Study says pigments on cave stalagmites were applied through ‘splattering and blowing’ more than 60,000 years agoNeanderthals, long perceived to have been unsophisticated and brutish, really did paint stalagmites in a Spanish cave more than 60,000 years ago, according to a study published on Monday.The issue had roiled the world of paleoarchaeology ever since the publication of a 2018 paper...

Scientists say anxiety around needles could be playing role in vaccine hesitancy in the UKCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe sight of a needle piercing skin is enough to chill a quarter of adult Britons and trigger up to 4% into fainting. But hope is on the horizon for needle-phobics as researchers are working on a range of non-injectable Covid vaccine formulations,...

Bik’s home address was posted on Twitter and she faced a barrage of attacks after dissecting a paper endorsing hydroxychloroquine as treatment When Dr Elisabeth Bik raised serious concerns about the methodology of a paper that claimed hydroxychloroquine was effective in treating Covid-19, the online trolling was relentless.The trolls, mostly supporters of the controversial French professor...

My father, Bob Hamilton, who has died aged 94, was a computer software designer in the industry’s early years, working in the US on the Saturn 4B rocket programme which led to Saturn 5, the launch rocket for the 1969 moon landing.Bob was born in London. His mother, Edith, died when he was seven; he and his older sister, Margot, were brought up by his father, James, who worked for a legal firm,...

Winner of the 1979 Nobel prize whose insights determined the direction of high-energy particle physics for decadesThe American theoretical particle physicist Steven Weinberg, who has died aged 88, was one of the leading 20th century figures in the field. In 1979 he won a Nobel prize for his work uniting two of nature’s fundamental forces, which became a foundation of the standard model of...

The narrative of a dangerously ignorant minority may appeal, but it is not good for democracyThe Covid-19 pandemic was the perfect disaster for our cultural moment, because it made other people being wrong on the internet a matter of life and death.My use of the past tense here is aspirational. The emergence of the more contagious Delta variant threatens to undo a lot of progress – particularly...

Protesters defy court order banning marches against German government’s coronavirus measuresCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMore than 600 people have been arrested after participating in protests against the German government’s coronavirus measures, officials have said.About 13 separate demonstrations took place around Berlin on Sunday, despite being banned by a...

China has rolled out mass testing as the country faces its most widespread outbreak in months while soldiers have been deployed to the streets of Sydney as the city struggles to contain its own surge in casesChina tests millions as Nanjing airport outbreak sees Covid cases surgeWellbeing in decline in England as loneliness rises, report showsFauci backs new masks guidance as Florida reports...

If Britain really wants to keep everyone safe, we should be worrying about the lack of supplies to poorer nationsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage“I was thinking this morning that it is a bit like a race,” Sajid Javid said last Wednesday when commenting on Britain’s vaccine rollout. “The older adults have done their bit. Now we need them to help us start...

Scientists, ecologists and artists have collaborated to showcase global work to protect seeds in an exhibition at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & art gallery (Ramm) in Exeter.Seedscapes: future-proofing nature runs until 5 September Continue...

Early on Tuesday morning, 27% of the moon’s visible surface will be illuminated, making it an attractive crescentThis is one for super early birds. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, a waning crescent moon will pass through the constellation of Taurus, the bull. Waning moons rise later and later throughout the night-time hours. Continue...

Researchers find fragments in innards of species that have adapted to develop in open ocean, which has highly polluted areasYoung marine turtles are swallowing large quantities of plastic, with ocean pollution changing habitats that were once ideal for their development into a risk, researchers have found.The impact of plastic on wildlife is a growing area of research, and studies have revealed...