feed info

40,083 articles from Guardian Unlimited Science

Horror soundtracks mimic distress calls

Film-makers' manipulations of sound tap into our primal fears, say researchersDiscordant sounds used to create tension in horror films are effective because they mimic calls made by animals in the wild at times of stress, researchers have found.The "non-linear" sounds, often created by pushing brass and wind instruments beyond their natural range by playing them too hard, exploit the human brain's...

Planet devoured by star's heavenly inferno

An exoplanet known as Wasp-12b is being roasted and ripped apart after getting too close to its parent starIn a far-away region of the galaxy, a planet is learning the lesson that Icarus taught the ancient Greeks thousands of years ago.A planet known as Wasp-12b is passing so close to its parent star that it is being roasted and ripped apart in an extraordinary display of celestial violence.The...

Samuel Johnson shortlist spurns war stories and biographies

Nonfiction prize judges choose books about cooking, maths and fishing over more traditional fareFrom a history of cooking to a memoir about fishing, the judges for this year's Samuel Johnson prize have steered clear of the more traditional nonfiction fare of biography and war stories to come up with an "extraordinarily eclectic" shortlist.The only conventional nonfiction work selected was Jenny...


TUESDAY 25. MAY 2010


Country dwellers live longer, report on 'rural idyll' shows

Greener life delivers up to two years longer life for rural men and women and closes life-expectancy gap between rich and poor, says ONS studyIt's official: move to the countryside and you live longer. Men in rural areas on average can expect to celebrate their 78th birthday – two years longer than those in the city – while women will pass 82, almost a year and a half more than their urban...

Nicole Dryburgh obituary

Author who wrote about her experiences as a teenager with cancerNicole Dryburgh, who has died of a brain haemorrhage aged 21, is best known for writing about her experiences after being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 11. Her first book, The Way I See It (2008), described her attempt to rebuild her life after the diagnosis. The illness was treated successfully by surgery and radiotherapy, but...


MONDAY 24. MAY 2010


British scientists launch first stem cell project recreating brain disease

Team lead by Sir Ian Wilmut will hope their research gives an unprecedented insight into motor neurone diseaseBritish scientists have launched the world's first stem cell project to recreate a devastating and incurable brain disease in the laboratory. The team, led by Sir Ian Wilmut, the Edinburgh researcher who cloned Dolly the sheep, will use stem cells to make diseased and healthy brain cells...

Letters: Craig Venter is not playing God yet

By inserting a synthetic strand of DNA into a living bacterium, Craig Venter's team has made an impressive technical advance with considerable technological and basic scientific potential (God 2.0, 21 May). But what they have emphatically not done is "create life". DNA is a relatively inert molecule unless placed in the environment provided by a living cell. When biologists learn to create cells...