Brain chips: the Sydney researchers ‘miles ahead’ of Elon Musk’s Neuralink
Multiple Australian projects are on the cutting edge of neurotech breakthroughs and man-machine interfaces – raising questions of security and privacy for human mindsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet ourmorning and afternoon news emails,free app ordaily news podcastBrain-computer interface technology is at the core of movies such as Ready Player One, The Matrix and Avatar. But outside the realm of science fiction, BCI is being used on Earth to help paralysed people communicate, to study dreams and to control robots.Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk announced in January – to much fanfare – tha...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 16, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Tory Shepherd Tags: Neuroscience Medical research Technology Disability Elon Musk Australia news Source Type: news
Scientists divided over whether record heat is acceleration of climate crisis
Some believe global anomalies are in line with predictions but others are more concerned by speed of changeRecord temperatures in 2024 on land and at sea have prompted scientists to question whether these anomalies are in line with predicted global heating patterns or if they represent a concerning acceleration of climate breakdown.Heat above the oceans remains persistently, freakishly high, despite a weakening ofEl Ni ño, which has been one of the major drivers of record global temperatures over the past year.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 16, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Jonathan Watts and Tural Ahmedzade Tags: Climate science Climate crisis World news Oceans El Ni ño southern oscillation Extreme weather Source Type: news
She beat a rare liver cancer – and now works with her father to find more cures
Cancer scientist decides to study the tumour that once afflicted his small daughter – and now her work is adding to his project’s successElana Simon was 10 years old when she started to experience severe pains in her abdomen. For two years, puzzled doctors put forward diagnoses including lactose intolerance, Crohn ’s disease and stress. It was not until 2008 that they pinpointed the real cause. Elana was suffering from fibrolamellar carcinoma(FLC), a rare, usually lethal, form of liver cancer.“In a way, it was comforting to have a word for what was wrong with me after so much confusion about my condition,” Elana ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 16, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Robin McKie Science Editor Tags: Cancer research Medical research Science UK news Source Type: news
Space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock: ‘I was underestimated as a child. I want to tell kids to reach for the stars’
The Sky at Night presenter on science, school and Star TrekBorn in London in 1968 to Nigerian parents, Maggie Aderin-Pocock is a scientist and presenter of The Sky at Night. She trained as a physicist – graduating from Imperial College London with a PhD in 1994, and working for the Ministry of Defence on landmine detection and missile warning systems. She has since designed a host of space instruments, become the first Black woman to win a gold medal in the Physics News Award and in 2013 took o ver fromPatrick Moore as a co-host of the BBC ’s long-running astronomy show. Aderin-Pocock is one of the panel...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 16, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Harriet Gibsone Tags: Life and style Family Space Science Source Type: news
I feel for women misled over egg-freezing. If I ’d believed doctors during my transition, my kids wouldn’t be here | Freddy McConnell
We all deserve better from healthcare providers who sell false promise to some, while shutting down options for othersYou can ’t have missed the conversations about the rise of freezing eggs for non-medical or“social” reasons in recent years, which forms part of an explosion in the use of fertility treatments, all with the promise of giving more options to prospective parents. The starting point is often the question of whether someone, almost always a wealthy, straight, white woman, should freeze her eggs as insurance against her “biological clock”, career development and/or the risk of not finding a partner in ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 16, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Freddy McConnell Tags: Health IVF LGBTQ rights Transgender Fertility problems Women UK news NHS Ageing Pregnancy Science Source Type: news
Weekend podcast: teacher Michael Donkor on coming out to his pupils; finding love via small ads; and are bad habits your fault?
Should you blame yourself for your bad habits? (1m53s); author and teacher, Michael Donkor, on the dilemma of whether to come out to his pupils (7m50s); and missed connections: four extraordinary stories of couples who found love via small ads (26m05s)Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 16, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Hosted by Savannah Ayoade-Greaves; written by Sophie McBain, Michael Donkor, and Amelia Tait; narrated by Laura Shavin and Arun Blair-Mangat; produced by Rachel Porter; executive producer was Ellie Bury. Tags: Life and style Teaching Sexuality Race Schools Psychology Dating Relationships Craigslist Source Type: news
Darwin ’s plant specimens stored for 200 years to go on public display
Specimens collected on Voyage of the Beagle have been unearthed at Cambridge University archivePlant specimens collected by Charles Darwin on the voyage of the Beagle have been unearthed in an archive at Cambridge University.The rare specimens, which have been stored in the archives of the Cambridge University herbarium for nearly 200 years, were given by Darwin to his teacher and friend Prof John Stevens Henslow, the founder of Cambridge University Botanic Garden.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 15, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Donna Ferguson Tags: Charles Darwin Plants Environment University of Cambridge Education UK news Science Source Type: news
Why ME/CFS is still so poorly researched and treated | Letters
Readers respond to George Monbiot ’s article on the treatment and attitude of the medical profession to the debilitating conditionI am writing to express my appreciation of George Monbiot ’s perceptive article (‘You don’t want to get better’: the outdated treatment of ME/CFS patients is a national scandal, 12 March). I have lived with severe fatigue for more than three years, following a mild Covid infection. It is difficult to describe what it is like and it is not surprising that it is not well understood. My experience is that it is necessary to overcome my instincts to push myself, since running out of energy...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 15, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Guardian Staff Tags: ME / Chronic fatigue syndrome Health Society GPs Doctors NHS Psychology Science Medical research UK news Source Type: news
Younge writing on racism best since Baldwin
Racism in politics | A propulsion problem | Joy in education | Salford ’s rugby winGary Younge ’s article on the universal hypocrisy in relation to racism being expressed by both of our main political parties is the most honest and ruthlessly coruscating essay I’ve read sinceJames Baldwin (In Britain ’s degraded politics, fighting racism has become a cynical game, 15 March). It should be framed on the walls of every office used by journalists and politicians in the land.Jonathan CallanLondon• The propulsion of rockets is described as due to “flames and hot gases, which push against the ground and cause it ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 15, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Guardian Staff Tags: Race James Baldwin Books Physics Education Rugby league UK news Source Type: news
Plant specimens collected by Charles Darwin to be unveiled to the public
Specimens collected on Voyage of the Beagle have been in Cambridge University archive for nearly 200 yearsPlant specimens collected by Charles Darwin on the voyage of the Beagle have been unearthed in an archive at Cambridge University.The rare specimens, which have been stored in the archives of the Cambridge University herbarium for nearly 200 years, were given by Darwin to his teacher and friend Prof John Stevens Henslow, the founder of Cambridge University Botanic Garden.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 15, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Donna Ferguson Tags: Charles Darwin Plants Environment University of Cambridge Education UK news Science Source Type: news
Canada moves to protect coral reef that scientists say ‘shouldn’t exist’
Discovery was made after First Nations tipped off ecologists about groups of fish gathering in a fjord off British ColumbiaDeep in the hostile waters off Canada ’s west coast, in a narrow channel surrounded by fjords, lies a coral reef that scientists believe “shouldn’t exist”. The reef is the northernmost ever discovered in the Pacific Ocean and offers researchers a new glimpse into the resilience – and unpredictability – of the deep-sea ecosys tems.For generations, members of theKitasoo Xai ’xais and Heiltsuk First Nations, two communities off the Central Coast region of British Columbia, had noticed large ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 15, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Leyland Cecco in Toronto Tags: Coral Canada Indigenous peoples Marine life Environment Oceans Biology Science Americas Source Type: news
‘Alarming’ rise in Americans with long Covid symptoms
CDC data shows nearly 18m people could be living with long Covid even as health agency relaxes isolation recommendationsSome 6.8% of American adults are currently experiencing long Covid symptoms, according to a new survey from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), revealing an “alarming” increase in recent months even as the health agency relaxes Covid isolation recommendations, experts say.That means an estimated 17.6 million Americans could now be living with long Covid.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 15, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Melody Schreiber Tags: Long Covid Coronavirus US news World news Science Society Source Type: news
Brazil to release millions of anti-dengue mosquitoes as death toll from outbreak mounts
Mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria that inhibit spread of disease to be introduced in six cities after successful pilot schemeA dengue-fighting strategy that involves releasing bacteria-infected mosquitoes will be rolled out to six Brazilian cities in the coming months as the country battles a severe outbreak of dengue fever, a viral disease transmitted by theAedes aegyptimosquito.Factors such as hotter and wetter weather caused by the climate crisis and the circulation of previously absent subtypes of the virus are fuelling an explosion of dengue in Brazil, which has recorded1.6m probable cases since January – ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 15, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Constance Malleret in Rio de Janeiro Tags: Global health Global development Insects Animals Environment Wildlife World news Society Infectious diseases Dengue fever Brazil Medical research Source Type: news
Neurological conditions now leading cause of ill-health worldwide, finds study
Numbers living with or dying from disorders such as stroke rises dramatically to 3.4bn people – 43% of global populationNeurological conditions ranging from migraine to stroke, Parkinson ’s disease and dementia, are now the leading cause of ill-health worldwide, causing 11.1 million deaths in 2021, research has revealed.The number of people living with or dying from disorders of the nervous system has risen dramatically over the past three decades, with 43% of the world ’s population – 3.4 billion people – affected in 2021, according toa study published in the Lancet.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 14, 2024 Category: Science Authors: David Batty Tags: Health Neuroscience Parkinson's disease Dementia Stroke Medical research Society Source Type: news
SpaceX ’s Starship destroyed on return to Earth at end of third test flight
Spacecraft ’s cruise vessel flew around globe for first time, but lost contact in final stages before planned splashdownSpaceX ’s Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built,was destroyed during its return to Earth after nearly completing itsthird test flight.The 120-metre system, which weighs about 5,000 tonnes when fully fuelled, took off from SpaceX ’s spaceport, named Starbase, on the Gulf of Mexico in Boca Chica, Texas. SpaceX aims to use the spacecraft to one day carry astronauts to the moon and Mars.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 14, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Oliver Holmes Tags: SpaceX Elon Musk US news Science World news Source Type: news
