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...

Often depicted as a set of scales, the zodiacal constellation is worth seeing in context between Virgo and ScorpiusThis week you can track down one of the fainter zodiacal constellations. Libra, the scales, is located in the southern celestial hemisphere, and so never rises that high in northern skies, but it is most visible from the northern hemisphere at this time of year.The chart shows the...