From haunted dolls to horror films, there is a big appetite right now for fear-as-fun. Are we all just practicing for what 2023 throws at us?A friend gleefully informed me that you can buy haunted dolls – “vessels” for unquiet spirits – on eBay. Rebekkah Sexual Spirit (“her vessel is missing an arm … she says she does not care”) has been snapped up, but you can get Maggie (“NOT A...

By making their nutritious bread taste like normal white loaves, scientists aim to help disadvantagedIt’s creamy-white in colour with a deep brown crust. It has a mild floury taste but with a moreish salty tang. It crisps up nicely in a toaster, and it’s the perfect accompaniment to butter, jam or hummus.This is bread – but not as you know it. Scientists at the University of Reading are...

All-party group including peers backs campaign by victims’ group, saying Cape ‘knowingly put people in danger’MPs and peers have written to one of the biggest manufacturers of asbestos calling on it to make a £10m donation towards mesothelioma research “for knowingly putting people in danger”.In a letter to Altrad, parent company of Cape, the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on...

Ingeniously simple lab experiment led by Prof Clare Burrage recognised by Blavatnik awardsDark energy is the enigma at the heart of modern physics: the universe is supposed to be awash with the stuff, but it has never been seen and its nature is unknown.When faced with a mystery of such epic proportions, simply eliminating certain options is considered a success. This week such an advance, using...

The success of mRNA-based drugs in combating coronavirus is inspiring scientists to create similar vaccines for melanoma and other tumoursIn December 2022, the US biotech firm Moderna, a company that emerged from relative obscurity to become a household name during the pandemic, published the results of a clinical trial that sent ripples through the world of cancer research.Conducted in...