If global heating continues at current rate of 2.7C, losses will be greater with 68% of glaciers disappearingHalf the planet’s glaciers will have melted by 2100 even if humanity sticks to goals set out in the Paris climate agreement, according to research that finds the scale and impacts of glacial loss are greater than previously thought. At least half of that loss will happen in the next 30...

Julia Fahrenkamp has been unable to work since getting Covid. Plus Robert Saunders on the link with chronic fatigue syndrome and the need for better researchI have been suffering from long Covid since April 2020, so I read Joanna Herman’s article with great interest (Why those of us with long Covid finally have reason to feel hopeful, 27 December). Ever since I contracted Covid, I have been...

My friend David Lewis, who has died aged 85, was an academic botanist and pro-vice chancellor at the University of Sheffield.David’s scientific speciality was the symbiotic relationship between mycorrhizal fungi and their plant partners. Away from university administrative duties, he also served as editor (1970-1983) and then executive editor (1983-1995) of the New Phytologist, elevating its...

Low-orbit satellites are photo-bombing astronomers’ pictures of the night sky, ruining images and affecting their ability to make new discoveriesThere’s a point at which light pollution starts to make astronomical observations impossible – a point we are fast approaching, thanks in part to Elon Musk.More than 3,000 of the 5,000 active satellites orbiting Earth belong to Musk’s SpaceX,...

‘Lunar calendar’ found in caves may predate equivalent record-keeping systems by at least 10,000 yearsA primitive writing system used by ice age hunter-gatherers appears to have been uncovered by an amateur archaeologist, who concluded that the 20,000-year-old markings were a form of lunar calendar.The research suggests cave drawings were not only a form of artistic expression but also used to...

Twelve month’s worth of smart self-help tips from someone you’d want on your team in a crisisThis charming self-help book is broken down into 12 seasonally appropriate themes. January is for future-facing resolutions. March is for spring cleaning – mental as well as physical. September is about re-engaging with work, perhaps seeing it differently it after a break. The guiding principle is...

Many of my friends are leaping into wheelie bins full of ice cubes. I will be sticking to indulgence and easy living – and the research is on my sideSomehow, I’ve become the sort of person whose WhatsApp friends are planning a January ice bath challenge. The warning signs were all there: they have been going on about chlorine floaters and wireless thermometers for months, swapping pictures of...

Study finds some strong auroras are accompanied by noises from changes in the atmosphereYou may have seen the shimmering greens and pinks of the aurora borealis lighting up the night sky, but have you ever heard them? Rare reports of crackling and whooshing noises accompanying auroras have traditionally been dismissed by scientists as folklore, but data gathered in Finland has shown that under the...