Deal finalised on fusion reactor

The European Union and six member states have reached a deal on the experimental nuclear fusion reactor they are backing. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

How midges select their victims

Midges have been blighting summers in the Scottish Highlands for generations, but new research suggests that the insects aren’t as indiscriminate in their choice of victims as previously thought. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Pampered pigs ‘feel optimistic’

Pigs feel optimistic or pessimistic about life depending on how pleasant their environment is, researchers at Newcastle University find. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Poisonous fish warning for swimmers

Bathers along Britain’s coastline are being warned to be on the look-out for the country’s most poisonous fish. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Does music make you run faster?

Music has helped elite tri-athletes in Australia increase their endurance by 15%, researchers say. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Dogs ‘mimic movements of owners’

Do dogs really imitate body movements of owners? This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Friends offer ‘a survival boost’

Having good friends and neighbours appears to boost survival chances by 50%, say researchers. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Dozens missing in China landslide

Dozens more people are reported dead or missing as the worst torrential rain in decades continues to wreak havoc in China. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Oz marsupials ‘began in Americas’

The characteristic koalas, kangaroos and wombats of Australia share a common American ancestor, according to genetic research. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

New apple is red to the core

A new apple which is red to the core is being sold by a Devon company. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Researchers use more GM animals

The number of UK scientific experiments involving genetically modified animals overtakes those involving “normal animals” for the first time. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Was Marden Henge the builder’s yard for Stonehenge?

Stone tools, flakes and the remains of a final feast at the site in Wiltshire hint that the huge sarsens that now stand at Stonehenge were brought to Marden Henge first View an interactive guide to the site The last revellers seem to have cleared up scrupulously after the final party at Marden Henge some [...]

2010 temperatures hit record highs

Scientists from two leading climate research centres publish ‘best evidence yet’ of rising long-term global temperatures • Jeffrey Sachs: Obama must take a lead on climate change Global temperatures in the first half of the year were the hottest since records began more than a century ago, according to two of the world’s leading climate [...]

Warming threat to marine food chain

Numbers of phytoplankton – the microscopic organisms that sustain the marine food chain – are plummeting as sea surface temperatures rise Phytoplankton might be too small to see with the naked eye, but they are the foundations of the ocean food chain, ultimately capturing the energy that sustains the seas’ great beasts such as whales. [...]

Number of animal experiments falls

Home Office statistics suggest there were 37,000 fewer animal experiments in 2009 compared with 2008. For the first time, more genetically modified animals were used than non-modified The number of scientific experiments carried out on animals in the UK dropped by 37,000 last year to just over 3.6m, according to data released today by the [...]

‘Choice’ fetish spawns mind-meltingly stupid homeopathy policy

The UK government’s rejection of a damning Commons report on homeopathy leaves Martin Robbins baffled and depressed The government has released its eagerly anticipated response to the Science and Technology Committee’s Evidence Check on Homeopathy and, incredibly, it’s even worse than I thought it would be. The verdict is “business as usual”, with the main [...]

Higgs hunters meet at ICHEP in Paris

Particle physicists mull over the latest data from Fermilab and Cern at the International Conference on High Energy Physics in Paris

String theorist Witten gives prize lecture

The king of string theory visited London earlier this month to accept the Newton medal at the Institute of Physics. His full lecture is now online “We know a lot of things, but what we don’t know is a lot more.” So said Edward Witten, one of the world’s most prominent theoretical physicists, when I [...]

With a little help from your friends you can live longer

Study finds being sociable is good for your health, while loneliness is as bad for you as smoking 15 cigarettes a day A life of booze, fags and slothfulness may be enough to earn your doctor’s disapproval, but there is one last hope: a repeat prescription of mates and good conversation. A circle of close [...]

Number of animal experiments performed in UK labs falls

Home Office statistics suggest there were 37,000 fewer animal experiments in 2009 compared with 2008. For the first time, more genetically modified animals were used than non-modified The number of scientific experiments carried out on animals in the UK dropped by 37,000 last year to just over 3.6m, according to data released today by the [...]

BP puts oil spill cost at $32.2bn

BP says it is setting aside $32.2bn (£20.8bn) to cover the oil spill clean-up costs, as it posts record losses of $17bn. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

China Gorges flooding set to peak

Officials in China say floodwaters which have left some 1,250 people dead or missing are expected to peak within the next day. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Warming ‘to draw Mexico migrants’

Climate change may drive millions of Mexicans into the US as rising temperatures reduce crop yields, a study suggests. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Sarkozy shares his enlightenment vision with high-energy physicists

President Nicolas Sarkozy delivered an impressive endorsement of fundamental science at the International Conference on High Energy Physics (ICHEP) yesterday A lot happened at ICHEP today, but I’ll stick to the presidential address and the Higgs. Quick Higgs recap: we know that something gives particles mass. According to our best theory, known as the Standard [...]

Blueberry thrill

Now more popular than raspberries, but why? This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

China considers big rocket power

Chinese engineers are considering a new super-powerful engine for the next generation of space rockets, say officials. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Fog from peat fires covers Moscow

An acrid fog from forest and peat fires blankets Moscow, as the Russian capital swelters in a record heat wave. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Deep science

Mini-sub crew get to the bottom of US oil spill’s risk to fragile marine ecosystems This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Space age sub explores slick

David Shukman takes a dive in a research sub as it investigates the effects of the oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico’s coral reefs. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Plastic fantastic: ‘Bottle-boat’ ends Pacific voyage

A boat made from thousands of plastic bottles sails into Sydney Harbour, completing a four-month voyage that began in San Francisco. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Remains of Roman villa discovered

Archaeologists find the remains of a 4th Century Roman villa near Aberystwyth after an aerial photograph showed up an outline. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

What happens when 1,000 particle physicists collide

What happens when 1,000 particle physicists meet? BBC News visited the 35th International Conference on High Energy Physics (ICHEP) in Paris to find out. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Dark matter hunt eyes deeper home

An underground experiment designed to search for dark matter could go even deeper in search of the elusive cosmic “stuff”. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Oil spill vessels return to site

Ships involved in the effort to secure the Gulf of Mexico blown-out oil well are preparing to resume work after a tropical storm weakens. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Iran launches nuclear fusion bid

Iran begins research aimed at developing a nuclear fusion reactor – an ambition that has proved elusive to physicists for decades. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Butterflies tracked in UK survey

The public is asked to help track the UK’s butterfly populations as conservationists warn many native species are in serious decline. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Living in skin

Why stem cells taken from the skin are proving vital in medicine. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

LHC closes in on massive particle

Physicists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have seen several candidates for the heaviest elementary particle known to science. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Rough trade

Skull haul extent of illegal trade in endangered species This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Bellyflop shows how frogs evolved

Frogs evolved the ability to jump before they perfected the art of landing, according to scientists. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Satellite spies vast algal bloom

A satellite image reveals the scale of a vast algal bloom, described as the size of Germany, spreading across the Baltic Sea. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

‘Eternal plane’ returns to Earth

The record-breaking Zephyr unmanned solar-powered plane touches down in Arizona after two weeks of non-stop flight. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

US climate legislation on hold

The US Senate will not pass a full climate bill in its current session because Democrats cannot secure the required votes, says majority leader Harry Reid. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Neurons ‘show way for computers’

Futuristic computers that learn to see and listen could result from research into the ways nerve cells communicate. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Paper mill blamed for polluting Baikal

Ecologists and non-governmental organisations are blaming the Soviet-era Baikalsk Pulp and Paper mill for polluting the world deepest and oldest lake, Lake Baikal in Siberia. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

UK nanotech centres ‘may be axed’

Britain’s 24 nanotechnology centres could be among the casualties of cuts to the UK science budget, science minister David Willetts has said. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

BP ‘frustrated’ by storm delay

Senior BP official Doug Suttles has said it is “frustrating” that a tropical storm could delay plans to deal with a blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

‘God particle’ lab eyes reprieve

A US “atom smasher” may get three more years of life in order to continue its hunt for the so-called God particle. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Race to find ‘God particle’ hots up

Researchers working with the Large Hadron Collider have published their first data in the quest to unlock the mysteries of the Universe. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Unlocking meerkats’ alarm calls

A study sheds light on how certain alarm cries made by meerkats are more effective at alerting other members of the group to possible dangers. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

UK government axes green watchdog

The government is to scrap the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC), its independent watchdog and advisory body on sustainability. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Climate unit’s funding suspended

Climate scientists in a row over leaked emails have funding of £131,0000 suspended by the US government. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Second henge found at Stonehenge

Archaeologists discover a second henge at Stonehenge, described as the most exciting find at the site in 50 years. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

UK mulls Earth observing service

Britain could soon have a privately financed, national Earth-observation service, if plans under consideration come to fruition. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

‘Lost’ insect turns up anew in UK

The dainty damselfly re-appears in the UK after an absence of more than 50 years, probably assisted by climate change. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Oiled pelican rescued from Gulf slick

BBC environment correspondent David Shukman witnesses the moment an oil-cloaked pelican was rescued. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Trees felled to stop oak disease

Thousands of trees are being felled in Devon and Cornwall in an attempt to stop the spread of Sudden Oak Death. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. Related Blogs Related Blogs on Trees felled to stop oak [...]

Higgs still eludes capture – but now we know where it isn’t

Scientists at the Tevatron collider in the US have scotched a rumour that they have seen the Higgs boson, but they have ruled out a range of energies that it might have Scientists are a step closer to discovering an elusive particle that is thought to give mass to the basic building blocks of nature. [...]

My boyfriend thinks I talk too much

Carole Jahme shines the cold light of evolutionary psychology on readers’ problems. This week: Incessant chatter From Sarah, by emailDear Carole, Please can you help me with an embarrassing problem which I can’t seem to control that annoys my boyfriend (and my previous one too). I’m in love with him, and he with me; we’ve [...]

No need for manned spaceflight, says astronomer royal Martin Rees

Martin Rees believes sending people into space is pointless and a waste of money Forget manned moon bases, forget a Mars colony – most future space travellers will be robots, according to astronomer royal Martin Rees. Rees, professor of cosmology and astrophysics at Cambridge University, thinks sending people into space is a waste of money, [...]

Science Weekly podcast: Why you should distrust your senses

Before listening to this podcast, for best results we recommend you watch this short YouTube video. Daniel Simons joins us from a studio in Illinois to discuss his new book The Invisible Gorilla. We look at how our intuition deceives us and the problems this causes for the judicial system. Daniel also reveals why criminals [...]

The gorilla in the room

In a seminal experiment, Daniel Simons and fellow psychologist Christopher Chabris discovered a phenomenon that forces us to question how our brains perceive the world Before reading any further, you are advised to watch the short video above, which shows a seminal experiment that Daniel Simons and his co-author and fellow psychologist Christopher Chabris conducted [...]

Is humanity prepared for the worst?

Designer viruses, potent new weapons, hurtling asteroids… all have the potential to obliterate humanity. So how do scientists plan for such catastrophes? Corridors are deserted. Office doors are locked. Laboratories are quieter than usual. It can mean only one thing: conference season is upon us and it’s time for scientists to shut up shop and [...]

Chinese archaeologists’ African quest for sunken ship of Ming admiral

Search for remains of armada which came to grief on a pioneering voyage to Kenya 600 years ago It’s another chapter in the now familiar story of China’s economic embrace of Africa. Except that this one begins nearly 600 years ago. A team of 11 Chinese archaeologists will arrive in Kenya tomorrow to begin the [...]

Tests begin on stem cell cure for rare heart disease

Cardiologists hope new treatment can prolong the lives of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy Doctors are investigating whether patients with an irreversible heart condition can prolong their lives by having stem cells taken from their hip and injected into the damaged organ. Experts at the Barts and the London Heart Attack Centre hope their work will [...]

Don’t like your findings? Spin them away

Even those carrying out formal academic research are guilty of twisting scientific facts to suit their purposes There is a pleasing symmetry in the ropey science you get from different players. When GlaxoSmithKline are confronted with an unflattering meta-analysis summarising the results of all 56 trials on one of their treatments, as we saw last [...]

Reaper drones: Death by remote control

Unmanned planes that unleash missiles have become an effective but expensive weapon for US forces and the RAF It flies at 50,000ft, is virtually invisible and carries a deadly payload of missiles and bombs. Meet the Reaper, a new variety of heavily armed unmanned drone which the war logs reveal is increasingly the coalition’s weapon [...]

Computers may soon be calling the shots

Within a decade, computers will be able to plough through scientific data looking for patterns and connections – then tell scientists what they should do next Move over scientists – computers will be asking the questions from now on. They will trawl the millions of scientific papers on the web and suggest new hypotheses for [...]

Film review: Splice

Vincenzo Natali raises complex moral questions in this thriller about genetic engineering Back in 1954 the Austrian social thinker Robert Jungk wrote a bestselling futurological study, the title of which, Tomorrow is Already Here, predicted the way science fact would be constantly breathing down the neck of science fiction as the 20th century proceeded. Something [...]

Engineers race to design world’s biggest offshore wind turbines

British firm to design mammoth offshore wind turbines with 275m wingspan that produce three times power of standard models British, American and Norwegian engineers are in a race to design and build the holy grail of wind turbines – giant, 10MW offshore machines twice the size and power of anything seen before – that could [...]

Is there anywhere left for Higgs to hide?

Tantalising evidence was presented yesterday at the International Conference on High Energy Physics (ICHEP) in Paris supporting some of physicists’ most cherished theories. But where was the Higgs? Ok, I registered, and now have yet another geeky backpack, a pen, and a map of Paris. Plus a dog tag with my name and “ICHEP 2010” [...]

Is there anywhere left for the Higgs boson to hide?

Tantalising evidence was presented yesterday at the International Conference on High Energy Physics (ICHEP) in Paris supporting some of physicists’ most cherished theories. But where was the Higgs? Ok, I registered, and now have yet another geeky backpack, a pen, and a map of Paris. Plus a dog tag with my name and “ICHEP 2010” [...]

Guerilla scientists infiltrate a Secret Garden Party

Synaesthesia, Petra Boynton’s intimate places, communicating with the comatose and Marcus du Sautoy all feature at this weekend’s Secret Garden Party, courtesy of Guerilla Science. Zoe Cormier will be there It may have been the burlesque freak show temptress who set fire to her skin, the empathic robotic bust of Elvis sitting in the eyeworks [...]

Computers may soon be calling the shots in science

Within a decade, computers will be able to plough through scientific data looking for patterns and connections – then tell scientists what they should do next Move over scientists – computers will be asking the questions from now on. They will trawl the millions of scientific papers on the web and suggest new hypotheses for [...]

Most massive star on record

Colossal stars discovered by British astronomers give an insight into the early universe They are the most colossal stars ever seen and live short, bright, lives in faraway reaches of space before exploding in a blaze of glory. One of the stars, now tagged R136a1, is estimated to weigh 265 times more than the sun [...]

Live fast, die young

The astronomer royal on the significance of the newly discovered star Scientists at the University of Sheffield have found a star 10m times brighter, and with a mass 265 times larger, than our own sun. The stellar giant – named R136a1 and located in the Tarantula Nebula adjacent to “our” Milky Way – is thought [...]

High energy physics in Paris

The International Conference on High Energy Physics is firing up in Paris, preparing to update the world on the latest insights into the fundamental laws of the universe. Physicist Jon Butterworth will be posting updates for the Guardian I’m writing this on a Eurostar train at St Pancras in London, waiting for it to pull [...]

Would a whale attack a yacht?

A 40-tonne whale launched itself onto a yacht off Cape Town. Was it an act of aggression or just a badly timed leap? Ralph Motes and Paloma Werner were out for a nice sailing trip off Cape Town in their 33ft yacht when they got more than they bargained for. While these middle-aged South African [...]

Stonehenge twin discovered

New wooden henge, a circular ditch that aligns with world-famous monument, deemed site’s most exciting find in a lifetime Interactive guide: where the second henge was found Without a sod of earth being dug up, a new henge, a circular ditch which probably enclosed a ring of timber posts and may have been used for [...]

Biggest star on record

Astronomers say colossal star known as R136a1 is more than 265 times more massive than the sun Astronomers say they have discovered the most colossal star on record, in a region of space known as the Tarantula nebula in a neighbouring galaxy to our own. The record-breaking star has a mass 265 times greater than the [...]

A laser that works when wet

Super-weapon has long featured in science fiction – but now it’s for real When it comes to sci-fi villains, few have endured as well as the Martians, whom HG Wells depicted wielding a weapon called the Heat-Ray in The War of the Worlds, back in 1898. This was a small, box-like case emitting a “beam [...]

Don’t let the phoney melanoma scare keep you out of the sun

There are many good reasons why we won’t – and shouldn’t – give up our tan Kira Cochrane asks “why can’t we give up the tan?” (Going for the burn, G2, 7 July). The answer is simple: we are not convinced that the alleged harm outweighs the obvious benefits, and we dislike the bullying, fear-mongering [...]

Nobbled by a spider

Was it the ‘biting spider’ that left me unable to walk – or the ‘walnut orb-weaver’? Arachnophobes, look away now. On Saturday evening, while at my friend’s back-garden barbecue, I was bitten by a spider. I felt a sharp sting – like a needle piercing the skin – and shook my leg to rid myself [...]

Comic superhero Echo fights stereotypes of deaf people

Unlike most of the one-dimensional deaf characters in literature, Echo (aka Maya Lopez) has a complex emotional back story Deaf characters are often marginalised in literature. Echo the deaf superhero is coming to the rescue as the creators of comics strive for realism in their portrayal of deaf characters. “With any form of portrayal including [...]

God in the classroom

All science teachers, whatever their specialism, have to deal with questions about God. We should be prepared “Do you believe in God, sir?” I imagine that this is a question that science teachers, like me, get asked far more often than, say, English or Geography teachers. I usually answer with a simple “no, I don’t”, [...]

Sound restored to film shot during Apollo 11 moon landing

A British Apollo 11 fan has painstakingly united the mission control footage with audio recorded during the moon landing When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon on 20 July 1969, Nasa used two film cameramen at mission control in Houston to capture the moment back on Earth. The footage has been regularly [...]

Women’s HIV risk halved by gel

UN and WHO warmly welcome results of study on use of vaginal gel before sexual intercourse Scientists held out the hope of a breakthrough in the prevention of HIV/Aids today with the results of a study showing that a vaginal gel used by women before sexual intercourse halved the numbers who became infected. Scientists have [...]

More choice is not helpful to society

If David Cameron believes that shopping for public services will help us progress in his ‘big society’, he should hear a story about jam If you want to know why David Cameron‘s ‘big society’ is more trouble than it’s worth, why Andrew Lansley is on a hiding to nothing with his consultant-choice agenda, and why [...]

Will our oceans ever recover?

Jay Nelson, director of Global Ocean Legacy at the Pew Environment Group, joins us to consider how we can protect the world’s oceans and whether islanders are willing to be subjected to tough restrictions. We also discuss the Chagos Archipelago, the UK’s most important area of marine biodiversity. It’s one small step for a mongrel [...]

Flu jab could be replaced by skin patch

Scientists believe the flu patch could increase influenza vaccination rates in developing countries The conventional flu jab could be replaced by a skin patch applied by patients which would deliver the vaccine through hundreds of microscopic needles that penetrate the outer layer of the skin before dissolving. The scientists behind the development of the patch [...]

Goldacre on Gillian McKeith, tweeter

Gillian McKeith claims that Ben Goldacre’s book Bad Science is ‘lies’. Perhaps the litigious millionaire should be careful who she libels What do you do, as a campaigner for libel reform, when a litigious millionaire calls you a liar? This quandary was presented to me last week when the Twitter account of Gillian McKeith – [...]

The chicken came first – apparently

The ‘which came first’ conundrum has been solved at last. Or has it? Last week, it was claimed that one of the oldest conundrums known to man had been laid to rest, when scientists at the universities of Sheffield and Warwick announced they’d found evidence that the chicken really did come before the egg. A [...]

Naturalist by E O Wilson

In E O Wilson’s autobiography Naturalist we learn of the great ant man’s enchanted childhood and development into one of the patron saints of conservation Edward O Wilson is one of the architects of that bleak philosophy called sociobiology. In his 1978 classic On Human Nature, Wilson describes the human mind as a device for [...]

My favourite medical graphic novels

Following his blogpost introducing the genre, Cian O’Luanaigh lists the best – though often harrowing – medical comics and graphic novels Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary by Justin Green The book that launched a genre. Green’s memoirs of a childhood beset by obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) was the first graphic novel to explore [...]

Girls with high-pitched voices go nuts over deep-voiced men

It looks like women are more complicated than we thought, says Cian O’Luanaigh. Their preference for silver-tongued men with deep voices is dependent on the pitch of their own voices It’s not easy choosing a guy. Do you go for the big man with the deep voice, strong jawline and pugnacious streak, or the nice [...]

There’s a lot more to science than space and dinosaurs

David Willetts has said they’re the way to get children interested in science. But it’s a naive view, as young people will tell you According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), subjects traditionally dominated by men, are still dominated by men. At best, the percentage of female students has stayed roughly the same; at [...]

Sri Lankan primate back from dead

Researchers photograph and measure the Horton Plains slender loris, but fear there could be fewer than 100 left alive A mysterious primate driven to the brink of extinction by Britain’s taste for tea has been photographed for the first time. The Horton Plains slender loris, found only in Sri Lanka, was for more than 60 [...]

Dogs in space

A space suit for canine adventurers is one of the highlights in a new exhibition at the National Space Centre in Leicester One day you’re sniffing a lamppost behind the Kremlin, the next you’re an integral part of a top-secret programme sending dogs to boldly go where no dogs have gone before.The search criteria weren’t [...]

Scientist leading GM crop test defends links to Monsanto

Research professor Jonathan Jones says his verdict on a potato trial in Norfolk will not be influenced by his past commercial ties to Monsanto The scientist in charge of a taxpayer-funded trial that may determine whether genetically modified crops will be grown in the UK has been attacked for his close links to the US [...]

Relic of Harpocrates, the god of secrecy and silence, found at Silchester

Archaeological dig at abandoned Roman city in Hampshire yields earliest representation of an Egyptian deity found in Britain A battered and corroded thumb-sized piece of bronze has turned out to be a unique find, the earliest representation of an Egyptian deity from any site in Britain – and appropriately, after almost 2,000 years hidden in [...]

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