Twenty-Two Years and 15,000km Later: Fluke Discovery Sets New Record for Humpback Whale Journey
Researchers have documented a humpback whale that traveled roughly 15,100 km from Brazil's Abrolhos Bank to Australia’s Hervey Bay, marking the longest recorded distance between sightings of a single individual. The whale was first photographed in 2003 and resighted in September 2025, a 22‑year gap captured through the Happywhale citizen‑science platform. Using AI‑driven fluke identification, scientists matched the two sightings among 19,283 photos collected from 1984‑2025. The finding reveals the first two‑way exchange between Brazilian and eastern Australian humpback populations.
Artificial Eggshell Comes First in Attempt to Revive Giant Flightless Moa
Colossal Biosciences announced a breakthrough artificial eggshell that it used to hatch chickens, claiming the technology could eventually be scaled to revive the extinct New Zealand moa, a 3‑metre‑tall bird that vanished 600 years ago. The company says its silicone‑membrane system...
Don’t Reach for the Bug Spray: Crickets Stroke a Sore Antenna, as Cues Suggest Insects Feel Pain
Researchers at the University of Sydney found that house crickets repeatedly groom a heated antenna, a behavior interpreted as targeted self‑protection and a possible indicator of pain. The experiment applied a 65 °C soldering iron tip to one antenna while control...
The Hantavirus Outbreak Has Been Well-Handled – but There Are Still Dangerous Days Ahead | Devi Sridhar
A hantavirus outbreak was identified on the cruise ship MV Hondius, affecting about 150 passengers from 23 countries. Health authorities, led by the WHO and the UK Health Security Agency, have isolated the infected individuals and instituted quarantine measures despite...
US Government Studies Into Vaccine Safety Are Being Suppressed | Robert B Shpiner
The FDA withdrew two peer‑reviewed COVID‑19 vaccine safety studies—one analyzing 7.5 million Medicare beneficiaries and another covering 4.2 million recipients—after political appointees refused to sign off, despite journal acceptance. A separate Shingrix safety abstract was also blocked, even though it confirmed a...
‘I Couldn’t Breathe’: The Sinister Spread of France’s Killer Seaweed
Brittany’s coast is being choked by massive blooms of the green seaweed Ulva armoricana, which release toxic hydrogen sulfide as they decompose. The gas has been linked to at least five human deaths and numerous animal fatalities since 1989, including...
The Emerging Cancer Treatment That’s Exciting Scientists: ‘We’ve Just Scratched the Surface on What’s Possible’
CAR T-cell therapy, a genetically engineered immunotherapy, is gaining attention after Australian actor Sam Neill announced remission from stage‑three cancer following a clinical trial. Australia has approved four CAR T products since 2018, all targeting blood cancers, while researchers push the...
‘People Should Be Talking About It’: Moves to Curtail Vaccine Information Obscures Important Science, Doctors Say
U.S. health agencies, including the FDA, CDC and NIH, have halted or censored several vaccine studies and presentations in 2026, citing methodological concerns or political language guidelines. A leaked Covid‑19 booster effectiveness study, pulled at the last minute, still shows...
Opera Singer Who Hid Deafness for 30 Years Hails ‘Life-Changing’ Surgery
London mezzo‑soprano Janine Roebuck, 72, underwent bilateral cochlear‑implant surgery after privately funding a second implant, describing the outcome as "life‑changing." The procedure is part of a NIHR‑backed trial comparing one versus two implants in more than 250 adult NHS patients. Current...
Richard Dawkins Concludes AI Is Conscious, Even if It Doesn’t Know It
Renowned evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins spent three days conversing with Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, emerging convinced the bots exhibit consciousness despite lacking self‑awareness. He described the AI’s poetic output and philosophical reflections as “human” and urged open‑minded inquiry into...
Scientists Discover 27 Potential New Planets that Orbit Two Stars in Solar Systems Far, Far Away
Scientists using NASA's TESS data have identified 27 new candidate planets that orbit binary star systems, increasing the known tally from about 18 to roughly 45. The team applied an apsidal precession method, monitoring eclipse timing variations to infer the...
We Are Preparing to Transform the Moon and Mars. The Public Must Have a Say in This Future | Ben...
Artemis II’s successful deep‑space splashdown proved humans can travel farther than ever before and set the stage for Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface for the first time in over 50 years. NASA, its international partners, and private...
UK Biobank Has My Data, but I’m Not Worried. I Know the Benefits Are Too Great to Consider Pulling Out...
The UK Biobank, a half‑million‑person health study, briefly listed anonymised data on China’s Alibaba platform, prompting headlines about a data breach. Officials clarified that no personal identifiers were included and the listings were swiftly removed, resulting in only about 50...
Active-Duty US Soldiers to Receive MDMA Therapy for PTSD Next Year
The Department of Defense has approved two MDMA‑assisted therapy trials for active‑duty service members, allocating $4.9 million to each of Walter Reed and an Emory‑UT Health partnership. A total of 186 soldiers with PTSD will receive up to three MDMA doses...
Knee Surgery for Cartilage Damage Does Not Benefit Patients, Study Suggests
A 10‑year randomized trial in Finland found that partial meniscectomy for knee cartilage tears offers no benefit and may worsen outcomes. Patients who received the surgery reported poorer knee function, higher osteoarthritis progression, and increased likelihood of additional procedures compared...
AstraZeneca Makes Surprise U-Turn with £300m Pharma Investment in UK
AstraZeneca announced a surprise £300 million (≈$381 million) investment in the UK, unfreezing a £200 million (≈$254 million) Cambridge expansion and allocating £100 million (≈$127 million) to a new "lab of the future" in Macclesfield. The move follows a pause last year after the company expressed...
Turn on, Tune in, Cash Out … The US Right Used to Fear Psychedelics. Now It Wants to Sell Them...
President Donald Trump, flanked by RFK Jr and podcaster Joe Rogan, signed an executive order on April 18 to accelerate federal approval of psychedelic‑based medicines, with a particular focus on ibogaine. The move marks a dramatic reversal from the 1960s, when the U.S....
If It Feels Like the World Is Rejecting Science and Truth, Here Are Five Ways to Fight Back | Helen...
Helen Pearson argues that despite a wave of anti‑science rhetoric, evidence‑based approaches are gaining ground across medicine, education and policy. She outlines five strategies to counter misinformation, from understanding the recent history of evidence‑based medicine to leveraging AI tools that...
Home Blood Pressure Checks Could Reduce Risks After Hypertensive Pregnancy
Researchers at Oxford found that daily home blood‑pressure monitoring combined with rapid medication adjustments improves arterial health in new mothers who experienced hypertensive pregnancies. In a trial of 220 women, those using a home monitor and app showed less arterial...
Starwatch: Leo the Lion Dominates the Northern Hemisphere
The Guardian’s Starwatch column highlights that Leo dominates the spring evening sky across the northern hemisphere. The constellation’s distinctive “sickle” asterism marks the lion’s head, making it easy to spot from late April onward. Its brightest star, Regulus, sits directly...
Spooky Feelings in Old Houses May Be Caused by Boiler Sounds, Study Suggests
A new study published in Frontiers in Behavioural Neuroscience shows that inaudible infrasound emitted by aging boilers, pipes and ventilation systems can increase irritability and cortisol levels in people, even when they are unaware of the sound. Researchers exposed 36...
Australia Is the World’s Fourth-Largest Black Truffle Producer. Now Scientists May Have Unearthed Why
Australia has become the world’s fourth‑largest black truffle producer, with over 400 orchards and half‑million host trees established since the 1990s. A Michigan State University study analyzed soils from 24 orchards across Europe and Australia, revealing that Australian soils host...
Criminalisation of Climate Protesters in UK Is Counterproductive, Research Finds
A new study of 1,300 UK climate activists finds that criminalising non‑violent protest – through arrests, fines and prison sentences – actually heightens participants' determination to engage in disruptive actions. Those who have been jailed or fined report less fear...
Dyslexic Thinking Made Me the Scientist I Am Today. If We Could Harness Its Power, Imagine What Could Be Possible...
Maggie Aderin, a space scientist, reflects on how dyslexia shaped her thinking and career, describing it as a source of creativity, empathy, and systems‑level insight. She argues that dyslexia is often framed only as a deficit, overlooking the unique strengths...
What Is the UK Biobank Project and What Are the Privacy Concerns Around It?
The UK Biobank, launched in 2003, has amassed genetic, clinical and lifestyle data from 500,000 volunteers, fueling thousands of research papers and AI tools that predict disease risk. In April 2026, de‑identified health records from the biobank were listed for...
The Cinema Lab: Brain Activity Tracked to Find Secret to Creating Immersive Films
Researchers at the University of Bristol have turned a cinema into a neuroscience lab, equipping seats with EEG headsets, heart‑rate monitors and infrared eye‑trackers. By pairing physiological data with verbal feedback, the team maps which film moments capture and hold...
Scientists Make Breakthrough in Solving Mystery of Volcanic Lightning
Scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria have identified a thin carbon coating on silica particles as the missing link that electrifies volcanic plumes, producing spectacular lightning. The discovery, published in Nature, shows that heating silica in normal...
Gut Microbiome Can Reveal Risk of Parkinson’s, Scientists Say
A multinational study has identified a distinct gut‑microbiome signature that can flag individuals at heightened risk of Parkinson’s disease years before clinical symptoms appear. The microbial pattern is especially pronounced in people carrying known Parkinson’s risk genes and intensifies as...
Starwatch: Lyrid Meteor Shower Returns to the Spring Skies
The annual Lyrid meteor shower peaks early on 22 April, offering up to 18 bright meteors per hour as they streak from the Lyra constellation near Vega. Originating from debris of comet Thatcher, discovered in 1861, the Lyrids have been recorded...
Can You Stop Malaria Crossing Borders? One Nation’s Bid to Wipe Out the Disease
Eswatini, a land‑locked nation of 1.2 million, is intensifying its fight to eliminate malaria despite a surge in cross‑border infections and climate‑driven mosquito breeding. In 2024 the country recorded 362 confirmed cases, while neighboring Mozambique logged 11.6 million, underscoring the porous border...
Effect of ‘Gamechanger’ Alzheimer’s Drugs ‘Trivial’, Review Concludes
A new Cochrane Review of 17 clinical trials involving more than 20,000 participants found that anti‑amyloid drugs—including lecanemab and donanemab—produce only trivial cognitive benefits and modest functional gains over 18 months. The analysis also highlighted a higher incidence of brain...
Plantwatch: The Cactus that Lures Bats with Its Fuzzy Acoustic Hat
Researchers have documented that the Brazilian cactus Coleocephalocereus goebelianus produces a dense, fuzzy cephalium surrounding its night‑blooming flowers, which acts as an acoustic funnel for bat echolocation. The structure concentrates ultrasonic calls toward the flower and dampens ambient noise, dramatically improving bats’...
AI Learns Language From Skewed Sources. That Could Change How We Humans Speak – and Think | Bruce Schneier
Bruce Schneier and Ada Palmer warn that large language models are trained primarily on written sources—textbooks, social media, movies—while ignoring the vast majority of unscripted spoken conversation. This skewed training leads AI to produce smoother but narrower language, which users...
Kratom Poisonings Soar in US as Experts Blame Synthetic Versions and Caution Against Bans
The CDC reports a 1,200% increase in kratom‑related poisonings over the past decade, a spike attributed mainly to the rise of synthetic 7‑hydroxymitragynine (7‑OH) products. Experts differentiate the relatively safe natural kratom leaf from the opioid‑like risks of 7‑OH, warning...
AI to Predict How Bowel Cancer Patients Will Respond to New NHS Drug
Researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and RCSI in Dublin unveiled PhenMap, an AI-driven platform that predicts which advanced bowel cancer patients will benefit from the NHS‑funded drug bevacizumab. The pilot study analyzed 117 European patients, integrating...
‘I Didn’t Want to Be on Medication the Rest of My Life’: Veteran Runs Psilocybin Retreats for PTSD Before FDA...
Veteran Jesse Gould, a former Army Ranger with PTSD, founded the Heroic Hearts Project to run ayahuasca and psilocybin retreats for veterans. The nonprofit has treated more than 1,500 veterans and now has a waiting list of over 2,000. While...
The Artemis II Crew Made It Through 10 Days in Space – but Could They Have Survived My First Office...
NASA’s Artemis II mission returned its four‑person crew after a ten‑day orbital flight in a capsule barely larger than a family tent. Beyond the engineering triumph, the crew endured nonstop proximity, testing their ability to cooperate without the usual off‑hours reprieve....
Congratulations to the Artemis II Crew – but the Case for Sending Astronauts Into Space Is Rapidly Shrinking | Martin...
NASA’s Artemis II mission marked the first crewed flight of the new lunar system, returning astronauts safely after a 10‑day lunar loop. The program has already consumed roughly $100 billion, with Congress earmarking an additional $9.9 billion for Artemis IV and V. While the scientific...
Nasa Meteorologists Trialling Model to Produce Ultra Local, Short-Term Forecasts
NASA meteorologists at the Wallops Flight Facility are trialling a new ultra‑high‑resolution weather model called US1k, developed by Meteomatics. The model delivers forecasts on a 1 km grid every 15 minutes, nine times finer than typical operational models. By providing a zoomed‑in...
What Does the Dark Side of the Moon Sound Like? Nasa’s Sonifications Are Helping Us Imagine
NASA’s Artemis II crew heard no mysterious sounds on the Moon’s far side, but the agency is turning spacecraft electromagnetic data into audible sonifications. The infamous whistling recorded by Apollo 10 was later traced to interference between two VHF transmitters, debunking decades‑old...
World Held Hostage by Reliance on Fossil Fuels, Christiana Figueres Warns – and Climate Health Impacts Are ‘Mother of All...
Former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres has been named co‑chair of a new Lancet Commission that will examine how accelerating sea‑level rise threatens health, wellbeing and inequality. She warned that the world remains hostage to fossil fuels, describing climate‑driven health...
The Guardian View on Artemis II: The Light and Dark Sides of the Moon | Editorial
NASA’s Artemis II mission successfully sent astronauts, including Christina Koch, around the Moon’s far side on April 6, 2026, marking the first crewed flight beyond low‑Earth orbit since Apollo. The flight rekindled public awe, echoing the Earthrise image’s cultural impact, while also highlighting...
Judith Rapoport Obituary
Child psychiatrist Judith Rapoport, who died at 92, is celebrated for bringing obsessive‑compulsive disorder into public consciousness through her 1989 book *The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Washing*. Her research established OCD as a neurological condition affecting roughly 2 % of people...
Artemis II Crew Describe ‘Overwhelming’ Emotions After Soaring Past the Moon
NASA’s Artemis II crew reported overwhelming emotions while soaring past the moon, describing vivid reactions to the lunar landscape and Earthrise. Astronauts captured unprecedented images of the far‑side Orientale impact basin, bright new craters, and a solar eclipse. The mission set...
Scientists Develop Gene-Edited Wheat that Can Make Toasted Bread Less Carcinogenic
Scientists at Rothamsted Research have used CRISPR to edit wheat genes responsible for free asparagine, the precursor of the carcinogen acrylamide formed during toasting. Field trials showed up to a 93% reduction in asparagine without any yield loss, and bread...
Emotional Artemis II Crew Names Moon Crater 'Carroll' After Nasa Commander's Late Wife - Video
NASA’s Artemis II crew, on the brink of a historic lunar flyby, asked mission control to name an unnamed lunar crater after commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll. Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen relayed the request, describing the feature as a bright...
Monday Briefing: Can Human-Based Space Exploration Still Be Meaningful?
Artemis II’s four‑person crew will spend a brief period alone on the lunar far side, out of contact with Earth, marking the deepest human spaceflight since Apollo. During this blackout they will photograph regions of the Moon never seen by astronauts,...
Satellite Mirror Plans Could Disrupt Sleep and Ecosystems Worldwide, Scientists Say
Scientists from four international chronobiology societies warned the FCC that Reflect Orbital’s proposed reflective mirrors and SpaceX’s plan to launch up to one million low‑Earth‑orbit satellites could dramatically alter the natural night‑time light environment. The mirrors would project 5–6 km wide beams...
Medicines Watchdog to Investigate UK Peptide Clinics over Health Claims
The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has launched an investigation into several peptide clinics that are promoting unregulated, experimental peptide injections as medicinal treatments. Clinics are advertising products such as BPC‑157, Cortexin and Thymosin Alpha with claims...
What Are Peptides, Are They Safe and Is There Evidence to Back up the Hype?
Peptides—short chains of amino acids—are gaining popularity for weight loss, anti‑aging, and injury recovery. While prescription drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide are FDA‑approved, most products marketed online are experimental, unregulated compounds such as BPC‑157, TB‑500, and CJC‑1295. Scientific reviews show...