US officials accuse Moscow of ‘irresponsible’ behavior after it conducts test that threatened lives of astronauts onboard the ISSRussia has admitted to destroying one of its satellites during a missile test but rejected US accusations that it had endangered the International Space Station.US officials on Monday accused Moscow of “dangerous and irresponsible behavior” after it conducted an...

Research looking at 365,000 people aged 50-74 finds moderate consumption could have health benefitsDrinking coffee or tea may be linked with a lower risk of stroke and dementia, according to the largest study of its kind.Strokes cause 10% of deaths globally, while dementia is one of the world’s biggest health challenges – 130 million are expected to be living with it by 2050. Continue...

Privately funded Toliman telescope to be launched into low-earth orbit to search Alpha Centauri star systemGet our free news app; get our morning email briefingA new space mission to hunt for potentially habitable planets around Earth’s closest neighbouring star system is under way. In a project with echoes of the 2009 film Avatar, an international collaboration of scientists in Australia and...

Around 256,000 Americans live in areas where incidences of cancer caused by air pollution exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s current upper limit of ‘acceptable risk’How do you calculate the price of a human life? What about 256,000 human lives?Around a quarter of a million Americans are living in parts of the United States where rates of cancer caused by air pollution exceed the US...

Steve and Dee Allen say sponsorship deal and ‘gagging clause’ show it is no longer a credible scientific institutionTwo prominent scientists are refusing to allow their work to be included in the Science Museum’s collection because of the institution’s links to Shell.Steve and Dee Allen, who have carried out some of the most important research into global plastic pollution, say the...

The explosion has increased the chances of a disastrous collision, says a leading astrophysicist, and warns of ‘real environmental problem’US accuses Russia of ‘dangerous’ behaviour after anti-satellite weapons test When Russia fired a missile at one of its own satellites on the weekend, the explosion generated many thousands of pieces of shrapnel that are now zooming around in space at...

Growing numbers of people catching coronavirus are experiencing an unpleasant distortion of smells. Scientists are still unsure what causes this often distressing condition, known as parosmia, where previously enjoyable aromas trigger feelings of disgust. Madeleine Finlay talks to science correspondent Linda Geddes about her own parosmia, and chemist Dr Jane Parker discusses research into why the...