feed info

40,086 articles from Guardian Unlimited Science

What Can Darwin teach us about morality? | The question

Is it merely a trick played on us by our genes, a meaningless by-product of evolution?One of the most tragic and interesting scientific stories of the late 20th century was that of George Price, a fiercely atheist and idealistic socialist who discovered the early work of WD Hamilton, showing how altruism might evolve if it was advantageous to the relatives of altruists. Price went more or less mad...

Animal rights activist using FOI laws to target universities

Luke Steele, spokesman for Stop Animal Experiments at Bradford is forcing institutions to reveal vivisection detailsA convicted animal rights activist is using freedom of information laws to force universities to reveal details of their animal experiments, raising fears that scientists involved could suffer renewed intimidation.The requests for information, which have been sent to every university...

In a democracy, science has to speak up

Britain must celebrate its scientists, because if the voters do, then so will the politiciansNational Science and Engineering Week – running now with 2,000-plus exhibitions, lectures, open days and debates for an expected audience of 1.5 million – began as a whistle in the dark. Back in 1994, the science minister, William Waldegrave, secured a derisory £100,000 for the first one, and it...

Worldwide arms trade flourishing despite recession, report warns

Average volume of sales increased by 22%, with South America and south-east Asia seeing the biggest risesThe worldwide arms race has accelerated, most dramatically in South America and south-east Asia, despite the economic and financial slump, according to a report published today.The average volume of arms sales increased by 22% over the past five years, compared to the previous five-year period,...

Scientists identify opium poppy codeine and morphine genes

Discovery raises possibility of manufacturing painkillers more cheaply using vats of microbes rather than fields of flowersScientists have identified the two genes in opium poppies which are used to make codeine and morphine, two of the most important painkillers in a doctor's armoury.The discovery opens the door to alternative ways of making the drugs which do not involve giving over vast areas...

Science Weekly Extra podcast: Astrophysicist Paul Davies from Seti

Astrophysicist Paul Davies discusses new approaches to finding intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. The Seti scientist's new book is called Eerie Silence and is on a lecture tour of the UK. Post your comments below.Join our Facebook group. Listen back through our archive.Follow the podcast on our Science Weekly Twitter feed and receive updates on all breaking science news stories from...


SUNDAY 14. MARCH 2010


Jeffery and Miquette Roberts

My parents Jeffery and Miquette Roberts, who have both died aged 66, within 10 days of each other, shared passions for the arts and languages, and had broad-ranging, inquiring minds. In April 2009, Jeffery was diagnosed with cancer. He faced this with amazing fortitude, and the unending support of Miquette, who died of injuries resulting from a fall shortly after his death.In my father's office...

Space law course to tackle final frontier

Sunderland University to introduce module on law and the legal system beyond Earth's atmosphereWould-be lawyers at a British university are taking a lesson from the Starship Enterprise and boldly going into the potential legal conundra of outer space.For the first time in a UK syllabus, a module on law and the legal system beyond Earth's atmosphere will be included as an option for students...

The world's smallest sea horse

Hippocampus satomiae, little bigger than a pea, has been found on reefs in IndonesiaLittle bigger than a pea, the smallest known sea horse, Hippocampus satomiae, was discovered at a depth of about 15 metres on reefs in Indonesia, from Derawan island to northern Sulawesi and Borneo. Like other pygmy sea horses, its size and camouflage make it difficult to spot. This species resembles, in texture...


SATURDAY 13. MARCH 2010


Climate change adverts draw mild rebuke from advertising watchdog

Leaked adjudication largely clears government over campaign that some thought 'scary, inaccurate and too political'Read the full text of the ASA adjudicationThe advertising watchdog has mildly rebuked the government over the phrasing of a claim in two advertisements on the danger of climate change, while dismissing the rest of the complaints against the controversial television and newspaper...

This column will change your life: A frightening prospect | Oliver Burkeman

Why is it that we enjoy being scared half to death by films and books?One wild and windswept recent afternoon – I know it should have been late at night, but it wasn't – I finally got around to watching Paranormal Activity, the ultra-low-budget horror film that became an underground success thanks to the curious pleasure so many people take in being scared half to death. (Don't watch it...

What I'm really thinking: The lifeguard

'People regress to childhood in a pool – they come up and tell me that a person in their lane is splashing'When you're walking round a pool for eight hours a day, you think about everything. You worry that the floor is giving you athlete's foot, or you calculate the number of tiles poolside, to pass the time. While doing this thinking, you have to keep counting heads, to make sure everyone's...


FRIDAY 12. MARCH 2010


No bugs were harmed in the media reporting of infested trains

The figures for bugs on train compartments all sound a little bit on the high side. Where did they come from?The figures were all very specific and very frightening. "Two thousand bugs taking a ride in every train compartment," said the Daily Mail. "Cockroaches cluster on trains," groaned the Telegraph. "Commuters share trains with 1,000 cockroaches, 200 bedbugs and 200 fleas," said the Evening...