Lack of gravity and weightlessness means the longer astronauts stay in space, the more bone mass they loseAstronauts lose decades’ worth of bone mass in space that many do not recover even after a year back on Earth, researchers have found, warning that it could be a “big concern” for future missions to Mars.Previous research has shown astronauts lose between 1% and 2% of bone density for...

Fossils of Ailurarctos, an extinct panda relative, are oldest known evidence for the radial sesamoidAncient fossils discovered in China have helped researchers get a grip on the enduring mystery of the panda’s false thumb.Modern giant pandas sport a thumb-like sixth digit on their wrists, which scientists believe was pivotal in their transition from omnivores to bamboo-munching vegetarians....

DNA analysis of 164 individuals from 2,800 to 300 years ago shows men would move to be with their wivesThe world’s earliest seafarers who set out to colonise remote Pacific islands nearly 3,000 years ago were a matrilocal society with communities organised around the female lineage, analysis of ancient DNA suggests.The research, based on genetic sequencing of 164 ancient individuals from 2,800...

Device which can dissolve in the body represents an ‘engineering approach to treating pain’An implant which can cool nerves to block pain signals has been unveiled by researchers who say the device could offer an alternative to drugs such as opioids.The team behind the device say it could bring benefits for management of acute pain such as that experienced after amputations, nerve grafts or...

The extermination of 15 million animals and unnecessary shutdown of an entire industry has cost taxpayers billions The Danish government lacked legal justification and made “grossly misleading” statements when it ordered a mass mink extermination two years ago, according to an official inquiry into Europe’s first compulsory farm sector shutdown, which has cost taxpayers billions in...

With vaccines preventing most serious illness and death, any talk of bringing back restrictions is pure scaremongeringFour months ago, the UK took the decision to end all remaining legal Covid-19 restrictions, becoming the first major country in the world to do so. While some said it was too soon and that it would lead to a surge in cases, hospitalisations and deaths, this has thankfully not been...

Last week, public health officials declared a ‘national incident’ after they found vaccine-derived poliovirus in London sewage samples. No cases of polio symptoms have been reported but there is evidence the virus is spreading. So what does it mean to have found the virus almost 20 years after the UK was declared polio-free? Ian Sample speaks to epidemiologist Nicholas Grassly to find out how...

Reopened trial to look at whether plasma with high levels of antibodies can help save lives of immunosuppressedDoctors have treated the first UK patient in a reopened clinical trial that will explore whether blood plasma from “super donors” can help fight Covid in those with weakened immune systems.Super donors produce exceptionally high levels of antibodies after infection and vaccination,...

The perception of music in major keys as happy and minor keys as sad is not universal, Australian researchers sayGet our free news app, morning email briefing and daily news podcastWhat makes a piece of music seem happy or sad? Whether it has been composed in a major or minor key is a significant factor. It’s part of what distinguishes the cheeriness of Walking on Sunshine from the pensiveness...

Man’s best friend genetically most similar to ancient Siberian wolves, although these are not direct ancestorsThe tale of how grey wolves became the family dog of today has received a new twist, with research suggesting our furry companions arose not just from one population of wild ancestors, but two.Dogs were the first animals to be domesticated by humans, an event thought to have happened...

Frank, warm and funny podcaster and campaigner who raised millions for bowel cancer charitiesIn the last five years of her life, Deborah James, who has died aged 40 from cancer, never stopped talking about life as worth living. She did this as co-host of BBC Radio 5 Live’s award-winning, lively podcast about living with cancer, You, Me and the Big C, originally alongside the broadcast journalist...

The technology correctly distinguished distress calls from other barn noises with 97% accuracyArtificial intelligence that could improve the welfare of farmed chickens by eavesdropping on their squawks could become available within five years, researchers say.The technology, which detects and quantifies distress calls made by chickens housed in huge indoor sheds, correctly distinguished distress...

Fossils from South African cave are 3.4 to 3.6m years old and walked the Earth at same time as east African relativesThe fossils of our earliest ancestors found in South Africa are a million years older than previously thought, meaning they walked the Earth around the same time as their east African relatives like the famous “Lucy”, according to new research.The Sterkfontein caves at the...

Scientists are investigating whether reservoirs of virus ‘hiding’ in the body are contributing to long CovidSince the early days of the pandemic it has been clear some people shed genetic material from the virus in their stools for months after catching Covid-19. The findings were initially regarded as a curiosity, but there is mounting evidence to support the idea that persistent pockets of...

Professor says link to extreme weather sometimes overestimated but climate costs underestimatedClimate change is to blame for the majority of the heatwaves being recorded around the planet but the relation to other extreme events impacts on society is less clear, according to a study.“I think on the one hand we overestimate climate change because it’s now quite common that every time an...

From The Simpsons to QAnon via The Stepford Wives, the psychoanalyst’s absorbing study of mind control is part media studies, part political history Continue reading...

A new wave of scientists argues that mainstream evolutionary theory needs an urgent overhaul. Their opponents have dismissed them as misguided careerists – and the conflict may determine the future of biologyStrange as it sounds, scientists still do not know the answers to some of the most basic questions about how life on Earth evolved. Take eyes, for instance. Where do they come from, exactly?...

When the Guardian’s UK technology editor Alex Hern was contacted on Twitter to ask if he was involved in a new cryptocurrency called Tsuka, he assumed they just wanted him to buy it. He ignored the messages. But soon after Alex realised that, without knowing it, he was already involved. What happened next reveals a lot about the strange world of ‘shitcoins’ – cryptocurrencies with no...

Prime minister asks disaffected Russian academics to defect to the UK alongside Ukrainian colleaguesRussia-Ukraine war: latest updatesBoris Johnson has issued an open invitation for disaffected Russian scientists to defect to the UK, as he used the G7 summit to argue that allowing Russia to prevail in Ukraine would usher in a highly damaging era of global instability.As part of an expansion to a...

The answers to today’s planetary perplexitiesEarlier today I set you the following problem, which was Elon Musk’s favourite interview question for engineers applying to work at SpaceX (according to his biographer Ashlee Vance).You’re standing on the surface of the Earth. You walk one mile south, one mile west and one mile north. You end up exactly where you started. Where are you? Continue...

UK studies will look into whether blood thinners may help people who have ongoing symptomsA possible link between blood clots and ongoing symptoms of Covid is under scrutiny by researchers in the UK.While Covid can cause a period of acute illness, it can also lead to longer-term problems. Research has suggested fewer than a third of patients who have ongoing Covid symptoms after being hospitalised...

The disease is a leading killer of under fives across Africa. But trials for a new vaccine suggest an end to the death toll could be in sightWhen Annah Kadhenghi had her first child last year, she named him Brighton Ushindi Baraka: baraka meaning “blessing” in Swahili, ushindi meaning victory. Last month, at the age of seven months, Brighton fought his first battle against an enemy that...

The favourite interview question of the world’s richest manIn the early years of rocket company SpaceX, CEO Elon Musk liked to set job applicants the following problem:You’re standing on the surface of the Earth. You walk one mile south, one mile west and one mile north. You end up exactly where you started. Where are you? Continue...

Intestinal viruses such as rotavirus were found to be infectious for up to three days by attaching to microplastics, research showsDangerous viruses can remain infectious for up to three days in fresh water by hitchhiking on plastic, researchers have found.Enteric viruses that cause diarrhoea and stomach upsets, such as rotavirus, were found to survive in water by attaching to microplastics, tiny...