DNA tests on ancient bones show men were related and died following violent incidentsThe skeletons of two Viking age men who were related but died on opposite sides of the North Sea are to be reunited in an exhibition in Copenhagen this month.DNA tests on the ancient bones suggest the men were either half-brothers or a nephew and an uncle, according to Prof Eske Willerslev, a Danish evolutionary...
When America’s richest are paying proportionately less in tax than those struggling from paycheck to paycheck, the tax system demands a radical overhaulThis week, Jeff Bezos announced his plan to become the first billionaire in space. Next month, on the 52nd anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, he will fly about 100 km above the rest of us, see the curve of the Earth and experience a few...
Australian scientists develop a microscope that works with 35% more clarity, raising hope for improvements in medical imagingAustralian researchers have developed a microscope that can image tiny biological structures that were previously not visible in what has been described as a significant step for quantum technology.It is believed to be the first time that quantum technology has improved on...
Researchers say species exposed for long periods to light pollution near the shore were less likely to survive than those living farther awayYoung clownfish on coastal reefs are dying faster as a result of exposure to artificial light at night, according to new research.An international team of scientists studying reefs on Moorea, a tiny island of French Polynesia, have found that orange-fin...
Analysis in Scotland finds small increase in risk of treatable condition called idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpuraCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageData from Scotland’s Covid vaccination programme has revealed a possible small increase in the risk of a treatable and often mild bleeding disorder after the first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.Doctors examined...
End of social distancing and mask-wearing could leave children vulnerable to common bugsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageScientists are concerned that measures to combat Covid-19 have weakened the immune systems of young children who have not been able to build up resistance to common bugs, leaving them vulnerable when mask-wearing and social distancing eventually...
Nobel laureate David Baltimore says he overstated case, and the origins of the virus are still unknownCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA Nobel prize-winning US biologist, who has been widely quoted describing a “smoking gun” to support the thesis that Covid-19 was genetically modified and escaped from a Wuhan lab, has said he overstated the case.David Baltimore, a...
Misleading rhetoric has fuelled the belief that our genetic code is an ‘instruction book’ – but it’s far more interesting than thatTwenty years ago, the science journal Nature published the first draft of the human genome: the sequence of chemical “letters” on the gene-bearing DNA of our chromosomes. The Human Genome Project (HGP) had laboured for a decade to read this coded...
Malaysian pandemic is ‘critical’ after daily cases top 9,000; Guangzhou orders closure of cinemas, theatres and nightclubs; Melbourne lockdown lifted Euro 2020 fans must have vaccine or test for Wembley games Can the G7 vaccinate the world against Covid by the end of 2022?What could delay in easing mean for Britain?See all our coronavirus coverage 7.46am BST Mongolia is the latest country to...
Juno passed within 645 miles of Ganymede, the closest any spacecraft has come to the moon since 2000Nasa’s Juno spacecraft has provided the first closeups of Jupiter’s largest moon in two decades.Juno zoomed past icy Ganymede on Monday, passing within 645 miles (1,038km). The last time a spacecraft came that close was in 2000 when Nasa’s Galileo spacecraft swept past our solar system’s...