Chief scientist told former incumbent Sir David King the similarity would lead to mixed messagingThe government’s chief scientist warned a former incumbent not to confuse the public during the Covid pandemic by naming an independent expert panel after the group convened to advise ministers on the crisis.Sir Patrick Vallance revealed the clash in an interview at the Institute for Government on...

Device tested that can monitor and stimulate burns, diabetic ulcers and non-healing surgical woundsA smart bandage that can monitor chronic wounds and help them to heal has been developed by scientists who say the device could aid people with diabetic ulcers, burns and non-healing surgical wounds.According to figures from 2018, there are 2.2 million people in the UK with chronic wounds, costing...

Travel, meditation, training and exposure to culture have a greater effect on artistic outputFrom Hunter S Thompson’s infamous daily pre-writing routine of cocaine, Chivas Regal and acid to Vincent Van Gogh’s love for absinthe and Andy Warhol’s prescription drugs habit, the idea that drugs and alcohol produce great art is deeply culturally ingrained.Yet researchers have found this is likely...

Act opens door to technology being used to create cats and dogs with extreme features, says charityPets could be subjected to gene editing under a new government act, the RSPCA has warned.The animal charity has said that the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act applies to all vertebrate animals, not only farmed animals, and that it could lead to cats and dogs being gene-edited to include...

Plus, a fresh perspective on the origin of time, Lord Pannick cracks, and happiness is a life lived in FinlandJon Snow must have exceptional reserves of stamina. In an interview with Saga, the 75-year-old news presenter has been talking about becoming a father again two years ago. He feels completely at ease with a toddler around the house, he says. Almost as if the whole experience is stress free...

Innovation in agricultural sector is needed if cities are to solve air pollution problems, say scientistsA study reveals that farming is responsible for more than a quarter of the particle pollution in UK cities.UK agriculture created 38% of the particle pollution in Leicester, 32% in Birmingham and 25% in London in 2019, according to the study. In each case the contribution from rural agriculture...

Langstone, Hampshire: The pond is almost devoid of life, apart from several of these greenish-grey segmented worms burrowed into the silt at the bottomMy wildlife pond has been leaking and, after several unsuccessful attempts at patching it up, the race was on to replace the liner before the smooth newts return to breed. Twenty-five years ago, I planted a single yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus)...

An enormous coronal hole opening on the sun, sending charged particles to Earth, will potentially cause auroras – and a range of technical issuesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastA massive solar storm, set to peak on Friday night, could lead to a spectacular light show across Australia’s eastern coast.But scientists have also warned the opening of an...

Avi Loeb organizing $1.5m search to Papua New Guinea to look for what interstellar object that crashed into ocean in 2014A prominent Harvard physicist is planning a Pacific expedition to find what he thinks might be an alien artefact that smashed into the ocean.Avi Loeb announced that he is organizing a $1.5m ocean expedition to Papua New Guinea to look for fragments of an object that crashed off...