Court declined preliminary injunction in case brought by scientists seeking to halt purge of more than 1,600 grants The Trump administration can go ahead and purge more than 1,600 research grants issued by National Science Foundation (NSF) worth more than $1bn, after a judge declined to grant a preliminary injunction in a case brought by a coalition of organizations representing thousands of scie

Creatures favour front arms for most tasks, study suggests, despite fact all eight arms are capable of all actions While some humans find they have two left feet on the dancefloor, octopuses manage to coordinate eight highly flexible arms across a host of behaviours, from foraging to den-building, or moving around the seafloor. Now researchers say they have completed the most comprehensive study

Comments by former professor of medicine at Oxford follow scrapping of planned London research centre Sir John Bell, a prominent scientist who brought business and government together during the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, has warned that other big pharmaceutical companies will stop investing in the UK, after US drugmaker MSD’s decision to scrap its planned £1bn London research centre . Bell, a for

People attempting to obtain vaccine report major hurdles amid new limitations brought in by Trump health secretary The first deployment of updated Covid shots under the Trump administration has been plagued by access issues and misinformation amid confusion and chaos at US health agencies. People attempting to get the vaccines say they have struggled to understand eligibility requirements, book a

Nasa dismisses theory by Harvard astronomer who suggested an object from beyond the solar system could be a relic from a distant civilization Skywatchers at Nasa have discounted a Harvard astronomer’s hypothesis that a rare interstellar object hurtling through our solar system is a relic from a civilization in another celestial neighborhood, and “could potentially be dire for humanity”. Avi Loeb,

Weather forecasting was still banned under the 1735 Witchcraft Act when the Met Office was founded in 1854 Forecasting the weather used to be less scientific and more magical, to the point that practitioners could be accused of witchcraft. The mathematician and astronomer Ptolemy of Alexandria drew up tables of planetary motions in the second century. Ptolemy was a notable pioneer in astronomy, b

The fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen for the third year in a row – a trend mirrored across the world, with two-thirds of the global population now living in countries with below-replacement-level fertility. In the second episode of a two-part series, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dean Spears, assistant professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin, and Dr Jennifer Sciubba

Move comes amid escalating anti-China rhetoric under Donald Trump’s administration Nasa has begun barring Chinese nationals with valid visas from joining its programs, underscoring the intensifying space race between the the US and China. The policy shift was first reported by Bloomberg News and confirmed by the US government agency. Continue reading…

New blow to UK’s key life science sector as industry body says country is losing ground on investment and research The US drugmaker Merck has scrapped a £1bn London research centre and is laying off 125 scientists in the capital this year, in a big blow to the UK’s important life science sector. Keir Starmer’s government has described life sciences as “one of the crown jewels of the UK economy” a

Saturn will be highly visible all September and scientists say gazing at planets and stars lets us see ‘the biggest picture’ It has baffled minds as great as Galileo’s, inspired composers and fuelled sci-fi fantasies , but while Saturn will be on show all September, is anyone watching? The ringed gas giant will be highly visible in the night sky all month, reaching its brightest on the 21st when

Surface spots and nodules on rocks in ancient river valley are described in new study as ‘potential biosignatures’ Unusual features found in rocks on Mars may be the handiwork of ancient microbial life that eked out an existence on the red planet billions of years ago. The rocks were spotted by Nasa’s Perseverance rover as it trundled along Neretva Vallis, an ancient river valley that was carved

When in distress, babies produce chaotic wails which have pronounced effects on humans, including changes in facial temperature The cry of a distressed baby triggers a rapid emotional response in both men and women that is enough to make them physically hotter, researchers say. Thermal imaging revealed that people experienced a rush of blood to the face that raised the temperature of their skin w

Evidence of millions of animal bones at sites in West Country and Surrey points to ‘age of feasting’ These days, revellers converge on the West Country from all parts of the UK and beyond to take part in the wonderful craziness of the Glastonbury festival. It turns out that at the end of the bronze age – also a time of climatic and economic crisis – the same sort of impulse gripped people. Contin

More than 1,000 patients to take part in trial to see if the approach leads to faster and more reliable diagnoses Doctors have launched a clinical trial of a £100 blood test for Alzheimer’s disease in the hope of transforming diagnosis of the devastating condition in the NHS. More than 1,000 patients with suspected dementia are being recruited from memory clinics across the UK to see whether the

Part of airport was evacuated and 21 people fell ill but police found no sign of any hazardous material Police were called to Heathrow late on Monday afternoon when 21 people fell ill in Terminal 4. Initial reports suggested a hazardous material could be involved and part of the airport was evacuated. But when the emergency services conducted a thorough search, no trace of any adverse substance w

The fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen for the third year in a row. It is a story that is being repeated all over the world, with two thirds of the global population now living in countries with below replacement level fertility. Low fertility rates have become a talking point on the political right, with Elon Musk claiming that population decline is an existential threat to the futur

From Covid misinformation to climate denialism, understanding the divergent paths of Australia and the US can help us fight the powerful forces that threaten our world As two scientists who lived through Australia’s black summer bushfires and the Covid-19 crisis in the United States, we have seen firsthand how science in modern societies is under siege from an even more insidious “antiscience vir

The pair will be visible on the eastern horizon soon after sunset before tracing the Pisces constellation An almost full moon glides close to Saturn this week, forming a pleasant conjunction in an otherwise unremarkable patch of the sky. The chart shows the view looking east-southeast from London at 22:00 on 8 September 2025. The moon’s visible hemisphere is just over 98% illuminated, and at 16 d

Visible from Australia, across Asia and western Europe, a blood moon has been captivating stargazers. This marvel is caused when the Earth shades the moon from direct solar light, causing the moon to appear red. Blood moon and lunar eclipse cast an ethereal light – in pictures Continue reading…