“Should people wear a mask in public if they feel unwell with flu?”
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Accessed on 11 December 2025, 0622 UTC.
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Russ Roberts (https://hawaiisciencejournal.com).
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With NHS and No 10 advice differing, we look at best practice for flu prevention and protection An NHS leader has said people who are unwell with flu “must” wear a mask in public. A UK government official has said if you need to go out while sick, you should only “consider” wearing a mask. So what is the official advice, how serious is the threat posed by flu, and what should you do if have sympt
Stargazers will be able to see potentially dozens of meteors an hour, with the peak on Sunday night Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast They’re bright, they’re plentiful and the Geminids – which make up what’s regarded as one of the best annual meteor showers to witness – are about to reach their peak viewing time. The Geminid meteors have already been active in our skies
Space agency is investigating after Maven abruptly stopped communicating to ground stations over the weekend Nasa has lost contact with a spacecraft that has orbited Mars for more than a decade, though the US space agency said it was trying to re-establish a communications link. Maven abruptly stopped communicating to ground stations over the weekend. Nasa said this week that the spacecraft had b
Today
Groundbreaking find makes compelling case that humans were lighting fires much earlier than originally believed Humans mastered the art of creating fire 400,000 years ago, almost 350,000 years earlier than previously known, according to a groundbreaking discovery in a field in Suffolk. It is known that humans used natural fire more than 1m years ago, but until now the earliest unambiguous example
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A fin whale washed ashore in Anchorage and was left there for months. Then a self-described ‘wacko’ museum director made a plan When a whale dies, its body descends to the bottom of the deep sea in a transformative phenomenon called a whale fall. A whale’s death jump-starts an explosion of life, enough to feed and sustain a deep-ocean ecosystem for decades. There are a lot of ways whales can die.
Human beings in 7th place out of 35 species on monogamy scale, according to a study by Cambridge University Humans are playing in the premier league of monogamous mammals, according to a new ranking of animals by their reproductive habits, but we may need a new manager to beat the beavers. In the study from University of Cambridge, humans ranked 7th out of 35 species on the monogamy scale, pippin
Yesterday
Reports say space exploration company has begun talks about stock market listing that could raise more than $25bn Business live – latest updates Elon Musk’s space exploration company SpaceX is preparing to list on the stock market next year in a move that could raise more than $25bn (£19bn) and value the business at more than $1tn, according to reports. SpaceX, which designs, builds and launches
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Scientists issue urgent warning about chemicals, found to cause cancer and infertility as well as harming environment Scientists have issued an urgent warning that some of the synthetic chemicals that help underpin the current food system are driving increased rates of cancer, neurodevelopmental conditions and infertility, while degrading the foundations of global agriculture. The health burden f
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The answer to today’s engineering challenge Earlier today I asked you to reinvent a component of the sixteenth century Dutch sawmill, which – according to a new book – was the world’s first industrial machine. You can read that post here, along with some great BTL discussion about the world’s greatest inventions. (Spoon or spear? Plough or spectacles? Transistor or trousers?) Round and up Continu
Conservationist who devoted his life to the study and preservation of the African elephant The British scientist Iain Douglas-Hamilton, who has died aged 83, became the world’s leading authority on the behaviour of African elephants and played a vital part in ensuring their conservation. His efforts to save the African elephant began in 1965 when, as an Oxford zoology graduate who had also just r
Three crew members left the International Space Station and landed back on Earth after 245 days in space. The cosmonaut and station commander, Sergey Ryzhikov, handed over a symbolic key to the Nasa astronaut Mike Fincke during a change of command ceremony onboard the station. The spacecraft landed at 8.04am Moscow time near the Kazakh city of Zhezkazgan. Continue reading…
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There are apparently breakthroughs on the way for those with sleep disorders – which sent me down a rabbit hole of research… I met a guy in pharmaceuticals who told me about a bunch of cool breakthroughs in sleep meds: mainly, we may be on the brink of a new Wegovy, but in this case it’s a drug to cure narcolepsy. I suggested the two things are not quite the same, given that obesity is a global
Dec 8, 2025
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At this time of year when stress levels are high, we can find ourselves being sent over the edge by frustrating post office queues, infuriating traffic jams and tension-filled family occasions. But what’s the best way to release our anger and find peace and calm this festive season? To find out, Ian Sample hears from science correspondent Nicola Davis, who recently tried out a rage room as a mean
Virus caught by person who travelled to Asia combines more severe form of mpox with less virulent type Health officials have identified a new variant of mpox in England after a person who recently travelled to Asia was tested for the virus. Genome sequencing showed that the virus was a “recombinant” form containing elements of two types of mpox currently in circulation: the more severe clade 1, a
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The work of surgeon and artist Joseph Maclise is the focus of a show at the Thackray Museum of Medicine in Leeds It is an image of an unnamed black man with his eyes closed and his innards exposed. Drawn with care and precision, the image may be the only anatomical drawing of a black body made during the Victorian age. Now it is part of a new exhibition that focuses on the work of Joseph Maclise,
Dec 7, 2025
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First-century luxury vessel matches description by the Greek historian Strabo, who visited city around 29-25BC An ancient Egyptian pleasure boat that matches a description by the first-century Greek historian Strabo has been discovered off the coast of Alexandria, to the excitement of archaeologists. With its palaces, temples and the 130 metre-high Pharos lighthouse – one of the seven wonders of
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You saw it here first UPDATE: Read the solution here There are many contenders for “world’s greatest invention.” The wheel. The printing press. The steam engine. According to a new book, however, that title should go to the mechanised sawmill invented by Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593. Continue reading…
Observers in dark locations away from street lighting can expect to see more than 100 meteors an hour The Perseid meteor shower in August often catches the headlines because of the warmer conditions associated with watching the display, but to many astronomers the Geminids put on the better show. The Geminids have been active since 4 December and they reach their climax this week with the peak of
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More than 1,000 words used as far back as 325BC to be collected for insight into past linguistic landscape It is not likely to be a hefty volume because the vast majority of the material has been lost in the mists of time. But the remnants of a language spoken in parts of the UK and Ireland 2,000 years ago are being collected for what is being billed as the first complete dictionary of ancient Ce
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Tech moguls may foolishly hope to stay forever young, but others could benefit too from evidence of the human body’s dynamic and varied journey through life Ageing can feel remarkably sudden. One morning you awake to find new aches, or lapses in strength and memory that you could swear were not present just a few days prior. We do not literally age overnight, but as research is increasingly showi
Dec 6, 2025
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Former Perth curator Mark Harvey is one of the few people on Earth to have described 1,000 new species, many of them arachnids. Colleagues say his legacy is ‘unquantifiable’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast For most people around the world, 16 August 1977 was memorable because it was the day Elvis Presley died. “We turned the radio on when we got back in the car and th
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Some say it’s overdiagnosis, others say it’s greater recognition. But it’s clear we must think about how our society is impacting human development Gabor Maté is the author of The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture Does the rise in diagnoses of ADHD mean that normal feelings are being “over-pathologised”? The UK’s health secretary, Wes Streeting, seems to suspect so. H
Dec 5, 2025
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Scientists have developed algorithms that give predictive scores for a host of physical and mental traits UK IVF couples use legal loophole to rank embryos based on potential IQ, height and health The Guardian has learned that couples undergoing IVF in the UK are exploiting an apparent legal loophole to rank their embryos based on genetic predictions of IQ. But what is polygenic screening and doe
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British fertility clinics raise scientific and ethical objections over patients sending embryos’ genetic data abroad for analysis What is polygenic embryo screening in IVF and does it work? Couples undergoing IVF in the UK are exploiting an apparent legal loophole to rank their embryos based on genetic predictions of IQ, height and health, the Guardian has learned. The controversial screening tec
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Paper published in 2000 found glyphosate was not harmful, while internal emails later revealed company’s influence The journal Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology has formally retracted a sweeping scientific paper published in 2000 that became a key defense for Monsanto’s claim that Roundup herbicide and its active ingredient glyphosate don’t cause cancer. Martin van den Berg, the journal’s ed
Dec 4, 2025
I knew that a revolution in our understanding of soil could change the world. Then came a eureka moment – and the birth of the Earth Rover Program Report: Experts say seismic waves can check soil health and boost yields It felt like walking up a mountain during a temperature inversion. You struggle through fog so dense you can scarcely see where you’re going. Suddenly, you break through the top o
‘We can tell farmers the problems’: experts say seismic waves can check soil health and boost yields
‘Soilsmology’ aims to map world’s soils and help avert famine, says not-for-profit co-founded by George Monbiot George Monbiot: Over a pint in Oxford, we may well have stumbled upon the holy grail of agriculture A groundbreaking soil-health measuring technique could help avert famine and drought, scientists have said. At the moment, scientists have to dig lots of holes to study the soil, which is
Chris Whitty contrasts systematic approach in children and calls for more research into managing infections in elderly The medical profession must do more to prevent and manage infections in elderly people as the current methods are “hit and miss”, the chief medical officer for England has said. Writing in his annual report for 2025, Prof Chris Whitty said preventing and treating infections had l
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Five families around the world share their struggles to keep their children away from UPFs Parents and young people: share your concerns about ultra-processed foods (UPFs) The scourge of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is global. While their consumption is particularly high in the west, forming more than half the average diet in the UK and the US, for example, UPFs are replacing fresh food in diets
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Vinay Prasad memo said at least 10 children had died from Covid vaccination – but offered scant evidence for claim America’s top vaccines official promised, in a long and argumentative memo to staff on Friday, to revamp vaccine regulation after claiming that at least 10 children died from Covid vaccination – but he offered no evidence for that allegation and scant details on the new approach. The
Dec 3, 2025
Pesticide Action Network Europe study finds average concentrations 100 times higher than in tap water High levels of a toxic “forever chemical” have been found in cereal products across Europe because of its presence in pesticides. The most contaminated food is breakfast cereal, according to a study by Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN), with average concentrations 100 times higher than in tap
Residents report homes shaking from quake with epicentre near the village of Silverdale in Lancashire Residents were shaken by what felt like an “underground explosion” after England’s strongest earthquake in two years affected towns and villages across Lancashire and Cumbria. A 3.3-magnitude earthquake was felt as far as 30 miles from the epicentre near the coastal village of Silverdale in Lanca
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Science editor Ian Sample sits down with co-host Madeleine Finlay and science correspondent Hannah Devlin to hear about three eye-catching stories from the week, including a study showing that the brain has five ‘eras’, with adult mode not starting until our early 30s. Also on the agenda is new research showing the shingles vaccine not only protects against dementia but could actually slow its pr
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It borders Brazil, but French Guiana is now a remote outpost of the EU. It is home to Europe’s only spaceport, some of the most biodiverse forest on the planet and a military mission that is testing the limits of western power Above me, a ceiling of rough wooden branches and tarp. To my right, an officer in the French Foreign Legion types up the daily situation report. In front of me a French gen
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Researchers find children who own dogs score lower for social problems, aggressive behaviour and delinquency Having a dog in the home could help boost teenagers’ mental health, research suggests, with scientists adding this could in part be down to the sharing of microbes. Prof Takefumi Kikusui, of Azabu University in Japan, who led the work, said being with dogs could reduce owners’ stress and s
Richard Pazdur’s potential retirement weeks into the role adds to upheaval at the FDA amid political pressure The top drug regulator in the US signaled on Tuesday he may retire weeks after accepting the position, adding to upheaval in the highest ranks of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). If Richard Pazdur retires, finding a replacement would be challenging amid mounting political pressu
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White Coat Waste finds $1.7m in NIH grants for cat research months after officials said they were working to end studies The US National Institutes of Health is continuing to fund new laboratory experiments
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