‘Eco-friendly’ lights found to be worse than sodium ones – but both contribute to insect decline, says study“Eco-friendly” LED streetlights produce even worse light pollution for insects than the traditional sodium bulbs they are replacing, a study has found.The abundance of moth caterpillars in hedgerows by rural roads in England was 52% lower under LED lights and 41% lower under sodium...

Skeleton of hunter-gatherer found in Leang Panninge cave sheds light on ancient human migrationArchaeologists have discovered ancient DNA in the remains of a woman who died 7,200 years ago in Indonesia, a find that challenges what was previously known about migration of early humans.The remains, belonging to a teenager nicknamed Bessé, were discovered in the Leang Panninge cave on the Indonesian...

Assessment unable to conclude whether virus came from animals or a Wuhan lab, according to US mediaCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA classified US intelligence report delivered to the White House was inconclusive on the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, in part due to a lack of information from China, according to US media reports.The assessment received on Tuesday,...

Multiple studies seem to suggest immunity declines over time, though what this means is unclearWith plans for the UK’s Covid vaccine booster programme this autumn soon to be revealed, we take a look at what we do – and don’t – know about waning immunity after vaccination.How is waning immunity against Covid investigated? Continue...

Our world and the self are constructions of the brain, a pioneering neuroscientist argues For every stoner who has been overcome with profound insight and drawled, “Reality is a construct, maaan,” here is the astonishing affirmation. Reality – or, at least, our perception of it – is a “controlled hallucination”, according to the neuroscientist Anil Seth. Everything we see, hear and...

Hospitals received letters threatening large fines after they installed their own onsite O2 plants in response to shortagesIn March 2020, Benjamin Espinoza Zavala saw an entire floor of his small hospital in Guanajuato, central Mexico, converted into Covid-19 wards. The hospital’s need for oxygen soared.Deliveries from CryoInfra, part of the Grupo Infra group, occasionally slowed to once every...