Astronauts could hibernate on journeys to Mars 'to stop them killing each other
50 MINS AGO - Astronauts travelling to Mars in the near future could be placed into an artificial hibernation Expand
50 MINS AGO - Astronauts travelling to Mars in the near future could be placed into an artificial hibernation state, according to a scientist at the European Space Agency (ESA) Collapse
Orionid Meteor Shower 2019: How to see shooting stars from the UK tonight
3 HRS AGO - The Orionid Meteor Shower has been happening all month but will peak this evening, providing you Expand
3 HRS AGO - The Orionid Meteor Shower has been happening all month but will peak this evening, providing you with the perfect opportunity to see a shooting star Collapse
Campaign to stop 'killer robots' takes peace mascot to UN
6 HRS AGO - Robot Wars survivor David Wreckham has found new purpose as the face of the Campaign to Stop Expand
6 HRS AGO - Robot Wars survivor David Wreckham has found new purpose as the face of the Campaign to Stop Killer RobotsAn international campaign takes its battle to outlaw “killer robots” to the UN this week with a new ally – a “peace robot”.Created by an inventor from the BBC programme Robot Wars, the droid, known as David Wreckham, has been recruited to deliver a message to world leaders in New York on Monday. Continue reading... Collapse
Scientists 'may have crossed ethical line' in growing human brains
12 HRS AGO - Debate needed over research with ‘potential for something to suffer’, neuroscientists Expand
12 HRS AGO - Debate needed over research with ‘potential for something to suffer’, neuroscientists sayNeuroscientists may have crossed an “ethical rubicon” by growing lumps of human brain in the lab, and in some cases transplanting the tissue into animals, researchers warn.The creation of mini-brains or brain “organoids” has become one of the hottest fields in modern neuroscience. The blobs of tissue are made from stem cells and, while they are only the size of a pea, some have developed spontaneous brain waves, similar to those seen in premature babies. Continue reading... Collapse
Perfectly preserved mummies in 3,000 year old colourful coffins disc…
22 HRS AGO - Perfectly preserved mummies were found in 30 colourful wooden coffins found on the Nile River’s Expand
22 HRS AGO - Perfectly preserved mummies were found in 30 colourful wooden coffins found on the Nile River’s west bank near Luxor, Egyptian archaeologists have revealed. Adorned with delicate inscriptions and Collapse
Moving to Mars review – a rendezvous with the red planet
1 DAY AGO - Design Museum, LondonThis fascinating show offers close encounters with an actual Mars rover, Expand
1 DAY AGO - Design Museum, LondonThis fascinating show offers close encounters with an actual Mars rover, footage from the planet’s surface – and ambitious plans for inhabiting it, should the need arise…On the surface of Mars, temperatures average about -60C. The thin atmosphere, containing almost no oxygen, is unbreathable. Intense solar radiation, were you to survive the cold and asphyxiation, would be lethal. It would take seven months and billions of pounds to get there. Growing enough food on the red planet to live off would be, to put it mildly, difficult, so you’d have to bring it with you.All of which makes the idea, once expressed by Stephen Hawking and now Elon Musk, that humanity might look to Mars as a planet B if things get really bad here terrifying. It implies that conditions on Earth would actually have to be worse than that unappealing Martian atmospheric cocktail. In which situation only an elite handful would make the escape, a handful that would include (in the imagination, Collapse
The Orionid meteor shower is about to light up the sky with spectacu…
1 DAY AGO - The night sky will be lit up by spectacular celestial fireworks as Earth passes through an area of Expand
1 DAY AGO - The night sky will be lit up by spectacular celestial fireworks as Earth passes through an area of space “littered” with the debris of Halley’s Comet. The Orionid meteor is active throughout October Collapse
Dr Sarah E Hill: ‘We have a blind spot about how the pill influences women’s brains’
1 DAY AGO - The social psychologist’s new book tackles the tricky subject of how oral contraceptives may Expand
1 DAY AGO - The social psychologist’s new book tackles the tricky subject of how oral contraceptives may affect women’s mindsAt a time when women’s reproductive freedoms are under attack, any suggestion that the birth control pill could be problematic feels explosive. But Sarah E Hill, a professor of social psychology at the Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas argues we need to talk about how oral contraceptives are affecting women’s thinking, emotions and behaviour. How the Pill Changes Everything: Your Brain on Birth Control is her new book about the science behind a delicate subject.Some US states have recently made it harder to get an abortion and the Trump administration is doing its best to chisel away at access to birth control. Is your book trying to dissuade women from using the pill?My institution was founded as a Christian school, but it doesn’t have a particular religious bent now. My goal with this book is not to take the pill away or alarm women. It is to give them Collapse
Smart gumshields are monitoring Rugby World Cup concussions
2 DAYS AGO - Concussions have become a growing issue in contact sports. New on-field technology is helping to Expand
2 DAYS AGO - Concussions have become a growing issue in contact sports. New on-field technology is helping to understand the consequences Collapse
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$50bn is pocket change': opioid makers on trial in Ohio after talks collapse
1 HR AGO - Cleveland jury to hear claims by thousands of US communitiesOpioid epidemic has claimed more than Expand
1 HR AGO - Cleveland jury to hear claims by thousands of US communitiesOpioid epidemic has claimed more than 400,000 livesThe drug industry will go on trial in federal court on Monday, as a jury begins to hear claims by thousands of American communities that pharmaceutical firms collaborated in a conspiracy that drove the US opioid epidemic. Related: Why were millions of opioid pills sent to a West Virginia town of 3,000? Continue reading... Collapse
Can you solve it? The four points, two distances problem
5 HRS AGO - A dot-to-dot puzzle with a differenceToday’s question is probably the shortest I have ever Expand
5 HRS AGO - A dot-to-dot puzzle with a differenceToday’s question is probably the shortest I have ever set:Find all the ways to arrange four points so that only two distances occur between any two points. Continue reading... Collapse
How UK's disused mine shafts plan to store renewable energy
6 HRS AGO - Gravitricity develops winch and hoist system to store energy at half the cost of lithium-ion Expand
6 HRS AGO - Gravitricity develops winch and hoist system to store energy at half the cost of lithium-ion batteriesBritain’s cheapest “virtual battery” could be created by hoisting and dropping 12,000-tonne weights – half the weight of the Statue of Liberty – down disused mine shafts, according to Imperial College London.The surprising new source of “gravity energy” is being developed by Gravitricity, an Edinburgh-based startup, which hopes to use Britain’s old mines to make better use of clean electricity at half the cost of lithium-ion batteries. Continue reading... Collapse
Starwatch: Sirius, the dog star, rises to brighten winter nights
14 HRS AGO - The brightest star returns this week, twinkling and sparkling unmistakably in the southern Expand
14 HRS AGO - The brightest star returns this week, twinkling and sparkling unmistakably in the southern skyThere’s a treat in store all week for early risers. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, will be glittering in the southern sky in the pre-dawn hours. Having been absent from view for several months, the star is now rising shortly after midnight. Located just 8.6 light years away, Sirius is about twice the mass of the sun and 25 times more luminous. It makes for an unmistakable sight, twinkling and sparkling in the night sky. The chart shows the view looking due south at 06:00 GMT on 22 October. Sirius is part of the constellation Canis Major, the great dog, and Sirius itself is sometime called the dog star. The star formed an important part of ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, and used to be visible during the Egyptian summer. The supposed heat from Sirius was thought to combine with the sun’s rays to give the country its soaring summer temperatures. This is where the expression Collapse
Why the mother who started gender-reveal parties regrets them
1 DAY AGO - Celebrating the discovery of your unborn baby’s sex has been coopted by people with repressive, Expand
1 DAY AGO - Celebrating the discovery of your unborn baby’s sex has been coopted by people with repressive, polarised ideas, says the woman who began the trendIn 2008, Jenna Myers Karvunidis was pregnant and itching to throw a party. “Life is hard, but I like to have fun,” she explains. “I think it’s important to mark moments of joy.” Karvunidis (who loves celebrating so much that she baked a cake for her goldfish’s birthday) was determined to get her family “jazzed up” about her first baby. After the recent, much-anticipated birth of her nephew, her husband’s family were less excited about this next grandchild and, with her own family emotionally and physically distant, Karvunidis came up with the then-novel idea of a theatrical reveal of her baby’s sex.During their 20-week ultrasound scan she asked her midwife to keep quiet about whether the baby was a boy or girl and, instead of telling the expectant couple in person, the bemused professional sealed a note containing the secret in an Collapse
‘Curb drink culture’ says drugs expert David Nutt
1 DAY AGO - New restrictions needed for leading cause of deaths of men under 50New restrictions are needed on Expand
1 DAY AGO - New restrictions needed for leading cause of deaths of men under 50New restrictions are needed on Britain’s drinking culture, which is behind a huge rise in deaths of men and women under 50, according to the government’s former chief drug adviser, sacked a decade ago for claiming that ecstasy and LSD were less dangerous than alcohol.Ahead of a speech to the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies on 30 October, 10 years after the then home secretary Alan Johnson fired him, Prof David Nutt said the net contribution of successive governments to drugs policy had been to make things worse. Continue reading... Collapse
When does the Orionid Meteor Shower peak in 2019 - and what time is best to watch?
1 DAY AGO - Here’s everything you need to know about the Orionids, including when they are and what time is Expand
1 DAY AGO - Here’s everything you need to know about the Orionids, including when they are and what time is best to watch them Collapse
Doubting death: how our brains shield us from mortal truth
2 DAYS AGO - Brain seems to categorise death as something that only befalls other peopleWarning: this story is Expand
2 DAYS AGO - Brain seems to categorise death as something that only befalls other peopleWarning: this story is about death. You might want to click away now.That’s because, researchers say, our brains do their best to keep us from dwelling on our inevitable demise. A study found that the brain shields us from existential fear by categorising death as an unfortunate event that only befalls other people. Continue reading... Collapse
Nasa astronauts complete first ever all-female spacewalk
2 DAYS AGO - Christina Koch and Jessica Meir, tasked with replacing faulty device at International Space Expand
2 DAYS AGO - Christina Koch and Jessica Meir, tasked with replacing faulty device at International Space Station, embarked on ‘historic’ effortTwo Nasa astronauts have embarked on the first all-female space walk in a historic first.Christina Koch and Jessica Meir floated feet-first out of the International Space Station’s (ISS) Quest airlock on Friday lunchtime UK time, tasked with replacing a failed power control unit. Continue reading... Collapse
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Men who eat lots of red meat have shorter erections, study claims
1 HR AGO - Researchers have looked at the link between diet and erection length, and found that men who eat Expand
1 HR AGO - Researchers have looked at the link between diet and erection length, and found that men who eat more red meat have shorter erections Collapse
Japan is hoarding viruses to fight bioterrorism at the 2020 Olympics
6 HRS AGO - The island nation is stepping up its game in handling infectious diseases in preparation for a Expand
6 HRS AGO - The island nation is stepping up its game in handling infectious diseases in preparation for a possible bioterror attack. But it could also be keeping pace with China's biotech expansion Collapse
2000-year-old 'lost' street built by Pontius Pilate uncovered in Jer…
7 HRS AGO - A 2,000-year-old “lost” street built in Jerusalem by Pontius Pilate has been uncovered for the Expand
7 HRS AGO - A 2,000-year-old “lost” street built in Jerusalem by Pontius Pilate has been uncovered for the first time since the city was sacked by the Romans in 70AD. The ancient walkway most likely used by Collapse
Scientists create 'artificial skin' that could make smartphones tick…
1 DAY AGO - Scientists have developed an “artificial skin” that they say can wrap around devices such as Expand
1 DAY AGO - Scientists have developed an “artificial skin” that they say can wrap around devices such as smartphones and make them ticklish. The prototype, which has been designed to look like and mimic human Collapse
Six-year-old’s death leads to hope of new drug for childhood cancer
1 DAY AGO - Parents of Abbie Mifsud created the charity that has funded vital research on brain stem Expand
1 DAY AGO - Parents of Abbie Mifsud created the charity that has funded vital research on brain stem tumoursResearchers say they are close to testing a drug that could tackle a previously untreatable childhood brain cancer. The condition is known as DIPG – diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma – and every year it affects between 30 to 40 boys and girls, aged between five and 10. All develop tumours caused by the condition and die, often within months of their diagnoses.But now scientists believe they may soon be able to tackle the condition – and one of the key organisations involved is a remarkable charity set up by Amanda and Ray Mifsud, whose daughter Abbie died of DIPG in 2011. Their charity, Abbie’s Army, has raised money that has provided vital backing for research by Professor Chris Jones, of the Institute of Cancer Research, London. Continue reading... Collapse
What happens if your mind lives for ever on the internet?
1 DAY AGO - It may be some way off, but mind uploading, the digital duplication of your mental essence, could Expand
1 DAY AGO - It may be some way off, but mind uploading, the digital duplication of your mental essence, could expand human experience into a virtual afterlifeImagine that a person’s brain could be scanned in great detail and recreated in a computer simulation. The person’s mind and memories, emotions and personality would be duplicated. In effect, a new and equally valid version of that person would now exist, in a potentially immortal, digital form. This futuristic possibility is called mind uploading. The science of the brain and of consciousness increasingly suggests that mind uploading is possible – there are no laws of physics to prevent it. The technology is likely to be far in our future; it may be centuries before the details are fully worked out – and yet given how much interest and effort is already directed towards that goal, mind uploading seems inevitable. Of course we can’t be certain how it might affect our culture but as the technology of simulation and artificial neural networks Collapse
How to squeeze the most from your smartphone's battery
2 DAYS AGO - Phone keep running out of juice? Use these tips to squeeze the most out of your battery
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