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7 articles from Guardian Unlimited Science

Queen of the corvids: the scientist fighting to save the world’s brainiest birds

A pioneering research laboratory in Cambridge proves that corvids are delightfully clever. Here, its founder reveals what the crow family has taught her – and her heartbreak at the centre’s closureLeo, an 18-year-old rook, is playing mind games. It’s a street-corner classic – cups and balls. Only this time the venue is the Comparative Cognition Laboratory in Madingley, Cambridge, and the...

Five years ago I felt like a failure as a dad, now I’m sharing with other men how to love their children

After admitting to other Black dads he found parenting difficult, Marvyn Harrison began transforming his relationship with his kidsIt was on Father’s Day, five years ago, that Marvyn Harrison sent a heartfelt message to his friends that would change his life for ever. Back then, his son was three and his daughter was six months old. And he couldn’t seem to help feeling constantly like a fake,...

‘It’s taken so long’: Monkeypox patients raise concerns over UK tracing delays

Two men who contracted the virus share their experiences of contact tracing and vaccination systemUK monkeypox outbreak not yet under control, say expertsWith the monkeypox outbreak ongoing in the UK, some of those affected have raised concerns over delays and difficulties in contact tracing and vaccination.Joel* told the Guardian he sought advice on testing and vaccination after becoming aware a...

UK monkeypox outbreak not yet under control, say experts

Suggestions vaccines may need to be offered to all men who have sex with men to combat spread of virus‘It’s taken so long’: Monkeypox patients raise concerns over UK tracing delaysThe monkeypox outbreak in the UK is not yet under control, experts have warned, with some suggesting that vaccines may need to be offered to all men who have sex with men.Monkeypox, which is to be given a new name...

Bird flu is on the rise in the UK. Are chickens in the back garden to blame?

The risk to humans from the disease, spread by wild birds, is low but a record level of outbreaks this year has researchers worriedBird flu outbreaks rose nearly fivefold last year, creating an urgent need for research into preventing the spread of the disease, according to the head of a new consortium investigating the virus.The record of 26 outbreaks involving H5N1 in 2021 has been shattered,...

Inquiry urged into ‘parental alienation’ court experts

Lawyers and MPs in England and Wales express concern over ‘unregulated’ psychologists who play key role in disputes over domestic abuseMPs, lawyers and charity leaders are among those calling for an urgent inquiry into the use of unregulated psychological experts in the family courts, after an investigation by the Observer.In a letter sent to the justice secretary, the victims’ commissioner...

Where science meets fiction: the dark history of eugenics

The scientist and author Dr Adam Rutherford looks at how the study of genetics has been warped for political endsIt’s a quirk of history that the foundations of modern biology – and as a consequence, some of the worst atrocities of the 20th century – should rely so heavily on peas. Cast your mind back to school biology, and Gregor Mendel, whose 200th birthday we mark next month. Though...