Science | The Guardian.

"CIA now backs lab leak theory to explain origins of COVID-19."

Views expressed in this science and technology update are those of the reporters and correspondents.  Accessed on 30 January 2025, 1514 UTC.

Content and Source:  https://www.theguardian.com

Please check link or scroll down to read your selections.  Thanks for joining us today.

Russ Roberts (https://hawaiisciencejournal.blogspot.com).

 Science | The Guardian

39

Most popular

CIA now backs lab leak theory to explain origins of Covid-19

Ratcliffe faces Senate questioning for CIA

•

400+Science | The Guardian / 3d

Analysis released by new director, John Ratcliffe, suggests the agency believes totality of evidence makes a lab origin The CIA now believes the virus responsible for the coronavirus pandemic most likely originated from a laboratory, according to an assessment released on Saturday that points the finger at China even while acknowledging that the spy agency has “low confidence” in its own conclusi

Nasa’s two ‘stuck’ astronauts exit space station for first spacewalk together

NASA astronauts conduct ISS spacewalk

•

Science | The Guardian / 1h

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore expected to stay at space station a week but have been there almost eight months Nasa’s two stuck astronauts took their first spacewalk together on Thursday, exiting the International Space Station almost eight months after moving in. Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore floated out to perform maintenance work and wipe the station’s exterior for evidence of any microbes

Asteroid triggers global defence plan amid chance of collision with Earth in 2032

Asteroid 2024 YR4 poses impact risk

•

28Science | The Guardian / 1h

Hundred-metre wide asteroid rises to top of impact risk lists after being spotted in December by automated telescope A 100 metre-wide asteroid has triggered global planetary defence procedures for the first time after telescope observations revealed it has a chance of colliding with Earth in 2032. Asteroid 2024 YR4 was spotted by an automated telescope in Chile on 27 December last year but has si

Yesterday

Protein, weights and the best way to keep fit: your exercise questions answered – podcast

Science | The Guardian / 10h

In the second episode of our listener questions special, Ian Sample tells Madeleine Finlay what he has uncovered about who the exercise guidelines were created for and whether they apply to all of us, which exercises are best for keeping us strong, whether we should be eating particular foods when we exercise, and how much protein we need to consume if we’re packing in the hours at the gym. With

‘Let them’: can this viral self-help mantra change your life?

Science | The Guardian / 22h

The concept, made popular by self-help guru Mel Robbins, is a reminder that we can’t control others’ actions Is there anything more frustrating than other people? Despite our best efforts to persuade them to do, say and be what we want, they persist in upending our plans by making their own decisions, being their own people and thinking their own thoughts. Continue reading...

All in the mind? The surprising truth about brain rot

300+Science | The Guardian / 22h

Is screen use really sapping our ability to focus and lowering our IQs? The scientists who have actually analysed the data give their verdict Andrew Przybylski, a professor of human behaviour and technology at Oxford University, is a busy man. It’s only midday and already he has attended meetings on “Skype, Teams, in person and now FaceTime audio”. He appears to be switching seamlessly between th

‘Groundbreaking’: scientists develop patch that can repair damaged hearts

200+Science | The Guardian / 23h

Cells taken from blood and ‘reprogrammed’ into heart muscle cells may help patients with heart failure Damaged hearts can literally be patched up to help them work, say researchers, in what has been hailed as a groundbreaking development for people with advanced heart failure. According to a recent study , heart failure affects more than 64 million people worldwide, with causes including heart at

Study of more than 600 animal and plant species finds genetic diversity has declined globally

100+Science | The Guardian / 23h

Analysis by dozens of scientists internationally notes urgent conservation efforts could halt or even reverse losses Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Genetic diversity in animals and plants has declined globally over the past three decades, an analysis of more than 600 species has found. The research, published in

Trump asks Musk to bring back two astronauts ‘stranded’ on space station

Trump asks Musk to rescue astronauts

•

29Science | The Guardian / 1d

Nasa says Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams are not stranded and will return to Earth by end of March Donald Trump has asked Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring back two astronauts “stranded” in space, despite the fact that there is already an agreed plan for SpaceX to bring them back in March and Nasa saying they are not stranded anyway. Trump said that he had asked Musk and SpaceX to get “the 2 brave a

Jan 28, 2025

Vets urged to cut back on flea treatments amid UK biodiversity fears

Pesticides in pet fur harm songbirds

•

1KScience | The Guardian / 1d

University of Sussex scientist calls promotion of preventative practice when pets are flea free ‘profiteering’ Vets need to stop “profiteering” by giving dogs and cats preventive flea treatments that are wiping out insects and songbirds, according to a well-known scientist. The standard practice in the UK at present is to advise that customers take a preventative approach, treating their pets eve

Cold fusion may be a viable energy alternative to end reliance on fossil fuels | Letters

100+Science | The Guardian / 1d

A number of companies have been able to make these low-energy nuclear reactions work reliably, write Brian Josephson , David J Nagel , Alan Smith , Dr Jean-Paul Biberian and Yasuhiro Iwamura Luca Garzotti observes ( Letters, 22 January ) that serious challenges face the production of energy from processes based on thermonuclear fusion, but failed to mention a crucially important alternative, low-

Aquarium surprised by ‘virgin birth’ of swell shark in all-female tank

100+Science | The Guardian / 1d

Baby shark Yoko hatched in early January, flummoxing staff and experts at a US aquarium Birds do it, bees do it. Even educated fleas do it, according to Cole Porter’s classic song on the universal nature of sex. But a baby swell shark born in a Louisiana aquarium that houses only females has flummoxed marine experts and raised the possibility that the species may not require such earthly pleasure

‘Truly unique find’: part of Swindon Stegosaur returns to Wiltshire town

27Science | The Guardian / 2d

Vertebra spotted by fossil hunters on online marketplace is part of first stegosaur ever described by scientists The spectacular remains of the first stegosaur to be described by scientists – discovered in a clay pit in Swindon in 1874 – are on display in the grand surroundings of the Natural History Museum in London. But 150 years on, a little piece of the Swindon Stegosaur has been returned to

Jan 27, 2025

Sugar, seed oils, and avoiding sickness: your health questions answered – podcast

Science | The Guardian / 2d

We asked for your questions on getting healthy in 2025 and you delivered. In the first episode of our listener questions special, Madeleine Finlay tells Ian Sample what she has uncovered about the scientifically proven ways to cut down on sugar, the truth behind the panic over seed oils, and why it is that some of us seem to have bullet proof immune systems, while others succumb to every bug they

‘An unusual find’: 66m-year-old animal vomit discovered in Denmark

Fossilized dinosaur vomit found Denmark

•

79Science | The Guardian / 2d

Experts say vomit, probably from a fish, is made up of sea lilies and is an important contribution to reconstructing past ecosystems A piece of fossilised vomit, dating back to when dinosaurs roamed the earth, has been discovered in Denmark, the Museum of East Zealand has said. The find was made by a local amateur fossil hunter on the Cliffs of Stevns, a Unesco-listed site south of Copenhagen. Co

Both men and women prefer younger partners, study finds

Study finds attraction to youth

•

500+Science | The Guardian / 2d

Even though women tend to say they prefer older men they scored younger men as more desirable, research shows Researchers have challenged the idea that women prefer men who are older than them after finding precisely the opposite in thousands of women who went on blind dates. Quizzed after their brief encounters, both men and women tended to rate younger dates as more desirable future partners, s

Human case of avian flu detected in England as virus spreads among birds

Bird flu outbreak in Plymouth

•

60Science | The Guardian / 2d

Second human case of H5N1 bird flu caught on farm in West Midlands but risk to public remains very low, says UKHSA A human case of highly pathogenic bird flu has been detected in England, authorities have said, as bird flu cases escalate across the country. It is only the second symptomatic human case of H5N1 bird flu recorded in the UK, after the first was detected in 2022 , the UK Health Securi

Ancient British coins found in Dutch field likely to be spoils of Roman conquest

Roman-British coin hoard discovered

•

400+Science | The Guardian / 2d

Archaeologists hail discovery of very rare hoard featuring 44 gold coins bearing name of Celtic king Cunobelinus A hoard of British coins bearing the inscription of King Cunobelin and found in a Dutch field have been identified as very likely to be the spoils of war of a Roman soldier from the conquest of Britain . The 44 gold coins, known as staters, were discovered alongside 360 Roman coins, by

‘I briefly wondered whether I’d accidentally consumed shrooms’: the psychedelia – and science – of full dome cinema

Science | The Guardian / 3d

A film festival at a Melbourne planetarium will immerse viewers with a giant curved screen above them – showing dinosaurs, floating heads, and the entire cosmos Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email Since emerging in their present form in the 90s, full dome films have occupied a curious place in the cinema landscape. Exhibited at planetariums on a large curved display situated above the aud

The big idea: What’s the real key to a fulfilling life?

100+Science | The Guardian / 3d

For centuries, we’ve pursued happiness and meaning. But what does that leave out? What if I told you that we could all be rich? Not in dollars or pounds, yen or rupees, but a completely different type of currency. A currency measured in experiences, adventures, lessons learned and stories told. As a social psychologist, I have dedicated my research career to a simple, but universal question: what

Do you run away from feelings of emptiness? It’s time to face them head-on

25Science | The Guardian / 3d

People try many things to fill the void, but respite is short-lived. Learning to tolerate and understand these emotions will give you a more solid sense of yourself I just read an extraordinary article by Anna Parker for this website, and it set my mind on fire. Parker interviewed Yannick and Ben Jakober, whose daughter died at 19. In their grief, they began building a unique, 165-strong portrait

Jan 26, 2025

GSK signs £50m deal with Oxford University on cancer vaccines

GSK invests £50 million in cancer vaccines

•

46Science | The Guardian / 3d

Collaboration over at least three years aims to help understand how pre-cancerous cells develop Business live – latest updates GSK has said it will spend £50m on a project with the University of Oxford to investigate whether vaccines could be used to prevent some cancers. The FTSE 100 pharmaceutical company said that the GSK-Oxford Cancer Immuno-Prevention Programme will look at how pre-cancerous

Increase regulation of online sale of weight-loss jabs, pharmacists say

Pharmacies demand tighter weight loss jab

•

Science | The Guardian / 3d

Current rules leave door open for medicines to be supplied without appropriate patient consultation, association says Pharmacies are demanding tougher regulation of the online sale of weight-loss jabs amid a predicted new year’s boom in demand. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), who represent independent community pharmacies, urged the regulator to require greater consultation with patients

Starwatch: Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn reveal the ecliptic

Planetary parade reveals ecliptic

•

Science | The Guardian / 3d

Four naked-eye planets will appear in line, showing solar system’s plane This week we can observe four of the five naked-eye planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, but not Mercury) with the added bonus of a young moon, too. In doing so, we will be able to discern the ecliptic: the plane of the solar system, which defines the path in the sky that the sun, moon and planets all follow. The chart

Digital demons: the radical new treatment helping people with psychosis – podcast

57Science | The Guardian / 3d

Jenny Kleeman reports on a new therapy where patients who suffer from psychosis create a digital avatar of the voices they hear Claire was 10 years old when she started hearing voices. They would torment her, call her names and tell her to self-harm. She tells Helen Pidd about her experience of psychosis, where reality is disturbed by hallucinations and delusions. For decades, she struggled to ge

Technology for lab-grown eggs or sperm on brink of viability, UK fertility watchdog finds

Science | The Guardian / 3d

Exclusive: In-vitro gametes are viewed as the holy grail of fertility research Mass-producing eggs and sperm in a laboratory in order to have a baby with yourself or three other people in a “multiplex” parenting arrangement might sound like the plot of a dystopian novel. But these startling scenarios are under consideration by the UK’s fertility watchdog, which has concluded that the technology c

The mind/body revolution: how the division between ‘mental’ and ‘physical’ illness fails us all

1KScience | The Guardian / 3d

New research shows western medicine’s traditional split between brain and body is, in fact, far from clear cut – and could provide a breakthrough for many complex conditions Some years ago Camilla Nord suffered such persistent pain at the site of an old injury that doctors thought she would need major surgery – a joint replacement in her foot. To delay this for a few months, they injected the foo

Sir Fraser Stoddart obituary

Science | The Guardian / 4d

Organic chemist who shared the 2016 Nobel prize in chemistry for his contribution to the development of molecular machines In 1991 the organic chemist Sir Fraser Stoddart, who has died aged 82, synthesised artificial molecular machines for the first time. They mimic the way that some biological materials are able to move in a quasi-mechanical, interlocking way. Stoddart had previously noted that