The extraordinary promise of personalised cancer vaccines – podcast
Glioblastomas are an extremely aggressive type of brain tumour, which is why the news this week of a vaccine that has shown promise in fighting them is so exciting.And this comes right off the back of the announcement of another trial of the world ’s first personalisedmRNA vaccine for melanoma, a kind of skin cancer. Ian Sample talks to Prof Alan Melcher of the Institute of Cancer Research about how these vaccines work and whether they could one day be used to target cancer before it is even detectable on scansClips: BBCRead more about the personalised cancer vaccine for melanomaContinue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - May 2, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Presented by Ian Sample, produced by Madeleine Finlay, sound design by Tony Onuchukwu, the executive producer was Ellie Bury Tags: Science Cancer research Skin cancer Medical research Society Vaccines and immunisation Health Source Type: news
Arno Penzias obituary
US astrophysicist whose discovery of the cosmic microwave radiation resulting from the big bang brought him the Nobel prizeThe American astrophysicist and Nobel laureateArno Penzias, who has died aged 90, was responsible for one of the biggest cosmological revelations of the 20th century – the discovery of cosmic microwave background, the leftover radiation from the big bang.He first demonstrated its existence in 1965 with his collaboratorRobert Wilson, and then, five years later – with Wilson and another astrophysicist, Keith Jefferts – went on to detect the presence of interstellar carbon monoxide, launching the fi...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - May 1, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Michael Rowan-Robinson Tags: Astronomy Space People in science US news Germany Second world war New York Source Type: news
Dorset auction house withdraws Egyptian human skulls from sale
MP says trade in remains is ‘gross violation of human dignity’, as skulls from Pitt Rivers collection removedAn auction house has withdrawn 18 ancient Egyptian human skulls from sale after an MP said selling them would perpetuate the atrocities of colonialism.Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Afrikan reparations, believes the sale of human remains for any purposes should be outlawed, adding that the trade was “a gross violation of human dignity”.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - May 1, 2024 Category: Science Authors: David Batty Tags: Colonialism Museums Archaeology Culture Science World news UK news Egypt Africa Race Politics Dorset England Source Type: news
Astronauts could run round ‘Wall of Death’ to keep fit on moon, say scientists
Researchers suggest cylinder to prevent astronauts losing muscle mass in low gravity environmentAs humans prepare to return to the moon after an absence of more than half a century, researchers have hit on a radical approach to keeping astronauts fit as they potter around the ball of rock.To prevent lunar explorers from becoming weak and feeble in the low gravity environment, scientists suggest astronauts go for a run. But, this being space, it ’s not just any kind of run – researchers have advised astronauts run several times a day around a “lunar Wall of Death”.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - May 1, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Ian Sample Science editor Tags: Science The moon Space Source Type: news
All the extinct kangaroo boffins are losing their minds at the latest kangaroo news! | First Dog on the Moon
Omg it is an almost complete fossil specimen of a juvenile sthenurine!Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are publishedGet all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and printsContinue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - May 1, 2024 Category: Science Authors: First Dog on the Moon Tags: Extinct wildlife Science Source Type: news
Blue-green algae get a bad press – but we owe a debt of gratitude
While some cyanobacteria are among the deadliest organisms in the world, others help us flourishBlue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, come in many forms and have generally got a bad press, mainly because five of the 2,000 identified species can produce some of the deadliest toxins known to science.At the same time, they are among the oldest organisms in the world, dating back 2.1bn years, and weowe them a debt of gratitude.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - May 1, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Paul Brown Tags: Science Environment Marine life Water Rivers Source Type: news
Prostate cancer screening methods trialled in ‘pivotal moment’
Transform project has potential to reduce deaths from the disease by 40%, savings thousands of lives a year in UKMethods of screening men for prostate cancer will be trialled in an attempt to save thousands of lives in the UK each year, in what has been hailed as a “pivotal moment” by experts.The £42m project, known as Transform, will compare various screening methods to current NHS diagnostic processes, which can include blood tests, physical examinations and biopsies.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 30, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Nadeem Badshah and agency Tags: Prostate cancer UK news Research Science Health Society Source Type: news
First scientist to publish Covid sequence in China protests over lab ‘eviction’
Zhang Yongzhen stages sit-in protest, as government attempts to avoid scrutiny over handling of outbreakThe first Chinese scientist to publish a genomic sequence of the Covid-19 virus, in defiance of government orders, has been staging a sit-in protest after claiming he was locked out of his laboratory.Zhang Yongzhen, a virologist, said in an online post on Monday that he and his team had been given a sudden eviction notice from their lab, and guards had barred him from entering it over the weekend. The post, published on Weibo, was later deleted, Associated Press (AP) reported.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 30, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Helen Davidson in Taipei and Associated Press in Shanghai Tags: China Coronavirus Censorship World news Science Infectious diseases Asia Pacific Medical research Microbiology Source Type: news
The stream of plastic pollution: could a global treaty help us turn off the tap? – podcast
Guardian Seascapes reporter Karen McVeigh tells Madeleine Finlay about a recent trip to the Gal ápagos Islands, where mounds of plastic waste are washing up and causing problems for endemic species. Tackling this kind of waste and the overproduction of plastic were the topics on the table in Ottawa this week, as countries met to negotiate a global plastics treaty. But is progress too slow to address this pervasive problem?Read more about Karen McVeigh ’s trip to the Galápagos IslandsFollow all the reporting from the Guardian ’s Seascapes teamContinue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 30, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Presented by Madeleine Finlay with Karen McVeigh, produced by Madeleine Finlay and Holly Fisher, sound design by Tony Onuchukwu, the executive producer is Ellie Bury Tags: Science Plastics Environment Biodiversity Conservation Wildlife Source Type: news
The never-ending stream of plastic pollution: could a global treaty help us turn off the tap? – podcast
Guardian Seascapes reporter Karen McVeigh tells Madeleine Finlay about a recent trip to the Gal ápagos Islands, where mounds of plastic waste are washing up and causing problems for endemic species. Tackling this kind of waste and the overproduction of plastic were the topics on the table in Ottawa this week, as countries met to negotiate a global plastics treaty. But is progress too slow to address this pervasive problem?Read more about Karen McVeigh ’s trip to the Galápagos IslandsFollow all the reporting from the Guardian ’s Seascapes teamContinue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 30, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Presented by Madeleine Finlay with Karen McVeigh, produced by Madeleine Finlay and Holly Fisher, sound design by Tony Onuchukwu, the executive producer is Ellie Bury Tags: Science Plastics Environment Biodiversity Conservation Wildlife Source Type: news
Healthy lifestyle may offset genetics by 60% and add five years to life, study says
Genetics alone can mean a 21% greater risk of early death, research finds, but people can improve their chancesA healthy lifestyle may offset the impact of genetics by more than 60% and add another five years to your life, according to the first study of its kind.It is well established that some people are genetically predisposed to a shorter lifespan. It is also well known that lifestyle factors, specifically smoking, alcohol consumption,diet and physical activity, can have an impact on longevity.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 30, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Andrew Gregory Health editor Tags: Medical research Health & wellbeing Genetics UK news Fitness Life and style Science Biology Society Source Type: news
PFAS increase likelihood of death by cardiovascular disease, study shows
In a first, researchers were able to compare records of people who drank polluted water in Veneto, Italy, with neighbors who did notFor the first time, researchers have formally shown that exposure to toxic PFAS increases the likelihood of death by cardiovascular disease, adding a new level of concern to the controversial chemicals ’ wide use.Thefindings are especially significant because proving an association with death by chemical exposure is difficult, but researchers were able to establish it by reviewing death records from northern Italy ’s Veneto region, where many residents for decades drank water highly contam...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 29, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Tom Perkins Tags: PFAS Health US news Science Italy World news Source Type: news
Did you solve it? Tiler swift
The answer to today ’s puzzleEarlier today I set you this puzzle, about the tiling of a 4x4 grid. It requires a swift preamble, so here we go again.Consider the image below, which highlights adjacent rows in the grid.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 29, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Alex Bellos Tags: Mathematics Education Source Type: news
Mysterious Roman dodecahedron to go on display in Lincoln
There are no known descriptions or drawings of object in Roman literature, making its purpose unclearThey are known as one of archaeology ’s great enigmas – hollow 12-sided objects from the Roman era with no known purpose or use.Only 33 of these mysterious dodecahedrons have ever been found in Britain and now one, unearthed during an amateur archaeology dig after 1,700 years underground, is going on public display in Lincoln as part of a history festival.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 29, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent Tags: Roman Britain Archaeology UK news Science Lincolnshire Museums Culture Heritage Source Type: news
Can you solve it? Tiler swift
The tortured puzzlers departmentApologies to any Antipodean Swifties arriving on this page. Today ’s puzzle is about tiles, and whether or not you can solve it swiftly.The puzzle concerns black and white tiles on a 4x4 grid. Consider the image below, which highlights adjacent rows in the grid.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 29, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Alex Bellos Tags: Mathematics Education Science Source Type: news
