillas tend to be right-handed, kangaroos are generally southpaws, and even cats have preferences for a particular side – although which is...

Senate inquiry told that misrepresentation and selective use of science is dangerous Australia’s peak scientific institution has told an inquiry into the reliability of Great Barrier Reef science that it is “greatly concerned” over a trend to cherrypick and misrepresent scientific evidence.In a submission to a Senate inquiry, the Australian Academy of Science’s president, Prof John Shine,...

Scientists narrow down causes of low-frequency rumbles emitted before twisters formMysterious rumbles that herald tornadoes could one day be used to predict when and where they will strike, according to researchers.Storms emit sounds before tornadoes form, but the signals at less than 20Hz are below the limit for human hearing. What causes these rumbles has also been a conundrum. Continue...

Silk, bacteria and sugar coating could solve growing global problem of saline soilCoating seeds in silk, bacteria and sugar could help plants to grow in salty soils, researchers have revealed.Saline soil is a growing problem around the world, particularly in regions with poor quality water for irrigation, and is a serious cause for concern as many important food crops do not grow well in such...

Fifty years ago he outraged his fellow Germans with Nazi salutes. Now, at 74, the artist’s epic canvases are exploring a different kind of darknessI arrive at White Cube in south London just as Anselm Kiefer is writing the title of his exhibition on a gallery wall. Perched on a mini-forklift, the 74-year-old German slowly and meticulously inscribes the words “Superstrings, Runes, the Norns,...

Clinical trials often failing to report results for sex and gender, despite the fact many drugs cause adverse effects in womenWomen are being ignored in medical trials and reports, according to a report which calls for more Australian medical research to include gender-specific data.Failing to account for the different effects a drug may have on men and women compromises quality of care for women,...

Look to the south-west in the evening to find the crescent moon as it moves away from bright Venus and Jupiter towards the planet SaturnThe bright planets of Venus and Jupiter remain fairly close in the evening sky this week. They are situated in the constellation of Sagittarius, the archer. In the gathering twilight of the late afternoon of 28 November, they will be joined by a very young,...

Fear of missing out has a more anxious sibling and could stop you going to social events – or buying your Christmas turkey. Here’s what is behind fear of better optionsRecently, Mike Hall, 48, a management consultant based in Winchester, decided to get ahead with Christmas preparations. “Do I buy the free range bronze turkey for 10-12, or 12-14, even though there are only seven of us for...

With people taking more flights than ever and the air industry set to grow, can tech advances really help us achieve net zero?When you think about things that are quintessentially British, you probably would not immediately put “flying” into that category – but you should. We Brits don’t just like flying, we love it.Data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that...

Europe poised to join US in complex plan to find evidence of fossil microbes on red planetEngineers plan to collect rocks on Mars and bring samples to Earth, in one of the most complex robot space projects envisaged. The scheme, being developed by Nasa and the European Space Agency (Esa), will involve robot rovers finding rocks that might contain evidence of past life.The samples would be blasted...

Mike Horn and Borge Ousland are crossing the Arctic on skis but ice drift has set them backIt was supposed to be an epic 1,000-mile journey taking in the stunning snow-covered scenery of the North Pole as two adventurers embarked on a brave bid to cross the frozen Arctic Ocean on skis.But the experienced explorers’ attempt has, quite literally, been left on thin ice as the pair struggle to...

Discoveries near Saqqara necropolis shed light on ancient use of animals in worshipA rare discovery of mummified big cats, cobras and crocodiles has been unveiled by Egyptian authorities.Egyptologists are thrilled at the cache, which includes dozens of mummified cats, 75 wooden and bronze cat statues, mummified birds, and an enormous mummified beetle three to four times the normal size. Continue...