“FDA poised to kill proposal that would require asbestos testing for cosmetics.”
Views expressed in this science and technology update are those of the reporters and correspondents.
Content and Source: “Science | The Guardian” via email subscription from https://feedly.com.
https://feedly.com/i/subscription/feed%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2Frss
Please check subscription link or scroll down to read your selections. Thanks for joining us today.
Russ Roberts (https://hawaiisciencejournal.com).
41
Most popular
RFK Jr signed order withdrawing rule that would mandate testing for the cancer-linked toxin in talc-based makeup The Food and Drug Administration is poised to kill a proposed rule that would require testing for toxic asbestos in talc-based cosmetics, a problem that has been linked to cancer. Talc is widely used, including in cosmetics, food, medication and personal care products. The order was si
Expert advisers likely to recommend only a few thousand men with genetic variant should be eligible for tests Prostate cancer screening will not be made routinely available for the vast majority of men across the UK, according to the expected recommendations from a panel of expert government health advisers. The UK national screening committee is expected to only recommend screening for men with
Research team uses range of novel methods and equipment to analyse ‘extraordinary’ Durrington pit circle The presence of an extraordinary circle of yawning pits created by Neolithic people near Stonehenge has been proved thanks to a novel combination of scientific techniques, a team of archaeologists is claiming. The architects of Stonehenge may have had the heavens in mind when they built the gr
Yesterday
/ 1d
Twenty years after the first face transplant, patients are dying, data is missing, and the experimental procedure’s future hangs in the balance In the early hours of 28 May 2005, Isabelle Dinoire woke up in a pool of blood. After fighting with her family the night before, she turned to alcohol and sleeping tablets “to forget”, she later said. Reaching for a cigarette out of habit, she realized sh
Nov 26, 2025
/ 1d
Patrick Vallance, the minister for science, research and innovation, recently unveiled a plan to cut animal testing through greater use of AI and other technologies, with the eventual aim of phasing it out altogether. To understand how this will affect research and what could be used in place of animal models, Madeleine Finlay hears from science editor Ian Sample, Prof Hazel Screen of Queen Mary
Nov 25, 2025
/ 2d
Cause of oxygen fluctuations that drove explosion of weird and wonderful inhabitants 500m years ago linked to changes in Earth’s orbit Just over 500m years ago life on Earth got souped-up, going from simple single-celled organisms to sophisticated multicellular lifeforms. The Cambrian explosion produced an array of weird and wonderful new inhabitants, such as the five-eyed opabinia and the spiky
/ 2d
Lead singers in bands fare better than solo artists, but fame – rather than lifestyle or job itself – seems to be major factor For those who hanker for the limelight, be careful what you wish for: shooting to stardom as a lead singer really does raise the risk of an early death, researchers say. Their analysis of singers from Europe and the US found that those who rose to fame died on average nea
Astrophysicist Prof Tomonori Totani says research could be crucial breakthrough in search for elusive substance Nearly a century ago, scientists proposed that a mysterious invisible substance they named dark matter clumped around galaxies and formed a cosmic web across the universe. What dark matter is made from, and whether it is even real, are still open questions, but according to a study, the
/ 3d
The “solution” to today’s puzzle Earlier today I set a puzzle which is extremely hard to answer if you are not a soap bubble. The four towns Continue reading…
/ 3d
There is nothing wrong with questioning the mighty cost of the lockdowns, but we can’t let hardline libertarians rewrite Britain’s pandemic history That number will stay fixed for ever in public memory: 23,000 people died because Boris Johnson resisted locking the country down in time. As Covid swept in, and with horrific images of Italian temporary morgues in tents, he went on holiday and took n
/ 3d
The infection is responsible for 800,000 newborn deaths each year, but clinics in eight countries are working together to find new treatments Just a few minutes from the turquoise waters of Kenya’s Kilifi Creek, a world away from the tourists enjoying their time on the estuary, a team of clinicians, technicians and microbiologists is helping to shape a new era of care for newborns. NeoSep1 is a p
Study suggests human brain development has four pivotal ‘turning points’ at around the ages of nine, 32, 66 and 83 Scientists have identified five major “epochs” of human brain development in one of the most comprehensive studies to date of how neural wiring changes from infancy to old age. The study, based on the brain scans of nearly 4,000 people aged under one to 90, mapped neural connections
Nov 24, 2025
As David Cameron receives treatment and backs calls for NHS screening, we look at the disease and its treatment More than 100 MPs urge Streeting to approve prostate cancer screening David Cameron has become the latest high-profile figure to back growing calls for the NHS to start screening men, or at least those at highest risk, for prostate cancer after being treated for it himself. He joined Ol
/ 3d
After bitter arguments, threatened walkouts and heated all-night negotiations, delegates eventually reached a deal this weekend at the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil. To unpick what was achieved and what was left out, Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian’s environment editor, Fiona Harvey, who has been following every twist and turn End of fossil fuel era inches closer as Cop30 deal agreed af
/ 3d
Oliver Chu from California first person to have the one-off treatment for Hunter syndrome Doctors are cautiously optimistic about a groundbreaking gene therapy for children affected by a devastating inherited disorder after seeing positive results in the first boy to receive the treatment. Three-year-old Oliver Chu from California became the first patient to have the therapy nine months ago as pa
/ 3d
Ceasing use of jabs brings regained weight plus loss of benefits regarding ‘bad’ cholesterol and blood pressure People who stop using the weight-loss jab Mounjaro not only tend to regain weight, but experience a reversal in other health improvements too, research suggests. Mounjaro, which contains the active ingredient tirzepatide, has become a popular medication for weight loss, with studies sug
Nov 23, 2025
/ 4d
Conchologists, and citizen scientists team up to seek out endangered mollusc species along River Thames It is tiny, hairy and “German” – and it could be hiding underneath a piece of driftwood near you. Citizen scientists and expert conchologists are teaming up to conduct the first London-wide search for one of Britain’s most endangered molluscs. The fingernail-sized German hairy snail ( Pseudotri
/ 4d
The minimum you can do UPDATE: Read the solution here Today’s puzzle is about transport links and soapy water. The four towns Continue reading…
/ 4d
Visible from urban locations, pairing takes on special meaning when seen with minimal light pollution This week, the moon will pass close to the planet Saturn in the evening sky. Although visible from urban locations, the pairing takes on a special meaning when seen from a location with minimal light pollution. The brilliant silver glow of the moon and the steady golden light of Saturn contrast b
/ 4d
The prehistoric birch tar found in Estonia contained traces of saliva that were analysed by genetics experts A piece of stone age “gum” chewed by a teenage girl 10,500 years ago has been discovered by archaeologists in Estonia. The Institute of History and Archaeology at the University of Tartu discovered the prehistoric birch tar had impressions of teeth marks and traces of saliva. Continue read
New technologies can reduce our reliance on animal experiments. This isn’t just morally right, it could have scientific and economic benefits too Science is a slaughterhouse. We rarely acknowledge the degree to which animal life underwrites the research that provides us with medicines, or the regulation that keeps us safe. Live animals were used in 2.64m officially sanctioned scientific procedure
Nov 21, 2025
Multi-year studies announced after Cass review found ‘insufficient evidence’ about effects on children with gender dysphoria Two studies to investigate the impact of puberty blockers in young people with gender incongruence have been announced by researchers in the UK after an expert view said gender medicine was “built on shaky foundations” . Puberty blockers were originally used to treat early
/ 6d
UK academics say latest chemicals are ‘wake-up call’ and urge global action to stop weaponisation of neuroscience Sophisticated and deadly “brain weapons” that can attack or alter human consciousness, perception, memory or behaviour are no longer the stuff of science fiction, two British academics argue. Michael Crowley and Malcolm Dando, of Bradford University, are about to publish a book that t
Nov 20, 2025
Scientists say plant’s resilience suggests it could help with oxygen generation or soil formation on space missions Matt Damon grew potatoes for survival in The Martian, but researchers say mosses could one day help turn the dust and rocks of other planets into fertile soil. Physcomitrella patens , or spreading earthmoss, is already known as a pioneering species – albeit for being an early plant
The story has sparked debates about cryogenics and fidelity. But it also tells us something deeper about our responses to loss One of the last remaining fun things about the internet is getting to pass judgment on the goings-on in households that you would never hear about otherwise. On Reddit, for instance, there is a whole thriving sub for just this purpose called Am I the Asshole?, where peopl
Nov 19, 2025
/ 8d
As the Cop30 climate talks continue in Brazil, Madeleine Finlay hears about a landscape at the opposite end of the planet facing the direct impacts of the climate crisis. The Guardian reporter Leyland Cecco recounts a recent trip to Qikiqtaruk (also known as Herschel Island) off the coast of Canada’s Yukon territory, where he saw first hand how indigenous groups and scientists are reckoning with
The interstellar visitor, known as 3I/Atlas, will be seen just in this instance, never to come back again Nasa released close-up pictures on Wednesday of the interstellar comet that’s making a quick one-and-done tour of the solar system. Discovered over the summer , the comet known as 3I/Atlas is only the third confirmed object to visit our corner of the cosmos from another star. It zipped harmle
/ 8d
Molecular profiles will give detailed snapshot of person’s physiology and predict diseases from diabetes to cancer and dementia The world’s largest study into key substances in the bloodstream has paved the way for a swathe of pinprick tests that can detect early signs of disease more than a decade before symptoms appear, researchers say. Work on the tests follows the completion of a project by U
/ 8d
Study calls for depression treatment to be suspended for more research after reports of heart problems and emotional blunting Electroconvulsive therapy could be causing a wider range of adverse effects when used to treat depression than previously understood, according to a paper that calls for the practice to be suspended pending more robust research. Although short- and long-term memory loss is
Move comes after French scientists issued urgent appeal to prevent La Pascaline from leaving the country A rare example of the first functioning calculating machine in history looks likely to stay in France after Christie’s withdrew it from auction pending a definitive ruling from a Paris court on whether or not it can be exported. La Pascaline, developed by the French mathematician and inventor
Sorfequiline shows stronger action than existing treatments against illness that killed 1.23 million last year A new treatment for tuberculosis could boost cure rates and shorten the time needed to treat the disease by months, trial results suggest. Globally, an estimated 10.7 million people fell ill with TB last year and 1.23 million died from it. Continue reading…
World’s largest scientific review warns consumption of UPFs poses seismic threat to global health and wellbeing Ultra-processed food (UPF) is linked to harm in every major organ system of the human body and poses a seismic threat to global health, according to the world’s largest review. UPF is also rapidly displacing fresh food in the diets of children and adults on every continent, and is assoc
Nov 18, 2025
/ 9d
The bursera plant’s leaves can squirt chemicals 1.5 metres, but over millions of years, some beetles have learned to disarm it Insects get a nasty surprise if they try biting into the leaves of bursera shrubs and trees: they use a sort of squirt gun to shoot a high-pressure stream of liquid resin at the attacking insect. This liquid is thoroughly repellent and poisonous, but for good measure the
Study from University of Oxford looks into evolutionary origins of kissing and its role in relations between species From Galápagos albatrosses to polar bears, chimpanzees to orangutans, certain species appear to kiss. Now researchers suggest Neanderthals did it too – and might even have locked lips with modern humans. It is not the first time scientists have suggested Neanderthals and early mode
/ 10d
While every self-aware doctor knows no one is an expert on everything, the average person turning to the internet cannot distinguish evidence from gloss One of my children is irate at my deletion of an important school email. I claim that so many useless emails rain into my inbox that some useful ones will surely be missed. This excuse attracts zero sympathy but prompts me to comb through the hun
/ 10d
This year’s flu season has begun more than a month earlier than usual, with a mutated strain spreading widely among younger people and expected to drive a wave of hospital admissions as it reaches the elderly. Science editor Ian Sample speaks to Madeleine Finlay about what we know so far and Prof Ed Hutchinson of the University of Glasgow explains how people can best protect themselves and each o
Dentists also saw improvements in patients’ cholesterol and fatty acid levels, both associated with heart health If a looming root canal treatment is putting a dampener on the week, take heart: having the procedure can drive health benefits that are felt throughout the body, according to research. Patients who were successfully treated for root canal infections saw their blood sugar levels fall s
Nov 17, 2025
/ 10d
Decision over routine PSA testing is due at end of this month, though some feel the supporting data is unclear Junior Hemans was having a routine health check in 2014 when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, at the age of 51. He knew there was an increased risk of the disease in black men so asked to have a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, which was not initially included. “And when I wen
Nov 16, 2025
/ 11d
Cetus, also known as the whale, is one of the faint constellations but you have a week to trace its outline This week, track down the constellation Cetus, variously referred to as the whale or sea monster. It is one of the faint constellations, but it sprawls across the sky, taking up roughly 1,230 square degrees, which makes it the fourth largest of the 88 modern constellations. Although it lack
/ 12d
More and more people are turning to egg freezing to increase their chances of becoming a parent. Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering it – from the hidden costs to the chances of success When I first told my mother I was freezing my eggs, she asked: “So my grandchildren are going to be stored next to some Häagen-Dazs?” (Very funny, Mum.) I’m one of an increasing number of women in t
Nov 15, 2025
/ 12d
Once escapees from the pet trade, Los Angeles’s feral parrots have become a vibrant part of city life, and could even aid conservation in their native homelands A morning mist hung over the palm trees as birds chattered and cars roared by on the streets of Pasadena. It was a scene that evoked a tropical island rather than a bustling city in north-east Los Angeles county. “It feels parrot-y,” says
End of feed
Discover more from Hawaii Science Journal.
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.